Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Thunderstorms create over 50,000 lightning strikes in south-west Western Australia


9news.com.au
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 12:40 UTC
The Bureau of Meteorology radar shows rain over Western Australia.
© BoMThe Bureau of Meteorology radar shows rain over Western Australia.
A complex low pressure system has has brought widespread showers and thunderstorms to south-west Western Australia overnight and into this morning, with storms producing more than 50,000 lightning strikes.

So far there have been widespread falls of 5-10mm over southwestern parts of the state, with the heaviest falls occurring in the Great Southern, Southern Coastal and Southwest districts.

By 8am, Wandering, in the Great Southern region, had recorded 20mm - its highest daily October total in 12 years.

In the Southern Coastal region, Jacup received 11mm - its highest daily October fall in three years.

Elsewhere, Narrogin has recorded 28mm, Margaret River 22mm, Mumballup 18mm, Newdegate 14m, Witchcliffe 11mm and Bunbury 10mm.
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Wolf

Boy killed by 2 pit bull terriers in Lowell, Massachusetts

Aaron Curtis
The Lowell Sun
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 11:40 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A 7-year-old boy was killed after a dog attack in The Acre section of the city on Saturday night.

A preliminary investigation suggests the attack took place when the unidentified child entered a fenced-in area on Clare Street that housed two pit bulls, according to a press release from the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

Authorities received a call about the attack at around 6 p.m. and arrived on scene to discover the deceased child, the release states.

Following the attack, one of the pit bulls escaped the enclosed area. The animal has been located and euthanized. The other pit bull is in custody of Lowell Animal Control.


Comment: A sample of other serious dog attacks on people in October (and not previously reported on Sott) include the following:-

Pit bulls who mauled 10-year-old Aurora boy euthanized

Man Attacked By Pit Bull In Middletown

Dog attack man flown to Perth

Pit Bull Euthanized After Biting Off Chunk of 6-Year-Old Girl's Arm

Loose dog reportedly attacks multiple people near Hanscom Park

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Cloud Precipitation

Parts of Trinidad swamped by flood waters after 24 hours of non-stop rainfall

Jada Loutoo and Corey Connelly
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 10:58 UTC
Rochard Road in Barrackpore as large sections of Trinidad saw widespread flooding following heavy showers which started on Wednesday.
This photo, posted on social media yesterday, shows brown water covering all of Rochard Road in Barrackpore as large sections of Trinidad saw widespread flooding following heavy showers which started on Wednesday.
Large sections of Trinidad were swamped yesterday by flood waters which continued to rise in certain areas following over 24 hours of non-stop rainfall which began on Wednesday.

As a result, the Meteorological Service yesterday maintained its riverine flood alert for Trinidad especially as the Caroni River burst its banks shortly after midday. In its 9.12 am bulletin, the Met Office advised that as opposed to street and flash flooding, riverine flooding is more prolonged and widespread.

It also reported that water levels in some major rivers as well as their tributaries reached threshold levels overnight and the flood situation would be exacerbated by rainfall yesterday accompanied by gusty winds. "(With) the occurrence of high tide at 3.50 pm, the flooding situation is expected to continue for the next 12 to 24 hours in areas already affected," the bulletin said.

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Windsock

Typhoon Lan poised to strike Japan with intense wind & rain


RT
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 14:59 UTC
Typhoon Lan
© NASA
Typhoon Lan, a storm with an eye 50 miles wide, is expected to lash parts of Japan with intense wind and rain, the country's meteorological office has warned. Currently west of Okinawa, the typhoon is travelling north towards mainland Japan.

According to forecasts by the Japan Meteorological Agency, the "large" storm will barrel across the nation on Sunday before subsiding on October 23.

NASA imagery reveals the huge scale of the typhoon, with pictures taken by the Suomi NPP satellite revealing powerful thunderstorms swirling around an eye 50 nautical miles in diameter.

The US space agency stated that on October 20, Lan's wind speed reached a whopping 115 miles per hour. It clarified in a later tweet that the weather system has not been designated a "super storm".

Extreme rainfall, described as "walls" of precipitation, were 3-D mapped by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland earlier this week.

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Windsock

More incredible wind speed events across our planet

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 15:43 UTC
Hold tight! The wave was so steep that the anchor pointed up at an acute angle before it plunged down the wave again in angry seas when storm Ophelia hit Ireland
Hold tight! The wave was so steep that the anchor pointed up at an acute angle before it plunged down the wave again in angry seas when storm Ophelia hit Ireland
Almost unheard of second hurricane about to hit the UK in a week. Forecasts are for 100 mph winds with storm Brian. Last weeks Ophelia dragged dust storms from the Sahara with it, darkening the skies over the isles. Storm Brian is dragging massive hail storms with it blanketing Spain inches deep. This is an indication of the intensification of the grand solar minimum as our jet stream begin to step further out of place. Incredible winds in Canada blowing trains off the tracks and earlier in the month 120 KPH winds blasted New Zealand. Next year will be a 4x amplification in extreme weather over the last six months of 2017. Are you ready?

