Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

5.5 magnitude earthquake shakes Japan's Fukushima & Miyagi regions


RT
Wed, 21 Oct 2015 06:17 UTC
Japan 5.5 earthquake
© www.jma.go.jp
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake has hit near the Fukushima prefecture in Japan, with residents of some 10 other prefectures feeling the tremor.

The quake occurred off the northeast coast of Japan. No tsunami warning has been issued.

The epicenter was near the Fukushima coastline, at a depth of 30 kilometers.

People in affected areas of Japan took to Twitter to say they felt the tremor.

Comment: As Japanese authorities adopt new secrecy laws whilst urging citizens to move back to Fukushima, the legacy of the recent disaster reveals thousands have died since the evacuations, with suicide and cancer rates on the rise. See also:

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Bizarro Earth

Powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes north east of Vanuatu


BNO News
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 18:04 UTC
Vanuatu Quake
© Google Maps
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 has struck the Pacific Ocean near the island nation of Vanuatu, seismologists say.

The earthquake, at 8:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday, was centered about 46 kilometers (29 miles) northeast of Port-Olry, or about 339 kilometers (211 miles) north-northwest of Port-Vila, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. It struck about 117 kilometers (72 miles) deep, making it a fairly deep earthquake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami.

"Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat because the earthquake is located too deep inside the Earth," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.

UPDATE: The United States Geological Survey has downgraded the magnitude of the earthquake to 7.1.
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Snowflake Cold

Winter getting a head start: Record cold and storms forecast for northeast U.S.

Todd B. Bates
Asbury Park Press
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 20:00 UTC
early winter new jersey
© New Jersey Weather and Climate NetworkNew Jersey low temperatures on Oct. 19, 2015
Talk about a frigid morning in New Jersey!

The mercury plunged to 27 degrees in Trenton on Monday, shattering the previous record low for Oct. 19: 30 degrees set in 1986 and 1974, according to the National Weather Service's Mount Holly Office.

In Atlantic City, the temperature dropped to 28 and it was the coldest morning in October since Halloween in 2011, according to the weather service.

Locally, the mercury sank to 23 degrees in Berkeley, 24 in Upper Freehold and 25 in Howell, according to the New Jersey Weather and Climate Network.

The cold led to a widespread freeze in the entire region covered by the Mount Holly Office, according to a forecast discussion. In some cases, it was a hard freeze, with temperatures of 28 degrees or lower.

"As a result, the growing season has now ended for the entire region," the discussion says.

On Sunday, I drove from Pittsford, New York, to New Jersey and encountered snow showers on the New York State Thruway. Good thing the highway didn't seem slippery, at least when and where I was driving

Comment: Looks like it's getting started.

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Fish

Residents react to fish die-off in Panama City, Florida

Tyler Allender
wjhg.com
Fri, 16 Oct 2015 18:59 UTC
Image
© Susanna Russell Dead fish in St. Andrews Bay
Stan Jones, the Director of the Panama City Marina, says he's seen a lot of dead fish in St. Andrews Bay lately. That is, everything from small Pinfish to huge Flounder, Red Fish, and Mullet as a result of red tide.

"It can affect marine life," Bekah Nelson, on behalf of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), said. "You know, there's obviously fish kills that can happen from the neurotoxins."

While symptoms for us are usually minor, red tide can still be a nuisance.

"It can cause skin irritation if people are in the water and also it can cause respiratory irritation as well," Nelson explained.

"Once I'm here for a couple of hours, I taste it in my mouth and you definitely feel it's like an irritant in your lungs," Jones described. "I feel like I'm a healthy guy and I can tell there's something going on."

Even the birds aren't happy.

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Umbrella

Huge waterspout descends on Italian coastal town of Genoa

Sara Malm
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:55 UTC
Image
The enormous water tornado hits the sea just off the coast of Italy
These amazing pictures show the moment when a giant water tornado hits the coast of Italy.

The series of snaps show the stormy skies over Genoa, Italy, as the tornado, known as a waterspout when occurring over water, sweeps over the sea.

Dark, blustery clouds can be seen filling the sky as the twister hits the ocean, with dramatic flashes of lightening and rumbles of thunder taking place in the background.

Image
No escape: As the tornado moves closer to the Italian coastal town, it grows in size and power
A tornado is a column of air rotating at extreme speed, which reaches from a storm cloud to the surface, creating a wind tunnel.

