Earth ChangesS


Attention

Blizzard warning issued for two summits in Hawaii

Aileen Graef
upi.com
Thu, 25 Dec 2014 11:28 UTC
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If you want a white Christmas, go to ... Hawaii?

The Big Island of Hawaii received a blizzard warning for the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanic peaks Wednesday.

The peaks were expected to accumulate 8 inches each with higher drifts. Along with snow, there were high winds and warnings of lightning strikes as well as life-threatening conditions.

Both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are above 11,000 feet in elevation. The National Weather service warned no one should travel up there to drive or hike the summits, and if they did go up there, to bring a survival kit. The National Park Service closed the trails up the mountains.

Below the summits, there were warnings of flooding rains, presenting the danger of flash floods on Thursday.
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Snowflake

Moscow stuck in worst ever Christmas traffic after unexpected severe snowfall


RT
Thu, 25 Dec 2014 23:07 UTC
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© AFP Photo/Yuri KadobonovCars are pictured on a road in Moscow as it snows on December 25, 2014.
Moscow was gripped by the worst gridlock ever seen as unexpectedly severe snowfall hit the Russian capital on Christmas day, literally paralyzing the city. Police registered up to 500 road accidents an hour and 200 flights were delayed.

The longest traffic jam stretched 60 kilometers, or over 37 miles, Russia's online road traffic monitoring service Yandex Probki (Yandex traffic jam), reported.


Comment: That darned climate change won't stop reminding us how much the weather will change for the colder.

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Attention

Wild elephant kills yet another individual in Sri Lanka


Ceylon Today
Mon, 22 Dec 2014 21:21 UTC
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An individual has been killed yesterday (21st) in a wild elephant attack in Uhana area.

The remains of the victim are lying at Ampara Hospital. The post-mortem is yet to be conducted.

Uhana Police are conducting further investigations in to the incident.

Comment: Since August elephants on the island of Sri Lanka seems to be going berserk for some reason: Wild elephant kills yet another person in Sri Lanka

Third elephant attack within 3 days in Sri Lanka: Two killed in jumbo attack

Father and son killed in elephant attack, Sri Lanka

2 people killed in another elephant attack in Sri Lanka

Wild elephant attacks kills two in Sri Lanka

One person killed in wild elephant attack in Sri Lanka

Fourth elephant attack within four weeks in Sri Lanka

Two killed in a wild elephant attack in Maankulam, Sri Lanka

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Attention

Circus elephant kills 12-year-old boy in Vietnam


Viet Nam News
Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:11 UTC
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The elephant that killed the boy.
A 12-year-old boy was killed by an elephant from a travelling circus troupe on Tuesday in Dak Mil district's Duc Manh commune.

Nguyen Van Luat was feeding the elephant while it was chained up in preparation for that evening's show when the 40-year-old animal grabbed him with its trunk and crushed it under its foot, according to chairman of the communal people's committee Du Van The.

The elephant keeper rushed out to save the boy, but it was too late.

Binh Minh circus troupe, which comes from northern Thai Binh Province, arrived in the commune on Monday during its tour of Viet Nam.

Pham Thanh Cao, deputy head of the troupe, said the boy and his friend were annoying the elephant. He admitted that the troupe had not taken any protective measures.

The case is currently under investigation.
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Attention

Dead minke whale found near Dam Neck Naval base, Virginia

Catherine Rogers
wavy.com
Wed, 24 Dec 2014 19:57 UTC
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© Virginia AquariumFemale Minke whale.
Virginia Aquarium responders found a stranded whale in Virginia Beach Wednesday morning.

The female Minke whale was dead when the aquarium's stranding response team arrived near Dam Neck Naval base. It was about 14 feet long. Heavy equipment on the base is assisting moving the animal above the high tide line and the stranding team will conduct a necropsy Friday morning.

The program is supported by the Virginia Aquarium Foundation through donations from the community, and grant-making organizations. To report a dead or live stranded marine mammal or sea turtle call the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program 24-hour hotline at (757) 437-6159.
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Ice Cube

Rescued scientists bring back a warning from the Antarctic

Ian Sample
The Guardian
Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:25 UTC
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© Andrew Peacock /Rex FeaturesAlok Jha and Laurence Topham look on at the Akademik Shokalskiy beset in ice in East Antarctica.
The voyage was meant to retrace the steps of Douglas Mawson, the great polar explorer and scientist who led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911. What happened instead captured the world's attention, something none of the scientists, journalists and paying public aboard could have foreseen.

The Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in ice on Christmas Day 2013 only two weeks after leaving New Zealand. A rescue mission swung into operation. Chinese, French and Australian icebreakers hurried to the scene only to be defeated by the ice floes themselves.

News editors around the world must have thanked their chosen gods. Into the seasonal dead zone, a real story had dropped. Stranded far from home, those aboard the Shokalskiy faced danger amidst the spectacular ice.

That New Year's Eve an interview with expedition leader Chris Turney was beamed live to Times Square in New York. Two days later, the rescue effort entered a new phase. With no icebreaker able to smash its way through, a Chinese helicopter, Xue Ying, or "Snow Eagle", rose into the air for the first of five flights to ferry passengers from the stricken ship to the Aurora Australis. A core crew remained behind to sail vessel home once conditions allowed.

Comment: Note how Turney still claims the wind is causing more sea ice. After a year they are still crunching the measurement data to reveal how and when the ice expanded. Could it be the data doesn't fit their preconceived notion of global warming?

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Igloo

Meteorologists warn of blizzard conditions across Europe!

P. Gosselin
NoTricksZone
Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:19 UTC
So far it's been a very mild winter across Central Europe. Just days ago, with temperatures in the double-digit Celsius range, meteorologists and media wrote off the possibility of a white Christmas. Gradually all the snow being a "thing of the past" talk was starting up.

Wrong again. So unpredictable can chaotic systems like weather and climate be.
Winter across Europe
© wetterline.deSunday morning outlook.
Suddenly the picture has reversed 180°.
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Attention

Bear attacks increase in Annapurna, Nepal

Shiva Sharma
ekantipur.com
Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:26 UTC
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Asiatic black bear
A significant increase has been noticed in the tendency of Asian black bear entering human settlements, damaging crops and attacking humans in Annapurna Conservation Area which is said to be a suitable habitat for the animal, according to a survey conducted by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).

The study carried out a year ago has shown an increase in the incident of bear attacks, raising questions about security of local residents in the area.

Local people who enter nearby forests in the region to collect fodder are falling victim to bear attacks. Bhadra Bir Nepali, 41, of Parche was attacked last August when he went to collect fodder for his livestock. Likewise, Bal Bahadur Gurung of Dhampus was also seriously injured in a bear attack in the same month.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows 3 cars in Melbourne, Australia


sbs.com.au
Tue, 16 Dec 2014 11:31 UTC
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© Grant StevensonA sinkhole in Port Melbourne threatened to flood 50 homes at one stage, Melbourne Fire Brigade commander said.
Residents in a Melbourne suburb woke today to find a massive sinkhole that swallowed cars and trees.

Firefighters were called to Port Melbourne early on Tuesday after a 350mm cast iron water main ruptured under Liardet Street.

Witness Vanessa says she thought a tsunami had hit the waterside suburb.

"I heard car horns, car alarms going off erratically. I thought someone had broken into my car," she told Fairfax radio.

"I went out there, opened up my front door and saw two cars swallowed up in the street right outside my front door and all this water gushing down the street in front of me.


Comment: See also: Woman falls into three metre deep sinkhole in Melbourne, Australia

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Attention

'Tame' hippo attacks people for the second time in 4 weeks, South Africa


news24.com
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:17 UTC
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Jessica the tame hippopotamus would never intentionally hurt a person, a man who was reportedly attacked by the animal said on Tuesday.

"I worked with her for two years, she knows me and I did the tours with the people," Stephen Jansen van Rensburg said.

"There is no way that she will hurt anybody intentionally, maybe by accident, I mean look at my hand but never intentionally. Wish these people will stop sensationalising it."

Jansen van Rensburg said a report in the Beeld newspaper on Tuesday was sensationalising the incident that happened on Saturday when he put his hand in the 14-year-old hippopotamus's mouth.

Beeld reported that paramedics on the scene said Jansen van Rensburg was swimming with his girlfriend and friends when Jessica made a dash for them. His hand was bitten while he wrestled with Jessica and tried to stop her.

Paramedic Pieter Papdorf was quoted as saying Jessica's owners were more worried about the traumatised Jessica than the bleeding Jansen van Rensburg and took her to a quiet place where they massaged her to calm her down.

"He bled a lot. His left thumb was hanging on skin. The muscle was torn and the rest of his hand was badly injured," he was quoted as saying.

However, Jansen van Rensburg said it looked worse than it was. He said he put his hand in Jessica's mouth and she closed her mouth and a small tusk pierced the webbed part of his left hand between his thumb and index finger.

"My thumb is definitely not hanging. A small piece of skin is the only thing that is missing, it is not that serious at all. It looked way more serious," he said.
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