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Car falls into sinkhole in El Cajon, California

car in sinkhole
A car fell into a sinkhole that formed Tuesday morning on Olde Highway 80 in the El Cajon area.

Just after 4 a.m., crews responded to a water main break that caused a sinkhole on the roadway at Pecan Park Lane.

Crews arrived to find an Uber vehicle had partially fallen into the hole, but the driver and his passenger climbed out of a window as water began pouring into the car.

Tasha Mills said she got the scary early morning call from her husband, who was working his second job driving overnight for Uber.

"I was sleeping and I got a phone call. It scared us pretty bad, so we rushed out here," she told 10News.

Snowflake Cold

Coldest start to winter since 1943 for Adelaide, Australia

A cold morning at Renmark, where the mercury dropped to -3.2C.
© Dylan CokerA cold morning at Renmark, where the mercury dropped to -3.2C.
If you were feeling a little chilly this morning it's no surprise — it was our coldest start to winter since 1943, with the mercury plummeting to a frosty 2.9C in Adelaide.

Elsewhere in the state it was even colder, with Yunta -4.7C, Renmark -3.2C and Loxton, Snowtown and Murray Bridge -1.9C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Cold morning for #SAweather: Yunta -4.7 °C, Renmark -3.2 ° C, Loxton, Snowtown and Murray Bridge -1.9 °C https://t.co/OazoPRe4P8 pic.twitter.com/3lgum4rTyF

— BOM South Australia (@BOM_SA) May 31, 2017

Sun

South Africa's Cape Town contends with worst drought in over a century

Cape Town drought
The worst drought in a century is forcing the most stringent water restrictions ever implemented for South Africa's second largest city. Cape Town has less than 10% of its useable water remaining for its nearly 4 million residents.The city is implementing Level 4 water restrictions, which ask residents to limit daily usage to 100 liters (26 gallons) per person.

The measure is meant to reduce demand and conserve what little water is still available, and means significant sacrifices for residents.For Cape Town resident Suzanne Buckley, the restrictions mean adapting to a new lifestyle. "We have buckets in our shower and bathroom sink to save excess water," Buckley said. "The gray water is then used to flush our toilets."

The restrictions are in effect across the city in an aggressive effort to preserve its remaining drinking water, but it may not be enough. South Africa ranks as the 30th driest country in the world and is considered a water-scarce region. A highly variable climate causes uneven distribution of rainfall, making droughts even more extreme.

Speaking to CNN, Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille explained her concerns about the growing water crisis."Climate change is a reality and we cannot depend on rainwater alone to fill our dams, but must look at alternative sources like desalination and underground aquifers."

Cloud Lightning

One of the strongest storms in two decades hits Mexico City

mexico city storm
The rain that fell late Monday night was one of the six strongest in the last two decades in Mexico City, the capital's government said.

"Rainfall reached 98.5 mm and has only been exceeded 5 times in recent years," the authorities said in a statement.

Previous recordings: 119 mm in the Cuauhtemoc delegation in 2005; 118 mm in Huayatla, Magdalena Contreras, on August 10, 2006; 117.5 mm in Cuajimalpa in 2000; 117 mm in Cuajimalpa in July 2015 and 100 mm in Miguel Hidalgo in September 2015.

"There were 41 colonies with the greatest impact, mainly in the Tlalpan, Xochimilco, Coyoacán and Álvaro Obregón delegations," they added.

Emergency services received 800 reports from the people asking for flood help and other types of damage through 9-1-1 services.

Today, a broad storm system is forecast to be very strong and intense, accompanied by lightening, hailstorms and wind gusts during storms in southern, central, northern and eastern entities of the national territory, according to the Meteorological Service National (SMN).

The agency detailed that intense storms are anticipated in localities of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Puebla and Oaxaca; Heavy storms in areas of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Estado de México, Mexico City, Morelos and Guerrero, and strong storms in regions of Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Chiapas.

