Earth ChangesS


Bug

Bees swarm Arizona street, four hospitalized

Bee swarm
© Phoenix New Times
Six residents were injured when thousands of bees swept through an Arizona neighborhood, firefighters said - including a three-year-old boy who was stung up to 100 times.

When rescue crews arrived on scene in Gilbert, a small town to the southeast of Phoenix, the huge swarm made it difficult for them to get to the injured, Deputy Chief Michael Connor of the Gilbert Fire Department told NBC News.

The three-year-old was stung anywhere between 75 and 100 times and had been "rushed to hospital," he said.

A 14-year-old girl and 22-year-old woman from the same house were also hospitalized, according to NBC station KPNX.

To reach the boy and his family, firefighters had to go through the backyards of homes from one street over and the crews used ladders to make it over fences, the station reported.


A firefighter was also injured but he was treated at the scene along with two others with minor injuries, Connor said, adding that he had never seen such a big swarm, he said.

Police also made reverse 911 calls to residents in the area advising them to stay inside and close any open windows or doors, until the scene was secured.

Eventually, firefighters were able to overcome the bees using fire suppression foam, Connor said. They believe the bees had a hive in a tree on a front lawn.

Igloo

Arctic sea ice cover has increased 47% since 2012 minimum

arctic sea ice cover
We have just passed the date of the 2012 Arctic sea ice minimum, and the extent of ice is up 47% from that date. Green shows gain, red shows loss since 2012.

Comment: So much for all the dire predictions, however don't expect the global warming crowd to go down without a fight. It will be interesting to hear what ridiculous explanations they cook up next.


Attention

Boy fights off shark in Fernandina Beach, Florida; 4 bitten in 3 days

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© Bruce.LipskyJosh Bitner, 12, of Sparks, Georgia, retold the his story of being bit by a shark, on Fernandina Beach, at UF Health on Monday. Bitner punched the shark that bit him on his right knee.
Josh Bitner Jr. was playing Sunday in the waist-deep surf off Fernandina Beach when he yelled to his parents to show them a big seashell, and "something grabbed my leg and turned me around."

The 12-year-old Georgia boy screamed "shark," but his father thought he was fooling around. Then it turned him around again biting him a second time, Josh told reporters Monday at UF Health Jacksonville.

"I was going backward dragging my foot," he said. "I pushed myself out of the water until people saw I was split open, then they lifted me out of the water."

Josh was treated by paramedics for lacerations on his leg, then taken to UF Health for stitches. He is in good condition, hospital officials said.

This was the first shark bite reported in Fernandina Beach this year. But another was reported Sunday at Vilano Beach, plus two more Thursday at Jacksonville Beach and Little Talbot Island, bringing the total to seven in Northeast Florida since June.

Comment: See also: Boy attacked by shark on South Carolina coast; 11th attack in the region this summer

Sharks prowl in record numbers on East Coast


Cloud Lightning

Three US tourists hit by lightning at Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

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The forked stuff
Three tourists from the United States were taken to the hospital in serious condition after being struck by lightning while visiting the Poas Volcano on Saturday.

The incident took place around 12:30 p.m. as a significant thunderstorm moved through the area.

The victims, all from the United States, were identified by the Red Cross as Jorge Teller, 32; Javier Carpio, 30; and Shelby Suminsky, 28.

Suminsky suffered multiple first-degree burns across her body, while Carpio received multiple second-degree burns and a head wound. Teller was burned on his right leg. Only one of the victims was able to walk on their own, according to a Red Cross spokesperson.

Cloud Precipitation

Tennis ball-sized hail strikes near Stanton, Nebraska

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The big stuff
A viewer shared a photo of Stanton County that shows the weight of the thunderstorm that swept through.

The storm left tennis balls-sized hail in some locations, such as resident Danielle Gallup's yard.

"Hail is hitting hard," Gallup said.

The fall storm subjected the area north of Stanton to dangerous hail stones Tuesday morning.

"Honestly, it sounded like we were at a shooting range, cause it was hitting off the roof and vehicles, everywhere," Gallup said, referring to some video she captured on her phone.

Gallup said it scared her and damaged her friend's truck, along with the side of her house.

Arrow Down

Huge sinkhole opens up in Haikou, China

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© ChinaNews. comA few cars have been trapped in the mini-landslide.
So what's happening when our Planet Earth is in bad mood?

She starts devouring parking lots, cars and the ground.

On the same day than the massive M8.3 Chilean earthquake, Sept 16, 2015, a parking lot in Haikou, the capital of south China's Hainan Province, collapsed due to a mini-landslide.

Cars have been swallowed by the Earth. But one seemed to have been more lucky as it is seen tilted on the edge.

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© ChineNews.comA pretty deep hole in the ground, isn’t it?

Cloud Lightning

Photographer has close shave as lightning strikes

A photographer trying to capture images of a lightning strike nearly gets hit by one.


Brian Skinner is seen standing on the beach in Newcastle Australia with his camera as a fierce storm passes over the area. He turns around to the video camera and smiles nervously when the first lightning strike hits nearby. But the second one comes even closer, striking the water's edge and making the ground shake beneath him, forcing him to abandon his camera.

According to the LiveLeak description, the lightning's current traveled through the water and to the camera, burning the photographer's hands.

Comment: The incidence lethal and near lethal lightning strikes appears to be on the rise.


Umbrella

Massive waterspout seen off Phuket, Thailand

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© Sakrit Kaewpon The huge water spout could be seen overland from Koh Kaew, north of Phuket Town.
Construction workers at Supalai Lagoon in Koh Kaew dropped their tools when they spotted a gigantic waterspout off the east coast of Phuket this morning (Sept 23).

Site manager Sakrit Kaewpon, who was installing water pipes at the site, told The Phuket News that the towering "water twister" appeared at about 10am several miles off Sapam Beach.

"The waterspout remained in sight from the coast for about 10 minutes, before finally disappearing," he said.

Mr Sakrit managed to capture several photos of the gigantic waterspout.

"It was raining before the waterspout appeared. I didn't know about it until my co-workers shouted out, 'Look at that!" Mr Sakrit said

"We were so excited to see a real one so close. Most of us have only ever seen photos of them online."

Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods wreak havoc in Bodrum, Turkey

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© DHAFlash floods wreck havoc in Bodrum after intense raining.
A massive amount of rain late on Tuesday caused flash floods in Turkey's tourist resort town of Bodrum, inundating the area with so much water that cars were floating in the streets.

The three-hour downpour was so intense that flash floods quickly enveloped many streets in Bodrum, an Aegean resort town in Muğla province, causing significant physical damage as the tourist season comes to a close.

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The damage was mostly visible in Şakir and Dere streets, where at least 20 cars were dragged away by flash floods.

Access to streets was also blocked due to the floods.


Attention

Meru volcano erupts for the first time in 105 years, Tanzania

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© Selle Higgins Image of Meru's eruption yesterday
A new eruption has been reported yesterday from the volcano, which has last been active 105 years ago.

An ash plume was seen rising approx. 1 km and drifting NW from what looks like a lateral vent on the northern slope of the volcano near Arusha town. The are no reports of damage or fatalities.

According to local sources, people in the area around the volcano have been experiencing an increased number of small felt earthquakes in recent months.