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Tornadoes ruin houses and destroy crops in North Cotabato, Philippines

Williamor Magbanua
Inquirer Mindanao
Fri, 01 May 2015 12:24 UTC
Tornadoes North Cotabato
© WILLIAMOR A. MAGBANUA/INQUIRER MINDANAO
A farmworker checks the banana plants devastated by a twister in Barangay Manongol, Kidapawan City.
Tornadoes have ravaged houses and croplands for weeks in some parts of North Cotabato, a province already experiencing a dry spell for months. The latest of seven twisters to hit the province this month alone was reported Monday night in Barangay Manongol city. At least 5,000 banana plants were damaged, but no human casualty was reported.

It was the third to occur in the city this month, officials said. On Monday last week, a tornado damaged some P2 million worth of fruiting banana plants in Barangay Paco. Another damaged 27 houses in Barangay Magatos in Kabacan town, according to Mayor Herlo Guzman.
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Info

Global decline of large herbivores could lead to an 'empty landscape'


sciencedaily.com
Fri, 01 May 2015 13:17 UTC
Image
© Halska Hrabar
This is a mountain zebra, Equus zebra.
The decline of the world's large herbivores, especially in Africa and parts of Asia, is raising the specter of an "empty landscape" in some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, according to a newly published study.

Many populations of animals such as rhinoceroses, zebras, camels, elephants and tapirs are diminishing or threatened with extinction in grasslands, savannahs, deserts and forests, scientists say.

An international team of wildlife ecologists led by William Ripple, Oregon State University distinguished professor in the College of Forestry, conducted a comprehensive analysis of data on the world's largest herbivores (more than 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds, on average), including endangerment status, key threats and ecological consequences of population decline. They published their observations in Science Advances, the open-access online journal of Science magazine.
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Attention

More than 20 whales beach in Murdeira, Cape Verde


Ocean Press
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 12:31 UTC
Image

Beached whale at Murdeira, Cape Verde
Teams of biologists, environmentalists are already on Jorge Fonseca beach where they seek at all costs to save the life of the sea mammals and bring them back to the open sea.

Some vessels also already in place to support the rescue.

Experts on site frantically go forward because the main concern is to minimize the environmental tragedy and try to save the whales. At least twenty-three cases have been counted already. It is not yet possible to advance the causes but we know that we are in the time of year that this phenomenon tends to happen.

Ocean Press is already on the site and will continue to monitor on location this news, updating it soon with more information

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Question

Hundreds of methane gas flares discovered off coast of Gisborne, New Zealand

Jamie Morton
The New Zealand Herald
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 11:54 UTC
Image
© Michael Coghlan
Poverty Bay.
A team of scientists have found around 766 individual methane gas flares within an area of seabed off the coast of Gisborne, in what has been described as a "major advance" for science and a first for New Zealand.

The finding comes as the 11-member expedition ends tomorrow morning with the NIWA deepwater research vessel Tangaroa arriving back in Wellington.

The team, led by marine geologist Dr Joshu Mountjoy, had been investigating the area after German and Kiwi researchers last year revealed 99 seabed gas flares there using state-of-the-art 3D and 2D seismic and echosounder technology.

Following this discovery, Dr Mountjoy and his team sought to find out whether methane was getting through the water column to the ocean's surface and into the atmosphere, and determine what contribution it was making to global greenhouse gas.

The first objective of the voyage was to remap gas flares in the area in fine detail, using a range of acoustic techniques.

Comment: See also these reports for the last 12 months:

Large volumes of methane being released in Arctic Ocean

Hundreds of methane plumes erupting along U.S. Atlantic coast

Methane gas seeping out of the ground in China

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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.8 - 106km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea


US Geological Survey
Fri, 01 May 2015 19:45 UTC
Kokopo Quake_010515
© USGS
Time
  1. 2015-05-01 08:06:04 (UTC)
  2. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 106km (66mi) SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
  2. 187km (116mi) ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
  3. 310km (193mi) SSE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
  4. 428km (266mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
  5. 693km (431mi) NE of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Scientific Data
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Windsock

Waterspout filmed close to Phuket Beach, Thailand


The Phuket News
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 19:20 UTC


The waterspout could clearly be seen for around a minute before decaying into a cloud above.