Bizarro Earth

Dreaded white-nose syndrome confirmed in Alabama bat species for first time

southeastern bat
© Dottie Brown, Ecological Solutions, Inc. via USGSThis southeastern bat from Shelby County, Alabama shows signs of infection from the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center later confirmed white-nose syndrome in this animal.
The dreaded white-nose syndrome, which has devastated populations of several species of bats in the United States and Canada, has been confirmed for the first time in a species called the southeastern bat, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The infected southeastern bat was found in a cave in Shelby County, and is the first member of its species (Myotis austroriparius) confirmed to have white-nose syndrome and the first infected bat of any species found in Shelby County. A USGS lab confirmed the test results this week.

White-nose is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans or Pd, and spreads easily among hibernating bats in winter. The disease causes a distinctive white fungus to appear on infected bats, often around the muzzle. Infected bats often display unusual behavior, sometimes flying outside during daylight hours or clustering near the entrances of their caves in winter.

Ice Cube

Imminent birth of vast iceberg threatens to 'fundamentally change' Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic’s Larsen C Ice Shelf
© Pauline Askin / Reuters
The massive crack in the Antarctic's Larsen C Ice Shelf - one of the continent's biggest floating ice platforms - is growing at such a dramatic rate that it will soon break free and create one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.

Project MIDAS researchers, a group of scientists from Welsh universities in Swansea and Aberystwyth charged with studying the shelf using EU satellites, released an update on Wednesday. It showed that the crack had grown an additional 17km (10.5 miles) between May 25 and May 31.

Wolf

Woman in her 90s dies following attack by pit bull terrier in Virginia Beach

canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
An elderly woman died Thursday after being attacked by a dog.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers joined animal enforcement after receiving a report of an attack in the Pembroke Manor neighborhood, police said in a news release. They found a woman suffering from severe bites and lacerations.

The woman, who police said was in her 90s, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. She died this morning. Police said that out of respect for the family's wishes, the victim's identity will not be revealed.

Police said a 50-pound, 1-year-old American pit bull terrier attacked the woman while she was lying on the floor after a fall. The dog is currently in quarantine at the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center.


Seismograph

Three earthquakes in 5 minutes reported at Bárðarbunga volcano in Iceland

Bárðarbunga is a stratovolcano located under Vatnajökull, Iceland's largest glacier.
Bárðarbunga is a stratovolcano located under Vatnajökull, Iceland's largest glacier.
This morning, three earthquakes over the magnitude of 3 occurred in Bárðarbunga at a five minute interval.

All occurred in the northern part of the caldera, the first at 9:49, the second at 9:53 and the third at 9:54. This is reported by the Iceland Met Office.

Last week, nearly 600 earthquakes were measured in Iceland which is similar to the preceeding week. Only six of them exceeded the magnitude of 3, the largest occurring on May 27th in Bárðarbunga.

Iceland met office graph
Iceland Met Office link for current earthquake graphs

Cloud Lightning

At least 10 killed and 27 injured by lightning strikes across Bangladesh

lightning
At least 10 people were killed and over 27 others injured in separate incidents of lightning strikes in Brahmanbaria, Barisal, Feni and Habiganj districts during the rain Thursday.

Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar police station Officer-in-Charge Abu Zafar said that lightning struck some fishermen as they were catching fish in Balikhola Haor of Bholakut union around 11pm.

Among the injured, Monju Mian, 54, Shahid Mian, 32, and Janu Mian, 30, all hailing from Balikhola village, died on the spot.

Red Flag

Scientists: Humans bringing about sixth mass extinction of life on Earth

Bengali tiger cub
© Ulises Rodriguez/ReutersA two-month-old Bengali tiger cub in an animal refuge in El Salvador; the species is considered to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Humans are bringing about the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth, according to scientists writing in a special edition of the leading journal Nature.

Mammals, birds and amphibians are currently becoming extinct at rates comparable to the previous five mass extinctions when "cataclysmic forces" - such as massive meteorite strikes and supervolcano explosions - wiped out vast swathes of life, including the dinosaurs.

The growing human population - which has increased by 130 per cent in the last 50 years and is set to rise to more than 10 billion by 2060 - and our increasing demand for resources as we become wealthier is ramping up the pressure on the natural world.

Tens of thousands of species - including 25 per cent of all mammals and 13 per cent of birds - are now threatened with extinction because of over-hunting, poaching, pollution, loss of habitat, the arrival of invasive species, and other human-caused problems.