Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Flooding kills 7 people in northern Oman

Harith Al-saifi
Floodlist
Mon, 19 Oct 2015 12:53 UTC
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Aftermath of flooding in Oman
North Oman saw heavy rain during the period 14 to 17 October. The heavy rains caused flash floods in several areas including Nizwa, Ras Al Hadd and Bahla.

Oman Civil Defence reported that 7 people died in the floods, with a further 50 people rescued. One of the victims, believed to be a young boy, drowned in Fujairah after falling into the Wadi Siji dam. The other victims died in their vehicles whilst attempting to cross flooded wadis.

Capt Mohammed Al Hashmi, of the Royal Oman Police, told local media that drivers are putting themselves and others in danger by trying to cross wadis during periods of heavy rain. He said drivers should wait for a few hours for the waters to subside rather than risk their lives and those of their passengers. Omani police have been stationed at numerous wadis in order to prevent drivers from crossing, but Capt Al Hashmi said it was impossible to police all crossings.

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Attention

Humpback whale carcass found on beach near Gracetown, Western Australia

Adrian Beattie
WAtoday
Sat, 17 Oct 2015 12:30 UTC
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© Julian BarlowThe whale carcass that has closed Moses Rock Beach to surfers.
Fears a whale carcass will attract sharks close to shore have shut a popular surfing beach near Gracetown.

The Department of Fisheries says Moses Rock Beach could be closed for several days.

Fisherman Julian Barlow spotted the whale on Friday afternoon.

"My father-in-law and I were on our way home from a fishing trip and decided to drive down to Moses Rock Beach for a look - because we had never been there before," Mr Barlow said.

"When we got to the car park we saw this huge whale carcass - just on the reef close to the beach."
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Binoculars

An indication of approaching harsh winter? Record-breaking number of pink-footed geese land in Angus, Scotland from the Arctic


news.stv.tv
Mon, 19 Oct 2015 11:58 UTC
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© Cain ScrimgeourMontrose basin: A record-breaking 85,632 pink-footed geese have arrived in Angus.
A record-breaking number of pink-footed geese have arrived at the Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve in Angus this year.

At least 85,632 of the birds have flown in from the Arctic and Iceland to stay at the Scottish Wildlife Trust site for the winter months.

Their arrival marks the start of the wintering season for Scotland's wildlife.

Staff and volunteers at the centre monitor the goose population closely to check for changes and this year's number has broken the record set last year.

Last year saw 78,970 of the birds make it to the Angus attraction, which broke the previous 2010 record of more than 65,000.

The huge number of birds taking off en masse at the beauty spot at dawn and arriving back at dusk is proving to be a draw for bird spotters and wildlife photographers with visitors numbers also seeing a significant rise.

Comment: The above report should also been seen in conjunction with the this one: Britain faces longest winter in 50 years after earliest ever arrival of Siberian swan

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Attention

Remains of 16th century church surface in Mexico due to extreme drought


RT
Mon, 19 Oct 2015 21:49 UTC
temple santiago, temple quechula
The relics of a 400-year-old church built by Spanish colonizers have been discovered at the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in southern Mexico as water levels in the Grijalba River, in the state of Chiapas, dropped by almost 25 meters due to a lack of rain.

The building, which is known as the Temple of Santiago, as well as the Temple of Quechula, is roofless, over 60 meters in length, and has walls as high as 10 meters.

It was abandoned in the 16th century due to "the big plagues of 1773 to 1776," local architect Carlos Navarrete told ITV.

The church was originally submerged after a dam was built, which flooded the surrounding area and formed the reservoir. However, during times of extreme drought, the former place of worship has become visible, with fishermen even taking interested passengers on their boats to getting a closer glimpse of the ancient relics.
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Binoculars

Wilson's warbler from North American turns up on Scottish island after hurricane

Stuart Winter
Daily Express, UK
Fri, 16 Oct 2015 20:00 UTC
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Bird experts think that the bird was likely blown off its normal migration course by a hurricane
As the birding community was remembering the previous time a diminutive Wilson's warbler was found on a Cornish headland in 1985, news broke that another one had made landfall.

Dazzling yellow Wilson's warblers are North American songbirds that nest in the vast forests of Canada and spend their winters in Mexico and neighbouring states.

