Earth Changes

Another hole forms in beach at Inskip Point, Queensland, Australia

Nathanael Cooper
Brisbane Times
Tue, 01 Mar 2016 05:57 UTC

Another collapsing sandy hole has formed at Inskip Point at the northern end of rainbow beach.

According to Queensland Parks and Wildlife the activity started at the surface of the sand about 8am and ended at 10.15am.

The service is describing it as an erosion event better termed as a "near-shore landslide" than a sinkhole.

The erosion has not affected any campsites nor access to the barge to Fraser Island.

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has erected traffic barriers and warning signs around the sites.

A statement on the parks and wildlife website said it was likely to be "another occurrence of the natural phenomenon which occurred in September 2015 at Inskip".

In that incident 300 people had to be evacuated after campsites came under threat, and some cars that were swallowed up by sinking sand are still underwater.

Comment: See also:

Elephant kills mahout at trekking camp in Thailand

Kritsada Mueanhawong
Phuket Gazette
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 20:44 UTC

© Kritsada Mueanhawong
Killer Elephant: Twelve-year-old bull elephant Plai Sridor Nakorn remains chained up after killing his mahout in a fit of rage.

An enraged bull elephant stomped his mahout to death at a trekking camp in Ao Nang on Saturday.

The 12-year-old male elephant named 'Plai Sridor Nakorn' was in musth - an annual period of heightened testosterone levels - and had been chained up after becoming highly aggressive.

The animal killed Anantamek Thongtae, 21, when the mahout attempted to unchain him.

"According to witnesses, the elephant grabbed Mr Anantamek with his trunk, threw him to the ground and then repeatedly stomped on him," said Lt Col Noppadol Mukda of the Krabi City Police.

The elephant had been chained up for about five days; a sign was put up warning visitors not to approach the aggressive pachyderm.

6,000 emergency and military personnel to conduct Pacific North West megaquake exercise

Sandi Doughton
Seattle Times
Sat, 27 Feb 2016 19:56 UTC

Sunday's 15th anniversary of the Nisqually quake finds FEMA preparing for a June exercise to simulate a much more powerful megaquake and tsunami.

The last damaging earthquake in Washington struck 15 years ago, on Feb. 28, 2001.

The next one is scheduled for June 7.

The ground isn't expected to actually shake this spring. But nearly 6,000 emergency and military personnel will pretend it is during a four-day exercise to test response to a seismic event that will dwarf the 2001 Nisqually quake: A Cascadia megaquake and tsunami.

Called "Cascadia Rising," the exercise will be the biggest ever conducted in the Pacific Northwest. Which is fitting, because a rupture on the offshore fault called the Cascadia Subduction Zone could be the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history.

"It's really going to require the entire nation to respond to an event like this," said Kenneth Murphy, regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is coordinating the exercise.

While the Nisqually earthquake measured magnitude 6.8, a Cascadia megaquake is likely to hit magnitude 9 — which is nearly 2,000 times more powerful. It will affect the entire West Coast from British Columbia to Northern California, including Seattle, Portland, Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C. The quake will be closely followed by tsunamis 30 feet high — or bigger — that will slam into oceanfront communities.

Dead whale found on beach in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Emirates 247
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 19:03 UTC

© Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority
The remains of a decomposing whale wash up at Kalba beach in Sharjah.

The dead body of a 15-metre long whale has washed up on the beach of Al Qarm near Kalba in the emirate of Sharjah, the Arabic newspaper Al Bayan has reported.

The carcass of the whale was 6 feet high.

The Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority and the municipality of Kalba began dealing with carcass of the whale.

Witnesses said the whale was afloat since yesterday in the Gulf waters.

The Kalba Municipality provided the machines and equipment to drag the whale's body and bury it.

Two children killed by lightning bolt in Namibia

New Era
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 18:54 UTC

Two minors died after being struck by lightning at Kambowo village, the Kavango East Police confrmed on Thursday.

The lightning strike happened at around 18h00 on Wednesday at a homestead at Kambowo village. According to police sources the incident reportedly happened while the children were playing at home.

The deceased minors who died instantly after being struck by lightning were identified as six-year-old Tracy Shitoka Likoro and five-year-old Gloria Kantema.

The police mortuary services were called to the scene shortly after the fatal incident to collect the children's remains.

"The two bodies were transported to Rundu State Hospital mortuary," Chief Inspector Chrispin Mubebo, the acting regional crime investigations coordinator of Kavango East, confirmed.

Kambowo village is some 25 km east of Rundu along the Trans-Caprivi Highway in Rundu Rural Constituency of Kavango East Region.

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Malawi

Kondwani Magombo
All Africa
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 18:38 UTC

Lightning killed three men and injured one in Lilongwe on Friday afternoon in the city's low density Area 43 where the four were working, Police confirmed.

Lilongwe Police identified the three as Wedson Nkhunumbu,37, of Magombo Village, T/A Champiti, Ntcheu; Douglas Kachuma, 38, of Kaunde Village, T/A Mlumbe in Zomba; and 22-year-old, Isaac Ngolombe, from Donda Village, T/A Chimoka in Lilongwe.

