Earth ChangesS


Fire

Ten people injured after Italy's Etna crater explodes


ANSA
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:58 UTC
Mount Etna volcano eruption
Ten people were injured Thursday by an explosion from one of the craters of Etna which is currently active, local sources said. None are in serious condition, the sources said. Six of them will be taken to hospitals in Catania and Acireale. The explosion took place on Etna's Belvedere near Nicolosi when lava touched the snow on the volcano's peak, sparking a so-called "phreatic explosion" at an altitude of 2,700 metres, sources said.

Pyroclastic material sent flying like shrapnel hit a group of trekkers.

Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano, has shown lava spouts and ash plumes in recent days.


Comment: Further reading: Is something strange happening deep inside the Earth?
Why are "giant fountains of lava" suddenly pouring out of some of the most dangerous volcanoes on the entire planet, and why are so many long dormant volcanoes suddenly roaring back to life? The spectacular eruption of Mt. Etna in Italy is making headlines all over the world, but it is far from alone. According to Volcano Discovery, 35 major volcanoes either are erupting right now or have just recently erupted, and dozens of others are stirring. So what is causing this upsurge in volcanic activity? Is something strange happening inside the Earth?


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Snowflake

300 vehicles stuck on Quebec highway for 14 hours during snowstorm


National Post
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:57 UTC
Snow time
A clearly unhappy Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre says he intends to get to the bottom of how 300 vehicles - and their occupants — were stuck on the lanes of southbound Highway 13 for close to 14 hours Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.

"It was a minor problem but a major one for the people who were stuck in it on Highway 13," Coderre told a meeting of the city's executive committee Wednesday morning. "Personally, I find it unacceptable that people were stuck for 13 or 14 hours before things were unblocked.

"What's clear is that I'm going to shed some light on this. In 2017, 13 hours in the same situation. I know there was a big storm and a pile-up (on the highway). But I think we should be asking why it took so long to get things sorted out, especially since the northbound 13 was clear... We need some answers."
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Attention

Pygmy sperm whale found dead on coast of Puerto Rico


Taiwan News
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:29 UTC
Pygmy Sperm Whale
Pygmy Sperm Whale
Authorities in Puerto Rico say a dead pygmy sperm whale has washed up on the U.S. territory's north coast.

Officials with the Department of Natural Resources said the whale was found Wednesday morning in the town of Rio Grande just east of the capital. A necropsy is planned.

Pygmy sperm whales are elusive and rarely seen at sea. They are slightly larger than dolphins and live in warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

Source: AP
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Attention

Sperm whale washes ashore at Wairarapa, New Zealand

Hayley Gastmeier
Wairarapa Times Age
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 10:42 UTC
dead sperm whale
Dead sperm whale
A dead sperm whale measuring over 14 metres was blessed in preparation for its burial at White Rock yesterday.

The whale had been discovered on the South Wairarapa beach on Monday by a local resident.

It is not yet clear what killed the mammal, which was thought to be about 40-years-old, just half its life expectancy.

Rangers from the Department of Conservation were at the scene yesterday, awaiting a digger to arrive so the whale could be moved to its beach burial site.

Also on site were Kaumatua Haami Te Whaiti and PJ Devonshire, general manager of Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa.

The pair blessed the animal, which had been dead for "a couple of days at most".

Mr Te Whaiti said it was to be moved away from the waves, in an effort to halt its deterioration rate.
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Attention

Stranded sperm whale with 'mouth full of garbage' dies in Guangdong, China

Matthew Bossons
That's
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 10:31 UTC
Sperm whale
On the afternoon of March 15, an injured 12-meter-long sperm whale was pronounced dead and removed from the waters of Daya Bay, near Huizhou.

Site monitoring staff have placed the time of death around 2pm, when they noticed the whale put up a "fierce struggle" before going still.

