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Cloud Precipitation

Cyclone Debbie batters Australia's east coast


RT
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 16:15 UTC
flood damage australia
© Gary Ramage / Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull looks at damaged and flooded areas.
Australia's east coast is currently being battered by Cyclone Debbie. And with record floods expected, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as authorities brace for damages of hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming days.

The Insurance Council of Australia has already declared both the Queensland and northern New South Wales regions as disaster zones, with estimated damages of up to Aus$1 billion ($762 million).
Almost 100,000 homes have been left without power and evacuees are unsure of what to expect once the storm finally passes late next week. Many are predicting that Debbie will be the worst tropical storm to hit the area in a century.
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Snowflake

April Fools' Day snowstorm drops up to 18 inches in New England

Wilson Ring
USA Today
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 15:10 UTC
Snowfall accumulation map from Mar. 31- Apr. 1, 1997.
© NOAA
Snowfall accumulation map from Mar. 31- Apr. 1, 1997.
It's April Fools' Day but it's no joke: People across northern New England woke up to a foot of heavy, wet snow on parts of the region Saturday and conducted weekend business as more fell throughout the day.

The storm caused power outages and numerous highway accidents. By mid-afternoon the number of electric customers without power across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine had dropped to about 8,100 from overnight totals almost three times that number. A winter storm warning in Vermont had expired, but remained in effect for parts of New Hampshire and Maine.

"This is Mother Nature's idea of an April Fools' joke," said meteorologist Eric Schwibs of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.
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Attention

Two scarce Hector's dolphins found dead in New Zealand


RNZ
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 14:32 UTC
A Hector's dolphin in New Zealand waters
© 123RF
A Hector's dolphin in New Zealand waters
The discovery of two Hector's dolphins washed up at beaches in the South Island is raising fresh questions over whether enough is being done to protect the endangered species.

The Ministry for Primary Industries said it was investigating the deaths and there were indications both dolphins could have been "subject to human interference".

A member of the public found one dolphin on a Greymouth beach last month, while the second dolphin was found near Banks Peninsula on Sunday.

MPI compliance investigations manager Gary Orr said the deaths were very concerning.

"MPI and [the Department of Conservation] are investigating the circumstances surrounding both mortalities.
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Eye 2

Alligator attacks fisherman in Fort Myers, Florida

Ben Hooper
UPI
Thu, 30 Mar 2017 09:05 UTC
A Florida fisherman works to pry an alligator's jaws off his boot.

A Florida fisherman works to pry an alligator's jaws off his boot.
A Florida man bass fishing at night ended up having to pry an alligator off his boot while his friends filmed the struggle.

"Oh snap, you've got a gator on your foot," Nino Alvarez recalled a friend telling him while they were out bass fishing last week in a Fort Myers canal.

"I tried to go bass fishing here, and this [expletive] gator is over here, trying to eat me," Alvarez told WINK-TV. "I don't even think there's any more bass here. This guy already ate it all."

Alvarez posted a video to Facebook showing him attempting to pry the alligator's jaws off his boot while his friends laugh and film.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill three, injure four in Nepal


The Himalayan Times
Sun, 02 Apr 2017 08:37 UTC
LIGHTNING
Three persons died after they were struck by lightning last night in separate places.

According to the Makawanpur District Police Office, a 23-year-old Jit Bahadur Syantang Lama of Gadhi Rural Municipality died on the spot after he was struck by a bolt of lightning at around 11 pm last night. He was sleeping when the incident occurred.

Three other family members of Lama were injured in the incident and are currently being treated at the Hetaunda Hospital, police added.

Likewise, a 14-year-old Bahadur Gurung of Kaski died on the spot when he was struck by lightning at Chhundrung of Annapurna Rural Municipality in the district yesterday.

Gurung was returning home after collecting fodder when the incident occurred, informed Khadga Bahadur Khatri, spokesperson of the Kaski District Police Office.
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Attention

40 dead dolphins wash up outside Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Louzel Lombard Steyn
Traveller24
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 19:33 UTC
Repredntative image
Shocking aerial footage showing between 30 and 40 dead dolphins washed up on vast stretch of beach in the Sunday's River area off Bird Island has gone viral on social media, after East London-based helicopter pilot Noel Greyling filmed the disturbing discovery on Friday morning, 31 March.