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Attention

Over 80 seabirds found dead on beaches in Albany, Western Australia


The West Australian
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 20:48 UTC
A CCWA volunteer with dead seabirds near Albany.
A CCWA volunteer with dead seabirds near Albany.
More than 80 sea birds have washed up dead on Albany beaches, according to the Conservation Council of WA.

The flesh-footed shearwaters were found washed up dead on Goode and Fisheries Beach on the western side of King George Sound, south of Albany.

Conservation Council of WA Nic Dunlop said the kills may be caused by purse-seine fishing.

"The timing of this Shearwater kill is unusually early, but in every other respect fitted the now familiar pattern of these seabirds being drowned in the purse-seine nets used by the Albany-based South Coast Purse-seine Fishery," Dr Dunlop said.

"The Flesh-footed Shearwater is a species that has recently shown a dramatic decline in all three of its populations. The species is known to be particularly susceptible as bycatch in a variety of commercial fisheries, to the ingestion of plastics, and to changes in marine climate.
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Eye 2

Deadly vine snake eating green snake alive photographed in South Africa


The Expresss
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 20:15 UTC
Shocking sight as deadly poisonous vine snake eats green snake alive
© Richard MckibbinShocking sight as deadly poisonous vine snake eats green snake alive
The impressively camouflaged vine snake, at times barely visible due to its tree-like markings, gorged on a harmless Eastern natal green snake for a whole half hour.

At first, the green snake coils its thin body around its attacker in a vain attempt to escape.

But as the little serpent succumbs to the vine snake's deadly poison, the predator is shown wrapping its girth around its prey to gobble it down - head first.

The awesome sighting was captured by photographer Richard Mckibbin while he was out with a butterfly walk group on October 15 at the Zimbali Coastal Resort, South Africa.

Mr Mckibbin, 37, from Umhlanga Rocks, South Africa, said: "It was incredibly exciting to see. I see these vine snakes often, but I have never seen anything like this.
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Arrow Down

At least 3 people killed by mudslide in China

Flor Wang
Focus Taiwan
Sun, 15 Oct 2017 19:47 UTC
Three Gorges scenic area
Three Gorges scenic area
At least three Taiwanese tourists were killed and two injured in a mudslide in the Three Gorges scenic area in China's Hubei Province Sunday morning, according to the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

The five people were part of a 45-member tour group organized by a travel agency in Taipei, the SEF said in a statement, noting that it has informed the Mainland Affairs Council and its Chinese counterpart -- the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits -- of the fatal accident.

The SEF said and it has formed a "1015 task force" to help with the aftermath of the accident and it has been coordinating with the Tourism Bureau and relevant authorities in Taiwan and China in hopes of extending necessary assistance to the victims as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, rescue crews were continuing searching for survivors in the location of the mudslide, the SEF said.
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Boat

Tanker battling gigantic waves off the coast of Ireland during storm Ophelia caught on camera

Liz Dunphy
Daily Mail
Thu, 19 Oct 2017 19:23 UTC
Hold tight! The wave was so steep that the anchor pointed up at an acute angle before it plunged down the wave again in angry seas when storm Ophelia hit Ireland
Hold tight! The wave was so steep that the anchor pointed up at an acute angle before it plunged down the wave again in angry seas when storm Ophelia hit Ireland
An awe-inspiring video has emerged online of a tanker battling brutal, raging seas when storm Ophelia hit Ireland on Monday.

The shocking footage was filmed from an Italian tanker in the sea outside Cork harbour in the south of Ireland.

The video, captured by Cataldo Gianluca, shows the enormous tanker dwarfed by towering mountains of surging water.

The powerful wave grows larger but the tanker ploughs on, riding so high on the steep wave that the nose of the ship points upwards at an alarmingly acute angle.

The video, shared on Twitter, then cuts out at but the tanker survived the plunge back down the wave and managed to weather the storm.

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Arrow Down

Massive landslide causes panic among locals near Mt Kinabalu in Malaysia

Avila Geraldine
New Straits Times
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 19:01 UTC
A massive landslide swept down the foothills of Mount Kinabalu this afternoon, triggering panic among the locals here.
© Sabah Civil Defence DepartmentA massive landslide swept down the foothills of Mount Kinabalu this afternoon, triggering panic among the locals here.

A massive landslide swept down the foothills of Mount Kinabalu this afternoon, triggering panic among the locals here.

According to the state civil defence department, the landslide was located at Ulu Sungai Mesilou 2 in Kampung Mesilou.

Director Lieutenant Colonel Mohd Izaimi Md Daud said the villagers alerted the department at 3.45pm and two personnel were deployed to monitor the situation.

"There was a massive landslide on the mountain and we have taken statements from the villagers.

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