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Cloud Precipitation

1,500 displaced by floods in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:11 UTC
Image
© Daniela Barcellos/ Palácio PiratiniFloods in Porto Alegre
Heavy rainfall in Brazil has caused flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, displacing over 1,000 people in Porto Alegre. Flooding in Uruguay was also reported and almost 200 have been displaced in northern departments.

Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

As many as 1,500 people are homeless after a storm brought torrential rain and floods to the city of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The storm struck Porto Alegre on Wednesday 14 October 2015. Guaíba Lake overflowed, causing flooding in the city. Around 32 mm of rain fell in a 24 hour period. The area had already see a period of heavy rainfall over the previous days, where over 100 mm of rain fell between 08 and 10 October.

Local civil defense authorities say an estimated 12,000 people have been affected by flooding, as of 18 October, 1,500 people were still homeless, many of whom are staying with relatives. Around 600 people are currently staying in temporary shelters, and 230 in the Tesourinha Gym.

Rio Grande do Sul State Civil Defense say that as many as 55 municipalities across the state were affected by the storm last week, and 3 people have died as a result of flooding, according to local media.


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Umbrella

4 waterspouts seen off Hamptons coast, New York

Gary Dymski
NewsDay
Fri, 16 Oct 2015 14:11 UTC
Image
© Gary Grunseich Waterspouts are seen in the distance at Moriches Bay on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015.
Gary Grunseich has owned the Silly Lily Fishing Station in East Moriches for what seems like forever. And until Friday morning he had never seen a waterspout from offshore.

"I'm here 35 years, every day, and I've never seen one before," Grunseich, 63, said Friday about an hour after snapping some photographs of a group of waterspouts just on the ocean side of Moriches Bay, a mile or so offshore from Cupsogue Beach County Park in Westhampton Beach.

Grunseich and a friend, Dave Roys of Shirley, were drinking coffee at about 7:30 a.m. when they saw the spouts, "whirling columns of air and water mist," as defined by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

"There looked to be three or four of them, going west to east, and definitely on the ocean side," he said.

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Attention

Dead humpback whale washes up near San Simeon, California

Kathe Tanner
The Tribune
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:51 UTC
Image
© Sandy BurgenerThis dead humpback whale was spotted by hikers north of Pico Cove.
Officials are pondering what to do about a decomposing humpback whale carcass spotted by several hikers Saturday north of Pico Cove just past San Simeon.

The stinky carcass has alternately been in the water or just barely up on shore, below the mean high-tide line, according to those who have hiked in to see it.

To do so, they had to wade through swaths of poison oak in the steep, rocky area that cannot be seen from the highway, nearby Pico Cove or the point or vista point to its north.

So far, the whale's body hasn't landed far enough inland to be the responsibility of the property owner, the Hearst Corp. The National Marine Fisheries Service Whale Stranding Network responds to reports of stranded whales.
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Cloud Lightning

Tragedy as lightning bolt kills three at Kisii funeral in Kenya

Reuben Wanyama
Citizen Digital
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 13:37 UTC
Image
Lightning
Three people died, among them a standard 8 pupil, and another one was seriously injured after they were struck by lightening at a funeral in Kisii County.

The three were among mourners who had attended the burial of Nyarumi Onami when heavy rain accompanied by lightening pounded the area at about 5pm.

According to the residents, there were signs of rain in the area which made most of them leave the burial site before the rain began.

However, the three who had remained at the site were struck by lightening and died on the spot.

Comment: See in addition: Uganda experiences a sharp rise in lightning fatalities

Update: Lightning kills 32 in two Indian states within a day

Sott Exclusive: Shocking weather! Lightning fatalities across the planet on the increase

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills two fishermen in Sri Lanka


The Nation (Sri Lanka)
Mon, 19 Oct 2015 13:06 UTC
Image
Lightning over water
Two fishermen were killed after being struck by lightning off the coast of Eravur at around 3.50am today.

Police Media Unit stated the boat carrying the victims had set out to sea yesterday from the Sandiweli Lagoon.

The victims, aged 37 and 27 years, have been identified as residents of Sandiweli. The bodies are currently lying at the location under police guard and a post-mortem inquiry is due to be held today. Eravur police are investigating.
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