Earth ChangesS


Umbrella

Giant column of ash, gas erupts from Mexico's Colima volcano; authorities warn of falling ash


ABC - Australia
Sat, 05 Dec 2015 19:34 UTC
Colima volcano
© Via twitter/LuisFelipe_PThe Colima Volcano this morning.
Mexico's Colima volcano has spewed a column of gas and ash into the sky in the latest of a series of intermittent eruptions.

Mexico's civil protection authorities said the column rose 2,500 metres over the crater before it was pulled by winds heading north-east.

The explosion prompted the civil protection authorities to warn nearby residents to watch for falling ash and to wear face masks when outdoors.

Located in the south-western Mexican state of Colima, the volcano — known locally as the Fire volcano — has been exhibiting continuous activity since July 9.

The Colima volcano, which is part of the Pacific's Ring of Fire, was also active in January and February.

Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanos, but only 14 are considered active.

Major eruptions in Mexican history have included the 1953 eruption of the Paricutin volcano in Michoacan, the 1982 eruption of Tacana volcano in Chiapas and the 1986 eruption of the Colima volcano.
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Umbrella

Heavy rain causes flash flooding in Singapore


Straits Times
Fri, 04 Dec 2015 13:22 UTC
Singapore flooding
© Aaron LowCars stranded by flooding along Yio Chu Kang Road outside the Church of St Vincent de Paul.
Heavy rain caused flooding in several areas of Singapore on Saturday afternoon.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) had earlier warned of thundery showers with gusty wind expected over the northern, eastern and central areas of the island between 4.05pm and 5pm on Dec 5.

Updates by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) on its Twitter page indicated that some roads were a high flood risk, with water levels rising to 100 per cent.

It said in a tweet at 4.47pm that flash floods had occurred at Lorong Buangkok and that traffic was impassable.
Singapore flooding
© Lyrrel TanFlooding at the junction between Hougang Avenue 8 and Hougang Avenue 6
The Straits Times reported that at least two cars were stranded outside the Church of St Vincent de Paul along Yio Chu Kang Road.

A community plaza in a HDB estate in Ang Mo Kio was also filled with rainwater. Netizens also shared their photos and experiences of the situation on social media.
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Snow Globe Xmas

Loud boom in Bullhead City, Arizona remains a mystery


Mohave Valley Daily News
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 01:12 UTC
Bullhead City boom
© Cindy Dutcher
Some Tri-state residents were startled by a loud boom Thursday afternoon, the source of which remained a mystery hours later.

The noise was reported just after 1 p.m. and residents initially suspected a natural-gas related explosion.

Southwest Gas Corp. spokeswoman Sonya Headen said that company officials contacted operations employees in Laughlin and Bullhead City and determined that the noise residents heard didn't stem from any activity at any of the utility's sites.

Other reported possibilities included a sonic boom or U.S. Geological Survey activity.

Jeremy Keating, director of Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, said he hadn't heard of any exercises involving military aircraft underway in the area, aircraft that would be capable of reaching speeds exceeding 660 mph at altitude that would break the sound barrier to trigger a sonic boom.

Bullhead City public works director Pawan Agrawal said his department was unaware of any work being done in the area by any federal agency, but added that such agencies might share details of some projects only with the police and fire departments.

Bullhead City police had no personnel respond to any explosion-like incidents, department spokeswoman Emily Fromelt said.
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Arrow Down

90-foot-deep sinkhole closes park in Florida


10News
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 12:14 UTC
Lutz FL sinkhole
© WTSP
A Tampa-area park was closed Wednesday after a sinkhole appeared in one of its roads, county officials said.

The crater in Hillsborough County's Lake Park, about 15 miles north of Tampa, is about 6 feet across and 90 feet deep, according to measurements from a geotechnical engineering firm. No buildings are threatened.

Sinkholes are common in Florida because the peninsula is made up of porous carbonate rocks such as limestone that store and help move water underground. Over time those subsurface rocks can dissolve and the weight of sand and dirt above them can cause the area to collapse, creating a sinkhole.

Hillsborough County, where both Lutz and Tampa are located, is the third most sinkhole-prone county in Florida, the Insurance Journal said four years ago. Of the counties in the top five, only Marion, where Ocala is located, is outside the Tampa Bay area.

Lake Park encompasses 589 acres — almost a square mile — and has five lakes, cypress swamps, pine flatwoods and dense stands of hardwood forests, according to Hillsborough County's website.

The entire park will be closed for an unspecified time until the sinkhole can be filled and the surrounding area reinforced, county officials said in email.

