Earth ChangesS


Attention

Dead humpback whale buried on beach in Ballina, Australia


News Mail
Tue, 10 Oct 2017 12:04 UTC
whale
A dead whale which was found on the beach at South Ballina on Sunday has been buried.

A spokeswoman from National Parks and Wildlife confirmed the 5.2m baby humpback whale had been buried on Monday.

It is not known at this stage why the decision was made to bury the whale instead of removing it from the beach.

It comes less than a month after Port Macquarie-Hastings Council was forced to dig up a whale which had been buried on Nobbys Beach.

Locals had raised concerns that the carcass would attract sharks.
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Attention

Suspected anthrax outbreak kills 107 hippos in a week in Namibia

Zhou Xin
Xinhua
Sun, 08 Oct 2017 11:53 UTC
Conservation volunteer Cathy Withers-Clark, 50, from Simon's Town, South Africa, took the photos whilst on a road trip around Namibia.
© Cathy Withers-ClarkConservation volunteer Cathy Withers-Clark, 50, from Simon's Town, South Africa, took the photos whilst on a road trip around Namibia.
A suspected anthrax outbreak has killed 107 hippos in one of Namibia's biggest game parks in the Zambezi region in Namibia in just one week.

The park's deputy director Apollinaris Kannyinga confirmed the deaths Sunday at Bwabwata National Park.

Kannyinga said the first 10 deaths were reported on Oct. 1 but had risen by the end of the week.

"We suspect an anthrax outbreak, but our veterinary is still yet to confirm that,'' Kannyinga said.

He also said that this was the first time such a deadly outbreak has hit Namibia. Before the outbreak, Namibia had an estimated 1,300 hippos.

Comment: See also this report from a month ago: Anthrax kills at least 42 hippos in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

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Arrow Down

Large sinkhole swallows 2 cars in Perth, Western Australia

Peter Devlin
Daily Mail
Sun, 08 Oct 2017 11:37 UTC
A sinkhole has swallowed cars and caused major traffic delays in Perth
A sinkhole has swallowed cars and caused major traffic delays in Perth
A sinkhole has swallowed cars and caused major traffic delays in Perth.

A water main burst causing the gaping hole on Kingsley Drive in Kingsley at about 3am on Sunday.

The water was knee deep in some areas as the sinkhole swallowed two cars, 9 News reported.

One property was completely flooded and many others suffered water damage, authorities said.

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Cloud Lightning

St. Elmo's Fire: Pilot records rare atmospheric phenomenon during Abu Dhabi - Istanbul flight


Daily Sabah
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 06:34 UTC
Turkish pilot records st elmo's fire
Turkish Airlines pilots on board an Istanbul-bound plane recorded a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as St. Elmo's Fire, as they tackled strong thunder clouds at 40,000 feet.

According to reports, the incident took place on the Airbus 330 type aircraft which departed from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The moments St. Elmo's Fire ripped through the plane were recorded by pilot Emre Çıngar, who uploaded the video to his social media accounts.

St. Elmo's Fire, which is a type of a continuous electric spark occurs during thunderstorms when the ground below is electrically charged and there is high voltage in the air between the cloud and the ground.

Flights have devices created to reduce the accumulation of electrical charge.


Comment: See also: Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing

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Ice Cube

Giant hail damages cars as freak hailstorm hits Corrientes, Argentina


Sott.net
Tue, 10 Oct 2017 06:12 UTC
Cars damaged after freak hailstorm hit Corrientes in Argentina
Cars damaged after freak hailstorm hit Corrientes in Argentina
A freak hailstorm produced orange-sized hail as it hit Corrientes and surrounding areas in Argentina on Sunday, October 8, 2017.

The violent storm caused massive damage to up to 20 cars traveling on the Posadas-Corrientes road between Scorza Cué and Ita Ibaté (Route 12) according to infobae as well as some localized flooding.

There were no reported injuries but images of the cars showing broken glass and shocking dents soon began to circulate on social media networks.

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Cloud Precipitation

Freak hailstorm wreaks havoc in Johannesburg, South Africa

Siviwe Breakfast
The South African
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 21:04 UTC
Giant hail storms wreaked havoc around Gauteng
© tbotouch67 via TwitterGiant hail storms wreaked havoc around Gauteng
Massive damage to property as Joburg is hit by heavy storm.

