Earth ChangesS


Attention

A blue whale washes up on a beach in Chile

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A blue whale, mammal considered the largest animal on Earth, washed up on a beach on the island of Chiloé in southern Chile after dying at sea, local authorities announced on Sunday.

Residents of the locality of Puerto Elvira, in the urban area of ​​Ancud, had reported on Saturday afternoon the discovery of this gigantic cetacean on a small beach in the archipelago, about a thousand kilometers south of the capital Santiago.


Attention

Woman bitten by shark at Rockaway Beach, New York suffers gruesome leg injury in 'extremely rare' attack not seen since 1953

The woman sustained a gash on her leg just before 6 p.m. on Monday.
The woman sustained a gash on her leg just before 6 p.m. on Monday.
A 50-year-old woman was bitten by a shark and suffered a gruesome leg injury while swimming at Rockaway Beach Monday evening, according to officials and sources.

The woman was attacked in the water near Beach 59th Street just before 6 p.m., according to the city Parks Department, who said the incident was the first known shark bite at Rockaway Beach in recent memory.

Lifeguards raced to the injured swimmer, pulling her from the water and administering first aid before EMS arrived.

Rescuers applied a tourniquet to the woman's leg, which was bleeding profusely, sources said.

She was rushed to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition, officials said.

Other swimmers were ordered to get out of the water.


Arrow Down

2 killed in landslide caused by heavy rainfall in Laos

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File photo.
The landslides triggered by heavy rains have killed two people in Bolikhamxay province, some 200 km southeast from the Lao capital Vientiane, as authorities raced to help victims of floods in the central provinces of the country.

Two people were killed by the landslide last Friday, while both of them had gone into a forested area to look for food. During the night, heavy and continuous rains caused a landslide at the mountain which killed both of them, according to local Bolikhamxay newspaper report on Monday.

Thousands of people across Laos have been affected by flooding and landslides as a result of continuous heavy rain, which caused havoc in several parts of the country.


Cloud Precipitation

China floods: at least 14 killed after torrential rain in north-east

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At least 14 people are dead after torrential rain hit China's north-eastern Jilin province, state media has reported, in the latest fatalities from more than a week of weather-related disasters across the country.

Thousands of troops have been sent into affected areas of Jilin and neighbouring Heilongjiang to assist with the flood response, evacuations, distributing supplies and fixing damaged roads. State media outlet Xinhua said about 2,000 soldiers and 5,000 members of the People's Armed Police paramilitary force had been deployed.


Cloud Precipitation

Incessant rainfall triggers landslides in Nepal, temples flooded in Kathmandu

A man wades through flood water in Kathmandu, Nepal on Aug. 8, 2023.
© Sulav Shrestha/XinhuaA man wades through flood water in Kathmandu, Nepal on Aug. 8, 2023.
In the capital Kathmandu, the heavy downpour past midnight has flooded roads and submerged temples.

One person has been killed while six others have gone missing as a landslide swept houses in Central Nepal after heavy downpours till Tuesday morning.

As per the District Police Makwanpur, a woman died after she was pulled alive from the debris while six of her family members have gone missing in Sigre of Bagmati Rural Municipality of the district.

"The rescue effort is underway; we are searching for the possible survivors. We managed to pull one from the debris but she died later. An additional six people have gone missing," a spokesperson at the District Police Office Makwanpur Tek Bahdur Karki told ANI over the phone.


Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Flash floods, landslides hit parts of Slovenia after month's amount of rain falls in a day - 6 dead (UPDATES)

A massive clean-up operation is underway in Slovenia and Austria following the floods
© Gregor RavnjakA massive clean-up operation is underway in Slovenia and Austria following the floods
Heavy rains have caused flash floods and landslides in parts of Slovenia, blocking roads and bridges, flooding buildings and forcing evacuations on Friday.

Slovenia's environmental agency, ARSO, raised the weather alert after a month's amount of rain fell within 24 hours in northern, north-western and central parts of the country.

The official STA news agency reported evacuations in several regions, including campsites.


Comment: Update

Deutsche Welle reports:
Three people were killed after a month's worth of rain in 24 hours caused floods and landslides in northeastern and central Slovenia and southern Austria, authorities said Friday.

Flood alert sirens sounded off in Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana, along with Maribor and Celje, after the country's environment agency put out the highest "red alert" because of the heavy showers that began overnight.

The bodies of two foreign tourists were found in a mountain area and a woman was found in another flooded area, police spokeswoman Maja Adlesic told AFP news agency.

