Earth ChangesS


Attention

Thousands of tuna crabs invade San Diego beaches

Abby Benn
abcnews.go.com
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 11:35 UTC
Image
© KGTV
Thousands of tuna crabs washed up on a California beach.
Thousands of tuna crabs have invaded the beaches of San Diego Bay.

The thumb-sized crustaceans started washing ashore further up the California coast earlier this year, but turned up this week in San Diego in unusually larger numbers, officials said.

They've washed ashore periodically over the years because of any number of natural effects, but research scientist Michael Shane of the Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego cited El Nino as the phenomenon that might have pushed the crabs up from their normal habitat far offshore.

The result is certain death and nothing can be done to save the crabs.
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Cloud Precipitation

Two injured by floods and dozens of cars swept away in Ankara, Turkey

Tahsin Güner
dha.com.tr
Sat, 13 Jun 2015 10:03 UTC
Image
© AAFlooding in Ankara
Two people were injured and dozens of cars were damaged in flooding after heavy rain on the evening of June 11 in Turkey's capital Ankara.

Boğaziçi Neşet Ertaş Street, one of the main thoroughfares in Ankara's Mamak district, was flooded and daily life in the capital was paralyzed by the heavy rain.

Two people were reportedly injured, while around 100 cars were swept away and damaged. Municipal workers and locals tried to rescue the cars stuck in flood.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM) on June 11 said heavy rainfall was expected in central Turkey, including Ankara, and issued severe warnings about the inclement conditions.

"Necessary measures should be taken for any sort of negative weather conditions," it said.

The Ankara flooding came less than a week after heavy rain waters flooded the Fidyekızık neighborhood of the western province of Bursa as voting during the parliamentary election was underway on June 7. The flooding caused the collapse of an outer wall of a school compound that was used as a polling station, trapping people who were responsible for the ballot boxes.

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Bizarro Earth

Lightning strike sparks wildfire near San Francisco, California

Alex Dobuzinskis
Reuters
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 19:40 UTC
Saddle fire, northern california wildfire
© Jennifer LanceSaddle Fire Trinity County
An out-of-control wildfire raging through a Northern California forest as the state battles a devastating drought has forced authorities to warn about 250 people to evacuate or prepare to leave their homes in a remote town, officials said on Friday.

The fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest follows an outbreak of lightning-sparked blazes in neighboring Oregon that prompted authorities to warn residents that drought and low mountain snowpack could lead to a destructive fire season.

California's so-called Saddle Fire has charred at least 880 acres (360 hectares) since a lightning strike sparked it on Tuesday, officials said.

The flames are tearing through forest land, much of it in areas scorched by a 2004 blaze that has left dead and downed trees on the ground which could provide ample fuel for the latest wildfire, said Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokeswoman Andrea Capps.
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Black Cat

One dog recovering, another dead following two cougar attacks in Maple Ridge, Canada

Eric Zimmer
Maple Ridge Times
Thu, 11 Jun 2015 17:30 UTC
Image
© Troy Landreville Tula cuddled with her owner Andrew Dodge while at the same time showing the puncture marks on her shaved neck, the result of a bite from a cougar that nearly took the Maple Ridge dog’s life.
One dog is injured and another dead after two separate cougar attacks in Maple Ridge this week.

The first incident happened at a popular Maple Ridge hiking area Sunday evening.

According to Andrew Dodge, he was hiking with his dog Tula - a three-year-old shepherd-husky-cross - in the Malcolm Knapp UBC Research Forest reserve, between Mike Lake and the Incline Trail, next to Golden Ears Provincial Park, when Tula ran ahead of him. All of a sudden, Dodge "heard a big fight and lots of yelping."

Running as quickly as he could in the direction of the sound, and shouting Tula's name, Dodge managed to find her coming out of the trees "very distressed" and hurt.

"She took off back down the trail and I ran after her until we reached the car park at Mike Lake," he said.

It was there that Dodge noticed Tula "had been bleeding in the neck area."

"She was very weak but made it back to the car where I took her to the emergency animal hospital in Langley."
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Cloud Precipitation

Madrid, Spain, hit with hailstorms and flash-floods


The Local, Spain
Thu, 11 Jun 2015 17:12 UTC
Madrid hailstorm
© rafa_luque / FlickrPeople run for cover in Madrid's Plaza Mayor.

Freak weather conditions for June caused chaos in Madrid on Thursday when the capital was hit by electric storms, torrential rain and even hail.

Around mid-morning the skies darkened and then the heavens opened causing torrents of water to flood streets and overflow drainage systems.

