Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Venomous jellyfish 'size of 5 London buses' invading Britain


RT
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 16:49 UTC
jelly fish
© Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Deadly Portuguese man o' war jellyfish, with tentacles as long as five London buses, have been sighted around the English coastline, prompting fears of invasion among conservationists.

The species usually lives far out in the ocean, but experts from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) say that the Society's survey team has received many more reports of them near the shoreline this year.

The venomous jellyfish, which can reach 160 feet in length, can be deadly. Surfers and swimmers are not always able to spot the creatures before they are stung.

Last month, there were 30 reports from locals in the southern English counties of Devon and Cornwall of the jellyfish drifting near the coast.

MCS Biodiversity and Fisheries program manager Dr. Peter Richardson said: "Our National Jellyfish Survey suggests significant recent rises in the numbers of some jellyfish species in UK seas, most notably the barrel jelly fish."


"The million-dollar question is why this is happening? At the moment we just don't know," he said.

In 2013 there were 1,000 reports involving hundreds of thousands of jellyfish in England, he added.

"Last year the number of reports increased again to over 1,400 reports, and by July this year the survey had already received over 1,000 reports."

"August is usually a peak month for jellyfish sightings and so 2015 look set to be another record breaker."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Best of the Web: Signs of Change: Extreme weather and environmental upheaval in August 2015 (VIDEO)

Hawkkey Davis
YouTube
Thu, 20 Aug 2015 01:13 UTC
hawkkey davis
© HawkkeyDavisChannel/YouTubeFloods and infernos: August has seen flooding and fires in areas all over the world.
Hawkkey Davis' latest video compilation of extreme weather events (and general environmental chaos) from the past month or so.

The Solomon Islands, Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the Bay Area, Indonesia, Queensland and Maryland are rocked by earthquakes; Reunion Island (the site of the alleged MH370 'wreckage' found earlier this month) and Mexico by volcanoes. The Queensland quake was the biggest in a century. Flash floods in Arizona, northwest China, Iran, Pakistan, Florida, India, Myanmar, Colorado, and Argentina. Wildfires in France, Spain, Montana and California. The Dead Sea tourism industry is threatened by unprecedented sinkholes. All this, plus storms, tornadoes, sand, fireballs, record-breaking heat and more!


Comment: See also: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - July 2015: Extreme Weather and Planetary Upheaval

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Rarely-seen deep sea jellyfish recorded in Gulf of Mexico

Ben Hooper
UPI
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 11:01 UTC
Rare Jellyfish
© UPI
Fort Worth, Texas -- A Texas man who works as a surveyor for petroleum companies shared video of a rarely seen deep-sea jellyfish swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Phillip Trudeau shared a video on YouTube of a Stygiomedusa gigantea, a deep-sea jellyfish that has only been seen by humans about 115 times since its first reported sighting about 115 years ago.

Trudeau's video, recorded by a remotely operated vehicle, shows the creature swimming 3,330 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 2 farmers in Kratie, Cambodia


The Phnom Penh Post
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 19:17 UTC
Image
Two men were killed in Kratie province on Monday afternoon after being struck by lightning, according to police.

Nhan Saoyun, deputy chief of staff at Snuol district police station, said the incident happened at about 4:30pm while Heang Vannareth, 35, and Chorn Chetra, 25, were working on a rubber plantation owned by Vietnamese company Binh Pheuk 2.

"Heang Vannareth was struck on his head and Chorn Chetra was struck on his neck," he said, adding "It was an accident of nature, so no one could have predicted it."

According to Saoyun, the deaths brought the number of fatalities caused by lightning in the area so far this year to four.

The incident came just days after two farmers - a father and son - were struck by lightning in Ratanakkiri province and rendered unconscious. Both have since recovered.

A report released at the end of June by the National Committee for Disaster Management showed a 50 per cent rise in storm frequency but fewer lightning-related deaths in the first half of 2015 as compared to 2014.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Rare "fire rainbow" seen in skies over South Carolina

Alexander Sehmer
The Independent
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 19:14 UTC
Image
© Twitter/@TiffanyBJenks

A rare 'fire rainbow' has been sighted in the sky over South Carolina, dazzling viewers for about an hour before fading away.

The display, known as circumhorizontal arcs, occurs when light hits tiny ice crystals in high-level cirrus clouds. The photo was taken by Tiffany B Jenks and posted on Twitter.

Despite the popular name of 'fire rainbow', it has nothing to do with fire. It is the lower part of a large halo of the sun and runs parallel to the horizon.

