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House-shaking loud bang baffles Auckland residents (again)


The New Zealand Herald
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 14:29 UTC
Image
© File photo/NZ Herald
The mysterious sound was heard in the Auckland suburbs of Onehunga and Mangere Bridge on Sunday night.
A house-shaking explosion noise has baffled Auckland residents.

The mammoth bang was heard by residents in the suburbs of Onehunga and Mangere Bridge about 10.30pm on Sunday. One reader who wrote in to the Herald said they could feel the house shake.

The scary noise sounded "super sonic" and no one knew what it was, the woman said.

Residents turned to Twitter to find the source of the mysterious noise - but no clues have turned up yet. Dean Taylor tweeted: "What was that Big Bang in Onehunga just now?" Twitter user Peter Tainui said it might have been related to the mystery bang or explosion heard in the same area a couple of weeks ago. "What/who the hell is the cause?" he asked.

Another loud bang stumped residents in the Onehunga, Three Kings, Mt Roskill, Epsom and Mt Albert area on May 30. One Twitter user at the time said it sounded like a loud boom, thunder or an explosion.

Comment: See also: Mysterious bangs heard in Auckland

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Attention

North Korea hit by worst drought in a century compounding chronic food shortages

Jack Kim
Reuters
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:28 UTC
drought north korea

The UN's food safety organisation said it was monitoring North Korea's situation closely and was ready to provide help
Reclusive North Korea said on Tuesday it has been hit by the worst drought in a century, compounding chronic food shortages in a country where the United Nations says almost one third of children under five are stunted due to malnourishment.

The North's KCNA news agency said paddies around the country including the main rice farming regions of Hwanghae and Phyongan provinces were drying up due to lack of rainfall. Paddies require enough water to keep rice plants partially submerged to grow.

"The worst drought in 100 years continues in the DPRK, causing great damage to its agricultural field," KCNA said, using the short form for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The U.N. resident coordinator for North Korea, Ghulam Isaczai, last month warned of a looming crisis due to last year's drought caused by the lowest rainfall in 30 years.
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Cloud Lightning

Flash flood watches in effect for central Texas and Houston as Tropical storm heads toward coast


Reuters
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 09:11 UTC
tropical storm bill trajectory
Tropical Storm Bill hurtled toward the Texas coast from the Gulf of Mexico early on Tuesday with heavy rains and strong winds, the National Weather Service said, weeks after floods killed about 30 people in the state.

Flash flood watches were in effect for central Texas and the Houston area, regions where floods last month swallowed thousands of vehicles and damaged homes.

The storm was projected to hit the coast at Matagorda Bay and churn through central Texas toward Austin.

Heavy rain had already drenched parts of Texas over the weekend, pushing already high rivers closer to overflowing their banks.

Around Houston, the fourth-largest U.S. city, 10 inches (25.4 cm) or more of rain could fall by Thursday, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, a world-renowned cancer treatment facility, said it was postponing surgeries.
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Attention

Small eruption at Mount Asama near Tokyo

Danielle Demetriou
The Telegraph
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 06:08 UTC
volcano eruption
© Reuters
A light scattering of ash pointed to an eruption of the most active volcano on Japan's main island of Honshu

A volcano near Tokyo erupted early on Tuesday, the latest in a series of volcanic incidents to hit Japan in recent months.

Mount Asama, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, is believed to have spewed a small quantity of ash, but Tokyo was not affected, according to Kyodo News.

A warning against the dangers of falling rocks within a mile radius of the mountain, which is located 87 miles northwest of the capital, was subsequently issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

Experts have been keeping a close eye on the 8,425 feet volcano in recent months, with tremors detected since April and a subsequent surge in sulphur dioxide emissions.

mount Asama
© Reuters
Poor visibility due to thick clouds meant that it was not immediately possible to establish whether there was an a eruption
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Cloud Precipitation

Turtle falls from the sky during hailstorm in China

Harry Kemble
Daily Star (UK)
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 14:23 UTC
Image
© CEN
The Yellow-bellied turtle can live up to 40 years
OAP Fu Yiting, 63, was sitting in front of his house watching the storm in the village of Liaocheng City in east China's Shandong Province, when he saw the Yellow-bellied turtle plunge from the sky and land on a patch of grass.

Thinking at first it was a large rock that had been knocked of his roof, Fu was stunned to find it was a yellow-bellied slider turtle.

Picking it up, he rushed inside to put it in a basin of water.

The Yellow-bellied slider, which can live up to 40 years and frequently basks on shore, on logs, or while floating.

