Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

'Sonic boom' shakes homes, offices in St. Ives, England

Jacqui Merrington
Cornwall Live
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 14:27 UTC
St. Ives, England
© Cornwall LiveSt. Ives, England.
A loud explosion was reported in St Ives this morning, shaking homes and offices.

Dozens of people have taken to social media to query the source of the 'sonic boom'.

It happened at around 11am this morning, with reports of the noise being heard in Carbis Bay and Halsetown.

Steve Cross, who owns Cross Estates in the town, said: "It was a massive explosion. Our office shook. I don't know what it is. A sonic boom, possibly.

"It happened at about 11-11.30am. The windows shook. Proper shake. The windows shook and doors shook. It was a big old bang. A single big boom."

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Binoculars

Rare sighting of frigatebird in Wausau, Wisconsin, a likely hurricane refugee

Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:38 UTC
frigatebird
© Kory Renaud
It's easy to notice magnificent frigatebirds — their large black "M-shaped" wings, long beak and long straight tails cut quite a silhouette in the sky, and the males are known for puffing out a large red pouch at their throat to attract females.

When a birding enthusiast saw a frigatebird last Friday, she snapped several photos of the majestic bird and posted them on Facebook.

Had the birder been in Florida or Texas, it wouldn't have been noteworthy. But this ocean-going frigatebird was seen flying over

How the female frigatebird ended up hundreds of miles away from her native ocean habitat in the middle of Wisconsin is unknown, but it's a good bet she was blown up here by one of the hurricanes that slammed Texas and Florida.

Friday's sighting was only the fourth recorded in Wisconsin dating back to 1880 and the first in a decade.

Melanie Coulthurst photographed a magnificent frigatebird over Bluegill Bay Park in Wausau on Sept. 22, 2017.
Melanie Coulthurst photographed a magnificent frigatebird over Bluegill Bay Park in Wausau on Sept. 22, 2017.

Comment: A similar event took place in June as Tropical Storm Cindy hit the coast, see: Wrong place, wrong time: Tropical seabird turns up at Point Pelee, Ontario

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Question

Mysterious booms rattle single street in Temple Terrace, Florida

Beau Zimmer
10News
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 23:16 UTC
Temple Terrace, Florida
© Heron Publishing
There's a mystery unfolding in Temple Terrace-- at least along one street.

Neighbors describe repeatedly hearing what sounds like sonic booms rattling their homes.

It was all quiet when 10News visited Belle View Avenue in Temple Terrace on Friday, but residents here report hearing the noises at recently as yesterday.

"Usually it's two booms at once, like 'boom boom,'" said Rod Wray, an engineer who moved to Temple Terrace a few months ago. "It shakes the whole house and my chandelier glass rattles."
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Arrow Down

2 killed by landslide after heavy rainfall in Cebu City, Philippines

Razel V. Cuizon
SunStar
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 18:24 UTC
Landslide victim. Rescuers carry the body of Juvelyn Sanipa, who was killed when earth and bamboo trees fell on top of her house in Sitio Lower Ponce, Barangay Capitol Site, Cebu City last Thursday night.
© SunStar /Amper CampañaLandslide victim. Rescuers carry the body of Juvelyn Sanipa, who was killed when earth and bamboo trees fell on top of her house in Sitio Lower Ponce, Barangay Capitol Site, Cebu City last Thursday night.
A landslide in Sitio Lower Ponce, Barangay Capitol Site, Cebu City killed two persons after last Thursday's downpour.

The victims were identified as Elpedio Geraga, 64, and Juvelyn Sanipa, 31.

Because of the incident, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Chief Nagiel Bañacia said six families in the area were evacuated to the barangay hall where they are temporarily staying.

Bañacia said that the heavy rains made the ground unstable. The loose soil caused the bamboo trees that abound in the area to fall on top of Geraga and Sanipa's houses, which are located on the bank of the Guadalupe River.

"Both died as the eroded soil and bamboo trunks covered some portions of their houses," he added.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows home in Apopka, Florida; 2nd hole appears on same road 2 days later


WFTV9
Thu, 21 Sep 2017 17:48 UTC
West Kelly Park Road sinkhole
© WFTV9
Just days after a sinkhole partially swallowed a home in Apopka, a second sinkhole has formed on the same road.

Orange County Fire Rescue was called Thursday to a home at 517 West Kelly Park Road in Apopka.

The 30 by 30-foot sinkhole is about 100 feet from the home, officials said.

A separate sinkhole formed Tuesday at 222 West Kelly Park Road, just a few homes away from Thursday's sinkhole.
West Kelly Park Road sinkhole
© News13/Arnie Girard

Comment: See also: Irma's storm water causes massive washout in Apopka, Florida

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Attention

Forty seven dead dolphins found on Gulf Coast so far in 2017

Gina Tomlinson
wxxv25.com
Thu, 21 Sep 2017 17:57 UTC
dead dolphin
Nearly 50 dolphins have washed up dead on the Gulf Coast this year. That number is concerning scientists at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

The 47th dead dolphin was found this morning east of Fort Maurepas Pier in Ocean Springs. According to the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, the female dolphin that died weighs about 340 pounds, measuring over seven feet long.

