Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Flooding kills 13 people in central region of Vietnam


Vietnam News
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 19:47 UTC
Residents of Quang Nam Province collect property from a flooded home.
© Quang Nam PortalResidents of Quang Nam Province collect property from a flooded home.
Flooding due to heavy torrential rainfall has taken the lives of 13 people across the central region over the weekend amid fears of more rain this week.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions reported yesterday that six people from Bình Định Province were killed in the flooding, while the neighbouring Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Nam provinces lost four and three people, respectively.

A fisherman, Nguyễn Sơn, 49, from Bình Định, is still missing at sea, having been washed off a fishing vessel by high waves on November 29.

Another three residents were injured in the flooding.

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Wolf

Woman mauled by at least 1 of her 3 dogs in Lauderhill, Florida

Amanda Batchelor
local10.com
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:21 UTC
Dog attack
A woman was rushed to a hospital Monday afternoon after she was attacked by at least one of her dogs, police said.

The incident was reported in the 4100 block of Northwest 21st Street.

Lauderhill Fire Rescue officials said the woman was taken to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition after she was attacked by three pit bulls. However, Lauderhill police Maj. Rick Rocco said the breed of dog is unconfirmed.

Rocco said the woman was visiting from out of state and brought her three dogs with her. She was alone in her nephew's apartment when he came home to find the dog attacking her.

He called police, and officers arrived to help.

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Seismograph

15 years of earthquakes rock the planet


IFL Science
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:31 UTC
Earthquake globe
A remarkable animation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows every recorded earthquake that took place between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2015. It's like watching the world fall apart in real-time.

Some notable and devastating earthquakes are of course included in this animation, an interactive version of which can be found by clicking here.

The tsunami-inducing Tohoku earthquake that killed over 18,000 people in March 2011 in Japan can be seen, as can the December 2004 Sumatran quake and tsunami that killed nearly quarter of a million.

Over the last 15 years, there have been 20 earthquakes registering as 8.0M or larger. The two aforementioned earthquakes were the most powerful during this period, both registering as 9.1M events.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning kills 1,735 people in 5 years across the state of Odisha, India


Prameya News7
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:29 UTC
lightning
Lightning has killed as many as 1,735 persons across Odisha during the last five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16, informed Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Bijayshree Routray in the State Assembly on Monday.

In reply to a question of BJD MLA Priyadarshi Mihsra, Routray said steps are being taken to create awareness to protect people and animals from the lightning attack.

The Minister too stated that the State Government has decided to instal 122 Alert Siron Towers in coastal parts of the State in order to provide advance information regarding natural calamities like cyclone and tsunami. All these towers would be installed by May 12, 2017, the Minister said.
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Cloud Lightning

Man killed by lightning strike in New South Wales, Australia


Sky News
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:12 UTC
lightning
The body of a foreign tourist killed by a lightning strike has been recovered by emergency services from the top of a mountain in northern NSW.

Emergency services were called to the summit of the mountain, near Murwillumbah, just before 5am on Tuesday.

The man, aged in his 20s, was camping with a friend on Mt Warning when lightning struck a tree near their tent in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Qld police have said a nearby tree was struck by lightning and then struck the man's feet, killing him instantly.

The woman in her 20s, also an overseas tourist, has been treated for neck and head injuries at Murwillumbah hospital.
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Attention

213 killed by elephants in three years in the state of Odisha, India


Odisha Sun Times
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 19:27 UTC
Not so fast
Not so fast
As many as 213 persons have been killed in elephant attacks in Odisha in the last three years from 2013 to 2016, said Environment, Forest and Climate Change minister Anil Madhav Dave answering an unstarred question raised by BJD parliamentarian Narendra Kumar Swain on Monday.

67 persons in 2013-14, 65 persons in 2014-15 and 81 persons in 20115-16 were killed in jumbo attacks in the state, the information read.

