Earth Changes

10,000 lightning strikes light up the Australian state of Victoria

weatherwatch.co.nz
Mon, 29 May 2017 14:11 UTC

As autumn draws to an end, another front swept over Victoria over the weekend bringing more rain and blustery conditions. Along with this, a band of thunderstorms that a one point stretched from Nhill to Apollo Bay, generated a total of just over 10,000 lightning strikes across the state.

As the front moved eastwards it delivered healthy amounts of rainfall to southern and central parts of the state, with 16.2mm recorded in just under 2 hours at Lara and 16mm in 3 hours at Ballarat. Eastern parts of Victoria saw lighter falls and as the front began to weaken and rain became more patchy.

Pack of 3 dogs attack man and woman in Sydney, Australia

9news.com.au
Fri, 02 Jun 2017 13:45 UTC

A woman has been injured and a man was forced to climb onto his car in two separate attacks by a pack of three dogs in Daceyville in Sydney's eastern suburbs today.

CCTV shows three dogs leaping on the man and biting him before he seeks safety on the top of his car parked in the street.

The man, aged in his 50s, suffered minor cuts and bruises to his back and leg.

He told 9NEWS it's the third time the dogs have been seen out on the street in three weeks.

"I called the police because I was worried, they were ferocious" he said.

Car falls into sinkhole in El Cajon, California

Jermaine Ong
10news.com
Tue, 30 May 2017 13:25 UTC

A car fell into a sinkhole that formed Tuesday morning on Olde Highway 80 in the El Cajon area.

Just after 4 a.m., crews responded to a water main break that caused a sinkhole on the roadway at Pecan Park Lane.

Crews arrived to find an Uber vehicle had partially fallen into the hole, but the driver and his passenger climbed out of a window as water began pouring into the car.

Tasha Mills said she got the scary early morning call from her husband, who was working his second job driving overnight for Uber.

"I was sleeping and I got a phone call. It scared us pretty bad, so we rushed out here," she told 10News.

Coldest start to winter since 1943 for Adelaide, Australia

Polly Haynes
The Advertiser
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 08:47 UTC

A cold morning at Renmark, where the mercury dropped to -3.2C.

If you were feeling a little chilly this morning it's no surprise — it was our coldest start to winter since 1943, with the mercury plummeting to a frosty 2.9C in Adelaide.

Elsewhere in the state it was even colder, with Yunta -4.7C, Renmark -3.2C and Loxton, Snowtown and Murray Bridge -1.9C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Cold morning for #SAweather: Yunta -4.7 °C, Renmark -3.2 ° C, Loxton, Snowtown and Murray Bridge -1.9 °C https://t.co/OazoPRe4P8 pic.twitter.com/3lgum4rTyF

— BOM South Australia (@BOM_SA) May 31, 2017

South Africa's Cape Town contends with worst drought in over a century

Derek Van Dam
CNN
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 17:35 UTC

The worst drought in a century is forcing the most stringent water restrictions ever implemented for South Africa's second largest city. Cape Town has less than 10% of its useable water remaining for its nearly 4 million residents.The city is implementing Level 4 water restrictions, which ask residents to limit daily usage to 100 liters (26 gallons) per person.

The measure is meant to reduce demand and conserve what little water is still available, and means significant sacrifices for residents.For Cape Town resident Suzanne Buckley, the restrictions mean adapting to a new lifestyle. "We have buckets in our shower and bathroom sink to save excess water," Buckley said. "The gray water is then used to flush our toilets."

The restrictions are in effect across the city in an aggressive effort to preserve its remaining drinking water, but it may not be enough. South Africa ranks as the 30th driest country in the world and is considered a water-scarce region. A highly variable climate causes uneven distribution of rainfall, making droughts even more extreme.

Speaking to CNN, Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille explained her concerns about the growing water crisis."Climate change is a reality and we cannot depend on rainwater alone to fill our dams, but must look at alternative sources like desalination and underground aquifers."