According to reports, experts with the Chinese Academy of Sciences confirmed the whale was dead after an in-water check determined the animal's head was fully submerged - indicating it was no longer breathing.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 6 people in Marathwada, India

Prasad Joshi
The Times of India
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 10:22 UTC
LIGHTNING
Hailstorms hit parts of Marathwada on Wednesday, reviving memories of similar storms that struck the region in February-March 2014.

At least six people were killed in lightning-related incidents as unseasonal rain coupled with strong winds and hailstorms lashed parts of Beed, Latur and Osmanabad districts.

Loss of livestock as well as significant damage to mangoes, grapes and sorghum has also been reported from many areas in these districts.

Chandrakant Suryawanshi, Beed's resident deputy collector, said that heavy rain lashed parts of the district for almost three hours from 3 pm.

Two deaths each were reported from Kaij and Parali talukas and one from Dharur taluka. Two bulls were also killed. The preliminary assessment of possible damage to fruits and crops is on, Suryawanshi said.
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Cloud Lightning

Huge upper-atmospheric lightning event - 'blue jet' captured over Brazil


Sott.net
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 07:14 UTC
Blue jet over Brazil
© YouTube/Bramon (screen capture)
A huge upper-atmospheric lightning event known as a blue jet was captured by a skywatcher during a thunderstorm over Taperoá in the state of Paraíba in the Nordeste of Brazil, on March 13th 2017.

Diego Rhamon captured the event using a PY-SH361 camera, a component of the CPV1 station, of BRAMON (Brazilian Meteorological Observation Network).

Upper-atmospheric lightning or ionospheric lightning are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmospheric lightning is believed to be electrically induced forms of luminous plasma.

The preferred usage is transient luminous event (TLE), because the various types of electrical-discharge phenomena in the upper atmosphere lack several characteristics of the more familiar tropospheric lightning. There are several types of TLEs, the most common being sprites.


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

The Electric Universe model is clearly explained, with a lot more relevant information, in the book Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk.

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Blue Planet

Bioluminescent algae lights up Tasmania's northwest shores in stunning blue glow

Chiara Palazzo
The Telegraph
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 22:32 UTC
bioluminescent algae Tasmania
© Leanne Marshall via StoryfulTasmania’s northwest shores were glowing blue on Monday night as bioluminescent algae ushered in the stunning phenomenon along the coast.
Tasmania's northwest shores were glowing blue on Monday night as bioluminescent algae ushered in the stunning phenomenon along the coast.

Beachgoers have been sharing stunning images of the bright blue glow on the Australian island's north-west coast.

The bioluminescence event is caused by single-celled algae or plant plankton called Noctiluca scintillans, also known as sea sparkle, which glows when disturbed.

The phenomenon presents itself as a "red tide" in daylight, with water turning a deep red, brown, or orange colour.
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Cloud Lightning

Security camera captures dramatic lightning strike on church in Ellijay, Georgia

Ben Hooper
UPI
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:58 UTC
A Georgia church takes a direct hit from a bolt of lightning.
A Georgia church takes a direct hit from a bolt of lightning.
A Georgia church was damaged by a bolt of lightning that was caught on camera by a neighboring business' security camera.

David Hayes, owner of Hayes Manufacturing, posted a video to Facebook showing the 3 a.m. Friday lightning strike across the street from his business at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Ellijay.

Hayes said he was shocked when he saw the lightning strike in his security footage.

"I slowed it down and finally caught it at exactly the right moment," Hayes told WXIA-TV. "Then I saw the lightning and I was like 'Oh my god, it struck the church."

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Arrow Down

Homes evacuated after signs of earth moving in Del Dios, California

Dave Summers
nbcsandiego.com
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:32 UTC
crack
Three homes in a Del Dios development near Lake Hodges were evacuated after the earth beneath them started moving.

Behind security gates is a newer development called Cielo, which in Spanish means sky, appropriately named for its magnificent views from million-dollar mansions built on steep hilltops.

But the earth beneath at least three of them is starting to shift.

In the 18000 block of Avenida Apice, cracked sidewalks and pavements forced evacuations.
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