Earth ChangesS


Butterfly

Disappearing Himalayan butterflies: No recent record of 51 species in Uttarakhand, India

Neeraj Santoshi
Hindustan Times
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 19:31 UTC
Absence of recent records of 51 butterfly species in Uttarakhand means they have most likely gone extinct. And this shows that everything is not well with the Himalayan environment.
© Hindustan TimesAbsence of recent records of 51 butterfly species in Uttarakhand means they have most likely gone extinct. And this shows that everything is not well with the Himalayan environment.
There are 51 Himalayan butterfly species that have no records in Uttarakhand since the mid-20th century, according to a research conducted by Prof Jagbir Singh Kirti, a zoologist in Punjab University.

Prof Kirti, president of the Association of Entomologists, said butterflies "are very sensitive and fragile organisms" and one of the best indicators for changes in environment and ecology of a region.

"Butterflies are a good model for assessment and habitat monitoring studies and effective indicators of forest health as they are widespread, conspicuous, and easily recognizable," Prof Kirti said. "If there are no recent records of 51 butterfly species in Uttarakhand, it means they have most likely gone locally extinct. And this shows that everything is not well with the Himalayan environment."
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Cloud Precipitation

Evacuations following storms and floods in Brittany, France - month's rainfall in less than an hour

Richard Davies
FloodList
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 18:40 UTC
flood
A storm that hit Brittany, France, during the night from Sunday 03 June to Monday 04 June, 2018, has caused severe flooding in the department of Finistère. The departments of Côtes-d'Armor and Ille-et-Vilaine were also badly affected.

Local fire and emergency crews were called out to over 450 interventions during the storm, with over half of them in the town of Morlaix, Finistère, where some homes have been evacuated.

Photos and videos on Social Media showed flood water raging through the streets of Morlaix. Stéven Tual, meteorologist for Meteo Bretagne, said that around a month's worth of rain fell in less than an hour. Meteo Bretagne said Morlaix received 52 mm of rain and 70 mm in Monts d'Arrée.

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Cloud Precipitation

Flood rescues following heavy rain in Valencia, Albacete and Murcia, Spain

Richard Davies
FloodList
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 17:32 UTC
flood
Torrential rain in parts of southern Spain from 02 to 03 June, 2018, have caused severe flooding in Valencia, Albacete and Murcia.

Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (Aemet) Valencia said that 116.8 mm of rain fell in the city in 24 hours to early 03 June. Roads and tunnels were flooded and transport severely disrupted.

In Alginet, Valencia, local firefighters were called on to carry out dramatic flood rescues when a car carrying 3 people was trapped in rising flood water.

In the province of Albacete, El Gallego, municipality of Elche de la Sierra, recorded 180 mm of rain in 24 hours, according to local observers.

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Arrow Down

Mother, son killed by landslide in Papua New Guinea

Dorothy Mark
The National (Papua New Guinea)
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 16:41 UTC
landslide
A woman and her son are dead and another woman seriously injured after a landslide came down the side of a mountain at Simbai, Middle Ramu district in Madang, at the weekend.

The landslide at noon on Saturday at Kanaints in the Gama local level government area happened as the villagers were getting ready for their usual weekend soccer game.

Acting director for the Madang provincial health office Paul Mabong said the mother and her son, 14, were buried under rocks brought down by the landslide near the village.

Mabong said a woman, aged 26, had her right arm cut off by falling rocks.

"She's the one seriously injured now," he said.
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Arrow Down

Six gold miners buried by landslide after heavy rain in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Martina Rosa Dwi Lestari
Netral News
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 16:34 UTC
Illegal gold mine which residents were working on collapsed during rain.
Illegal gold mine which residents were working on collapsed during rain.
Head of Data Center, Information and Public Relation of National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho reported the landslide again took casualties.

Illegal gold mine which residents were working on collapsed during rain in Bakan Village, Lolayan Sub-district, Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi Province on Sunday (6/3/2018) at 3 pm Central Indonesian Time (WITA).

The landslide also buried six miners as they kept mining despite heavy rain.

