Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

El Salvador evacuates 1000 people near Chaparrastique volcano after seismic activity


Associated Press
Mon, 19 May 2014 08:24 UTC
Chaparrastique volcano
© ReutersOfficials ordered at least 1,000 people to leave the immediate vicinity of the Chaparrastique volcano after seismic activity increased on Monday.
At least 1,000 people living near the Chaparrastique volcano have been evacuated as a precautionary measure after seismic activity increased at the volcano, Salvadoran civil protection authorities said Monday.

There was an explosion early Monday and the volcano then spewed reddish ash, officials said.

The Civil Protection Department said in a statement that an alert had been declared for the municipality of San Miguel, where the volcano is located. The city of San Miguel itself is 50 kilometres from the volcano. It is one of the largest cities in the Central American country.

The 2,129-metre volcano is about 145 kilometres east of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.

The volcano's last significant eruption was in 1976.
Read More...
Ice Cube

The likely nail in the coffin for the AGW crowd: NOAA forecasts above normal Arctic ice extent for summer 2014

Joe Bastardi and Anthony Watts
Watts up with that
Sat, 24 May 2014 08:01 UTC
This is interesting. NOAA is forecasting the months of August, September, and October of 2014 to have above normal Arctic Sea ice extent. As readers know, late September is typically the time of the Arctic Sea Ice minimum, and this year the NOAA forecast has it slightly above normal. Here is the NOAA forecast graph:

UPDATE: I no more than finished this post and NOAA had a new updated forecast for May 23rd, added below. (h/t Ric Werme)
Image
Read More...
Windsock

Dust storm crash in New Mexico kills 6


Salon
Fri, 23 May 2014 18:02 UTC
Dust storm crash
© APThis May 22, 2014 image provided by the New Mexico State Police shows the crash site in southwestern New Mexico.
Six people are dead and all that remained of the several vehicles involved in a fiery crash along Interstate 10 in southwestern New Mexico were charred hunks of nearly indiscernible metal.

New Mexico State Police said the crash in Hidalgo County, several miles from the Arizona border, came as New Mexico and the region was struck Thursday afternoon by a violent storm system.

Severe weather and large hail caused multiple car wrecks in northern New Mexico on Thursday and the eastern part of the state saw damaging winds reaching more than 60 mph.
Read More...
Map

6.9 earthquake rattles islands in Greece and Turkey, dozens injured


cbc.ca
Sat, 24 May 2014 06:52 UTC
greece map
The tremblor was widely felt in northern Greece. Several strong aftershocks, of yet undetermined magnitude, have taken place
Residents in Turkey flee in panic after the quake struck at midday

An earthquake beneath the sea shook northern Greece and western Turkey Saturday, with more than two dozen injuries reported on a Turkish island.

In Istanbul and in other parts of Turkey residents fled homes in panic after the quake struck at midday.

The private Dogan news agency said the temblor caused damage to some old houses on the island of Gokceada, off Turkey's northern Aegean coast, and 30 people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Mexico City sinkhole has 20 families evacuate


Excelsior
Fri, 23 May 2014 08:47 UTC
Image
© SPECIAL
With a length of 15 meters and a depth of at least 10 meters, the sinkhole forced security to evacuate. No injuries were recorded.

A sinkhole which originated on the corner of Águila Blanquinegra and James Watt, Perimeter Village San Simon Culhuacán, forced the the Iztapalapa authorities to evict at least 20 families.
The rupture of a water pipe with a diameter of 50 inches, belonging to the Water System of the City of Mexico, caused by several days of leaking, the cavity, which is 15 meters wide and almost 10 meters deep.
The local authorities have provided the affected families to stay at a hotel close by for elderly, while they have established a temporary shelter for the young.

Comment: So a leaking pipe caused the collapse? If it's not the 'tired' limestone theory, it's the leaking pipe story which authorities bring out to calm any further questions about a concerning tendency:


Erosion of soluble bedrock (sometimes involving water saturation) seems indeed to be factors in the growing phenomena, but it seems a key player is missing to explain the worldwide rise of this and other areas of growth in extreme climactic and geologic events. Look for Pierre Lescaudron's soon to be released book, for clues on the matter:

ecthcc


Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Floods wipe out entire towns in Balkans


Newsweek
Wed, 21 May 2014 12:35 UTC
Image
© Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Flooding and landslides destroyed homes in Krupanj, Serbia. At least 49 people have been killed already by the worst floods in central Europe for a century.
Serbia on Tuesday declared three days of national mourning and reported another death in the worst rainfall to hit the Balkan region in living memory, even as the rising River Sava threatened more havoc.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the death toll in the town of Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade, alone had reached 14.