Amazingly, one young bird, weighing little more than a 10p piece, crossed the Atlantic and made landfall near the northernmost tip of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

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Attention

Dolphins, sea lions and turtles found dead on Altamura Island, Mexico


France24
Thu, 15 Oct 2015 19:48 UTC
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© PROFEPA/AFP A picture released by the Federal Prosecutor for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) shows a dead dolphin near Altamura Island on October 15, 20
Four sea lions, 11 sea turtles and 21 dolphins have mysteriously turned up dead on an island in northwestern Mexico, sparking an investigation, authorities said Thursday.

The animals were found on Altamura Island, Sinaloa state, in the Gulf of California, according to the federal prosecutor's office for environmental protection (Profepa).

Profepa said in a statement that inspectors, park rangers and other experts were dispatched along 42 kilometers (26 miles) of coast to investigate the "unusual event."

They will collect evidence to figure out how the animals died, the statement said.

Source: AFP
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Cloud Precipitation

Mudslides bury hundreds of vehicles and close down freeways in Los Angeles area

Miriam Raftery
East County Magazine
Sun, 18 Oct 2015 18:42 UTC
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© Kern County Animal Rescue
Torrential rains and flash flooding turned hillsides in Los Angeles and Kern Counties into mudflows last Thursday that cascaded over two freeways—Interstate 5's grapevine area north of Los Angeles and State Route 58 near Tehachapi.

Hundreds of terrified motorists swept up in the mud flow escaped their vehicles as the freeways became muddy rivers.

Firefighters and swift-water rescue personnel made daring rescues, pulling passengers out of windows as cars bobbed past. One pregnant woman escaped out the sunroof of her vehicle. Others remained trapped in their cars overnight, some with mud up to the windshields. Even semi-trucks became mired in the muck.

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Snowflake Cold

Winter arrives early in Europe and Asia

Rob McElwee
Aljazeera
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 18:24 UTC
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© GettyMount Fuji, a World Heritage site in Japan
It snowed throughout the night in Moscow last Wednesday and snowed on and off up until yesterday. The late summer warmth that had lingered for so long in western Russia was swept away dramatically - two weeks earlier than last year.

The cold air that caused this sudden change of season for Moscow had been blowing across northern Europe throughout the past week. The wind had been cold, but beyond Russia, it had been too dry to bring snow. Temperatures have, however, dropped dramatically in its wake:

Minsk shivered down to a 4 degree Celsius daytime "high"; Warsaw went down to 6C with a wind-chill; Berlin managed 9C, but also with a wind-chill. Yesterday, Amsterdam failed to reach 10C for the first time since April.

This week, a big Mediterranean storm system swept vast amounts of rain into southeastern Europe, causing flooding in Italy, Albania and Macedonia. This weather then fed into the cold air over Slovakia and Poland and - rather than rain - snow started to fall.
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Attention

200 reports of sick or dead sea otters in Kachemak Bay, Alaska

Daysha Eaton
Alaska Public Media
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 14:01 UTC
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© U.S. Fish & WildlifeSea Otters.
Scientists continue to see large numbers of dead or sick sea otters turning up in the Kachemak Bay region.

Officials with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service say the agency has received about 200 reports of sick or dead otters over the past couple of months.

They've teamed up with the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward and they're running tests to try to find out the cause. In the meantime, they're asking for the public's help.

It's Friday night and Marc Webber, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Homer, has already had two calls for sick otters.

"Well I just was out on the spit having dinner with my family and a call came in as I was coming into the station of two otters ashore on mariner this evening," he said.
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Snowflake

Winter arrives early in Germany: 11 inches of snow in the Alps


dw.com
Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:08 UTC
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The Alps, northern Bavaria, Thüringen, the Vogtland region and the Erzgebirge saw most of the snow. Snow in higher regions is normal for this time of year, but this time lower lying regions also obtained some snow and that is unusual. The north west of the country also experienced some snowfall and frost, but the snow soon melted again as the ground is too warm.

Germany's northernmost peak, the Brocken, is covered in snow. And with temperatures of minus 4 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit), it probably won't melt. The heaviest snowfall, however, was in the Alps with 28 centimeters (11 inches) of new snow. But the ski season doesn't open there for another month or so.

"It doesn't happen every year that we get snow falling in flatter areas," meteorologist Christian Herold said. While it is normal for snow to fall in Germany in October, particularly in the central uplands, Herold described the low temperatures as very unusual.

Source: dpa
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