Earth Changes

Flash floods in Kuching, Malaysia following 300 mm (nearly 1 foot) of rain in 24 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 13:51 UTC

Heavy rainfall in Malaysia has caused the third wave of flooding in the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

A torrential downpour that began early on Saturday 27 February caused severe flooding in and some landslides in the district of Serian. Other areas affected included Padawan, Penrissen and Bau-Lundu.

The state's capital city, Kuching, was also badly affected, with some streets under 70 cm of water at the peak of the floods.

Local media say that much as 300 mm of rain fell in Kuching in 24 hours between 27 and 28 February, 2016. The city's drainage system is designed for a maximum of 180 mm of rain and was unable to cope. However, much of the flood water had subsided by late morning of Sunday 28 February.

Manhole explosion in New Jersey sends cover flying over 20 feet into the air

CBS Local
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 17:03 UTC

The wet weather on Wednesday caused some alarming moments in Elizabeth, New Jersey, when electrical installations underground began to explode.

As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, cellphone video captured the explosion that sent a manhole cover flying into the air.

With brutal force, the manhole cover was propelled skyward by a powerful explosion in a business district Wednesday in Elizabeth, as underground electrical wires once again proved to be an incendiary mix with salt and rain and snow.

The dangerous conditions in the manhole sparked one blast after the other mid-morning near Elizabeth Avenue and 7th Street.

"The explosion looked like it's the flames, they come. The flames maybe about maybe 6-foot high and they start to smoke - a lot of smoke," said witness Carlos Aviles.

The call first came in at 10:10 a.m. after the manhole exploded. Just as fire units were pulling up, the manhole cover blasted into the air.

"I stepped out of the vehicle and a manhole, probably 20, 25 feet away, shot right up in the air," said Elizabeth Deputy Fire Chief Lathey Wirkus. "It was a massive explosion."

Comment: Last year in New York, manhole covers rained down on a busy street after three manholes exploded, and a manhole cover blasted through the floor of a moving New York City bus injuring a passenger.

Eruption warning issued for Mount Io volcano in Japan

Xinhua
Sun, 28 Feb 2016 19:51 UTC

Japan's weather agency on Sunday issued an alert for the possible eruption of a volcano in the southwest of the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that following an increase in noticeable seismic activity and based on recent eruptions, Mt. Io, which spans both Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, has been issued with a no-entry warning.

The municipal government of Ebino city has declared a no-entry zone around the crater of Mt. Io, which is part of the Kirishima mountains, according to the Kyodo News Agency.

JMA said the alert was issued in light of more than 30 volcanic-related temblors being recorded as of noon Sunday, following increased volcanic activity at the 1,317-meter volcano since last year, in the Kyushu region of Japan.

Five die as storm hits Durban, South Africa

eNCA
Sat, 27 Feb 2016 16:34 UTC

Durban was on Saturday counting the cost of a storm that left at least five people dead and a dozen injured.

The storm that ripped through the Durban area on Friday night delivered a deluge of rain and hail with strong winds that uprooted trees and collapsed walls.

One of those walls collapsed in Durban's Westville suburb, killing a 55-year-old man.

ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said paramedics on the scene were informed that the man, another adult and two teenagers went to inspect the wall before it collapsed.

"‎At this stage it is not clear if they suspected damage to the wall and thus went to investigate. The wall collapsed on the man and pinned him under the rubble and water for some time."

5.9 magnitude earthquake at Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge

Earthquake Track
Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:39 UTC

2016-02-27 21:29:43 UTC

UTC time: Saturday, February 27, 2016 21:29 PM

Your time: 2016-02-27T21:29:43Z

Magnitude Type: mb

USGS page: M 5.9 - Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 0 people

Hundreds of dead sea lions wash up in Chile

Rafael Romo
CNN
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 15:17 UTC

Most of the dead sea lions that are washing up along northern Chile are newborn pups. The deaths are part of a widespread die-off observed elsewhere on South America's Pacific coastline.

Marine researchers have found more than 100 dead sea lions -- most of them newborns -- washed ashore along a relatively small peninsula in northern Chile over the past three months, part of a more widespread die-off being observed elsewhere on South America's Pacific coast.

"This is happening along the entire coast of northern Chile and we're getting reports that it's also happening in Peru, our neighbor to the north," researcher Carlos Guerra-Correa told CNN. "We could be talking about hundreds of sea lions washing up ashore dead in the entire region."