The video footage was shared to local radio broadcaster AlgoaFM, who reports that Greyling was flying by helicopter to Port Elizabeth when he spotted the grim sight.

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Attention

Woman killed by elephant at Kruger National Park, South Africa

Priya Joshi
International Business Times
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 18:09 UTC
Elephant
A woman has died after being gored by an elephant at Kruger National Park in South Africa.

A second person was seriously injured in the attack near Mopani Camp on Thursday (30 March) afternoon.

The victims were both wildlife park employees, it has been reported. Paramedics responded to reports of an animal attack and arrived at the scene, accompanied by rangers with rifles.

Jaco Gericke, of emergency services Maponya 911, told local newspaper Lowvelder the first victim suffered fatal injuries.

"The elephant tusk entered her lower back and exited her chest. She also had a severe open fracture to her left knee," he added.

Comment: Other attacks by African elephants over the past year include the following: Safari leader killed by elephant in Malawi

Elephant kills tourist in Kenya; 3rd attack in a month

Tourist trampled to death by elephant after provoking it by moving too near to takes pictures in Kenya

Elephant kills farmer in southern Tanzania; second death in 2 days

Selfie opportunity becomes fatal as elephant tramples man in Zimbabwe

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Cloud Precipitation

Mudslide kills at least 112 people in Colombia


RT
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 19:23 UTC
A mudslide in Mocoa
© Ejercito De Colombia / AFP
A mudslide in Mocoa, near Colombia's southern border, has killed 112 people and injured at least 180 after intense flooding caused three rivers to burst their banks in the middle of the night.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has confirmed that the current death toll has risen to 112 in an interview with local media.

Governor Sorrel Aroca told local media that 17 neighborhoods had been damaged by the flooding, with two bridges closed and electricity supply disruptions expected to continue, hampering emergency response efforts.

Dramatic footage showing the full force of the overnight flooding has emerged, showing heavy trucks been dragged down city streets.

"A big portion of the many houses were just taken by the avalanche, but above all the people were warned with enough time and they were able to get out, but houses in 17 neighborhoods have basically been erased," Mocoa Mayor Jose Antonio Castro told local radio station Caracol, as cited by Reuters.
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Black Cat

Tigers kill 10 fishermen and injure 15 others in past three months in the Sundarbans, India


Web India 123
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 14:39 UTC
TIGER
At least 10 fishermen were killed and some 15 others injured in tiger attacks in the Sundarbans in the past three months, according to Sundarbans Fishermen's Association. The victims, between 20 and 40 years of age, were residents of Gosaba, Kultoli, Moipith and Patharpratima -- villages in Sundarbans area under South 24 Parganas district. The fishermen had been killed by the Royal Bengal Tigers (RBTs) when they went for fishing in deep jungles. Some 15,000 people living in these villages earn their livelihood by collecting honey and going fishing or catching crabs from deep jungles by risking their life, said the SFA. In West Bengal, there are provisions for compensation, if anyone gets killed in animal attack, but in the case of fishing in deep forest, the family of the victim cannot claim for compensation as going in reserved forests is illegal.

"If at all a claim is made, the process is very lengthy. About 4200 sq km area reserved for Tiger Project in the Sundarbans is out of bound for common people," said the association.
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Attention

Great white shark attacks kayak off Cannery Row, California

David Schmalz
Monterey County Weekly
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 14:28 UTC
great white shark

Great white shark
It is the stuff of nightmares: to be stranded in the ocean near a prowling great white shark.

This happened to Brian Correiar around 4:30pm March 18, as he was kayaking back to the Coast Guard Pier by Cannery Row after a paddle to Pacific Grove.

As he recounted March 19 on a diving website, he "was near the end of a great paddle" in which he saw dolphins and seals. Then, as he was about 100 yards offshore, he writes, "I heard a loud bang as my kayak and I flew into the air. I landed outside my boat, look back to it and to my horror saw a large great white shark no more than three feet away had my kayak in its mouth."
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