Earth ChangesS


Attention

Seven whales dead after washing up on beach in Kent, UK

Daniel Sexton
BBC
Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:00 UTC
The pod of 11 whales became trapped on mudflats at low tide in the Swale estuary near Sittingbourne on Monday night
© BBC/CHRISSIE REIDYThe pod of 11 whales became trapped on mudflats at low tide in the Swale estuary near Sittingbourne on Monday night
A total of seven whales have now died after they washed up on a Kent beach.

The pod of 11 whales became trapped on mudflats at low tide in the Swale estuary near Sittingbourne on Monday night.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said the situation was still "ongoing" but it was "very difficult".

One whale was found dead on Tuesday morning, while three others were confirmed dead just before 15:00 BST.

Two of the whales have since been spotted swimming freely and have not got re-stranded.

Two other whales are currently unreachable due to the mud.
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Lightning

Lightning strike kills 5, injures 22 in South Sudan


radiotamazuj.org
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 10:13 UTC
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The local authorities in Awerial County's Bunagok Payam in Lakes State have confirmed that a lightning strike killed 5 people and injured 22 others over the weekend during a traditional marriage at the payam headquarters.

The deputy administrator of Bunagok Payam, Martha Aluet Deng, said the incident happened on Saturday when it was raining and identified three of the five deceased as Angui Mathiang, Thokluel Nyanahol Ngut, and Manyuan Abuk Madul.

"People were celebrating and the small storm started with light rain, everyone ran to seek refuge under a tamarind tree when lightning struck and killed 5 of them and injured 22 others who are now in the hospital," she said.

According to Aluet, over 40 people, including children and women, fled into the bushes after the strike.

For his part, James Majok, a health officer at the Bunagok Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) also confirmed the deaths and said more than 20 people were admitted to the facility after they sustained injuries and shock while they were running away from the scene of the lightning strike during a traditional marriage.

He said most of the patients at the facility are receiving normal saline drips and antibiotics for minor injuries.
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Seismograph

Shallow 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits Pacific Ocean near Tonga


BNO News
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 08:59 UTC
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A strong and shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 has struck the Pacific Ocean near Tonga, according to seismologists, but no tsunami warnings were issued.

The earthquake, which struck at 9:05 a.m. local time on Wednesday, was centered about 154 kilometers (96 miles) southeast of Neiafu, a town on Vavaʻu island.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. It struck about 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the surface, making it a very shallow earthquake.

"Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement. No tsunami alerts were issued.
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Seismograph

6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Indonesia


Yeni Safak
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 12:29 UTC
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A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey.

With a depth of 588 kilometers (365 miles), the epicenter of earthquake was in Banda Sea, some 262 kilometers (162.7 miles) off Baubau city of southeastern Sulawesi province.

There was no immediate report of losses or tsunami warning.

Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes as it is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes.

A magnitude 6.2 quake jolted Sulawesi island in January 2021, killing over 100 people and leaving thousands homeless.

Some 2,200 people were killed after a separate magnitude 7.5 quake and subsequent tsunami in 2018.
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Cloud Lightning

Typhoon lashes northern Philippine islands, flooding coastal villages


pbs.org
Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:04 UTC
Rescuers help residents as they negotiate
© Bernie Dela Cruz/APRescuers help residents as they negotiate floods caused by powerful Typhoon Krathon locally called "Typhoon Julian" at Bacarra, Ilocos Norte province, northern Philippines on Monday, September 30, 2024.
A powerful typhoon was lashing the northernmost islands of the Philippines Monday, prompting officials to evacuate villagers, shut down schools and inter-island ferries and warn of "potentially very destructive" damage to coastal villages.

Typhoon Krathon was last tracked over the coastal waters of Balintang island off the provinces of Cagayan and Batanes with sustained winds of up to 175 kph (109 mph) and gusts of up to 215 kph (133 mph), according to government forecasters.

The slow-moving Krathon was blowing westward and could strengthen into a super typhoon when it veers northeastward Tuesday toward Taiwan, they said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

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Cloud Lightning

Best of the Web: 17 dead after John hits Mexico's Pacific coast as major hurricane, 2nd time as tropical storm - 17 inches of rain in 24 hours (UPDATED)


AP
Tue, 24 Sep 2024 17:53 UTC
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Two people are dead after former Hurricane John barreled into Mexico's southern Pacific coast, blowing tin roofs off houses, triggering mudslides and toppling scores of trees, officials said Tuesday.

John grew into a major hurricane in a matter of hours Monday and made landfall about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of the resort of Acapulco before declining to a tropical storm after moving inland.

John came ashore near the town of Punta Maldonado late Monday night as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 kph). It weakened back to tropical storm status early Tuesday with maximum sustained wind speeds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was expected to weaken rapidly.

