Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

Mysterious dolphin die-off worries scientists

Since mid-May, 46 bottlenose dolphins have stranded themselves and died on beaches throughout the Indian River Lagoon, alarming scientists who say that's six more dolphins than they usually find in an entire year.

Three of the dead dolphins have been found in Mosquito Lagoon, on the southern end of Volusia County.

Bizarro Earth

4.6 earthquake shakes Baja area

A 4.6-magnitude earthquake has struck the Baja area at the California/Mexico line, according to preliminary information from the United States Geological Survey.

Bizarro Earth

Earthquake hits NW Pakistan, tremors in Kashmir

An earthquake of medium intensity measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted North West Afghanistan on Friday. The tremors were felt in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), where people went into a tizzy and rushed outside their houses.

Cloud Lightning

Speedy Tropical Storm Hanna charges for Carolinas

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Tropical Storm Hanna picked up speed Friday as it cruised toward the Carolinas, promising to deliver gusty winds and heavy rain during a dash up the Eastern Seaboard that could wash out the weekend for millions of people.

Cloud Lightning

Haitian leader warns of 'extraordinary catastrophe'

PORT-AU-PRINCE - Hurricane Ike strengthened rapidly into a major Category 3 hurricane in the open Atlantic yesterday and Tropical Storm Hanna intensified as it swirled over the Bahamas toward the southeast U.S. Coast.

Syringe

Asian elephant cured in rehab of heroin addiction

Beijing - An Asian elephant that became addicted to heroin at the hands of illegal traders will return home after a three-year rehab program, Chinese state media said Thursday.

Xiguang, a 4-year-old male Asian elephant, became addicted after he was captured by smugglers along the Chinese-Myanmar border in March 2005. The traders fed the elephant bananas laced with heroin as bait and to pacify the creature, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

When Xiguang was found two months later along with six other captured elephants in China's southwest, he was suffering from withdrawal and was sent to a protection center in China's tropical Hainan island.

Cloud Lightning

Category 4 Hurricane Ike fiercer as Hanna strengthens

PORT-AU-PRINCE - Hurricane Ike strengthened rapidly into an fiercely dangerous Category 4 hurricane in the open Atlantic on Wednesday and Tropical Storm Hanna intensified to a lesser degree as it swirled over the Bahamas toward the southeast U.S. Coast.

Umbrella

Australia: Rain deluges southeast Queensland coastal areas

Up to 95mm of rain has fallen in southeast Queensland today, and it's been in all the right places. What's more, it's set to continue for another 24 hours.

Rain Deluge in Queensland
©Peter Wallis
Waterworld... Cars drive through a pool of water on Newmarket Road. Brisbane is expecting heavy rain Thursday.

Binoculars

Ike strengthens into major Category 4 hurricane

WASHINGTON - Hurricane Ike strengthened rapidly into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean with 135 mph (215 kph) winds late on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

People

Inept response to floods outrages India

For several days, Urmi Mahato and her family were glued to the radio and TV, eager for information on rising floodwaters and waiting for the government to tell them whether and when to evacuate their home.

The warning never came, and officials assured there was no danger. Then one morning a wall of water crumpled the river's mud embankment, swamping the village and sweeping away her family.

"I do not know where to look for them, there is no one to help me," said the 24-year-old woman, sitting at a government relief camp in Bihar, one of India's poorest states.