© AP
Earth Changes
The video, posted to YouTube by Ryatus Recordings, shows triplet suns on the horizon Tuesday afternoon over the town of Detroit Lakes.
"I was lucky enough to grab a quick shot of this awesome sun dog on the way home from work," the uploader wrote.
Sundogs, also known as phantom suns, occur when the light from the sun reflects from ice crystals gathered in the atmosphere.
Hundreds evacuated in deadly floods in Bolivia
The fast flowing waters have stranded drivers and pedestrians alike with even an ambulance needing to be rescued at one point.
Hundreds of people have had to be evacuated.
© Mary Pringle
Dead dolphin on Isle of Palms
Dead dolphin on Isle of Palms
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials, a male bottle nose dolphin was found with mono-filament line wrapped around his lower jaw and had embedded into the bone.
Local author Mary Alice Monroe posted a photo of the find on her Facebook page, dedicated to conservation of marine wildlife.
After a necropsy, officials said the near six foot long dolphin died of septicemia from the wound.
Matabeleland North acting provincial spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Eglon Nkala confirmed the deaths. The Tsholotsho girl was 12 years old while the one from Lupane was seven.
"I can confirm two girls died after they were struck by a lightning bolt, one in Tsholotsho and the other in Lupane. In Tsholotsho a lightning bolt struck at around 2 PM, while in Lupane the incident occurred at around 4 PM.
"Post mortem was done on both bodies and no foul play is suspected," said Asst Insp Nkala.
Chief Mabhikwa of Lupane said the girl who was killed by lightning in his area was in the company of two others aged 11 and 13 years who are in hospital after they suffered burns.
He said the three girls were herding donkeys in the playgrounds of Somhlanga Primary School when it started raining.
© Rebecca Blackwell/AP
These houses in southwestern Haiti were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in October. Matthew was the most serious natural catastrophe in North America in 2016.
These houses in southwestern Haiti were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in October. Matthew was the most serious natural catastrophe in North America in 2016.
Last year sometimes felt like one natural catastrophe after another. Now, new figures from reinsurer Munich Re suggest that it was indeed a particularly bad year.
Natural catastrophes caused the highest losses worldwide in the last four years, at $175 billion, Munich Re said. It recorded some 750 events globally, including "earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves." The reinsurer added that about 30 percent of those losses were insured.
North America "experienced 160 loss events in 2016, the most since 1980," the reinsurer added.
Globally, the costliest single event was the devastating earthquake on the Japanese island of Kyushu, at $31 billion. Here's the breakdown of the five most costly disasters worldwide:
This is according to an analysis by Munich Re, a global reinsurance firm.
The worst flood was in August in Louisiana. At least 13 people were killed and roughly 60,000 buildings were destroyed. The disaster cost $10 billion, Munich Re reported, which noted it was the worst natural catastrophe in the U.S. since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
"We had a lot of severe flash floods in heavily developed areas," said meteorologist Mark Bove of Munich Re.
Other major flood disasters in 2016 included those in West Virginia in June, Houston in April and Maryland in July. "We did get very unlucky" last year, Bove said.
© USA Today
2016 really was the year of the flood in the U.S.: In total, 19 separate floods swamped the nation last year, the most in one single year since records began in 1980.
2016 really was the year of the flood in the U.S.: In total, 19 separate floods swamped the nation last year, the most in one single year since records began in 1980.
© Phil Sears / Reuters
Dominick Curran cuts up a huge tree in front of Rehobeth Middle School after a deadly storm hit Rehobeth, Alabama, U.S., January 3, 2017.
Dominick Curran cuts up a huge tree in front of Rehobeth Middle School after a deadly storm hit Rehobeth, Alabama, U.S., January 3, 2017.
Four people were killed in Rehobeth, Alabama on Monday evening after a tree fell through their mobile home.
© Capt. Travis Lovell
Capt. Travis Lovell took pictures of a rotting whale carcass he ran across last week in southern Terrebonne Parish
Capt. Travis Lovell took pictures of a rotting whale carcass he ran across last week in southern Terrebonne Parish
In the latest encounter, Capt. Travis Lovell took pictures of a rotting whale carcass Dec. 28 in Terrebonne Parish's Sister Lake. Lovell said the whale had already been discovered by others, but when he got home, he posted the pictures to social media and they went viral.
"I had one client with me that day -- a guy from Minnesota -- and we were pretty much done," Lovell recounted. "Another guide that I network with passed by, and said, 'Man, the craziest thing happened earlier: I could swear I saw a whale this morning.' I said, 'No way. On a scale from 1-10, how sure are you it was a whale?' He said, '9.5.'"
The client and Lovell both wanted to verify the sighting, so they went where the other captain told them, and sure enough, there was a 23 1/2-foot sperm whale tied up to a bulkhead. The stench was borderline unbearable, so Lovell got upwind to snap a few photos with his phone.
© PAP/Andrzej Grygiel
Snowfall in Katowice, southern Poland.
Snowfall in Katowice, southern Poland.
Forecasters have said that regions close to the mountains may see up to half a metre of snow over 24 hours from Wednesday but added that heavy snowfall is not expected in most other areas of the country.
Meanwhile, temperatures are set to plunge at night as arctic air arrives in Poland from the north. The mercury in northeastern Poland is expected to drop to minus 17 degrees C.
The authorities have warned that homeless people may be in danger unless they find shelter.
Source: IAR/PAP
