Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

Deadly cold temperatures disrupt US: 'Warming centers' open across South (VIDEOS)

Tammey Webber
AP News
Tue, 02 Jan 2018 21:37 UTC
Water squirts from a frozen fountain near downtown in Charlotte, N.C.,
© AP /Chuck BurtonWater squirts from a frozen fountain near downtown in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Temperatures plummeted overnight to 2 degrees in the north Georgia mountains, 14 in Atlanta and 26 as far south as New Orleans as the Gulf Coast felt more like Green Bay.
Dangerously cold temperatures blamed for at least nine deaths have wreaked havoc across a wide swath of the U.S., freezing a water tower in Iowa, halting ferry service in New York and leading officials to open warming centers even in the Deep South.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories and freeze warnings Tuesday covering a vast area from South Texas to Canada and from Montana through New England.

Indianapolis early Tuesday tied a record low of minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit (-24 Celsius) for Jan. 2 set in 1887, leading Indianapolis Public Schools to cancel classes. And the northwest Indiana city of Lafayette got down to minus 19 (-28 Celsius), shattering the previous record of minus 5 (-21 Celsius) for the date, set in 1979, the National Weather Service said. After residents there began complaining of a hum, Duke Energy said it was caused by extra power surging through utility lines to meet electricity demands.

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Seismograph

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake south of Fiji


emsc-csem.org
Tue, 02 Jan 2018 21:03 UTC
chart
Summary

Magnitude Mw 5.9
Region SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
Date time 2018-01-02 14:57:18.7 UTC
Location 24.94 S ; 178.51 E
Depth 580 km

Distances 753 km S of Suva, Fiji / pop: 77,400 / local time: 03:57:18.7 2018-01-03
770 km SW of Nuku'alofa, Tonga / pop: 22,400 / local time: 04:57:18.7 2018-01-03
1264 km E of Nouméa, New Caledonia / pop: 93,100 / local time: 01:57:18.7 2018-01-03
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Seismograph

Flurry of 7 earthquakes rock Greek-Macedonia border region

Nicholas Bieber
Daily Star (UK)
Tue, 02 Jan 2018 20:50 UTC
The flurry of quakes has struck near Thessaloniki
© USGSThe flurry of quakes has struck near Thessaloniki
Seven quakes have struck northern Greece in less than 24 hours near the Brit holiday hotspot Thessaloniki.

The biggest one hit around 75km away from the tourist haven at 6.24am this morning (4.24am UK), measuring 5.0 magnitude.

It left buildings shaking as locals reported it being "scary", "loud and noisy" and "lasting about 6 seconds".

People in neighbouring country Republic of Macedonia also felt the quake.

Experts are now warning Greeks not to enter old buildings amid fears they will collapse.

They are also warning more quakes are likely to hit in the next 24 hours, and potentially a major one.
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Bizarro Earth

After the flames subside: Hillsides left barren by California wildfires now at risk from mudslides

Paul Vercammen
CNN
Tue, 02 Jan 2018 11:15 UTC
Thomas fire, California
© Noah Berger/APThe Thomas fire burns through Los Padres National Forest near Ojai, California
The frightening hiss and crackle of the massive Thomas Fire in Southern California has been replaced by the loud droning of heavy equipment below the burn area.

Public work crews in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties are frantically clearing out every debris basin and storm drain possible, because the fire has left behind another threat -- mudslides.

"The Thomas Fire burned all of our front country range here," said Tom Fayram, Santa Barbara's deputy director of public works."

All these hills normally have a protective cover of chaparral. That's all gone. Almost 100% gone," he said.

What's left is black-gray hillside that officials and residents alike fear will become ashy waves of floodwater with the first rain of a so far bone-dry season.
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Ice Cube

20 meter high ice wall forms on China-Russia border lake


CCTV Plus
Sun, 30 Dec 2018 15:16 UTC
20 meters high ice wall at Xingkai Lake
20 meters high ice wall at Xingkai Lake
Ice chunks and rafts of various size have piled up by the force of wind and formed a long ice wall that extends dozens of kilometers on the verge of Xingkai Lake, border lake between China and Russia, in Mishan, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The ice wall was only three to four meters high in the beginning. As time goes on, it has risen to over 20 meters.

