Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Warning as tide traps 93 people in north-west England

rescue boat
© naRescue services were called to five incidents involving 93 people

Tourists taking advantage of the sunny weather have been warned to take care after 70 people were trapped by the incoming tide off Blackpool.

They were picked up off the resort's South Pier at about 1300 BST.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said rescue teams were called to incidents involving 23 other people trapped by the tide in the North West.

Cloud Lightning

US: Over Half of Iowa Town Damaged by Tornado

tornado
© n/a
A large tornado flattened a grain elevator and destroyed homes and buildings on its weekend rampage through the small western Iowa town of Mapleton. Authorities reported no serious injuries.

"It was huge, just huge," said Thomas Mohrhauser, an attorney in the town of about 1,200 people. "It just kept getting bigger and bigger."

Mohrhauser said the tornado appeared to be about a quarter-mile wide when it cut a northwest path through town Saturday evening.

Mayor Fred Standa said one side of town got hit worse than another, but overall he thought about 60 percent had been damaged. He estimated about 20 percent was "almost flat."

Reports indicated the roof was blown off a high school, power lines were downed and several homes and buildings were destroyed. Authorities said three people were treated for minor injuries at Burgess Health Center in Onawa, about 20 miles from Mapleton.

Bizarro Earth

Japan sits atop deadliest section of Ring of Fire

The recent earthquakes that have pounded Japan, New Zealand and Chile all have one thing in common: They were caused by the movement of a massive piece of Earth known as the Pacific Plate.
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The Pacific Plate is one of nine giant tectonic plates that cover the Earth's surface. But it's bigger, faster and more deadly than the others. And Japan sits right on top of the most active section.

Attention

Canada: Manitoba floods claim driver's life

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© CBC NewsBreezy Point Road, also known as Provincial Road 320, was closed Friday after being washed over by the swollen Red River.
Floodway activated to shunt water around Winnipeg as more homes evacuated

About 50 homes north of Winnipeg were evacuated Saturday morning because of rising water levels, as police said the province's flooding was likely responsible for the death of a motorist.

The homes, mostly on Jenny Road in the Netley Creek area of the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, are no longer accessible by road and residents are having to leave by boat. Evacuations began Saturday morning around 8 a.m. CT.

A provincial agency also opened the gates of the Red River Floodway to diver water around Winnipeg.

Emergency officials were asking other homeowners in the St. Andrews area to be prepared to leave quickly, gathering medications and other personal items of value so that they can move out at a moment's notice.

Cloud Lightning

Virginia, US: Strong Winds, Hail, Rain Cause Power Outages

Over 14,500 American Electric Power customers are in the dark after a severe storm on Friday evening.

Cyclone, W.Va.
© Lonnie AtwellCyclone, W.Va.
After 60 mph winds, golf ball sized hail, and heavy rains; electricity is out in many homes across the 59News viewing area.

According to Appalachian Power, at 8 p.m. more than 14,500 customers were in the dark in Virginia and West Virginia.

Mercer County had more than 1,760 customers without power, Monroe County had a total of 1,100 homes in the dark, Raleigh County had a little over 150 still without power, Summers County had 158 customers without electricity, and Wyoming County had over 550 customers still in the dark.

Cloud Lightning

West Virginia, US: Charleston area storms produce 'lots of water and tons of debris'

Trees knocked down, roads flooded 2nd time in a week

Heavy rains caused power outages, flooding and damage across the Charleston area for the second time in one week on Friday.

Kimberly Earl and her husband, Cody, were in their home on Bakers Fork Road with two of their four kids when a massive tree uprooted on the hill across from their house, slamming onto their roof.

"Every time it rains," she said, "a little more of that hillside washes away."

Bizarro Earth

Southern Thailand's flood death toll hits 59

The death toll reached 59 Saturday from floods and mudslides in southern Thailand over two weeks that caused damage estimated at more than 300 million dollars, officials said.

The Interior Ministry's disaster prevention and mitigation department said 26 people had died in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, 610 kilometres south of Bangkok.

Twelve deaths were confirmed in neighbouring Surat Thani province, with additional casualties in Krabi, Phatthalung, Chumphon, Trang and Phangnga provinces throughout the southern region.

Large areas of Nakhon Si Thammarat were reported still underwater on Saturday.

Bizarro Earth

Philippines: Taal volcano residents urged to voluntarily evacuate

The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Center has started informing residents--especially children, elderly and the disabled--living near Taal volcano to voluntarily evacuate.

This after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised Taal volcano's alert level status to 2 after it showed increased seismic activity on Saturday.

Local and foreign tourists were advised not trek the volcano or go on boat riding around the lake.

"The public is also advice not to venture into the Daang Kastila Trail and Mt. Tabaro as steam explosion may occur not to mention the presence of toxic gas," reported Sarita Kare of ABS-CBN Southern Tagalog.

Bizarro Earth

US: 50 Birds Fall Dead Into Kansas Yard

Sterling, Kansas - A central Kansas family hopes to learn what caused the deaths of dozens of birds that fell from trees outside their house.

Elizabeth Stange says it started with one or two birds tumbling to the ground Thursday afternoon, followed by dozens more. The Sterling woman told KWCH-TV that the birds all died within minutes of each other.

By evening, Stange says, she and her family collected about 50 birds from their driveway and yard.

Stange says a local veterinarian told her the birds probably ate something poisonous. But a few were sent to Kansas State University for a closer look.

At one point, Stange's family worried about leaving the house for fear of being hit by a falling bird. She calls the episode bizarre.

Sun

Arctic Auroras: Beautiful Images of the Solar Wind lighting up the Arctic Circle

The onset of spring has brought a growing twilight to the night skies of the Arctic. The sky may be bright, but the auroras are even brighter. Here is the view from northern Norway after "nightfall" on April 5th:

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© Øystein Ingvaldsen
Photographer Øystein Ingvaldsen of Bø in Vesterålen was taking a late walk at the time of the display. "I did not expect to see Northern Lights," he says "but suddenly they appeared. This is the first time I have photographed auroras and a sunset all at once."

More Arctic lights are in the offing. A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field, and NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% - 25% chance of high-latitude geomagnetic activity during the next 24 hours. Aurora alerts are available here.