Earth ChangesS


Arrow Down

60-foot-deep sinkhole opens in front of Highland City home in Florida

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© Polk County Fire Rescue
According to Polk County Fire Rescue, an approximately 15 feet wide by 60 feet-deep sinkhole opened in front of a Polk County home on Saturday.

Officials say the sinkhole is on Royal Crest Drive in Highland City

Firefighters say the street is open, and the sinkhole does not pose an imminent threat to the county roadway.

According to authorities, PCFR will continue monitoring the situation over the coming days.


Seismograph

Shallow earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hits Southwest Indian Ridge

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An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 on the Richter scale struck the Southwest Indian Ridge in the early hours of Sunday. According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the tremors were felt at around 3:39 am. The quake was at a depth of 10 km, it added.

"Earthquake of Magnitude: 6.2, Occurred on 21-01-2024, 03:39:41 IST, Lat: -39.64 & Long: 46.16, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Southwest Indian Ridge," NCS posted on X.


Seismograph

Strong mag. 6.6 earthquake - Ipixuna, Brazil

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A very strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit 138 km (86 mi) away from Cruzeiro do Sul, Amazonas, Brazil, in the afternoon of Saturday, Jan 20, 2024 at 4.31 pm local time (America/Eirunepe GMT -5).

The quake had a great depth of 615 km (382 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter.

No significant damage or impact is expected from this quake and no particular alert was issued.

Seismograph

Northern Mariana Islands: Magnitude-6.1 earthquake occurs in North Pacific Ocean

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A magnitude-6.1 earthquake occurred in the North Pacific Ocean, near the Northern Mariana Islands, at around 01:48 Jan. 21. The epicenter was about 362 km (225 miles) north of Saipan. The tremor occurred at a depth of about 195 km (121 miles), and light shaking may have been felt in parts of the Northern Mariana Islands.

There have been no initial reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake; significant damage is unlikely. It could take several hours until authorities can conduct comprehensive damage assessments, especially in remote areas. Aftershocks are likely over the coming days. The event has not prompted any tsunami advisories.

Officials may temporarily shut down transportation infrastructure in the tremor zone to check for damage. Minor disruptions could occur during shutdowns, but service will likely resume quickly if no damage is found. Utility outages are possible where shaking occurred.

Attention

18 fatal shark encounters in 2023 highest for 20 years

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In 2023, public records documented a total of 84 shark attacks, with 18 proving fatal; five of these fatalities were attributed to encounters with great white sharks. Christian Kemper of TrackingSharks.com remarked, "There haven't been this many deaths in over 20 years. In some cases, the victims were completely consumed."

Among the 18 fatalities, four were surfers, three of whom hailed from South Australia. On May 13, 2023, Simon Bacanello, a 46-year-old teacher, disappeared during a great white shark attack while surfing, and his remains were never recovered. On October 31, Todd Gendle, 55, was struck by a shark described as "as long as a limousine."

Tragedy struck again on December 28 when 15-year-old Khai Cowley lost his life while surfing in South Australia. The final fatality occurred on December 30 when 39-year-old Jason Carter suffered a tiger shark attack while surfing on Maui. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he eventually succumbed to his injuries.


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Snowflake

Best of the Web: Additional feet of snow pile up in Buffalo area (6 FEET in 5 days) after western New York buried by prior snowstorm

Crews work around the clock to clear city streets of snow
Crews work around the clock to clear city streets of snow
Heavy lake-effect snow will continue for one more day downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in New York state.

Off Lake Erie, the snow band will stay south of Buffalo on Thursday morning, with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour over the Buffalo Southtowns, the FOX Forecast Center said.

The band will then begin to move north around midday, once again bringing heavy snow to the city of Buffalo. During the afternoon, the snow band will move north of Buffalo before sliding back toward the city during the evening hours.

The lake-effect snow will end once the snow from the cross-country storm begins Thursday night. By this time, some locations south of Buffalo may end up with 7 feet of snow when combining the two lake-effect events this week.


Seismograph

6.4-magnitude quake hits Tonga

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An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 jolted 125 km NW of Fangale'ounga, Tonga, at 11:12 local time on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

There were no immediate reports of casualty or damage.

The epicenter, with a depth of 218.1 km, was determined to be at 18.928 degrees south latitude and 175.147 degrees west longitude, according to the USGS.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not immediately issue a tsunami warning based on the quake.

Pacific island countries such as Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu lie on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones where continental plates collide producing frequent seismic activities.

Snowflake

Colorado mountains: Over 4 feet of snow for some and more to come

Sweeping avalanche buried 10 cars, trapping people for an hour.
Sweeping avalanche buried 10 cars, trapping people for an hour.
Over the last week our January blast of Winter weather has buried many Colorado mountains with 1 to over 4 feet of snow. While the eastern plains delt with an Arctic blast, our mountain areas have seen multiple waves of heavy snow and wind over the last 8 days. Steamboat Springs for example picked up 50 inches of snow since Wednesday of last week. For the month Steamboat has seen over 76 inches of snow!

Heavy snow in the Winter Park Area caused the closure of Berthoud Pass for several days due to avalanches. Berthoud Pass back currently open after avalanches, some Colorado travelers still hoping to avoid hours-long detour


Cloud Precipitation

6 dead, 2 children missing in Bolivia floods

The water in Tipuani reached 2 meters
The water in Tipuani reached 2 meters.
Six people are dead and two minors are missing after heavy rains this week sparked flooding in the Bolivian town of Tipuani in the department of La Paz, authorities said Wednesday.

Flooding has led to the death of an elderly person who was unable to leave his home and a traffic accident in which "the vehicle ran aground and as a result one person died," Major Victor Ramirez, operational chief of police, told state-run television station Bolivia TV.

A public service vehicle fell into the river on Tuesday, leaving four dead, he added.


Doberman

Child's death in dog attack leads to roundup, killing of strays in Salluit, Quebec

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A four-year-old boy in Salluit died after being attacked by four dogs while he was walking to his grandfather's home, Nunavik Police Service confirmed.

In response, more than 70 stray dogs have been captured and killed in the northern village since the Jan. 11 attack and the effort to round up stray dogs will continue, according to the village's treasurer.

In an interview, police Capt. Patrice Abel said the incident happened midday and that two of the dogs were known to the child and were not strays but had been left untied outside.

Officers were unable to determine whether the boy did something to provoke the dogs before they he was attacked, he said.