Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Shallow 6.3-magnitude quake strikes near Mauritius

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An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 struck in the Indian Ocean near the island-state of Mauritius, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on Thursday.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to preliminary data.

Indonesia's Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics warned that the earthquake "may be capable of generating a tsunami affecting the Indian Ocean region."

Windsock

Hurricane Helene becomes 'nightmare' storm with 'unsurvivable' storm surge ahead of Florida landfall

Hurricane Helene
© NOAA via APHurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico, Wednesday, Sept. 25 2024
The National Hurricane Center has upgraded fast-moving Hurricane Helene to a Category 2 storm, with forecasts expecting further intensification to Category 3 or higher before it makes landfall on Florida's northwestern coast this evening.

Early Thursday, Helene was churning about 350 miles southwest of Tampa, moving north-northeast at 12 mph with maximum sustained winds in excess of 90 mph.

"Helene will make landfall along the Florida Big Bend coast this evening as a Major Hurricane. While exact impacts will be heavily dependent on the track, expect catastrophic wind damage across the Big Bend and into southern Georgia," NHC wrote in an overnight forecast.

Tsunami

At least 4 people dead after heavy rains flood Mumbai, India - 5 inches of rainfall in 5 hours

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Mumbai, India's financial capital, experienced severe flooding after receiving over 250mm of rainfall in just five hours, prompting authorities to issue a red alert and declare a holiday for schools and colleges across the city and nearby districts.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast further heavy rain in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad, with the red alert remaining in effect until Thursday morning.

The torrential rain, among the heaviest recorded in September since 2020, caused widespread flooding in areas like Andheri, Chembur, and Vikhroli. Transportation was severely impacted, with major traffic disruptions and the halting of central railway services, leaving many commuters stranded. At least 14 flights were diverted, and 36 were canceled at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.


Butterfly

Lowest number of UK butterflies ever recorded during summer of 2024 due to wet weather

The common blue butterfly has had one of the worst summers on record for the count
© BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION/IAN A KIRKThe common blue butterfly has had one of the worst summers on record for the count
A butterfly conservation charity has declared a national butterfly emergency after fewer winged insects than ever were spotted in its annual count this summer.

The Big Butterfly Count is a nature survey organised by the wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation that takes place in the UK each year.

It involves volunteers spending 15 minutes outdoors to count how many butterflies they see, and what they look like, to help give the charity a better picture of how butterflies are doing on the UK.

The results of this year's Big Butterfly Count saw the lowest number spotted in the survey's 14-year history, with more than 9,000 reports not seeing a single butterfly.

Butterfly Conservation has called on the government to declare an emergency after publishing their findings.

Comment: This from The Guardian at the end of July:
Butterfly numbers are the lowest on record in the UK after a wet spring and summer dampened their chances of mating.

Butterfly Conservation, which runs the Big Butterfly Count, sounded the alarm after this year's count revealed the worst numbers since it began 14 years ago.

Many people have noticed the lack of fluttering insects in their gardens. Experts say this is due to the unusually wet conditions so far in 2024. Climate breakdown means the UK is more likely to face extremes in weather, and the natural rhythms of the seasons that insects such as butterflies are used to can no longer be relied on.

The UK had its wettest spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record, as an average 301.7mm (11.87in) of rain fell across March, April and May, nearly a third (32%) more than usual for the season.



Eye 2

Huge python grabs woman as she's doing dishes, squeezes her for 2 hours in Thailand

Arom Arunroj, 64,
© APArom Arunroj, 64, was cleaning up in her kitchen just outside Bangkok on Tuesday night the massive python wrapped itself around her torso.
A Thai woman somehow survived a terrifying encounter with a huge python after the 16-foot snake wrapped itself around her waist as she was doing dishes โ€” and then squeezed her tightly for two hours.