While only one person was killed in tiger attacks in Odisha, 101 persons were killed in the last three years in 19 states in the country, the minister added.
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Cloud Grey

Strange, electric blue clouds have appeared over Antarctica way earlier than expected

Bec Crew
Science Alert
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 16:39 UTC
Noctilucent clouds seen over Vantaa in Finland in 2009.
© Mika-Pekka MarkkanenNoctilucent clouds seen over Vantaa in Finland in 2009
Each year, an eerie mass of bright blue clouds descends over Antarctica, as sunlight is reflected though dense layers of ice crystals to create a brilliant, glowing haze that can be seen from space.

But according to new images recorded by NASA, those otherworldly clouds made their annual appearance way earlier than expected this year, and scientists are struggling to explain why we got a two-week head-start on the South Pole's 'night-shining' event.
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Snowflake Cold

Arctic air to invade most of U.S. this week

Kristina Pydynowski
Accuweather
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 15:17 UTC
man in snow
The coldest and most widespread blast of arctic air so far this season will spread across the majority of the United States this week.

Frigid air from the depths of the Arctic will plunge into the United States as the jet stream (a fast-river of air along which storms travel) drops southward.

The coldest days of next week will yield highs and lows generally 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit below normal from the Northwest to the Gulf and East coasts.

Departures from normal highs will even approach 30 degrees in Billings, Montana, and Denver, Colorado.

The arctic blast will first began to chill the Northwest this weekend, where pockets of snow and freezing conditions made some roads slippery.

The northern Rockies and northern Plains will face multiple days of highs in the single digits and teens. Subfreezing highs will then spread to the central Plains, Great Lakes and interior Northeast.

"Afternoon high temperatures in cities like Kansas City and St. Louis will only be in the 20s late in the week, while some places in the Dakotas may have a day or two where the temperature does not even get above zero," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson said.
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Arrow Down

Rare sinkhole swallows two cars in San Antonio, one dead

Chris Shadrock
ksat.com
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 12:01 UTC
Emergency crews are on the scene of a massive sink hole on the Southwest Side Sunday night.
© SBG San AntonioEmergency crews are on the scene of a massive sink hole on the Southwest Side Sunday night.
Multiple San Antonio firefighters engaged in a high water rescue operation in the 8400 block of Quintana Road on San Antonio's Southwest Side after multiple cars got trapped in a sinkhole.

The rescue occurred near the intersection with Leon Creek. Initial calls for help came in just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

At least two vehicles were submerged by water -- including one that was flipped onto its roof.

Emergency responders believe the sinkhole could be 10 feet deep.

A man in his 60s was rescued by bystanders, both the man and one of the bystanders were taken to a hospital for treatment. SAFD is unsure if there are people in the other submerged vehicle, but said they fear the worse. Crews will have to wait until Monday morning to see if there are any victims in the second car.



Comment: According to Dr. Yongli Gao, a geological sciences professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, sinkholes in that area of the city are rare:
According to Dr. Gao, sink holes are nothing new to the area but are usually seen on the city's north side closer to the Edwards Aquifer, which is why he's surprised to see one so far south.

When asked if a sinkhole like the one seen Sunday could happen anywhere throughout San Antonio, Dr. Gao said, "Yeah it's possible, but I would say the probability is pretty low."

Dr. Gao said one major reason sinkholes are rare in the southern part of San Antonio is because the bed rock is usually pretty far down beneath the ground surface.
NBC news also reports that a woman was killed in the incident.

See also: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.0 undersea earthquake strikes eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert

Samhati Bhattacharjya
International Business Times, Singapore Edition
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 06:31 UTC
Underwater quake off Indonesia
© USGS Indonesia’s disaster agency said officials were checking to see if the quake had any impact.
A strong earthquake of 6.0 magnitude has hit the coast of eastern Indonesia on Monday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) seismologists.

USGS experts said the undersea quake struck at about 190 km north-east of Maumere, a holiday destination in Flores, at a depth of 522 km. The quake occurred at 9.13 am local time (9.1 3am Singapore time).

Indonesia's disaster agency said the officials were checking to see if the quake had any impact as there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. The authorities also said the quake did not trigger any tsunami alert.

Indonesia is positioned on the highly seismically active zone "Pacific Ring of Fire", which is known for collisions of tectonic plates, and hence it experiences frequent earthquakes.
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