Earth ChangesS


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Mexico: Second earthquake in one week recorded in Northern Chihuahua

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded just before 5:45 a.m. Monday 34 miles southwest of Sierra Blanca in Chihuahua, Mexico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred days after another tremor was recorded in Chihuahua about 40 miles south of Fort Hancock. That quake also registered a 4.3 magnitude on the Richter scale.

Radar

6.1 Magnitude Quake Hits off Coast of Panama

The U.S. Geological Survey says a moderate earthquake has struck off the coast of Panama, but there is no tsunami warning.

The quake struck early Saturday, and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The GPS says the magnitude-6.1 quake hit at 3:19 a.m. local time (0819 GMT), about 240 miles (385 kilometers) southwest of Panama City.

The quake struck at a depth of 1.7 miles (2.8 kilometers) in the Pacific Ocean.

Source: The Associated Press

Cloud Lightning

New Zealand: Tornado hits Auckland shopping mall: one dead

A tornado has cut a path of devastation through Auckland this afternoon, killing one person and injuring more than twenty.


Witnesses reported cars with people inside being tossed across carparks when the tornado ripped through the suburb of Albany like a freight train about 3pm.

It was earlier reported that two had died, but it was later said there had been confusion in the immediate chaos.

Cloud Lightning

US: Army Corps Breaks Southeast Missouri Levee

mailbox in floodwaters
© AP Photo
Wyatt, Mo. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers exploded a large section of a Mississippi River levee Monday in a desperate attempt to protect an Illinois town from rising floodwaters.

The corps said the break in the Birds Point levee would help tiny Cairo, Ill., by diverting up to 4 feet of water off the river. Just before Monday night's explosions, river levels at Cairo were at historic highs and creating pressure on the floodwall protecting the town.

For the Missouri side, the blasts were likely unleashing a muddy torrent into empty farm fields and around evacuated homes in Mississippi County.

Brief but bright orange flashes could be seen above the river as the explosions went off just after 10 p.m. The blasts lasted only about two seconds. Darkness kept reporters, who were more than a half mile off the river, from seeing how fast the water was moving into the farmland.

Bizarro Earth

US: Levee in flood area to be blown up; dam spills over

Water breaches levee
© Paul Davis / The Daily American Republic via APWater flows over the Wappapello Lake emergency spillway on the St. Francis River in Wayne County, Mo., on Monday. Several roads have been closed in southeast Missouri after heavy overnight rains pushed lakes and streams out of their banks.
Army Corps of Engineers gives green light after pumping in liquid explosives

Cairo, Illinois - As more rain fell Monday across southeast Missouri on Monday, water spilled over one dam, forcing road closures, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the go-ahead to blow up a levee in another county.

In Wayne County, water burst through the Wappapello Lake emergency spillway on the St. Francis River. Several roads were closed there and in other areas as lakes and streams were pushed out of their banks.

In nearby Mississippi County, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to blast a levee, flooding farmland but protecting an Illinois town where most residents already have been forced to flee from a rising river.

Cloud Lightning

U.S.: Flooding in central Arkansas

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It's been a turbulent spring thus far in Arkansas and this weekend was no exception.

Here in central Arkansas, flood conditions rolled in with the rains that started Saturday night and continued through Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, four to eight inches of rain fell during the weekend and more heavy rain is in the forecast through Tuesday.

Here in Benton, the Saline River serves as a handy guide as to how much rain has fallen. If the river is out of its banks, it's a sure bet that heavy rains are common throughout Saline County. The Saline River was out of its banks, indeed, and the following pictures taken about 6 p.m. in Benton on Sunday are proof.

Cloud Lightning

US: Mississippi heavy rains and freeze warnings for the plains

Heavy rain is the major story for this early Monday morning. A slow-moving cold front is forcing big downpours over the Mid MS valley this morning, and it's falling over the flood-out areas from this weekend. The radar has the rain over TX (which is actually very good news, it will help control the crazy wild fires), goes to OK and up to the NE right now. I'll show it to you on the program, and it looks like around 2-3" will fall over the mid MS Valley area. Check out the map:

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Bizarro Earth

World's Biggest Gathering of Whale Sharks


To see a single whale shark - the world's largest fish, a solitary behemoth that can grow to school bus size - is a rare experience.

Seeing hundreds gathered in one place is unprecedented.

"It's one of the most incredible gatherings of animals that's ever been recorded. It's mind-blowing," said marine biologist Al Dove of the Georgia Aquarium. "As someone who studies whale sharks, which have a reputation of being something you see once in a blue moon, the idea of finding 400 in an area of the size of a couple football fields is unheard of."

Cloud Precipitation

Rain, north wind could put record chill on Dallas-Fort Worth, but warm-up ahead

May continued its cold, soggy start Monday as heavy rains swamped highways and a stiff north wind chilled Dallas-Fort Worth.

Accidents snarled traffic on highways throughout the area, and there was minor flooding reported on low-lying roads.

The storms brought much-needed rain to the area, but the cold front that accompanied it was less welcome.

A high in the low 50s is expected Monday, which would be the coldest high ever. The previous record was 57, set in 1994.

Cloud Precipitation

US: Heavy Rains Keep Missouri Levee-Blast Plans on Track

Mid west flood map
© NOAAA series of storms has elevated river levels across the Midwest and South in the past few days.
Heavy rains overnight lifted the river level at Cairo, Ill., Monday morning to nearly a foot and a half beyond its 1937 record, as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued to pack a Missouri levee with explosives to prepare to activate an emergency floodway.

On Sunday, Justice Samuel Alito of the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by Missouri to stop the Corps from blowing a two-mile-wide hole in a levee at Birds Point, Mo. The move would send a wall of water over 130,000 acres of prime farmland and the homes of about 200 people. Residents were ordered to evacuate last week.