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Landslide triggered by heavy rain kills 3 in eastern Philippines

Heavy rains triggered a landslide
© Grace Carrascal
Heavy rains triggered a landslide
At least 3 people died in the Philippines on Friday, as heavy rains caused by tropical storm "Usman" lashed the Bicol region and parts of the Visayas islands, triggerig landslides.

Reports said overnight heavy rains in Albay caused a landslide that killed the three — Mauro, 26, and 3-year-old Marco Allegre as well as 20-year-old Mia Loreto — in the village of San Francisco in the city.


The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported that eight road sections in the Bicol region and Eastern Visayas have been closed to all types of vehicles as the low pressure area (formerly known as Tropical Depression "Usman") continues to affect parts of the country.


Ice Cube

Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass budget far, far higher than average

Greenland Ice Sheet SMB through 2017-18
© DMI Polar Portal.
Greenland Ice Sheet SMB through 2017-18 (top) and 2018-19 (bottom) shown as blue lines. Grey lines show the 1981-2010 average and red shows the record low of 2011-12.
Sixth highest on record.
__________________

Using daily output from a weather forecasting model combined with a model that calculates melt of snow and ice, scientists from the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) calculated the "surface mass budget" (SMB) of the Greenland ice sheet.

When you look at the blue lines on the above graphs, it is quite evident that the Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass budget is far, far higher than the mean.

Comment: Another indication of above average cover for both ice and snow in 2018 for part of this region can be gleaned from this report: Global cooling: Excessive spring snowfall results in non-breeding year for shorebirds in north-east Greenland - 1 meter deep snow


Cloud Lightning

4 people killed by lightning in Eastern Cape and Limpopo, South Africa

lightning
Two elderly women died instantly when they were struck by lightning in Ngqamakhwe, Eastern Cape, provincial police said on Friday.

Police spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said it was believed that the deceased had been attending a homecoming ceremony for initiates when the lightning struck.

"An 84-year-old woman and another, 64, were struck to death by lightning on Thursday at about 14:00 at Ntlebi Locality, Matolweni Village, in Ngqamakhwe."

Comment: On the same day an individual was fatally struck in Malawi.


Attention

Mayon Volcano explodes, spews ash in the Philippines

Mayon remains under Alert Level 2 after

Mayon remains under Alert Level 2 after its full-blown eruption episodes that started January
Mayon Volcano in Albay exploded two times yesterday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported as it warned residents to stay out of the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone.

The phreatic or ash explosions occurred at 8:17 a.m. and 8:28 a.m. that generated grayish to grayish white ash plumes 600 meters and 200 meters above the crater, respectively based on Phivolcs' latest bulletin.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said the explosions were possibly triggered by the sudden degassing of magma inside the volcano's chamber.

Mayon remains under Alert Level 2 after its full-blown eruption episodes that started January and simmered down in March early this year.


Snowflake

New Mexico snowstorm disrupts travel, forces road closures

NM snow storm
A snowstorm blasted New Mexico Friday with blizzard conditions that disrupted travel and forced the closure of several major roadways.

Albuquerque became ground zero for the storm that has halted air traffic and forced the Albuquerque Police Department to close its Foothills Substation because of the weather.

On Friday, blizzard warnings were issued for Albuquerque through Saturday morning. The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque could not find any blizzard warnings ever issued for the city of 558,000 in its limited database.

Driving conditions are reportedly treacherous in many parts of the state, particularly in south-central portions of the Land of Enchantment state, the Associated Press reports.

Friday morning, Interstate 40 was shut down from Moriarty to Clines Corners, the Albuquerque Journal reports. The closure impacted 24 miles of the roadway.

Numerous flights were delayed or canceled at the Albuquerque International Sunport, according to the airport's website.


Seismograph

Tsunami alert lifted after undersea M7.1 earthquake off Philippines

The earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao
© US Tsunami Warning System
The earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
A strong undersea earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Saturday and the head of the country's quake-monitoring agency advised people in a southeastern province to avoid beaches in case of a tsunami.

No casualties or damage have been reported, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre lifted its warning for a potential tsunami that could hit coastal areas of the southern Philippine and Indonesia.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that the quake was detected at a depth of 49 kilometres (30 miles) and a magnitude of 7.1 about 162 kilometres (100 miles) off Davao Oriental province.

It said that it could generate aftershocks but the agency did not expect any damage.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of 60 kilometres (37 miles) and measured 6.9.

Renato Solidum, who heads the quake-monitoring institute, said that a major tsunami was unlikely given the depth of the quake and other factors but advised villagers to avoid the beach in Davao Oriental province and outlying regions for about two hours after the quake struck around noon as a precaution.

The quake was felt in some coastal areas, he said.

Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the quake doesn't have a potential to cause a tsunami affecting Indonesia.

Info

Indian girl born with three hands worshiped as a god

Baby girl in India born with three hands
This baby girl is being worshiped in India - because she was born with three hands.

The infant was born on November 2 to mother Radhika Sahu with a small additional arm and hand growing out of her chest.

She has quickly become the talk of her village in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, India - with some even worshiping the tot as a God.

Her concerned family reported the extra hand - a one-in-a-million anomaly - to their local health centre, and their daughter was examined and found to be perfectly healthy.

Dr. B.P. Singh, in charge of Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Science (SIMS) has recommended an operation to remove the hand and allow the child to live a normal life.

Snowflake

Brief and unexpected: Snow hits Las Vegas, Nevada

Snow falls in Vegas
© K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal @kmcannonphoto
Centennial High School basketball players, from left, Kalyn Miller, 15, Teionni McDaniel, 16, and Jessenia Lawson, 15, play in a light snow before their team's game at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic Tournament at Centennial High School in Las Vegas, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018.
It was brief and unexpected but snow fell in Las Vegas.

The National Weather Service says snow wasn't in the forecast Thursday but it was reported in the valley around mid-day. None of it stuck in the lower elevations.

Meteorologist Ashley Wolf told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a cold front and abnormally low-hanging clouds combined to produce the strange weather. She says the dryness underneath the clouds had a cooling effect, despite the temperature being above 50 degrees.

Headphones

North Dublin residents report massive boom, house-shaking

Swords Castle in Dublin, Ireland
© Dublin Live
Several people in Swords took to social media this morning after reportedly hearing a loud bang - with one person saying "the whole house shook".

Local resident Lesley McKeever posted a question on her Facebook status shortly after 10am asking if anyone else had heard the loud bang - or felt the "huge shake".

She said: "Anyone else in Swords just feel a huge shake and hear a loud bang about ten minutes ago???

"The whole house shook...have checked everywhere inside and out nothing seems out of the ordinary???"

Others reported hearing the noise, which some suggested may have come from the nearby quarry at Feltrim.

Music

'Eerie trumpeting noises' heard in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Strange sounds (stock)
© vexels.com
On December 1, 2018, YouTube user 'Huey Lewis' shared a clip of eerie trumpeting noises he heard on November 29th at 1:30 am in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada: