Earth ChangesS


Attention

150 sea turtles found dead in Mexican Pacific lagoon

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© ProfepaOne of the dead turtles in Guerrero Negro.
Cold temperatures are suspected of killing some 150 sea turtles found in a lagoon of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.

Investigators with the federal environmental protection agency said Saturday the green sea turtles were found in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur state. The agency said it would be difficult to determine the exact cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition of the remains.

The agency said a cold front that lowered temperatures in the region may have caused the deaths but investigators also would try to determine whether some sort of contamination might have played a role.

In mid-January, federal inspectors found the bodies of 14 gray whales at the lagoon, as well as 16 other sea turtles.

Source: Associated Press

Comment: See also these reports from the same region in January: 14 whales and 16 turtles wash up dead on Baja California Sur coast

554 dead seabirds and 4 sea lions found on beaches in Baja California, Mexico


Snowflake Cold

Winter is here: Sub-zero temperatures continue in UK with another week of snow predicted

snow buries car Derbyshire
After extreme weather, a car is almost hidden by several feet of snow near Castleton in the Derbyshire Peak District yesterday afternoon
It's bad news for anyone who didn't pick up a coat in the January sales - last month's icy spell is expected to continue all week.

The mercury was expected to fall to -11C in some parts of the UK overnight, with subzero temperatures expected every night this week and snow predicted across swathes of the nation.

Southern England is gearing up for its coldest snap of the winter, with forecasters saying it will fall to -4C in the South tonight - as cold as your fridge.

Simon Partidge of the Met Office said: 'The maximum temperature on Monday will only be around 4C or 5C which is about the same as inside your fridge.

'And there is a further band of rain, sleet and snow coming in on Monday night which will see some snow in Western parts on Tuesday. It will be dry with sunny spells from Wednesday, but still very cold with some snow on the East Coast.

Binoculars

Another odd bird migration: Painted bunting turns up in Oakville, Canada

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© Cathie Coward,The Hamilton Spectator

Painted Bunting: Meet the tiny bird that has been the big talk of local birders for the past month.
In a backyard in Oakville, there's a tiny, colourful bird that's setting hearts aflutter.

A painted bunting, which usually makes its home in the Southern U.S. and Mexico, mysteriously appeared in the Lakeshore Road East and Winston Churchill Boulevard area before Christmas. The rare creature has created quite a stir, drawing birders from across Ontario and lots of speculation among those who love small things with wings.

Hamiltonian Bruce Mackenzie, an avid birder and retired conservation area manager, thinks the painted bunting is a wild bird that got blown off course by a storm.

Bell

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - 87km NW of La Punta, Argentina

La Punta Earthquake 6.3
© USGS
Event Time
2015-02-02 10:49:48 (UTC)

Nearby Cities

87km (54mi) NW of La Punta, Argentina
93km (58mi) NW of San Luis, Argentina
137km (85mi) ENE of San Martin, Argentina
164km (102mi) SE of Caucete, Argentina
344km (214mi) ENE of Santiago, Chile

Depth

172.3 km

Scientific data

Comment: See: SOTT Summary Video - December 2014: Extreme Weather, Earth Changes, Fireballs, High Strangeness


Cloud Precipitation

2 dead and 5,000 homes damaged following floods and landslides in Indonesia

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© JP/Jerry AdigunaA girl rides her bike through a flooded street in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, on Saturday, following heavy rain in the capital and surrounding areas.
Heavy rainfall across Indonesia has caused flooding and landslides, resulting in the death of at least 2 people and damage to over 5,000 homes.

Bali

Floods and landslides killed two people in Karangasem district, Karangasem, Bali on 31 January 2015. Two others were injured in the landslide which occurred after heavy rainfall in the region.

Wolf

Feral dogs kill 5-yr-old in Bareilly, India: Third fatality in a month of 10 attacks

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In what is becoming a serious menace, wild dogs attacked and killed a child on Saturday afternoon in Baheri tehsil, making him the third fatality of such an attack in almost a month. Over 10 children have also been injured in wild dog attacks in the past month. Ironically, while the attacks are continuing, district authorities continue to quibble over jurisdiction issues.

