Earth ChangesS


Attention

Three human-eating lions given 'life sentence' in Gujarat, India

Asiatic Lion
Asiatic Lion
Seven lion attacks in villages near the Gir wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat state have killed three people since March, while four victims have suffered serious injuries.

Three lions identified as having eaten villagers in western India have been caged and will never be released back into the wild, forest officials said Thursday.

The male and two females were among 17 lions rounded up after a 14-year-old boy was dragged away while sleeping outside his house near the lion sanctuary in the Gir National Forest in Gujarat state, the world's last refuge for wild Asiatic lions.

The boy was the third person killed since April in the area, prompting protests by villagers and local lawmakers who demanded authorities hunt down the man-eaters.

A pride of 17 endangered Asiatic lions, which only live in the forest in Gujarat, have been captured in the past month.

Attention

Dead whale washes up on beach in Bowen, Australia

 A dead whale washed up on a Bowen beach.
© Ruby Hill A dead whale washed up on a Bowen beach.

A dead whale found washed up near the North Queensland Cruising Yacht Club in Bowen this morning has been buried.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) said Whitsunday Regional Council (WRC) coordinated the burial of the carcass this afternoon.

Under a Memorandum of Agreement with QPWS, council staff collected measurements, photos and a blubber sample aided by a local turtle volunteer.

After conferring with a James Cook University researcher, a QPWS spokesperson said judging by the pictures posted to Facebook, the whale was believed to be either a dwarf minke whale or an Antartic minke whale.

The whale was brought to the public's attention this morning when Ruby Hill posted a photo to a Bowen community Facebook page.

"This poor little whale didn't make it, pictures taken in front of sail club," Ms Hill said on her post.

In the pictures, the whale looked to have been attacked by another animal.

The QPWS spokesperson said predation was commonly seen in stranded marine mammals that were already sick, injured or deceased.

As dwarf minkes are known to travel through Bowen on their annual migration to the northern Ribbon Reefs near Cooktown in June and July, the spokesperson said it wasn't unusual to spot them in the area.

Fire

Extreme heat to challenge all-time records across southwestern U.S.

An extreme heat wave will grip the southwestern United States through early week.

A strong ridge of high pressure will take control and strengthen into this week, sending temperatures to dangerous levels.
Heat wave map
"When a ridge of high pressure like this one forms in the middle to late June, it can deliver some of the hottest weather possible to the Desert Southwest," AccuWeather Western U.S. Expert Ken Clark said.

Temperatures will run between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average through the early part of the week.

"The peak of the heat in many areas will be on Monday, but Tuesday will be no slouch either in the high heat department," Clark said.

With multiple fires raging across the region, the heat will pose problems for firefighters.

Comment: Heat records have already been broken in California and Arizona.

See also: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - May 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs


Cloud Precipitation

Update: Death toll from Indonesia floods, landslides increases to 47

Flash floods and landslides in central Indonesia have killed at least 35 people and destroyed dozens of homes as searchers scoured devastated villages for survivors.
© Rohmat Syarif/AFPFlash floods and landslides in central Indonesia have killed at least 35 people and destroyed dozens of homes as searchers scoured devastated villages for survivors.
The death toll from landslides and flooding in Indonesia rose to 47 on Monday, an official said, after hundreds of homes were engulfed by surging torrents of mud and rock.

Rescuers used excavators and their bare hands to search through wrecked houses and earth for 15 villagers still missing after days of rain triggered the landslips and flash floods on mountainous Java island at the weekend.

The natural disasters happened across densely populated Central Java province, with fast-moving walls of mud, rock and water engulfing buildings as they raced down hillsides and drivers were swept off roads.

Villagers were trapped on their rooftops and watched helplessly as the rising floodwaters submerged their homes and cars.

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 47 people were confirmed dead and 15 were missing. Hundreds of homes were badly damaged, with some completely flattened.

"People should be prepared as there is still a high potential for flooding and landslides," he warned.


Attention

Black bear attacks woman running marathon in New Mexico

Black bear
Black bear
Wildlife officials say a bear attacked a woman running a marathon in a national preserve in northern New Mexico.

The woman suffered several bites and scratches and had injuries to her head, neck and upper body that weren't life-threatening.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish says the woman was racing Saturday afternoon when a female black bear confronted her in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Officers say the victim surprised the bear after her cub had run up a nearby tree.