It only occurs when the sun is high in the sky - above 58 degrees. The display was seen in the skies over Isle of Palms in South Carolina.

The unusual natural phenomena inspired onlookers, with channel 14 News quoting one woman as saying the display reminded her of a dear friend. "I'm sure she came to visit us on the beach we all love!" said Tracey Smith.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Sinkhole that swallowed Seffner, Florida man in 2013 reopens


abcactionnews.com
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 19:04 UTC
Image
Seffner sinkhole
A sinkhole that swallowed a Seffner man in 2013 has reopened, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

The new hole measures 17-feet wide and 20-feet deep. Around 9 a.m., a resident walking through the area heard a loud noise and then called 911.

Emergency crews responded and determined the hole had reopened in the exact same spot as the original.

Ron Spiller, head of Hillsborough County Code Enforcement, said nearby homes are in no danger and there are no evacuations.

Spiller said when the original sinkhole was refilled, it was engineered to collapse the way it did Wednesday morning. He added that the collapse was not anticipated, but said such events are not uncommon.

Read More...
Arrow Down

I-93 sinkhole shuts part of highway in New Hampshire


boston.cbslocal.com
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 18:29 UTC
Image
© WBZ-TVThe sinkhole on I-93 in Concord, New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation says part of Interstate 93 in Concord has been closed because of a large sinkhole.

The northbound side of the highway was closed Wednesday afternoon between exits 13 and 14. Traffic was being diverted from exit 13. Drivers in the area were asked to seek alternative routes.

Workers surrounded the sinkhole as traffic in the area was severely delayed.


Image
© WBZ-TVA worker inspects a large sinkhole on I-93
Read More...
Arrow Down

Fifteen-foot sinkhole swallows ice machine in Athens, Georgia

Jim Thompson
Athens Banner-Herald
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 18:19 UTC
Image
© AJ Reynolds/OnlineAthens.com & Athens Banner-HeraldSinkhole
A 15-foot wide, 8-foot deep sinkhole swallowed an ice machine at a Baxter Street business early Tuesday, bringing an Athens-Clarke County utilities crew to the scene to determine whether any of the county's stormwater piping in the area played a role in the collapse.

Lynn Taylor, who lives on Collins Avenue immediately behind the Baxter Street Car Wash, said she began hearing noises shortly after midnight Tuesday, and continued to hear the noises intermittently throughout the early morning hours before discovering that the sinkhole had opened up next door.

"It sounded like somebody was ruffling my doors," Taylor said. She called Athens-Clarke County police, but did not know Tuesday afternoon what police did in response to her call.
Read More...
Arrow Down

At least 4 missing following 3 landslides in Alaska


cbsnews.com
Tue, 18 Aug 2015 17:56 UTC
Image
© James Poulson/AP Construction workers and emergency crew members look at the damage caused by a landslide on Kramer Drive in Sitka, Alaska, on Tuesday.
Four residents of a neighborhood in Alaska were missing Tuesday after heavy rain caused several landslides, emergency responders said. The rainfall caused the City and Borough of Sitka to declare a state of emergency, according to CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA.

Search and rescue personnel were looking for the missing people in Sitka, where three landslides were reported Tuesday morning after 2.5 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. One sinkhole also was reported.

The people who were unaccounted for were all in the same neighborhood hit by one of the landslides, Sitka fire spokeswoman Sara Peterson said. She did not know if the people were all together when the landslide occurred.

"The areas are so unstable," Peterson told KTVA. "We've got crews from the city that are out and about, from the fire department, from various agencies including the Alaska State Troopers and other volunteers are helping."
Read More...
Attention

29-foot dead whale found on local beach in West Prince, Canada

Nancy MacPhee
Journal Pioneer
Tue, 18 Aug 2015 17:08 UTC
Image
© Eric McCarthy/TC MediaDarryl Donahue discovered the dead whale on the Roseville beach Tuesday morning.
It wasn't what Darryl Donahue expected to find on his Tuesday morning ATV ride.

Lying on the sand, near the water's edge on the Roseville beach, off the Kelly's Road, was a 29-foot long dead whale.

"When you see something that big you kind of figure it's a whale," he added. "It was in not too good of shape. You could identify what kind of whale it is."

Donahue, who frequents the beach on the shores of the Northumberland Strait, believes the whale washed up on shore sometime the previous night.

"I would say it was 10,000 pounds anyway. They are going to have to bury it or something. It's a fairly big whale. It's no blue whale, but it is a pretty fair size fish."
Read More...