According to reports, daily wage labourer Anis Ahmed and his 15-year-old son Mujammil, residents of Lakhanpur village of Baheri, had gone to work at a local brick kiln. After some time, Anis went to his fields. When Mujammil did not join him after a long time, Anis went out to search for him.

That was when he saw Mujammil being attacked by a pack of dogs near the brick kiln. He somehow managed to chase away the dogs by attacking them with a spade but was not able to save his son, who was declared brought dead at a hospital.

Comment: Other recent notable attacks by packs of feral dogs on people -

Denison, Texas woman attacked and severely injured by dog pack

Man likely to have died from a dog pack attack in Madison, North Carolina

Pack of feral dogs attack 2 children, killing one, Nanfang, China

Feral dog pack found to have killed woman on Wyoming Indian reservation

Man found dead near New Mexico reservation may have been attacked by dog pack

Pack of stray dogs maul 17-month-old boy outside his house in Bangalore, India

Nine people killed by feral dog attacks in Rumbek, Sudan


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 6 in South Africa

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© Thinkstock
Three people died after being hit by lightning near Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, paramedics said. Another three were killed in Colenso.

Two women, aged between 70 and 80, and a man, believed to be in his sixties, were confirmed dead at the scene, said Emergency Medical Services spokesman Robert McKenzie.

They were believed to have been in a house at the time.

Three other women sustained serious injuries when they were struck by the lightning.

"Paramedics stabilised them on the scene before transporting them to the local eDumbe Community Health Centre," said McKenzie.

Black Cat

Cougar attacks pipeline worker near Grande Prairie, Canada

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Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers are currently investigating a cougar attack involving a pipeline worker south of Grande Prairie Friday.

According to Dan Laville, an Alberta Justice and Solicitor General spokesperson, at around 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, a cougar attacked a male pipeline worker, approximately 90 kilometres south of Grande Prairie.

Laville says a co-worker came to the victim's aid and was able to stop to the attack. The workers called 9-1-1. RCMP officers responded to the call and shot a cougar near the scene of the attack.

The Fish and Wildlife officers that are investigating the incident are using DNA analysis to confirm the cougar shot is the same animal involved in the attack.

Both workers sustained injuries and Laville says the injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

Comment: See also these other reports of cougar attacks on humans in 2014: A third cougar attack within a month leaves six-year-old California boy injured

Some wild animals are losing fear of humans: Biologist recovering after cougar assault in Grand Prairie, Alberta

Teenager attacked by cougar in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

From 2013: Man fights off cougar with skateboard; Parks Canada tracking animal

Cougar attack in British Columbia leaves woman in critical condition


Cloud Precipitation

Floods and mudslides strike Peruvian Amazon

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Large parts of the Peruvian Amazon are under water after torrential rains caused rivers to burst their banks.

More than 3,000 families have been affected and a state of emergency has been declared.

Laura Westbrook reports.


Cloud Precipitation

Flash flooding hits Greece and Albania forcing evacuations

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© APView of a flooded house in southern Gjirokastra city, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of captial Tirana, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015. Heavy rain and snow have swollen rivers, flooding thousands of hectares (acres), hundreds of homes and blocking many roads in southern Albania, which borders Greece
Flash floods caused by heavy rains have hit northwestern Greece and southern Albania, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of villagers Sunday and destroying a famous 18th-century stone bridge.

No casualties were reported in either country.

Heavy rains began Saturday in the northwestern Greek province of Epirus, prompting authorities to evacuate four villages and several isolated farmhouses close to the city of Arta.

By Sunday, at least four rivers had overflowed their banks, three of them near Arta and another closer to Greece's border with Albania. The Plaka Bridge near Arta also collapsed.

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© Yorgos Karahalis/APHuge waves hit a promenade at Floisvos suburb, west of Athens, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015.