Strong winds, heavy rain and massive hail stones wreaked havoc in Johannesburg and surrounding areas on Monday afternoon.

The storm caused massive damage to property, uprooting trees and damaging vehicles. Several roads were left almost impossible to navigate as they were flooded.

A warning for severe afternoon thunderstorms was issued by the SA Weather Service on Monday morning. Motorists and residents were urged to take extra caution.

The storm tested a lot of structures and many came second best.

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Fire

At least 1,500 structures destroyed by Northern California wildfires as state of emergency declared

Sonali Kohli
Los Angeles Times
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 17:04 UTC
Northern California wildfire
The remains of a car near the burning Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa Monday.
At least 1,500 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed as more than 14 fires ravaged eight counties throughout Northern California late Sunday and Monday morning, authorities said.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency as multiple fires forced thousands of evacuations across wine country as they burned tens of thousands of acres.

No deaths have been reported, but there have been injuries and people are unaccounted for, said Janet Upton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. She could not estimate the number of injuries.

The declaration authorizes the mobilization of the California National Guard.

One of the raging fires had Santa Rosa under siege Monday morning, with a large swath of the city north of downtown under evacuation order.

The fast-moving fire jumped the 101 Freeway, forcing hospitals to be evacuated and, witnesses said, burning homes and businesses.
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Snowflake

First weekend of October brings heavy snowfall to Romania's mountains; nearly 32 inches recorded

Irina Marica
Romania-Insider.com
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 17:34 UTC
SNOW
Those living or visiting mountain areas last weekend had first seats to a preview of the upcoming winter season. It snowed heavily in the mountains, with the layer of snow reaching some 80 cm at Omu Peak in Bucegi Mountains on Sunday morning.

The snowfall also covered Romania's beautiful high altitude roads Transfagarasan and Transalpina, at over 2,000 meters. Moreover, due to the bad weather alerts issued last Friday, the roads company CNAIR decided to close the segment between Ranca and Obarsia Lotrului on Transalpina.

The Transfagarasan is officially open until October 31 but the authorities advise tourists not to take this road in the following days as the snow reaches 1 meter on some segments. They are currently working on removing the snow.

În urma căderilor de zăpadă din ultimele 24 ore, stratul de zăpadă pe Transfăgărăşan, la altitudini pezte 1600m atinge...
Posted by Toma Cristian on Monday, 9 October 2017

Comment: It's also important to note that the first snow of the coming winter season for this country fell 2 months ago, see: August snowfall hits the mountains of northern Romania

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Attention

Two bottlenose dolphins discovered dead in Amagansett, New York

Laura Blasey
Newsday
Sat, 07 Oct 2017 17:10 UTC
dead dolphin
Two bottlenose dolphins were found dead on Amagansett beaches, and biologists are trying to determine how they died.

The first dolphin was reported at about 2 p.m. Friday at the end of Atlantic Avenue by a member of the public, said Rachel Bosworth, spokeswoman for the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

The second, also reported to the society by a member of the public, was found Saturday morning at about 7 a.m. off Napeague Lane.

A team of biologists and volunteers, with assistance from the East Hampton Marine Patrol, responded to both scenes to evaluate the carcasses, she said.

Bottlenose dolphins are common in temperate and tropical waters, including off the coast of Long Island, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Adult dolphins can grow to as long as 12 feet and weigh up to 1,400 pounds.
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Fire

Rare 'fire devil' captured on video as Portugal battles raging infernos


RT
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 12:54 UTC
Fire devil
A rare and mesmerizing 'fire devil' was captured on video Saturday in the midst of Portugal's months-long battle with wildfires.

This natural phenomenon is a kind of tornado of flames. It occurs when fire, dust and wind combine in the air to create a blazing funnel.

Fire tornados can start in conditions where hot, dry air is rising rapidly, which, in turn, creates vertical columns of hot air. As more hot air is pulled into the column, a swirling effect is caused. The fire tornado then captures ash, flammable debris and embers, Live Science explains.

Comment: See also: September so far has been an almost apocalyptic month of environmental events

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