The institute has also counted 52 dead sea turtles this year. Marine experts say the cause may be due to environmental changes. Dr. Moby Solangi said, "We've had a lot of rainfall in June and elsewhere, a lot of freshwater coming in. We've had some of these hurricanes that have disrupted the habitat and then we have this huge dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River which is the largest in the history."

Marine experts say they're working to better understand the cause of the dolphin's death. To report a stranded dolphin call the Institute's rescue team at 1-888-SOS-DOLPHIN.

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Ice Cube

Megacryometeor? Huge ice block hits garden in Renfrewshire, Scotland

Isobel Frodsham
Daily Mail (UK)
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:56 UTC
Ice block in Scottish garden
© Lyndsey Helliwell/SWNS.comEleanor Stephen said: 'I was sitting at my desk and heard this big boom. I thought it was an explosion and I felt the house shake'
A family had a lucky escape when huge block of ice fell from the sky and crashed into their garden.

The Helliwell family were left with a huge crater in their grass after the rock fell this morning.

The impact left a dent of 4ft 7in by 3ft 11in in the middle of their lawn and bits of ice scattered across the grass.

There has been no explanation for the freak incident but experts suspect the ice may have formed on the body of a passing aircraft.

Family friend Eleanor Stephen, 41, was at the Helliwell's home in Busby, Renfrewshire, when the ice struck.

She said: 'I was sitting at my desk and heard this big boom. I thought it was an explosion and I felt the house shake.

'When I went downstairs the dog was acting strangely. I looked out of the window and saw a hole with white stuff in it. It was splashed all over the grass.

Comment: See also: Icy 'Window Fallers' or Frozen Harbingers of Change? The Peculiar Phenomenon of Megacryometeor

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Black Cat 2

Kitten born with two faces in Chongqing, China

Dami Olonisakin
IFL Science
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 16:38 UTC
Janus cat
© NewsFlare
Cats are usually said to have nine lives, but this kitten had two faces. It was dubbed the "Janus" cat after the two-faced Roman God of the same name.

Below is a video of the cat gently meowing from both of its mouths. The footage was originally found in Chongqing, China. Unfortunately after two days, it was reported that Janus had died due to its rare condition, known as diprosopus.

Now, this isn't the first time anything like this has been seen before - a two-faced gray feline called "FrankenLouie" died in 2014 from cancer, at the age of 15. He made his mark in the Guinness World Records for being the longest ever surviving Janus cat, despite predictions that he would only live for a few days.

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Attention

Indonesian volcano erupts: Mount Sinabung suddenly spews massive plumes of ash 2.5km into the air


Daily Mail
Wed, 27 Sep 2017 15:07 UTC
Deadly Indonesian volcano Mount Sinabung spewed plumes of ash 2.5km into the air as it exploded
Deadly Indonesian volcano Mount Sinabung spewed plumes of ash 2.5km into the air as it exploded
While attention is focused on the potential imminent eruption of Mount Agung in Bali, another deadly Indonesian volcano has dramatically exploded.

Mount Sinabung, in northern Sumatra, spewed plumes of ash 2.5km into the air as it erupted at 1.23pm local time on Wednesday.

Thousands of villagers were evacuated from around the mountain, the most active of the country's 130 active volcanoes, and warned to stay at least 7km away.

Authorities feared lava flows could cascade down the mountain and destroy homes, as has happened several times.

The volcano explodes so frequently, warning signs are permanently stationed around it warning against going near it.

Only last month another eruption rocked the area, blasting ash 4.2km into the air and causing pyroclastic flows many kilometres across surrounding countryside.

Earlier in the year 10 people were killed in another eruption, with its death toll sitting at 20 in the past decade, including four high school students and their teacher on a school excursion.

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Snowflake

Silverton Mountain in Colorado opens for first runs of the ski season and says: 'THIS IS NOT A JOKE!'

Jonathan Romeo
The Durango Herald
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 12:00 UTC
Silverton Mountain
Silverton Mountain
The first runs of the 2017-18 ski season were made Sunday at Silverton Mountain, North America's highest altitude ski areas with a peak of 13,487 feet.

According to a news release, a snow system that passed through the San Juan Mountains over the weekend dropped just enough snow to open the upper reaches of Silverton Mountain.

"The patrollers could not resist the opportunity to ride the chairlift today to make some turns on the upper mountain as they celebrated the start of the season at Silverton Mountain," the news release said.

Silverton Mountain co-owner Jen Brill said most of the snow was concentrated to the alpine areas of the mountain.
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