At least 40 people have died in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, after days of the heaviest rainfall since records began 120 years ago caused rivers to burst their banks and triggered hundreds of landslides.

On Serbia's border with Bosnia, the mayor of Mali Zvornik said an "entire hill" was threatening to slide into the River Drina and flood the town and neighbouring Zvornik. Obrenovac was almost deserted, evacuated by police and soldiers on fears of a new flood wave.

In northern Bosnia, the Sava broke sandbag defences overnight and flooded several villages near the town of Orasje.

The government in Bosnia says more than 1 million people, or a quarter of the population, have been affected by the flooding and landslides, comparing the destruction to that of the country's 1992-95 war.

Comment: The floods have been unprecedented since records began almost 120 years ago. Homes have been submerged and many destroyed by landslides. People are worried they not be able to return to their villages.
Balkans floods trigger Bosnia's worst exodus since war - deathtoll rises to at least 47
Bosnia, Serbia hit by worst flooding in 120 years
Bodies pulled from submerged homes, thousands evacuated in Balkans 'worst ever' flooding

Read More...
Music

Mysterious Windsor hum's source revealed as Zug Island - but scientists still have no idea what the cause is


National Post
Fri, 23 May 2014 11:50 UTC
Zug Island
© National Post, Canada
A federally funded study confirms a humming noise in Windsor, Ontario, emanates from an island across the Detroit River but fails to completely solve the long-running mystery over the vibration.

Essex Conservative MP Jeff Watson, who revealed the findings Friday, says the acoustic monitoring study shows the rumbling is real and reaches Windsor from heavily industrial Zug Island in River Rouge, Mich.

But he says the investigation - done by scientists at the University of Windsor and Western University - fails to pinpoint just what has been causing the phenomenon.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Unusual moose behaviour in Canada raises questions


VOCM.com
Fri, 23 May 2014 17:08 UTC
Moose
© Screen Capture/YouTube
An experienced woodsman on the west coast is raising concerns after witnessing some unusual and alarming behaviour in a moose. Jack Besaw was out on his ATV near Black Duck Siding last weekend when he noticed the animal walking around in circles and banging into trees. He says he's never seen anything like it before.

He says the animal, which appeared otherwise healthy, was walking in tight circles like a dog chasing its tail. It eventually left the railbed, and lay down in the woods. The Department of Environment says circling behaviour is generally associated with brain worm infection or other neurological trauma, but without a more detailed investigation, officials say it's difficult to say for certain.


Brain worm infections are typically associated with caribou, but confirmed cases have been seen in moose.

Comment: This has also been happening in Minnesota, USA.

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Rare dust storm blew over Reno, Nevada

Emerson Marcus
Reno Gazette-Journal
Fri, 23 May 2014 16:42 UTC
Reno Dust Storm
© Scott McGuire/National Weather Service
A giant cloud of dust shooting at least 5,000 feet in the sky blew through Reno Thursday evening for what meteorologists called a "very rare" occurrence.

"I've been here 10 years and I've never seen it in Reno," said Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Reno.

Dust storms are common in the Middle East and referred to as haboobs, derived from the Arabic term habb meaning "to blow."

And blow it did in Reno.

Just before 6 p.m. Thursday, meteorologists noticed thunderstorms in Fallon. In eastern and central Nevada locations - such as Fallon, Lovelock and Winnemucca - it's not rare for thunderstorms to shoot bursts of wind at the ground, picking up large amounts of dust.
Read More...
Binoculars

Rare Bermuda seabird spotted off Kerry coast, Ireland

Linda McGrory
Irish Examiner
Thu, 22 May 2014 16:11 UTC
Image
One of the world's rarest birds - once thought extinct for over 300 years - has been spotted off the Kerry coast.

The Bermuda petrel, better known as the Cahow, was observed by crew members of the Celtic Voyager - the Irish Marine Institute's research vessel.

The "astonishing" sighting of the endangered seabird took place off Kerry on Monday. Within hours, the Bermuda Audubon Society confirmed the report through data emitted by the bird's electronic geolocator.

The medium-sized Cahow is the national bird of Bermuda.

It is currently being "laboriously brought back from the brink" by conservationists with only about 180 of the species known to exist.

A slow-breeding ground-nester, the bird was wiped out during the 1600s when colonisation of the North Atlantic island introduced species such as boars, cats, dogs and rats.

It was rediscovered on the island in 1951.
Read More...