Earth ChangesS


Attention

5.1 magnitude earthquake registered off Indonesia

earthquake
5.1 magnitude earthquake

2016-01-12 12:27:28 UTC

UTC time: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 12:27 PM

Your time: 2016-01-12T12:27:28Z

Magnitude Type: mb

USGS page: M 5.1 - 240km NNW of Tobelo, Indonesia

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 0 people

Attention

Unusual stranding of 2 giant sperm whales on same beach at Wangerooge, Germany

Sperm whale
© Hal WhiteheadHead of a sperm whale
Two sperm whales have washed up together on the German North Sea coast. The double stranding of sperm whales took place on the shores of Wangerooge, an island off Germany's North Sea coast, and is an unusual event.

It is thought that the pair may have got lost and mistakenly moved into shallow waters between Britain and Europe, where their navigational sonar may not have work as efficiently as it would in the deeper ocean.

Sperm whales can reach over 18 metres in length and are one of the deepest diving mammals in the world.

Comment: See also: 100 whales wash ashore on Tamil Nadu coast in India: 45 die


Ice Cube

Car found frozen solid after parking overnight next to Lake Erie

Frozen car
© Annette Lawless / Twitter
A car parked by Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York has unwittingly become the latest ice sculpture in the area, as severe winter weather continues to freeze the area.

The car, which was frozen solid in recent snowy conditions, will need more than an ice scraper and antifreeze to get moving again. The picture of the vehicle went viral after being tweeted by Matt Bové, a weatherman for Buffalo news channel WKBW.

The image has been shared more than 7,000 times since being posted on WKBW's Facebook page.

"This is a frozen-solid car," Bové said. "I don't even know if pictures do it justice ... it seems like there are several inches of thick ice surrounding the car. You could see what was once a mirror, you can see there's a spoiler at the back."

Attention

Dead whale removed from beach in Portugal

Dead whale
The removal of a whale from Parede beach in Cascais last night resulted in the closure of the busy Marginal for around four hours between Carcavelos and Parede.

Maritime Police took the decision to close the road between 5pm and 9pm as it was low-tide, which they said would assist them in hoisting the ten-ton carcass onto a truck from the beach below.

The ten-metre long whale had beached on Saturday afternoon.


Tornado2

Buildings damaged by 'tornado' in Maidenhead, UK

Maidenhead tornado damage
© Chanellina Daniella
Homes in Maidenhead have been left damaged by what eyewitnesses described as a "tornado".

Residents described hearing loud crashing noises and strong winds at about 02:30 GMT.

Wessex Primary School has reported damage including a hole in the roof, dislodged canopies and solar panels upended.

The Met Office said it could not "confirm or deny" reports of a tornado.


Comment: Other incidents of 'rare' UK tornadoes in the past year include those in: West Sussex, Northampton, Somerset, Newport, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Just a small selection of other 'rare' tornadoes from around the world in recent months, include those from the United States, Northern Ireland, England, Australia, Hawaii and India.

See also: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - December 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs


Cloud Precipitation

Floods in Portugal after Mondego, Douro and Tamega rivers overflow

Flooded Mondego River
Mondego River in Coimbra, Portugal bursting its banks
Portugal's National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) report that the Douro, Mondego and Tâmega rivers overflowed between 10 and 11 January 2016, affecting areas of Porto and Coimbra districts.

ANPC had issued warnings following a period of heavy rain and strong winds that affected the North and Central regions of the country over the last few days. The Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) also warned of high waves in several coastal areas of the districts of Lisbon, Setúbal, Coimbra and Leiria.

ANPC say that they have recorded over 300 weather-related incidents over the last 3 days, with around 200 of them a result of flooding. There have also been reports of fallen trees and landslides. No fatalities have been reported. Two separate landslides in Baltar, Paredes municipality, in the district of Porto forced around 10 people from their homes.

Yesterday some surface flooding had blocked roads in the districts of Porto, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, Aveiro, Leiria and Braga.


Question

Outgassing? Mysterious smell spreads across western suburbs in Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne stench
© Tim YoungThe Werribee treatment plant is one of the suspects after a stink seeped through from Altona and Werribee to Melbourne's northern and western suburbs on Sunday night
Melbourne's west wasn't smelling its best when an overpowering stench spread across suburbs last night.

The EPA received almost 100 calls about the smell from 8pm to midnight.

Odour complaints were made in Derrimut, Tullamarine, Footscray, Kealba, Altona and Sunshine.

Locals took to social media to share their disgust.

"Does anyone know what that #funkysmell is out in the north western suburbs tonight, smells like sewage," Twitter user Fred the Bear said.


Comment: Damian Wells, executive director at the Victoria Environment Protection Authority said "Our odour experts see this as quite a unique event and so it does seem like this is an odour plume - an event-driven plume."

Could this 'unique odour plume event' have been caused by outgassing? A couple of months ago a similar mystery stench engulfed Barcelona - another coastal city.

Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs; it is heavier than air, very poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and explosive. There was also a massive tire fire in Melbourne on the same day.

Other possible cases of outgassing in recent times include:


Attention

5.9 magnitude earthquake recorded in southern Indian Ocean

earthquake
5.9 magnitude earthquake

UTC time: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 09:45 AM

Your time: Tuesday, January 12 2016 9:45 AM

Magnitude Type: mb

USGS page: M 5.9 - Southwest Indian Ridge

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 0 people

Attention

100 whales wash ashore on Tamil Nadu coast in India: 45 die

Dead whales
Over100 whales were found on the 16km stretch from Alanthalai to Kallamozhi coastal hamlets on Tuesday morning.
At least 45 small whales (short-finned pilot whales), part of the lot which washed ashore in Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu on Monday evening, have died. More than 100 whales were found on the 16km stretch from Alanthalai to Kallamozhi coastal hamlets on Tuesday morning. Thirty six of them have been rescued by fishermen.

"The whales started reaching the shore in groups around 5pm. It is very strange. In 1973 when we were boys, we witnessed same phenomenon. However, not these many washed ashore then," said Rajan, a fishermen in Manapad.

Ditto Mascarenhas of Kulasekarapattinam said if local fishermen had not kept a vigil, many more whales would have died. The fishermen remained awake the whole night to keep the whales in water by pulling them back to the sea.

Tuticorin district collector M Ravikumar inspected the coast. He said officials were investigating the reason for such a huge number of whales reaching the shore.

A team from the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park in Ramanathapuram has rushed to the spot.



Attention

4.6 magnitude earthquake strikes Iran, tremors felt in Azerbaijan

Earthquake register
Tremors were also felt in Azerbaijan as an earthquake of 4.6 magnitude struck Iran Jan.12.

The earthquake was recorded in Iran 20 km north from Azerbaijan's Yardimli district at 6:38am local time, the Republican Seismic Survey Center of told APA.

The earthquake that occured at a depth of 27 km was also felt in 3.0-magnitude in Azerbaijan.