Some metro lines were forced to close and roads across the city turned into gushing waterways causing flashfloods.

Those unlucky enough to be caught in the downpour sought cover as they were pelted with hailstones.

Across Madrid people recorded the adverse conditions and posted the images to social media.

Here is a selection of the best footage:


Comment: Check out: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2015: Extreme Weather and Planetary Upheaval

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Question

'Dolphin frenzy' - Super pod surround South African fishing boat

Ben Hooper
upi.com
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 15:40 UTC
Image
Super pod of dolphins off Cape Town
A South African man boating off the coast of Cape Town captured footage of hundreds of dolphins chasing bait fish around his vessel.

Robbie Ragless, who shared the video on YouTube, said he was on a fishing trip with a group of people Friday when their boat was surrounded by the "dolphin frenzy."

"An incredible experience getting so close to dolphins chasing bait fish just off Robben Island, Cape Town," Ragless said in the video's description.

Ragless told Eyewitness News the dolphins showed up around midday.

"We just saw the frenzy on the horizon and didn't know it was coming straight for us and caught ourselves right in the middle of it, which was quite cool," he said.

He said it was difficult to count the dolphins.

"I didn't even know -- we thought there were maybe a thousand, but there could have been more of them," he said.

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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall expected in Brooks Range, Alaska

Weston Morrow
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Wed, 10 Jun 2015 15:14 UTC
Image
© WikipediaBrooks Range, Alaska
Visitors to Denali National Park may get more than they bargained for today, as the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the area.

The weather advisory went into effect at 6 p.m. Wednesday and was scheduled to last through noon today.

Snow topped the list of concerns precipitating the need for a weather advisory, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service station in Fairbanks. Meteorologists estimate the park will receive 4 to 8 inches of snow.

The Weather Service estimates the snow will fall about 2,500 feet above sea level, which would leave the visitors center and much of the beginning of the park road clear of snow. A significant portion of the park road lies above 2,500 feet, however, as the road's elevation begins climbing early and rises significantly near Sable Pass.
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Binoculars

Birdspotters in frenzy after extremely rare Hudsonian Whimbrel seen in Britain


Daily Express, UK
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 14:52 UTC
Image
© Jake Gearty/Solent NewsAn extremely rare bird which has only been seen a handful of times in the UK
More than 1,000 bird watchers have travelled to Pagham Harbour near Chichester, West Sussex, in the last four days to catch a glimpse of the Hudsonian Whimbrel.

It is thought to be the only bird of its kind in the UK and only 10 others have been seen in this country since 1950.

The bird is so rare because it is native of North America and is hardly ever seen in Britain.

Tim Webb, communications officer for the RSBP said: "It is definitely confirmed that it is here and is still here.

"On these shores this is about the eleventh one in our recorded history, which goes back to about the 1950s.

"This Hudsonian Whimbrel is the only one in the UK right now to our knowledge.
"It is incredibly unusual and rare for this species to be seen in this country.
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Binoculars

Snowy egret from the Americas turns up in South Africa

Melanie Gosling
iol.co.za
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 14:09 UTC
Image
© Trevor HardakerOFF COURSE: This snowy egret has migrated from North America.
The average birdwatcher would be forgiven for calling it a little egret.

Serious birders know better: the white bird that has been quietly wading among the shallows of the Black River along the M3, Cape Town, this week is a snowy egret, native to North and South America, and way off course to end up at the tip of Africa.

Word went out on Monday, and watchers and "twitchers" started converging on the river banks. Five of them flew down from Gauteng on Thursday on the 6am flight to see the bird and to tick it off their lists.

"Twitchers" will go to great lengths to see a rare bird. For many, the snowy egret was a "lifer" - a first-ever sighting of a bird. And it is quite special. This is only the second time a snowy egret (Egretta thula) has been seen in Africa.

Trevor Hardaker, chairperson of Birdlife South Africa's National Rarities Committee, said the only other recorded sighting of a snowy egret in Africa had been in Cape Town in 2002. "Everyone's very excited."
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 6 labourers in Chandrapur, India


zeenews.india.com
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 11:19 UTC
Image
Six farm labourers were killed and four others injured when lightning struck them at a village in Chandrapur district, police said today.

The labourers were engaged in sowing work at a farm in Wadgaon village under Koparna taluka of the district when lightning struck them last evening, Range police said.

There was a heavy downpour accompanied with lightning and high velocity winds. The six labourers took shelter in a nearby hut where lightning struck them.

All of them died on the spot, police said.

The four others who sustained severe burn injuries were rushed to government's Primary Health Centre, they added.

Source: Press Trust of India
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