Earth ChangesS

Attention

2 people killed in another elephant attack in Sri Lanka


zeenews.india.com
Wed, 26 Nov 2014 16:41 UTC
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Elephant breaking a branch after a charge.
A wild elephant stormed into a crowded pilgrimage town in Sri Lanka on Wednesday and trampled two men to death near Buddhism's most sacred tree, a resident and police said.

Wildlife authorities fired tranquiliser darts to try to subdue the rampaging animal in the town of Anuradhapura, 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital, police said.

The elephant ran past President Mahinda Rajapakse's official residence in Anuradhapura at dawn before crushing a cyclist and a bystander near the holy tree, the Sri Maha Bodi.

"It is very unusual for an wild elephant to go to town like this," a local resident told AFP. "The last time we saw something like this was when a tusker came to the town in 2001 but it did not kill anyone, unlike this time."

Comment: Other recent reports from 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

Father and son killed in elephant attack, Sri Lanka

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Arrow Down

Woman falls into three metre deep sinkhole in Melbourne, Australia

Charis Chan
news.com.au
Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:13 UTC
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The hole where that the woman fell into.
A woman has been rescued from a three metre deep sinkhole that opened up in her backyard in Melbourne while she was hanging up her washing.

The 45-year-old was forced to swim and float in water at the bottom of the sinkhole for about half an hour, until her cries for help attracted the attention of neighbours.

Authorities now believe that the hole was on the site of an old well.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the woman was hanging up washing in the backyard about 11.30am when the sinkhole opened up under her feet.

"The woman told us she was hanging washing out in the backyard at about 11.30 this morning when the ground gave way," Paramedic Stephanie Palamberis said.

"She fell with the dirt and mud, dropping about three metres and landing in waist deep water. At one stage her head was under the water.
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Snowflake

Nearly 60 million in path of East Coast, Appalachian snowstorm - 6-12 inches forecast

Alex Sosnowski
Accuweather
Tue, 25 Nov 2014 15:13 UTC
A storm with rain and heavy snow will cause major disruptions and delays for Thanksgiving travel on the East Coast and in the Appalachians.

According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "In most cases, the worst time to travel in the mid-Atlantic and New England due to the storm will be on Wednesday and Wednesday night."

"The best time to travel will be through Tuesday night in these same areas, with the next best time on Thanksgiving Day."

Rain will initially spread northward along the Interstate-95 with snow and rain to start farther west in the I-81 corridor. However, a change to snow will take place from west to east from northern Virginia to New England.

The storm will bring mostly snow to the I-81 swath in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, I-84 in southeastern New York state, as well as much of interior New England, where a general 6-12 inches of snow are forecast.

In anticipation of delays or cancellations, several airlines, including US Airways, American and Delta, have announced they will waive change fees for passengers scheduled to fly into airports in the line of the storm.
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Some places across the Hudson Valley and New England could even have snow totals exceeding a foot.

"The storm should rapidly strengthen off the coast of New England on Wednesday night, leading to strong and gusty winds, especially near the coast," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Ben Noll as he discussed the impacts in this storm scenario.

Comment: See video coverage courtesy of Accuweather here.

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Attention

Elderly apple grower killed by bear in Japan


japantoday.com
Thu, 06 Nov 2014 20:40 UTC
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A 74-year-old man was found dead Thursday morning at his apple orchard in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, after having apparently been attacked by a bear.

Police said Kazuo Harada told his wife Wednesday night he was going out to see if there were any bear tracks near the apple trees, TBS reported. Harada's wife went to bed early and found her husband's body at 7:45 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Harada's face and throat had injuries and claw marks consistent with a bear attack, police said, adding that bear tracks were found near Harada's body.

Police said there have been numerous bear sightings in the area recently. Authorities said that in autumn, bears aggressively search for food before hibernating for the winter. ใ€€
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Attention

Father and son killed in elephant attack, Sri Lanka


adaderana.lk
Tue, 25 Nov 2014 20:21 UTC
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A father and his six-year-old son were killed after being attacked by a wild elephant in the Paludeniya area in Aralaganwila this morning, the Police Spokesman's Office.

The 45-year-old victim, who is employed as a security guard at a private company in Paludeniya, was with his son at his occupation when the elephant attack took place.