No injuries were reported in Austria.

Flood damage in Slovenia, 04 August 2023.
© Government of SloveniaFlood damage in Slovenia, 04 August 2023.

Firefighters evacuated children from a kindergarten in the town of Menges
© PGD MengesFirefighters evacuated children from a kindergarten in the town of Menges.
Update August 8

AFP reports:
The death toll from days of heavy rains and flooding in Slovenia has climbed to six, police said Monday (7 August), as clean-up operations continued with help from neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Robert Golob has described the torrential rains and severe flooding that hit the Alpine country of two million as its worst natural disaster since independence three decades ago.

Flash floods and landslides that began Thursday had submerged large swathes of central and northern Slovenia, cutting off access to villages and disrupting traffic.

On Sunday, emergency workers recovered the body of a 35-year-old man in a river near the village of Mirna Perc in the east.

Another man, who was taking part in the clean-up operations, was found dead after falling into a cesspit near the town of Kamnik close to Ljubljana, police said.

The bodies of two Slovenians and two Dutch citizens had been found earlier.

On Monday, rescue workers tried to reopen roads to the most remote or isolated places, while assessing damages which the government has said could exceed half a billion euros.

According to public radio, civil protection authorities were keeping an eye on numerous flood-hit areas where landslides could threaten infrastructure and houses.

Harrowing accounts have emerged of rescue workers and volunteers helping to save locals and tourists from the floods, and sheltering them in community halls and other places.

Slovenia, an EU member, has asked for help from the bloc, seeking in particular heavy machinery such as excavators and prefabricated temporary bridges to deal with the aftermath of the flooding.

Slovenia has also asked NATO to provide transport helicopters and soldiers to help with the recovery efforts.

A first truck with humanitarian help and food arrived from Hungary late Sunday, followed by a helicopter, while Croatia provided a military helicopter to help close and secure a broken levee on the Mura River.



Cloud Lightning

Severe weather updates: 2 dead as summer storms pummel US East Coast

A summer derecho approaches the National Mall in Washington, DC, Aug. 7, 2023. For the first time in more than 10 years, the National Weather Service issued a rare 'Level 4' risk for severe storms across the DC region.
© Jim Lo ScalzoA summer derecho approaches the National Mall in Washington, DC, Aug. 7, 2023. For the first time in more than 10 years, the National Weather Service issued a rare 'Level 4' risk for severe storms across the DC region.
A tornado watch stretched across 11 states from Tennessee to New Jersey.

Two people have died, and hundreds of thousands of customers are without power across several states, as severe storms target the East Coast on Monday.

More than 630,000 customers were without power across 10 states as of 11:30 p.m. ET, according to poweroutage.us. North Carolina had the most outages, with at least 227,000 customers without power, followed by Pennsylvania, with around 149,000 customers in the state without power.

In Florence, Alabama, police said a 28-year-old man was killed when he was struck by lightning in the parking lot of an industrial park.


The Anderson County Coroner's Office in South Carolina also confirmed the death of a 15-year-old who was struck and killed by a falling tree during a severe storm.


Cloud Precipitation

Italy: Summer storm brings thick layer of hail and flooding to north-east

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A hailstorm has hit the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, turning the roads into wintery scene in August.

Footage showed roads blanketed by thick hail and areas covered in flood water in Reana del Rojale and Tarcento.


Comment: Also recently this August: German city sends in snowplows after severe summer hailstorm coats ground in a foot of ice


Attention

Bear bites man relaxing in hammock, Colorado officials say - 3rd attack in the state this year

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© Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Wildlife officials in Colorado are searching for the bear that bit a camper who was relaxing in his hammock.

The attack happened late Saturday night at a campground near the Purgatoire River in Trinidad, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The man reportedly left the campground and went to a motel, where an ambulance was called to transport him to a hospital.

A picture provided by CPW shows a 2-to-3-inch bite wound. Officials said the camper is expected to be OK.

"Bear attacks are rare and we take them very seriously," said Mike Brown, a CPW area wildlife manager.


Cloud Lightning

Man dies after being struck by lightning at Florence Industrial Park, Alabama

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A man is dead after being struck by lightning in Florence Monday afternoon.

The Florence Police Department said the incident happened at 3155 Kendall Drive in the parking lot of the Florence Industrial Park. Police said the 28-year-old was a worker.

Florence Fire and EMS responded to the location.

Police said the man, whose name is being withheld while his family is notified, succumbed to injuries he received during the storm.

No additional details were immediately provided by authorities.