Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Tornado destroys homes in Mount Hope, Kansas

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© UnknownTornado destroys home in Mount Hope, Kansas
Escorted by her son, Charmaine Foraker walked out to the field where her childhood house was now strewn in pieces to the northeast of Mount Hope.

Family members hugged her as she surveyed the bits of the roughly 100-year-old farmhouse that was destroyed by a tornado Wednesday afternoon.

A tornado spawned at around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday north of Mount Hope, northwest of Wichita, destroying at least three buildings before lifting about 45 minutes later near Burrton.


Comment: Check out: Homes damaged, airport evacuated in Oklahoma after tornadoes, floods, and severe storms


Cloud Precipitation

Homes damaged, airport evacuated in Oklahoma after tornadoes, floods & severe storms

lightning
© Reuters / Gene Blevins
Multiple tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of the state's main commercial airport as a safety precaution. At least one large twister also damaged homes and buildings in the Oklahoma City area.

In addition to severe storms and tornadoes, Oklahoma residents had to contend with power outages, golf-ball-sized hail, and flooding. Even wild animals got loose at one town's Tiger Safari wildlife refuge.

One of the day's largest tornadoes, according to local CBS affiliate KWTV, occurred around 4:30 pm local time and resulted in the formation of several satellite twisters. The big storm, whose main tornado measured about a quarter-mile wide, caused damage in Bridge Creek, Blanchard, Norman and Newcastle in the central part of the state.


Less than four hours later, another large tornado sprouted from the same storm near Bridge Creek. A daycare center was reportedly struck, but fortunately all the children and staff had already been moved to a shelter.

Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 7.1 - 149km SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea

Panguna Quake_070515
© USGS
Time
  1. 2015-05-07 07:10:22 (UTC)
  2. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 149km (93mi) SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
  2. 161km (100mi) SW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
  3. 409km (254mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
  4. 521km (324mi) ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
  5. 642km (399mi) WNW of Honiara, Solomon Islands
Scientific Data

Comment: Earth is 'opening up'. Other big earthquakes in just this one region over the last couple of months include:

March 16 2015 - 6,3 quake
March 30 2015 - 7,7 quake
April 30 2015 - 6.9 quake
May 1st 2015 - 7.1 quake
May 5th 2015 - 7.5 quake


Attention

Three earthquakes in 30 minutes strike Concord Fault in California

concord earthquakes 06.05.15
The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting three earthquakes, two with a 3-plus magnitude, have struck Concord Wednesday morning.

The USGS says the first quake, a magnitude 3.2, was centered east of Highway 242 in Concord and struck at about 7:01 a.m. PDT Wednesday. The second and largest, a 3.6-magnitude, struck at 7:32 a.m. It was later downgraded to a 3.5. The third, a 2.6-magnitude, hit shortly after at 7:35 a.m.

Over 100 people, mostly in Pleasant Hill, reported feeling the earthquakes, according to USGS' online "Did You Feel It" survey.

concord earthquakes
People chimed in over Twitter after some light shaking.


Comment: These latest earthquakes come only days after Michigan,Texas, Mississippi, California, Idaho and Washington were all jolted by significant earthquakes.

For more information about our increasingly extreme weather and overall planetary upheaval, see: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2015


Question

Winter bird migrants from Himalayas stay south in Tamil Nadu, India

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© Wikimedia CommonsIndian Pitta (Pitta brachyura).
Indian pitta and black-naped oriole, two species of migratory birds from the Himalayan region, have extended their stay in the Grizzled giant squirrel sanctuary in Srivilliputhur.

Sighting of these rare birds were recorded during a bird census last Saturday and Sunday. Bombay Natural History Society member S Chandrasekar, who took part in the census, said normally these birds stay till the end of March. When temperatures soar, they return to their habitat after nesting and roosting. This time they are hanging around. We need to study the reasons.

Five species of birds have been recorded during the census, the other three species being the Wayanad laughing thrush, yellow-throated bulbul and Malabar trogan. A decade ago it was considered that the yellow-throated bulbul was purely an Eastern Ghats species. Sighting of this bird last week in the Western Ghats has opened new possibilities of studies. Similarly, the sighting of Malabar trogan was reported from camps set up in high altitude areas. All the five species were not recorded in last year's census.

Comment: See also: Migrating birds still delayed by cooler than normal weather in Canada


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills two in Amersfoort, the Netherlands

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A lightning strike in an Amersfoort, Utrecht park left two people dead, safety office Veiligheidsregio Utrecht reported on Wednesday. The two victims likely took shelter from the rain underneath a tree, and lightning may have hit both the tree and the victims, a safety office spokesman said.

The bolt of lightning came down in Randenbroek Park at about 2:30 p.m. The fire department was quickly called to the scene and tried to resuscitate the victims after the incident but to no avail.

It is not known yet "if they died immediately, or if they died later," an Utrecht Safety Region spokesman said. "Their identities are not known."

A spokesperson on the scene said that police is starting an investigation to identify the victims.

Attention

Man killed by elephant in West Bengal, India

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Asian elephants.
A 67-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant near Belpahari town in Midnapore West district today, forest department officials said.

Sukhen Mura of Banspahari village had come to Belpahari to collect his old age pension and was returning home in a cycle through a forest where a herd of three elephants were staying.

One of the three pachyderms wrapped Mura with its trunk and flung him on the ground, the officials said.

After being taken to hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.

Attention

Elephant kills person in Rangamati, Bangladesh

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Asian elephant.
A youth, who was injured by a wild elephant at Madhyam Ghanmor village in Longdu upazila on Monday night, died at Longdu Upazila Health Complex early yesterday.

The deceased is Joyprakash Chakma, 38, a resident of the village.

Police said a wild elephant from the adjacent hills entered the village and attacked Joyprakash while he was guarding his paddy field around 8:30pm on Monday night, leaving him critically injured.

Villagers rushed him to Longdu Upazila Health Complex, where he succumbed to his injuries around 6:00am.

Attention

With 17 million poultry dead or dying of bird flu, Iowa declares emergency

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© AP /Marcio Jose Sanchez This Sept. 10, 2008, file photo shows chickens huddling in their cages at an egg processing plant at the Dwight Bell Farm in Atwater, Calif.
A state of emergency was declared yesterday by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad with nearly 17 million chickens and turkeys dead, dying, or scheduled to be euthanized due to a widening bird flu outbreak. The proclamation activates disaster response and recovery procedures for the state's homeland security and emergency management personnel. It authorizes use of state resources, supplies, equipment, and materials to track and monitor bird flu, establish restrictions around affected farms, and assist in the rapid detection of cases. It also allows state agencies to help in the disposal of poultry carcasses, an increasing problem in a state where about 27% of its 60 million egg-laying chickens will be wiped out. Reuters reported last week that this could be the worst bird flu outbreak in US history.

Arrow Down

Another sinkhole shuts down part of street in Allentown, Pennsylvania

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© UnknownA sinkhole that developed in Allentown just a few days before.
A sinkhole that developed Tuesday evening forced the Allentown Streets Department to close the 200 block of North 30th Street, city police said.

The sinkhole was discovered when a pedestrian noticed a narrow, 3-foot-long crack in the pavement, about 3 to 4 feet deep. Police said that, just below the pavement, the sinkhole affected an area as wide as 15 feet.

Police Capt. Bill Reinik said the middle of the block was barricaded shut, but residents still can reach their homes. He said the sinkhole probably can be repaired with relatively little bother.

Comment: Also see: Sinkhole again in Allentown, Pennsylvania - this time it closes Lehigh Parkway South