Evelyn Salgado, the governor of the coastal state of Guerrero, said two people died when the storm sent a mudslide crashing into their house on the remote mountain of Tlacoachistlahuaca (TLAH-ko-chis-tla-waka), further from the coast.


Comment: Update September 26

CNN reports:
'Zombie' Hurricane John regains strength in Pacific, flooding parts of Mexico's southwestern coast

Towns along Mexico's southwestern coast are dealing with torrential rain, flooding and landslides after tropical storm John strengthened back into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

John is considered a "zombie" storm - a term referring to systems that dissipate before strengthening back into a storm. After slamming into Mexico as a deadly Category 3 hurricane on Monday night, it dissipated before returning as a hurricane, battering Mexico's Pacific coast. Even after initially dissipating, remnants of the storm continued to move along the coast, bringing continuous rainfall.

In the resort city of Acapulco, which still hasn't fully recovered from the destruction of Hurricane Otis last year, several neighborhoods were flooded and residents in at-risk areas were told to evacuate to temporary shelters. Parts of the city have received over 500mm of rain this week, and 431mm over just the past 24 hours.

Update October 1

PA News Agency reports:
Along Mexico's southern Pacific coast, floodwaters receded on Monday, leaving behind devastated towns and 17 dead, after John struck the coast once as a hurricane and again as a tropical storm last week.

Desperate residents in the town of Coyuca de Benitez, about 35 miles west of the resort city of Acapulco, organised volunteers to go to outlying areas to burn the bloated bodies of farm animals that drowned.

The carcasses could become a health risk, so teams of townspeople set out with cans of diesel to help them in their grim work.

The Mexican army began delivering aid packages to families in the town that were hit last year by Hurricane Otis and then last week — twice — by John.


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Arrow Down

Three injured as car, bike fall into huge sinkhole in Lahore, Pakistan

Khalid Hasnain
Dawn
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 10:23 UTC
A four-wheeler falls into a sinkhole which appeared at Khayaban-i-Firdausi, Johar Town.
© DawnA four-wheeler falls into a sinkhole which appeared at Khayaban-i-Firdausi, Johar Town.
Three people were injured on Monday when their car and a motorcycle fell into a sinkhole at Khayaban-i-Firdausi, caused by a rupture in a decades-old trunk sewer line.

"The road has become extremely dangerous for motorists, as sinkholes can emerge at any time, putting lives at risk. Look at this incident - the car fell in, injuring the driver and his friend," said a bystander.

Last year in October, a major sinkhole had appeared at the same place (in front of the main entrance to the Revenue Cooperative Housing Scheme), injuring three family members after their car fell into it.

A rescue official reported that the two persons in the car were injured after being trapped when the sinkhole suddenly appeared. The vehicles following narrowly avoided falling into it.

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Bizarro Earth

'The science is absolutely certain'

Tony Heller
Real Climate Science
Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:11 UTC
John Kerry at Ice Free Arctic!
© Washington Post
On June 25, 2009, John Kerry said the Arctic would be ice-free by 2014.
"You have sea ice which is melting at a rate that the Arctic Ocean now increasingly is exposed. In five years, scientists predict we will have the first ice-free Arctic summer"
His forecast didn't do very well.
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Tsunami

Heavy rains lash Oman, causing flash floods


Gulf News
Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:36 UTC
Oman authorities urged residents to stay away from low-lying areas, as well as overflowing wadis.
Oman authorities urged residents to stay away from low-lying areas, as well as overflowing wadis.
Heavy rains lashed the northern parts of Oman on Sunday, disrupting normal life and throwing traffic out of gear in some areas. Temperatures were lower across much of the country.

Parts of Dhahira, Dhakliyah and South of Sharqiyah and Buraimi governorates received medium to heavy rains, due the heavy rain, according to the Meteorology Department at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA).

Wadis in the provinces of Ibri, Yanqul, Dhank, Mahada, Buraimi, Bahla, Nizwa, Samayil, Mudhaibi, Dima wa Tayeen, Awabim and Izki were flooded. No causalities have been reported, an official at the PACA told Gulf News.

Long queues of vehicles were reported stuck for hours, as the motorists were waiting for the water level to go down in wadi Bani Ghafar of Rustaq province on Sunday. Videos of the over-flooding wadis have been widely circulated in social media platforms.

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Doberman

Man found dead from apparent dog attack inside his home in Durham, North Carolina

Matthew Sockol
cbs17.com
Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:12 UTC
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A Durham man was found dead inside his home from an apparent dog attack Friday morning, police said.

According to the Durham Police Department, officers responded to a call for cardiac arrest in the 2500 block of Fairlawn Road. Upon arriving, they found a deceased man inside the residence.

Police say the man "had injuries consistent with being attacked by a dog".

According to Durham police, a dog lived in the same home as the victim. The dog was seized by animal control.

The incident remains under investigation.
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