The last waterspout to be seen in Phuket was in November last year over Patong beach.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains that waterspouts are essentially the same as tornados, but over water.

"Waterspouts fall into two categories: fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts.

"Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning.
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Cloud Precipitation

3 die in floods after 'off-the-scale' downpours in Caboolture, Australia: Nearly 11 inches of rain in 3 hours

George Sandeman
The Guardian
Fri, 01 May 2015 17:50 UTC
Image
© Dan Peled/AAP
A car is submerged in flood water in Stones Corner, Brisbane.
An eight-year-old boy and two adults have been killed after their car was swept away by flood waters in south-east Queensland.

Police were called to Dances Road in Caboolture, north of Brisbane, just after 5.30pm. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene along with a man in his 70s and a woman in her 30s.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk described the deaths as tragic, saying police investigations were under way. "On behalf of all Queenslanders we express our deepest sympathies," she told reporters on Friday night.

She described the storm cell as "off the scale".

Caboolture alone received 333mm of rain from 9am, with 277mm falling within three hours in the afternoon. The average rainfall for Brisbane for the month of May is 74mm but, as ABC weather presenter Jenny Woodward tweeted, the city has received a record amount of 181mm, with the previous mark having been 149mm in 1980. The Bureau of Meteorology has also said that some areas of Queensland experienced winds in excess of 100km/h.

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Attention

Herd of elephants trample woman to death in Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Fri, 01 May 2015 17:09 UTC
Image
A herd of 16 elephants trampled a woman on a hill of Satkania upazila in Chittagong this afternoon.

"The elephants destroyed a woman's house in the forest, eventually killing her," said Asheem Mollick, a wildlife inspector of Department of Forests.

The deceased has been identified as Ambia Khatun, 50.

Earlier in the day, the elephants were travelling from one hill to another, through the elephant pass.

On their way, they tampered with a recently built electric pole which finally killed a female aged elephant.

The rest of the elephants were still wandering in the forest.
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Binoculars

Migrating birds still delayed by cooler than normal weather in Canada

Bruce Di Labio
Ottawa Citizen
Fri, 01 May 2015 16:50 UTC
Image
© Judith Gustafsson / Ottawa Citizen
The group of Tree Swallows was spotted at Brewer Pond. During cool spells many swallows concentrate in sheltered areas along rivers, ponds and creeks feeding on insects.
The anticipation of spring migrants pouring into Canada's Capital is still just a dream. The continuing cool weather last week slowed north bound migration yet again but with warmer temperatures this past week, truly the dream will slowly become a reality.

How cool is it?

On a recent trip to Algonquin Park on April 28, some lakes were still partially frozen and snow drifts were visible in sheltered areas. What we need is a good dose of southern air.

This past week a few new arrivals were found making their way north in spite of the weather including Ovenbird, Palm Warbler, and Northern Waterthrush. A Blue-gray Gnatcher was seen in the Pakenham area on April 26.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole big enough to swallow a car opens up in Oxford, Mississippi


The Clarion Ledger
Fri, 01 May 2015 12:29 UTC
sinkhole
© via Twitter

A sinkhole big enough to swallow a car has developed on a busy section of Mississippi Highway 6 in Oxford.

Fortunately, people spotted the hazard and authorities re-routed traffic before anybody drove into it.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the problem started Wednesday morning in an eastbound lane. The hole was between the exit for Jackson Avenue and one for Chucky Mullins Drive, leading to the University of Mississippi campus.

Comment: Also see:

  • Sinkhole in Breda, the Netherlands: Residents without water after main break
  • Massive 100 metre sinkhole leaves Ukrainian villagers terrified after reports it has swallowed up homes
  • Woman rescued from 35 ft deep sinkhole in Cherokee County, Texas

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