Stretching along the eastern side of the lake, the ice wall attracted visitors and shutterbugs to witness this unusual scene.

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Health

'We're infested.' Stingrays injure a record 73 people in a day at Huntington Beach, California

Don Sweeney
Centre Daily Times
Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:54 UTC
A stinger is lodged in a foot of a victim in Huntington Beach a few weeks ago.
© Huntington Beach Marine safety DepartmentA stinger is lodged in a foot of a victim in Huntington Beach a few weeks ago.
Lifeguards at Huntington Beach in Southern California say they've never seen anything like it. A horde of stingrays has taken up residence in the shallow water off the popular beach, injuring a record 73 people Friday with their sharp spines.

"We're infested," Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis told The Orange County Register. "That's just how many we treated. In my 40 years, that's as many as I've had in a single day. It's a problem."

Low tides, small surf, warmer water and a holiday weekend created "a formula for disaster," Paris said. On Thursday, 45 people reported stingray injuries on the beach. People are typically injured when they step on the stingrays, which hide just beneath the sand in shallow water. The flat fish then lash out with their tails, which carry a sharp stinger at the end.

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Attention

Surfer attacked by shark off Laniakea Beach, Hawaii

Jobeth Devera
Home Team Huddle
Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:34 UTC
shark attack
A Haleiwa woman says doctors won't have to amputate her leg after she was bitten by a shark on Oahu's North Shore.

54-year-old Marjorie Mariano was surfing off of Laniakea Beach at about 6 p.m. Sunday, a place she surfs often.

"I felt something big and I felt the bite really hard," Mariano said. "I turned my body and I looked at the sharks face biting my leg and I start to paddle like a maniac. I was like I need to get out of here."

The injury is on her left leg and stretches from her knee to her upper thigh.

The shark's bite mark is also imprinted on her surfboard.

Other surfers helped bring her ashore and she was transported to the hospital in serious condition.
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Ice Cube

Extreme cold puts Great Lakes ice cover ahead of schedule

Eric DoBroka
uppermichiganssource.com
Sun, 30 Dec 2018 09:46 UTC
chart
The recent extreme cold has had an impact on everyone and everything, even our Great Lakes.

Over the course of the last two weeks, Lake Superior and other Great Lakes have become increasingly iced over. Currently, the ice cover is slightly ahead of schedule.

Typically, in late December Lake Superior has about five percent of total ice cover. This year, it's closer to 10 percent.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 4 and injure 19 in South Africa

Huaxia
Xinhuanet
Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:18 UTC
lightning
Four people lost their lives when they were struck by lightning in South Africa on Sunday, authorities said.

Two were killed when lightning struck two villages in Eastern Cape Province, the provincial health department said.

Sixteen other people were injured during the strikes, said the department.

A separate lightning strike in KwaZulu-Natal Province killed two people and injured three others, the provincial government said.

Those injured have been taken to nearby hospitals and were in a stable condition. Most of them suffered severe burns, according to health officials.
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Attention

Surfer bitten by shark off the coast of Marin County, California

Annie Sciacca
East Bay Time
Sat, 30 Dec 2017 13:09 UTC
shark attack
A surfer was injured by a shark Saturday off the coast of Marin County, according to a message from a National Park Service Twitter account.

Officials at Point Reyes National Seashore said on Twitter that a shark bit a surfer on the foot Saturday near the mouth of Drakes Estero.
A surfer was bitten on the foot by a shark today near the mouth of Drakes Estero. Going into the water is CLOSED until further notice. Stay tuned to the park's social media for updated information. pic.twitter.com/HC88I2dHWK

— Point Reyes NPS (@PointReyesNPS) December 30, 2017
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