Earth ChangesS


Windsock

Powerful storm blasts Grozny, Chechen Republic


RT
Sun, 28 Aug 2016 00:38 UTC
Grozny storm
© Musafir1205 nohchi / YouTube
A severe windstorm with heavy rain swept through the Chechen capital of Grozny on Saturday night, ripping off trees, roofs, advertising boards and turning streets into rivers. A young woman died in the storm and a man was injured.

A state of emergency has been invoked in the city as community services are dealing with the aftermath of the boisterous weather, which knocked down over hundred trees and power lines.

Roofs of over two dozen buildings, including schools, hospitals, culture facilities, administrative buildings, a sports center and an office of a local TV channel were damaged.

"In connection with the accidental situation on housing and utilities objects, the decision to declare an emergency situation in Grozny was made," the city's mayor Muslim Khuchiev said, RIA Novosti reported.

A slab ripped off the building by a strong wind crashed onto a 21-year-old woman, killing her on the spot. A middle-aged man, a watchman of a local brickyard, was injured during a routine tour.


Comment: In May of this year, an incredible localized rainfall event was filmed in Grozny.

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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed on Lake Superior

Chelsea Birdsall
abc10up.com
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 16:30 UTC
Waterspout
© Denise Johnson
The National Weather Service in Marquette reported that a water spout was spotted between Marquette and Big Bay off Eagles Nest Road around 8:30 a.m. Friday morning.

It was relatively small in size in comparison to the water spout seen on the lake last October. No more water spouts have been identified, but today's cool air and warm lake water create favorable conditions for more similar activity.

The weather service says there is no risk for people on land, but boaters around Granite Island should keep an eye on the area.

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Tornado1

Multiple waterspouts form off coast near Russian resort city Sochi where tornadoes are very rare occurrence (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)


RT
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 13:30 UTC
waterspout
© Дмитрий Ульянов / vk.com
The Russian resort city of Sochi woke to see what looked like tornados gathering over its beaches and roofs.

Images on social media show waterspouts over the resort on Saturday morning. The local emergencies agency has urged the locals to take care.

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Attention

Bull elephant kills mahout in Thailand


Bangkok Post
Fri, 26 Aug 2016 11:56 UTC
Charging elephant
© GettyCharging elephant
A mahout has been attacked and killed by a male elephant at an elephant camp in Kapong district.

The attack occurred at Win Elephant Camp in tambon Rommanee, said Pol Col Wasant Banluephuet, a deputy investigation chief at Kapong police station. The incident was reported at around 5.30pm on Thursday.

The elephant, Plai Seedor Mongkhol, flew into a rage and attacked mahout Sornchai Kerdsommart, 38, when he went to unchain him from a wooden post he was tethered to at the camp.

The animal then fled into the nearby jungle, camp staff told police.

Sornchai received major injuries to his right arm and face and his skull was fractured. He died on the spot, Thai media reported.

Livestock officials joined other mahouts in the jungle hunt for the escaped elephant, which was tracked down last night, tranquilised and recaptured.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 and injures 30 in Madhya Pradesh, India


OneIndia
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 10:39 UTC
lightning
Three people were killed and 30 others injured after being hit by lightning in this district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.

Kripal Singh, 60, Garud Singh, 55, and Trilok Singh, 50, were among a large gathering taking part on Friday night in a religious function at a house in Silthar village when lightning struck amid strong wind and rain, Shahpura police station in-charge Anil Patel told IANS.

The three men were killed; 30 other people were injured and taken to primary health centre at Shahpura, he said.
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Cloud Lightning

Woman killed by lightning strike in Sarasota, Florida; total lightning fatalities for U.S. in 2016 now 31

Crystal Clark
fox13news.com
Fri, 26 Aug 2016 09:49 UTC
lIGHTNING
Fierce storms rolled through the Bay Area Friday evening and took a woman's life when she was stuck by lightning.

The Sarasota County Fire Department said crews went to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in the 2500 block of Cocoanut Avenue Friday around 5:30 p.m. for reports of a lightning strike that caused a small fire. When they got there, they found a 50-year-old woman had been struck by lightning.

Officials said she died near a gazebo. The think she was walking from one gazebo over to another, taking shelter from the rain. Before she could make it to the next spot for cover, she was struck by lightning.