Now confused Fu wants to know how this one landed in his garden.
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Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorms cause substantial damage to Spanish growers


freshplaza.com
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:57 UTC
Image

Damaged fruit
1,000 hectares of citrus, kaki and vegetables in the Region of Valencia

Last weekend's hailstorms in the Region of Valencia caused considerable damage to agricultural producers, after more than 2,000 hectares of fruit trees were affected in Lleida and another 700 in Aragon.

According to the first estimates of the Valencian Growers Association (AVA-ASAJA), a total of 1,000 hectares of crops have been affected, especially citrus, but also kakis and vegetables to a lesser extent.

The most affected area is that located between Manises and Ribarroja del Turia, especially the municipalities of Carasols, Llobatera and El Polvorín, with more than 500 hectares. In these places, the hailstones reached the size of tennis balls and in some cases caused the loss of up to 100% of the next citrus harvest, as well as damage to the trees.

The region of Marina Alta has also suffered the impact of the hailstorm, especially Sagra, Ràfol d'Almunia, Tormos, Orba, Benimeli and Sanet i Negrals, where citrus crops have suffered the worst damage.

In Ribera Alta, especially Rafelguaraf and L'Ènova, and La Costera, in Llocnou d'en Fenollet, some specific areas have also registered some damages, affecting up to 30% of the citrus crops.

To the impact of this hailstorm we must add that of the recent heatwave in the Region, which will result in a significant decline in production volumes for the next citrus season.

However, in other production areas where there was no hail, but only rainfall, the weather has been welcome to alleviate water shortages after prolonged drought.
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Cloud Lightning

Man on boat killed by lightning strike at Beaver Lake, Arkansas


thv11.com
Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:04 UTC
Image
© KTHV
A man is dead in Benton County after a lightning striked near his boat on Beaver lake. THV11.com June 14, 2015
The Benton County Sheriff's Office says a man on a boat was killed by a lightning strike on Beaver Lake.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Keshia Guyll told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the 22-year-old man was with his wife on a guided fishing boat when lightning struck about 4 p.m. Saturday. Guyll says the man later died at a Bentonville hospital.

His name was not immediately released.

Guyll says the boat was returning to a marina because it had started raining when the lightning struck.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ranger Alan Bland says the corps and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are investigating.

Source: AP
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Fire

Update: Alaska wildfire destroys 45 homes, menaces highway

Steve Quinn
news.yahoo.com
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 12:46 UTC
Image
© REUTERS/Mat-Su Borough/Stefan Hinman
A structure is consumed by flames as an out of control wildfire burns near Willow, Alaska, in this picture courtesy of Mat-Su Borough taken June 14, 2015.
A fast-spreading Alaska wildfire has destroyed up to 45 homes and forced authorities to restrict traffic on a major highway connecting two of the state's largest cities, state officials said on Monday.

As many as 200 firefighters have been battling the 6,500-acre fire with more specially trained teams en route from the Lower 48 states, Alaska Forestry Division spokesman Sam Harrel said.

Crews have been attacking the fire on the ground and by air, getting help from the three Alaska National Guard Blackhawk helicopters, according to state reports.

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Health

2 children attacked by shark near Oak Island, North Carolina


wxii12.com
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 17:52 UTC
Image

Victims were 12-year-old girl from Asheboro, 16-year-old boy from Winston-Salem
Two Triad children lost at least part of one limb following apparent shark attacks about an hour apart at the same North Carolina beach Sunday afternoon.

A 12-year-old girl from Asheboro and a 16-year-old boy from Winston-Salem were injured off different parts of Oak Island, about 30 miles south of Wilmington. Both were flown to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, though both were in good condition as of Monday morning.

No names have been released.

The girl's left arm was amputated below the elbow, and one of the boy's arms was amputated below the shoulder, officials from New Hanover Regional Medical Center told NBC affiliate WECT. The girl also had tissue damage to her left leg.

Oak Island officials said both incidents happened when the victims were in waist-deep water about 20 yards offshore. Officials weren't able to confirm by Monday morning whether the same animal attacked both victims.

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Fish

Two-meter long tropical swordfish beaches itself on UK riverbank

Shanti Das
Daily Mirror, UK
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 17:36 UTC
Image
© SWNS
Washed up: This swordfish was found on Severn Beach, on the mouth of the River Severn
A massive swordfish was found washed up on a British tidal riverbank - an extremely rare sight in the UK.

Beachcombers saw the majestic fish - which measured 6ft in length including its bill - struggling in shallow waters but could not save it.

Experts believe the fish travelled more than 1,500 miles to Severn Beach on the mouth of the River Severn in South Gloucestershire - all the way from the Mediterranean.

Nicola Hills, 39, from Severn Beach, found the swordfish with her husband Gary.

She said: "We were walking the dog and we saw this thing thrashing about in the water.

"The first thing I thought was 'what the hell is that?' I thought it was a shark or a dolphin or something."
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