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Jet5

Herd of wild boar on airport runway causes Indian plane to tip over


RT
Sat, 05 Dec 2015 14:53 UTC
wild boars
© Igor Zarembo / Sputnik

Passengers on India's SpiceJet flight got a huge scare, when their plane landed at Jabalpur airport to suddenly swerve to the side - as a herd of at least 30 wild boars ran out for a stroll across the runway.

The incident, reported by the Hindustan Times, took place at 7:45 p.m. local time and ended safely, with the aircraft ending several meters away from the runway, tipping to the side. A major crash was narrowly averted.
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Snowflake Cold

Powerful blizzard rages in Khabarovsk, Russia

Robert Felix
Ice Age Now
Sat, 05 Dec 2015 19:22 UTC
blizzard
Whoa! This video reminds me why global warming is GOOD! Visibility near zero. More than 300 cars rescued from "snow captivity."


In the Khabarovsk region continues to rage snow cyclone.

All services Khabarovsk work around the clock.

The powerful blizzard, with storm gusts up to 25 meters per second, has dumped a month's worth of precipitation per day.

The city of Khabarovsk has declared a state of emergency according to the "TV Center".

Khabarovsk a city of just over a half million near the Chinese border.

Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for this link
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Question

80 birds die at Hasties Swamp, Australia

Kimberley Vlasic
The Cairns Post
Sat, 05 Dec 2015 19:04 UTC
Magpie geese
Magpie geese
Authorities are investigating after about 80 birds were found dead at Hasties Swamp near Atherton.

Tully man David Clarke was showing friends around the Tablelands on Wednesday when they came across the gruesome scene.

"We could see a big flock of birds on the edge of the lagoon," he said.

"When we were driving out, we discovered a sick bird on the road.

"There was no injury to it, so we released it back into the water.

"Then we saw the dead bodies of dozens of birds and ­others in a dying state, that's when we realised something drastic was going on.

"It was distressing to see birds flapping around dying."
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Wolf

Woman mauled to death by 2 dogs in Port Huron, Michigan

Beth LeBlanc
Detroit Free Press
Fri, 04 Dec 2015 18:45 UTC
Rebecca Lillian-Kay Hardy
The fiancé of a 22-year-old Port Huron woman who died after being attacked by two dogs Thursday described her as full of life and love.

Matthew Grattan said Rebecca Lillian-Kay Hardy will be missed by all who knew her. The couple had an 18-month-old daughter together.

"She was full of life," Grattan said. "She was my everything. She loved her daughter with everything.

"She would brighten up the room when she walked in."

Police discovered Hardy shortly before 4:45 p.m. Thursday after being called for reports of a dog attack.

Hardy was found in the back yard of a residence with extensive injuries to her face and neck. She was taken to Lake Huron Medical Center and later flown to Beaumont Hospital where she died.


Comment: See also: 4-year-old boy mauled to death by 4 pit bull terriers in Detroit

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Arrow Up

Japanese volcanic island grows 12 times in size since forming in 2013

Eric Mack
Forbes
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 13:31 UTC
Nishinoshima
© NASAA NASA image from 2014
It's not exactly a Pacific beach resort just yet, but the Japanese Coast Guard reports that a volcanic island that first popped up in the middle of the ocean two years ago has already grown to twelve times its initial size.

Molten rock cooled by the ocean first poked out of the water in November, 2013, when it was initially spotted next to island Nishinoshima, which it eventually grew to engulf.

The new islet Nishinoshima is about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) south of Tokyo and now measures about 1.2 miles roughly square and up to 328 feet tall, according to Japan Today.

Eruptions are still taking place from a crater in the center of the growing island, and continuous lava flows are still laying down new real estate. Scientists expect that volcanic activity on the island will continue for some time.

Take a look at how the island has grown in the video below:

Comment: There is increased volcanic activity worldwide, as the number of volcanoes erupting right now is greater than the 20th century's YEARLY average.

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Arrow Down

Landslide buries 18 villagers in Indonesia


The Express Tribune
Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:00 UTC
Landslide, Java
© AFPA rescue team searches for survivors and remove bodies after a landslide at Jemblung village in Banjarnegara, central Java province, on December 13, 2014.
A landslide triggered by torrential rains on Thursday engulfed a village in western Indonesia, burying 18 people, an official said.

Three have been found dead and rescuers are searching for the bodies of 15 others after the landslide hit the village of Lebong Tandai on Sumatra island, a hilly area known for gold mining.

Several houses were buried when mounds of earth and rocks surged down a hillside in the early hours, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Efforts to recover the victims' bodies had been hampered by difficult access to the site, he said. It came after a landslide killed two people and injured nine others on Sumatra earlier this week.
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