One of the strongest storms in two decades hits Mexico City

Mexico City News
Tue, 30 May 2017 06:44 UTC

The rain that fell late Monday night was one of the six strongest in the last two decades in Mexico City, the capital's government said.

"Rainfall reached 98.5 mm and has only been exceeded 5 times in recent years," the authorities said in a statement.

Previous recordings: 119 mm in the Cuauhtemoc delegation in 2005; 118 mm in Huayatla, Magdalena Contreras, on August 10, 2006; 117.5 mm in Cuajimalpa in 2000; 117 mm in Cuajimalpa in July 2015 and 100 mm in Miguel Hidalgo in September 2015.

"There were 41 colonies with the greatest impact, mainly in the Tlalpan, Xochimilco, Coyoacán and Álvaro Obregón delegations," they added.

Emergency services received 800 reports from the people asking for flood help and other types of damage through 9-1-1 services.

Today, a broad storm system is forecast to be very strong and intense, accompanied by lightening, hailstorms and wind gusts during storms in southern, central, northern and eastern entities of the national territory, according to the Meteorological Service National (SMN).

The agency detailed that intense storms are anticipated in localities of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Puebla and Oaxaca; Heavy storms in areas of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Estado de México, Mexico City, Morelos and Guerrero, and strong storms in regions of Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Chiapas.

Dreaded white-nose syndrome confirmed in Alabama bat species for first time

Dennis Pillian
AL.com
Wed, 31 May 2017 17:50 UTC

© Dottie Brown, Ecological Solutions, Inc. via USGS
This southeastern bat from Shelby County, Alabama shows signs of infection from the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center later confirmed white-nose syndrome in this animal.

The dreaded white-nose syndrome, which has devastated populations of several species of bats in the United States and Canada, has been confirmed for the first time in a species called the southeastern bat, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The infected southeastern bat was found in a cave in Shelby County, and is the first member of its species (Myotis austroriparius) confirmed to have white-nose syndrome and the first infected bat of any species found in Shelby County. A USGS lab confirmed the test results this week.

White-nose is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans or Pd, and spreads easily among hibernating bats in winter. The disease causes a distinctive white fungus to appear on infected bats, often around the muzzle. Infected bats often display unusual behavior, sometimes flying outside during daylight hours or clustering near the entrances of their caves in winter.

Imminent birth of vast iceberg threatens to 'fundamentally change' Antarctic Peninsula

RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 20:03 UTC

The massive crack in the Antarctic's Larsen C Ice Shelf - one of the continent's biggest floating ice platforms - is growing at such a dramatic rate that it will soon break free and create one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.

Project MIDAS researchers, a group of scientists from Welsh universities in Swansea and Aberystwyth charged with studying the shelf using EU satellites, released an update on Wednesday. It showed that the crack had grown an additional 17km (10.5 miles) between May 25 and May 31.

Woman in her 90s dies following attack by pit bull terrier in Virginia Beach

Mike Connors
The Virginian-Pilot
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 19:26 UTC

An elderly woman died Thursday after being attacked by a dog.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers joined animal enforcement after receiving a report of an attack in the Pembroke Manor neighborhood, police said in a news release. They found a woman suffering from severe bites and lacerations.

The woman, who police said was in her 90s, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. She died this morning. Police said that out of respect for the family's wishes, the victim's identity will not be revealed.

Police said a 50-pound, 1-year-old American pit bull terrier attacked the woman while she was lying on the floor after a fall. The dog is currently in quarantine at the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center.

Three earthquakes in 5 minutes reported at Bárðarbunga volcano in Iceland

Iceland Monitor
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 19:17 UTC

Bárðarbunga is a stratovolcano located under Vatnajökull, Iceland's largest glacier.

This morning, three earthquakes over the magnitude of 3 occurred in Bárðarbunga at a five minute interval.

All occurred in the northern part of the caldera, the first at 9:49, the second at 9:53 and the third at 9:54. This is reported by the Iceland Met Office.

Last week, nearly 600 earthquakes were measured in Iceland which is similar to the preceeding week. Only six of them exceeded the magnitude of 3, the largest occurring on May 27th in Bárðarbunga.