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Fire

Officials warn of explosions as methane seeps from old landfill in Michigan

Matt Vande Bunte
MLive.com
Tue, 23 Aug 2016 08:30 UTC
A warning sign around the old Kentwood Landfill.
A warning sign on the fence around the old Kentwood Landfill.

Methane gas seeping out of an old landfill could pose a risk of explosion in nearby houses, according to Kent County officials.

The county identified methane outside the perimeter of the long-closed Kentwood landfill at 4900 Walma Dr. SE, off Breton Road north of 52nd Street, while recently installing gas monitoring wells, said Dar Baas, public works director. About 150 residences within 1,500 feet of the landfill's western boundary will be getting notices in the mail, he said.

"Methane is not toxic, but it is flammable," Baas said. "The biggest concern is it getting caught up in a building where it might store up and cause a fire.

"What we don't know is how far (the methane is migrating) and that's what we're trying to figure out."

The county's public works department will hold a meeting on the gas 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, at Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. Residents also can get free on-site methane testing by the department.

Public buildings adjacent to the landfill have been tested and do not have methane in them, Baas said.

Comment: SOTT Exclusive: The growing threat of underground fires and explosions

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Cloud Precipitation

Flash flooding hits Kansas City, Missouri


RT
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 03:10 UTC
Kansas City flash flood
© YouTube/RT (screen capture)
Footage showing entire parking lots under water is emerging from nearby Kansas City, Missouri, where a flash flood emergency warning from the National Weather Service has been issued.

Water levels have been described as going above car doors and emergency crews have been dispatched to assist stranded pedestrians.
Local news stations KSHB and WDAF, as well as other eyewitnesses, shared harrowing scenes from the city of Westport on Twitter.

The rain in Westport was reported to be dying down, but the full flooding damage has yet to be assessed. Some vehicles, certainly, will be a total loss.

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Bizarro Earth

Earthquake swarm that shook Canadian village still a mystery

Kevin Bissett
The Canadian Press
Fri, 26 Aug 2016 05:47 UTC
Kinemetrics seismograph
© Wikimedia Commons
McAdam, New Brunswick - The cause of more than 100 earthquakes that shook homes and rattled nerves in a New Brunswick village earlier this year may remain a mystery, says a seismologist.

Stephen Halchuk at Earthquakes Canada said the kind of earthquake swarm that began rumbling under the village of McAdam in February is unusual but not unheard of.

"There have been other swarms of activity in eastern North America. There have been ones in Maine and in Connecticut and some further to the west as well," he said.

"It still remains a mystery as to why this particular area is generating them. It just appears to be a zone of weakness in the earth's crust. There's not a well defined fault that we can point to and say that's what's causing it."

A 3.3 magnitude quake on Feb. 9 shook homes and broke windows. Some people said the tremors sounded like explosions.

"It was a fairly tight cluster, only a few kilometres across, and unfortunately for the people of McAdam it was almost right under the village itself," Halchuk said.
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Blue Planet

Top 10 ways to destroy all the water on earth

Derrick Jensen
Fair Observer
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
plastic ocean pollution
© FergregoryIt's predicted up to 13 million tonnes of plastic makes its way to the sea every year
I love looking at lists of our culture's greatest achievements. I'm always astounded, for example, to read of the stupendous effort that went into building the Pyramids of Giza: At least 10,000 people worked for 30 years to erect giant tombs for their leaders.

And I don't see how anyone could contain excitement when reading, to provide another example, that the Hoover Dam is "one of man's greatest achievements" because it brought "order to the rampaging Colorado River, maker of the Grand Canyon and lifeline of the American Southwest."

And who could possibly disagree with sentiments like "Each time I see a building rise into the sky, the sight of the plumbing pipes—the final arteries of a marvelous life-sustaining system—evokes a special feeling of wonder and pride."

But one thing bothers me about these lists: They hold back from showing the most unbelievable and important accomplishments, the ones that really showcase this culture's power, that get to the core of what this culture is about, the ones that make plumbing pipes seem trivial.

So I've started making lists of my own. Here's a list of some of this culture's greatest accomplishments having to do with water.

Comment: see also:

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