The police further identified the survivor as Enusu Pinto, 23 from Kanyenda Village, T/A Maganga in Salima.

Lilongwe Police spokesperson, Kingsley Dandaula, told Mana that the men met their fate as they were working on the foundations of a brick fence on a plot belonging to one of the residents of the area.

"Rain started pouring and before the four men could find shelter lightning struck them killing Nkhunumbu, Kachuma and Ngolombe on spot while Pinto lied unconscious," explained Dandaula.

Unexplained boom rattles residents and homes in southeastern Wisconsin

Jennifer Eisenbart
My Racine County
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 18:35 UTC

Kansasville and Dover residents looking for an answer to Saturday's loud noise are still waiting for an explanation.

Described as an explosion by some and a sonic boom as others, residents near Eagle Lake at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday started phoning 911 regarding an explosion.

The only problem? The Racine County Sheriff's Department and Kansasville Fire couldn't find anything.

"We investigated it and nothing found," said Kansasville Fire Chief Scott Remer. "We have no cause or origin.

"I heard a lot of things about 'my house shook,'" he added.

Area residents also flooded social media seeking an explanation for what happened. On a local area 'buy, sell, trade' list on Facebook, people referred to the noise as something "blowing up" and said the noise shook homes.

Another person later explained there were some fireworks going off, and called the situation "all good." However, that was about two hours after the initial report.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Warden Mike Hirschboeck said ice heaves on the lake could have created a loud booming noise.

Comment: See also: Unexplained loud booms: A compilation from 2015

Great white shark repeatedly attempts to bite fishing boat off New Zealand coast

Ben Hooper
UPI
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 15:37 UTC

A group of fishermen off the coast of New Zealand captured video of a hungry great white shark repeatedly trying to bite different parts of their boat.

The video, posted to YouTube by Hamish Clarke, shows the shark swimming around the boat and putting its mouth on different parks of the vessel while the astonished humans look on and film it with their phones.

"It then hit its nose on the boat which made its attitude become more aggressive," the filmer wrote online. "Eventually it then left."

The video, filmed Feb. 20 near Frenchman Island, involved the same boat and crew seen in an earlier released video showing one of the passengers reaching down to pet a passing shark on the same day.

Fears of imminent eruption of largest active volcano on Earth; small earthquakes recorded at Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Sean Martin
Daily Express (UK)
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 14:47 UTC

Small earthquakes dotted around the world's biggest active volcano has Hawaiians in a stir in fears that it may begin spewing lava at any minute.

Mauna Loa, located on the Island of Hawaii, is one of the biggest active volcanoes and in recent years, the USGS (US Geological Survey) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has detected more frequent seismic activity in the region.

The volcano has not erupted since 1984 and is long overdue an eruption having blown 10 times in the 20th century prior to this.

The US's National Park Service writes: "When Mauna Loa erupts, voluminous, fast-moving lava flows can reach the ocean in only a few hours, severing roads and utilities and repaving the volcano's flanks along the way.

"Since 1843, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times, most recently in 1984, when lava flows reached to within 4 miles (6.4 km) of Hilo."

Flash floods hit Montego Bay, Jamaica

The Gleaner
Sat, 27 Feb 2016 14:15 UTC

Western Bureau:

The heavy rains that have been lashing section of St James since late Friday afternoon resulted in significant flooding in several sections of downtown Montego Bay and has left several houses in the newly constructed Port Bello Housing Scheme, near Cornwall Courts, under water.

"We have had reports of Creek Street, Dome Street and the Sign main road being under water at this time," Montego Bay's mayor, Councillor Glendon Harris, told The Gleaner shortly after 1 p.m.

"We have teams from the National Works Agency, the Police and the St James Fire Department out there monitoring the situation".

As a result of the number of flooded roadways across the western city, traffic was reduced to a snarl in some areas and came to a complete standstill in many other sections, creating a nightmare for motorists and pedestrians.

Montego Bay city flooded after heavy rain

New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good...

parzival

Bill Gates is going to be the one with the uncertain future,,, * New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer...

parzival

The more we hear about adverse affects the more we will merely shrug. It's a catch 22. Is that an asteroid trail in the photo?

sass

Welcome to the new normal. The more sensory exposure we have about such things, the less it is an issue.

sass

more misbehaving phuqqin' jewzskies starring on the sott; speaks for itself

Jibrish

Earth Changes

Another hole forms in beach at Inskip Point, Queensland, Australia

Elephant kills mahout at trekking camp in Thailand

6,000 emergency and military personnel to conduct Pacific North West megaquake exercise

Dead whale found on beach in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Two children killed by lightning bolt in Namibia

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Malawi

Unexplained boom rattles residents and homes in southeastern Wisconsin

Great white shark repeatedly attempts to bite fishing boat off New Zealand coast

Fears of imminent eruption of largest active volcano on Earth; small earthquakes recorded at Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Flash floods hit Montego Bay, Jamaica

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