"The joint SAR team evacuated the landslide victims. From six people who were buried five people had been evacuated in dead condition on Sunday at 7 pm WITA and one person was still in search," said Sutopo, Monday (6/4).
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Arrow Down

Homeowners on edge after large sinkhole opens in Atlanta, Georgia

Lauren Pozen
wsbtv.com
Sun, 03 Jun 2018 12:19 UTC
Sinkhole
A massive hole is causing concern for first-time homeowners in Grant Park. In a matter of weeks, they went from missing a few bricks in their walkway to having a 10-foot hole.

"We are very concerned about our safety," said homeowner Christina Ambrose.

She and her husband, Thomas, said it started two weeks ago with the onset of the nonstop rain.

"More and more of our pavers fell in and the hole gets larger and wider," Christina Ambrose said.

The Ambroses called their councilwoman and watershed came out to inspect.

"They said, 'Yes, it is caused from the sewer they were able to do some testing,' and they said, 'We'll be taking care of it this is our responsibility," Christina Ambrose said.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes have killed 65 people and 69 cattle across Cambodia so far this year


Vanguard
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 11:45 UTC
lightning
A total of 70 people died amid heavy storms in Cambodia this year, including 65 who were struck by lightning, local media reported on Monday.

National Committee for Disaster Management spokesman Keo Vy told newsmen that the first five months of the year have seen 68 people killed during storms.

Vy said that the current number of deaths by lightning has already surpassed 2017's toll for the same period.

"Lightning deaths this year are worse than last year.

"So far, 65 people were killed by lightning this year, while 46 were injured and 69 cattle were killed," he said.
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Cloud Lightning

Motorcyclist killed by lightning strike near Thessaloniki, Greece


ekathimerini.com
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 11:36 UTC
lightning
Authorities in Greece say a 58-year-old motorcyclist was killed when lightning struck him on a highway.

Police say the man was found dead 40 kilometers east of the northern city of Thessaloniki with a hole in his helmet, presumably the result of the lightning striking him.

The victim was driving toward the city in stormy conditions.

There were no details about burns on the body, but authorities say they are certain the motorcyclist's death was not the result of his 800-cc motorcycle falling after the lightning.

Source: AP
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Seismograph

Hawaii shook by shallow 5.5 magnitude earthquake as Kilauea volcano eruption continues

Matthew Robinson
The Express
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 04:48 UTC
An ash plume rises from Halemaumau Crater
© USGS/HVO webcamAn ash plume rises from Halemaumau Crater at 4 p.m. HST Sunday, June 3, 2018.
HAWAII'S Big Island has been rocked by a magnitude 5.5 earthquake at a depth of 1.14km and 5km south-west of Kilauea Volcano, near Crater Rim Drive, Pahoa, according to the US Geological Survey.

It is the largest earthquake to strike the island since a 6.9 earthquake rocked Hawaii on May 4 near the erupting volcano.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said some areas may have experienced strong shaking.

However, they have currently not issued a tsunami warning.

No damages or injuries have currently been reported.

The tremor was located near Mount Kilauea, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Kilauea Military Camp, Volcano House and Volcano Winery.

There have been over 500 earthquakes in the summit area of Kilauea in the last 24 hours.

The quake sent a plume of ash up to 8,000 ft as the wind blew in the southwest direction.

Brian Shiro, a supervisory geophysicist at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said it was the highest rate of quakes ever measured at the summit area.
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Telescope

Strange skies: Red Sprites in Oklahoma, aurora Steve in Canada, iridescent clouds in Illinois and noctilucent clouds in Denmark


Space Weather
Sat, 02 Jun 2018 12:12 UTC
red sprites oklahoma 30th May 2018
© Paul SmithRed Sprite Lightning. May 30, 2018 @ Edmond, Oklahoma, USA
The epicentre of Sprite Alley

Oklahoma is a good place to see sprites. "I photograph them often," says Paul Smith of Edmond OK. "Here are some examples from May 30th flashing above fast-moving storms in the Oklahoma panhandle."

"Venus is the bright 'star' just behind the windmill," he adds.

Oklahoma is the epicenter of a region that we call "Sprite Alley," a corridor stretching across the US Great Plains where intense thunderstorms produce lots of upward directed lightning--a.k.a. "sprites."

Comment: It wasn't so long ago that these strange sights in the sky were considered a rarity, now they're being documented daily. And it's not just up above that we're paying witness to the great changes afoot, it's below too: Also check out SOTT's monthly documentary: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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