Arom Arunroj, 64, was cleaning up in her kitchen just outside Bangkok on Tuesday night when she felt a sharp pain in her thigh and looked down to see a massive python taking hold of her, Thailand's Thairath newspaper reported.

"I was about to scoop some water and when I sat down it bit me immediately," Arunroj told the outlet. "When I looked I saw the snake wrapping around me."

"I grabbed it by the head, but it wouldn't release me," she continued. "It only tightened."

The snake continued to coil around Arunroj's waist until she could no longer stand, forcing her to prop herself up against the kitchen door as she screamed for help.


Attention

Bear breaks into home and mauls father and son to death after killing 35 dogs in Russia

The bear was shot after police declared a curfew (
The bear was shot after police declared a curfew.
A raging brown bear mauled a father and son to death after breaking into their home just hours after it killed 35 dogs in a shelter.

The man-eating beast broke into the house in the Primorsky region of Russia before killing and devouring the father and son, aged 87 and 56. Hunting inspectors were immediately ordered to track down and kill the bear after it was feared it could strike again - and hours later, they found and shot the predator. Police had cordoned off the village and stood guard to protect terrified locals. A night curfew was also imposed.

Harrowing pictures showed the mauled corpses of the men and the dogs. Bear expert Sergey Aramilev said the animal's behaviour was not typical for the species, and it is likely the beast had been wounded by hunters, or was deranged and aggressive from rabies. He said: "If the bear kills people, then it was either injured by a person or sick with rabies. A healthy bear would definitely not do this, it would not even come close to a populated area."

Attention

Chimpanzee kills infant in Guinea

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People living near a chimpanzee research center in Guinea attacked the facility on Friday after a woman said one of the animals had killed her infant, the center's managers said.

An angry crowd ransacked the building, destroying and setting fire to equipment including drones, computers and over 200 documents, the center's managers said.

Eyewitnesses said the crowd was reacting to the news that the mutilated body of an infant had been found nearly two miles from the Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The child's mother, Seny Zogba, told Reuters she was working in a cassava field when a chimpanzee came up from behind, bit her and pulled her baby into the forest.

Tsunami

10 dead, 7 missing as Morocco flood sweeps away bus (UPDATE)

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Floods in southern Morocco have swept away a bus, leaving two passengers dead and 14 others missing, local authorities said Saturday.

Torrential rains earlier this month triggered floods that killed at least 18 people in areas of southern Morocco that straddle the Sahara desert.

Regional authorities in Tata province said heavy rainstorms late Friday led to "exceptional" floods that caused houses to collapse and swept away the bus.

A statement which gave the toll of dead and missing said 13 others were rescued.

The rare heavy rains come as the North African kingdom grapples with its worst drought in nearly 40 years, threatening its economically crucial agriculture sector.


AFP

Comment: Update September 23

AFP reports:
Ten people died in Morocco at the weekend when floodwaters swept away a bus in the country's south, authorities said, raising the toll from the previously reported two dead.

Initially, the authorities said heavy rainstorms in Tata province late Friday had claimed two lives and left 14 people missing.

But since then the bodies of eight others had been found and another 13 were rescued, a health ministry official told the MAP state news agency.

Seven people were still missing,
the same source said.

Earlier this month, torrential rains triggered floods that killed at least 18 people in areas of southern Morocco that straddle the Sahara desert.
About 2 weeks prior: At least 18 dead amid flash floods sweeping various regions in Morocco - a years' worth of rain in 2 days


Tsunami

Cars swept away in Tunisia flooding

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Video from Tunisia shows cars being swept away by torrents of flood water in Sousse after heavy rain that caused damage to infrastructure and left several people with injuries.


Hardhat

Tennis ball-sized hail slams Oklahoma City

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A hailstorm moved through Oklahoma City Tuesday night.

The hail caused damage to cars in parts of Oklahoma City and Edmond.

It is unclear at the time how much damage was caused.

Images of the hail show tennis ball-sized hail and golfball-sized hail that the storm produced.