They were both rushed to the Dehiattakandiya Hospital with critical injuries following the attack, however were pronounced dead on admittance, police said.
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Attention

Dead beaked whale washes ashore on Pensacola Beach, Florida

Marketta Davis
Pensacola News Journal
Tue, 25 Nov 2014 18:51 UTC
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© Belinda RadfordA 20-foot-long whale beached Sunday night in front of Margaritaville Beach Hotel and was discovered this morning.
Beach visitors were caught off guard early Monday morning to find a deceased Beaked Whale on shore near Margaritaville Hotel on Pensacola Beach. The 20-foot whale beached Sunday night, said Cassity Bromley, chief of science and resource stewardship for the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

"The whale had washed up and was half buried right where the tide was coming in," said Josh Bell, a hotel employee. "They brought a bulldozer-type thing and a big tractor, dug it out, tied it up around the tail area, picked it up and took it across the beach." Bell said he works on the beach every day, and he has seen sharks and fish wash ashore but never anything like a whale.
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Igloo

U.S. Great Lakes ice cover develops earliest in over 40 years

Mark Torregrossa
Mlive.com
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:42 UTC
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© Chris Clark/MLive.com
Here's what Lake Michigan looked like in February 2014.
Ice is already starting to develop on Michigan's Great Lakes. This is the earliest ice on some of the Great Lakes in at least 40 years. According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, on November 20, 2014, three of Michigan's Great Lakes had ice starting to form. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan were one-half percent ice covered, while Lake Huron had one percent ice. Lake Erie was not reporting any ice as of Nov. 20, 2014.

Decent early season ice coverage records date back to 1973. Last Friday was the earliest date that all three Great Lakes already had ice since the better reporting of early season ice began. Lake Superior actually had ice forming on November 15th of this year. That is the earliest ice on Lake Superior in the good data set.

Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron had ice 10 days earlier this year than last year. Lake Superior only had five and a half months without any ice on the lake.

Comment:
  • U.S. - Weeks ahead of schedule, ice visible on Lake Superior

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Cloud Lightning

'Extremely rare' weather phenomenon hits Louisiana Parish

Erika Ferrando
KPLCtv.com
Tue, 25 Nov 2014 15:35 UTC
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© KPLC ViewerRutherford Beach
Severe weather hit Southwest Louisiana Saturday night, but south Cameron Parish was hit quite a bit harder. Residents from Rutherford Beach to Sabine Pass woke up around 2 a.m. Sunday to thunderstorms and flooding.

Many residents said it was something they've never seen before, at least outside of a hurricane. It was a storm surge without the tropical storm, an occurrence so rare that there is not a name for it.

In a matter of minutes, the land was covered by water. RVs were knocked off their blocks, fences and AC units were tossed around the landscape. Authorities shut down La. 82 due to the high water and debris. Andy Patrick with the National Weather Service called the weather phenomenon extremely rare.

Video
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Ice Cube

Britain to be colder than Moscow with -5ยฐC forecast as flooding hits south east England

Gareth Roberts
Daily Mirror UK
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:49 UTC
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© Matthew Hartley
Many Brits woke up to their first winter frost this morning - as more flood warnings were issued for parts of the country. Forecasters are predicting more of the same tonight, with the mercury set to dip as low as -5C in central Scotland and gritters on alert up and down the country, compared to -4C in Moscow.

Central Britain and Scotland is also braced for a blanket of freezing fog tonight before a misty and frosty start to tomorrow morning. Flash floods hit parts of the of the South East of England last night with some roads transformed into rivers by a huge downpour with many areas receiving up to an inch of rain.

In London, the fire brigade tackled 34 separate flooding incidents. The River Ravensbourne in Lewisham, south-east London, burst its banks and water poured on to surrounding roads affecting an area of around 1,800 square metres, the London Fire Brigade said.


Comment: Southeastern France, Northwestern Italy facing more flooding - Nice, France, already received 614 percent of its normal November rainfall

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Cloud Precipitation

Southeastern France, Northwestern Italy facing more flooding - Nice, France, already received 614 percent of its normal November rainfall

Kristina Pydynowski
AccuWeather
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:41 UTC
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The welcome stretch of dry weather southeastern France and northwestern Italy has enjoyed is coming to an end with the danger of more flooding on the horizon. The same storm system that brought deadly flooding to Morocco on Sunday will return downpours and thunderstorms this week.


Comment: Floods in Morocco kill 17 with dozens missing after heavy rain destroys houses, cars and roads


The rain will first reach southeastern France on Tuesday before spreading to Italy late in the day. Continued wet weather is in store for both regions on Wednesday. The good news is that widespread flooding is not expected, but localized issues may arise.

"Even with a week of dry weather, localized flooding is a bigger concern than normal due to the heavy rain from earlier in the month," stated AccuWeather.com Tyler Roys. So far this month, Nice, France, has already received 614 percent of its normal November rainfall.
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