The South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) is the species affected by the die-off observed in the area of the Mejillones Peninsula in Antofagasta province, where the researchers routinely conduct marine studies.

UN science report warns of fewer bees and other pollinators

Seth Borenstein
The Berkshire Eagle
Sun, 28 Feb 2016 12:15 UTC

A bee collects nectar from a flower on April 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

Many species of wild bees, butterflies and other critters that pollinate plants are shrinking toward extinction, and the world needs to do something about it before our food supply suffers, a new United Nations scientific mega-report warns.

The 20,000 or so species of pollinators are key to hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of crops each year — from fruits and vegetables to coffee and chocolate. Yet 2 out of 5 species of invertebrate pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are on the path toward extinction, said the first-of-its-kind report. Pollinators with backbones, such as hummingbirds and bats, are only slightly better off, with 1 in 6 species facing extinction.

"We are in a period of decline and there are going to be increasing consequences," said report lead author Simon Potts, director of the Centre for Agri-Environmental Research at the University of Reading in England.

And it's not just honeybees. In some aspects they're doing better than many of their wild counterparts, like the bumblebee, despite dramatic long-term declines in the United States and a mysterious disorder that has waned.

Invasion of beetles along beaches in Argentina

Strange Sounds
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 19:14 UTC

A biblical beetle invasion has started along the beaches of Mar de Ajó and San Bernardo in Argentina.

The strange phenomenon surprised locals and tourists, but the cause of this insect plague remains unexplained.

Beetle mania

Mesmerizing von Karman vortices appear near South Korea

Jason Samenow
Washington Post
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 18:53 UTC

Von Karman vortices captured via satellite on Feb. 25, 2016, south of Jeju Island.

Winds blowing over South Korea's Jeju island Thursday gave rise to a chain of magnificent swirling clouds known as von Karman vortex streets.

Satellite images show beautiful whirlpool-shaped cloud formations downwind of the island in the East China Sea. The swirls are lined up one after another comprising the so-called "street" in the sky.

"[W]hen fluids encounter obstacles, they can form spiral eddies," wrote NASA, in an explanation as to how these vortices form.

The obstacle in this case is the volcanic high terrain on Jeju Island which the air flows around, leaving behind an area of low pressure downwind on the island's opposite side, where the air begins spinning counterclockwise forming a vortex. As one vortex forms and moves off to the south, another follows in its wake forming the vortex street.

Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador: Explosion produces ash plume 5000 meters tall

Volcano Discovery
Sat, 27 Feb 2016 16:20 UTC

Two moderately large explosions occurred at the volcano yesterday noon from 12:12 local time. The first and larger explosion produced an ash plume that rose approx. 5000 meters above the summit.

The ash plume dispersed mainly to the west and northwest where ash fall occurred in areas including Choglontús, Pillate, Cahuaji and El Manzano.

According to IGEPN, the eruption - which came after a 3 months interval of quiet since last November - was most likely NOT the result of new magma, but instead of accumulated gas pressure in the upper conduit. Magmatic gasses (H2O, CO2 etc) still contained in older magma inside the conduit was being released quietly as the magma continued to cool and crystallize, but most of these gasses were being trapped beneath a solid plug. With time, the gas pressure increased to the critical point: the plug gave way in yesterday's explosions.

The explosion itself, a typical so-called "vulcanian"-type eruption, was preceded only by a short (lasting little more than an hour), but intense seismic swarm of shallow earthquakes caused by internal fluid movements and rock fracturing as pressurized gasses started to disintegrate the overlying plug.

Tungurahua volcano eruption in Ecuador on February 26, 2016

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

Flash floods in Kuching, Malaysia following 300 mm (nearly 1 foot) of rain in 24 hours

Manhole explosion in New Jersey sends cover flying over 20 feet into the air

Eruption warning issued for Mount Io volcano in Japan

Five die as storm hits Durban, South Africa

5.9 magnitude earthquake at Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge

Hundreds of dead sea lions wash up in Chile

UN science report warns of fewer bees and other pollinators

Invasion of beetles along beaches in Argentina

Mesmerizing von Karman vortices appear near South Korea

Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador: Explosion produces ash plume 5000 meters tall

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