Other joggers helped her until emergency crews arrived. She was airlifted to an Albuquerque hospital.

Game and Fish and the National Park Service are warning people to stay away from the area. Officials are trying to find the bear to euthanize it and test it for rabies.

Source: Associated Press

Cloud Precipitation

Rare massive hail storm hits Alice Springs, Australia; turns the red centre white

Friday's storm was one of the wildest hailstorms in living memory, with thousands of tonnes of hail dumped on the town
Friday's storm was one of the wildest hailstorms in living memory, with thousands of tonnes of hail dumped on the town
Outback Australia was hit by wild hailstorms on Friday. As the cleanup continues, residents have found ways to make the most of the wacky weather.

Locals posted pictures to social media of wine coolers filled with hail, a sand castle built of remaining ice and cans of beer thrown on the ice to cool down.

The photographs went to show that even freak weather can't break Australian spirit.

One picture was of tanned feet encased in thongs against the white backdrop of the icy ground, and another showed hailstones on a pub table, with plates, glasses and beers clearly abandoned at the very last second.

Pictures of the desert town also illustrated how much ice remained on the road, and around the Todd River, which usually sits as a dry, sandy riverbed - not a lake surrounded by ice.

A powerful storm hammered Alice Springs on Friday afternoon bringing hailstones the size of golf balls and gale force winds to the town.


The freak storm uprooted trees and caused flash flooding, while parts of the Red Centre were covered in a sheet of white sleet.

The roof of Coles, which is the largest supermarket in Alice Springs, caved in during the storm
The roof of Coles, which is the largest supermarket in Alice Springs, caved in during the storm


Ice Cube

Violent storm with tennis ball sized hail hits Moldova

Moldova hailstones
Hundreds of villages were hit last night by a violent storm. In some, the hail balls as big as tennis ball and the rain smashed plantations and roofs, in others, the rain flooded gardens and cellars.

Many portions of roads were blocked by fallen trees.

Scores of households were flooded in the village of Magdacesti, near Chisinau.

Rescue teams now pump the water out of the people's cellars and houses.


Cloud Lightning

Huge lightning strike filmed hitting Myrtle Beach in South Carolina

 Lightning striking off-shore in Myrtle Beach
Lightning striking off-shore in Myrtle Beach
Large lightning strike seen during severe storms in Myrtle Beach South Carolina

As over 1,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the Myrtle Beach area Wednesday afternoon, one viewer took a spectacular slow-motion video of one bolt striking the ocean. Nathan Polk was rolling from the 6th floor of his condo off Ocean Boulevard, near 17th Avenue North, when lightning struck off-shore. The First Alert Weather Team's weather information system recorded over 1,000 lightning strikes in Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area as a storm rolled through at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.


Cloud Lightning

2 killed and 4 injured by lightning bolt in Nepal

Lightning
Two persons died and four others were injured after being struck by a lightning at Sersere in Basamadi of Hetaunda Sub-Metropolitan City-27, Makwanpur on Saturday evening.

According to the District Police Office, Makwanpur, the deceased have been identified as Tara Rumba (46) and Kumar Bal (25) of Sersere, Basamadi.

Police said that Anju Rumba (18), Chongsang Bal (13), Krishna Bahadur Bal (55) and Sun Maya Rumba (45) were injured in the incident.

The injured are receiving treatment at the Hetaunda Hospital, police said.

Cloud Precipitation

Floods and landslides kill at least 24 people in Java, Indonesia; dozens missing

Villagers walk through the area affected by landslides in Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. Sunday, June 19, 2016. An Indonesian official said dozens of people have been killed by flooding and landslides in central Java and many others remain missing
© APVillagers walk through the area affected by landslides in Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. Sunday, June 19, 2016. An Indonesian official said dozens of people have been killed by flooding and landslides in central Java and many others remain missing.
At least 24 people have been killed by flooding and landslides in central Java and many others remained missing Sunday, an Indonesian official said.

Dozens of houses were buried in the landslides and thousands of homes were inundated by floods in 16 districts and towns over the weekend.

The dead included two 10-year-olds and a pregnant woman.

The spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said that 26 villagers were missing in the worst-hit district of Purworejo, where 11 people died.

He said seven people were killed in Kebumen district and six in Banjarnegara district.