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Zhupanovsky volcano in Russia's Kamchatka Territory spews column of ash 6 km above sea level

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© AP/Brynjar Gauti
Zhupanovsky Volcano in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Territory has spewed ash to a height of six kilometres above sea level, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) of the Institute of Volcanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS on Tuesday.

"The ash column reached six kilometres above sea level. The plume of ash has been taken by the wind to a distance of 30 kilometres in the southerly direction," a KVERT spokesman said.

The volcano poses no threat to populated localities. Nonetheless, it has been assigned an orange aviation colour code. It is not ruled out that the volcano may spew more ash up to eight kilometres high.

Zhupanovsky Volcano, which takes its name from a river of the same name flowing in its vicinity, is located in eastern Kamchatka, some 70 kilometers north of the Kamchatka capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Zhupanovsky is one of the least studied volcanoes in the region despite its proximity to a large city. It is a complex volcano composed of four overlapping cones aligned on a roughly east-west oriented axis, with the highest cone reaching 2,958 meters high, and the lowest one being 2,505 meters high. The giant mount has been active since October 2013.

Comment: The most powerful existing volcano emits ash, clouds of steam 7,500meters high in Kamchatka, Russia


Attention

Dead whale stranded on Kapiti coast, New Zealand

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© Karolne Tuckey/Fairfax NZA whale is stranded at Waikawa Beach, north of Otaki.
A whale found washed up at Waikawa Beach, north of Otaki on the Kapiti Coast, has died, DOC rangers say.

The whale was found by dog walkers this morning, and reported at about 11am, when it was believed to still be alive.

DOC senior ranger Clint Purches visited the site early on Tuesday to examine the whale and find out if it could be rescued, but found it was dead.

Measured at 7.4 metres and rolling in chest deep waves, the baleen whale could not be fully examined until scientists could get to the flippers and blowhole and take more measurements.

However, its size and white baleen - its filter feeding mechanism - indicated it could be a Minke.

Attention

Magnitude 4.7 quake hits Tokyo, surrounding region; no tsunami alert

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© USGS
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 struck Tokyo and its surrounding region on Tuesday morning, the Meteorological Agency said, No tsunami alert was issued.

The 5:44 a.m. temblor occurred in the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture at a depth of about 50 kilometers, registering 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale to 7 in Moka, Tochigi Prefecture, and 2 in central Tokyo.

Comment: USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - 64km ENE of Mutsu, Japan


Attention

Dead minke whale found on Coney Island beach

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© Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily NewsA dead Minke whale was found on Coney Island beachin Brooklyn on Monday afternoon.
A partly decapitated Minke whale that washed up Monday on the Coney Island beachfront likely died after an unfortunate encounter with a ship's propeller, officials said.

The approximately 18-foot-long leviathan was found on the beach near the Boardwalk at Ocean Parkway around 2p.m., authorities said.

Kim Durham of the Riverhead Foundation, a group that studies and rescues marine mammals, performed a necropsy.

The adult female whale's body had been battered by propeller strikes.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills man in Largo, Florida

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An 81-year-old man was struck and killed Friday morning by lightning, police said.

Jay Freres, who had a lengthy career with the U.S. State Department, was out for a walk when a storm developed, police said.

Lightning struck him about 11:30 a.m. in a residential area near Sandpiper and Egret drives.

He was alone at the time.

During his career, Freres served as deputy chief of missions in Bahrain, according to the State Department. He also served in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Afghanistan, among other countries.

His first tour was in 1963 in Guatemala. He became a deputy chief of missions in 1989.

Freres also worked in the department's counter terrorism office from 2002 to 2005.

Moon

Strong 5.2 magnitude earthquake rattles Greece

earthquake near Athens, Greece
An earthquake with magnitude 5.2 occurred near Athens, Greece at 01:09:02.90 UTC on Jun 9, 2015. There have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

According to the Geodynamic Institute in Athens, the quake occurred early Tuesday morning in the Gulf of Northern Evia, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Athens. Its epicentre was located 5 km deep near the city of Chalkida on Evia island. There have already been reported two smaller scale aftershocks.

"It was certainly felt, but so far we have not received any calls for assistance," a Greek fire brigade official in Athens said.

Earthquakes are common in Greece and have historically caused widespread damage across central and southern Greece, Cyprus, Sicily and other neighboring regions. Last year, a series of strong earthquakes on the island of Kefalonia damaged hundreds of homes and injured more than a dozen people.

Cloud Precipitation

2 killed by flash floods in Switzerland

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Floodwater in Switzerland
Rain and thunderstorms over central parts of Switzerland late on Sunday, 07 June 2015, caused flash flooding in several cities and the deaths of two people in a village in Lucerne canton.

Zurich and Bern, as well as Lucerne, were all affected. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) the Swiss broadcaster, reported the deaths of the 2 victims - a mother and daughter - earlier today. Reports say that the victims died in the basement of their home in Dierikon, in the canton of Lucerne. Swiss police say that the force and speed of the floods took the victims by surprise.

Swiss police also said that the floods and storms caused severe damage in the municipalities of Lucerne, Sörenberg, Adligenswil, Udligenswil, as well as Dierikon. Flooded streets were also reported in Bern and Zurich earlier today, where emergency crews responded to 100s of call outs. The heavy rain, which followed a period of high temperatures in the country, also caused landslides which have blocked several roads.
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Landslide

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 2, injures 7 in Nashik, India

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Pre-monsoon thunderstorms and lightning on Saturday claimed two lives in the district and injured three. Four people were injured on Sunday afternoon after being struck by lightning.

The district collectorate has registered 16mm of rainfall on Saturday evening across four talukas. The city received fresh spell of showers on Sunday afternoon which lasted for about half an hour.

Pithi Kashinath Valhekar (45) and Gauri Shravan Waghmare (35) died after being struck by lightning in Mahalkeda, Yeola taluka on Saturday. Nikhil Lakshman Walhekar (10) was injured in the incident.

An official from the district collectorate said that the victims were labourers from Raigad district. Cows and sheep were also killed due to lightning.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill three in Bangladesh

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Three people were killed by lightning in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts on Saturday.

In Sylhet, a man was killed by lightning at Noagaon village in Osmaninagar upazila of the district.The deceased is Azam Ali, 50, son of Haris Ullah of the village.

Police said a thunderbolt hit Azam while he was working at a cropland near his house around 6:30pm.

Away in Sunamganj, two children were killed by lightning in Sadar and Dharmapasha upazila of the district the same day.

The victims are Afzal Mia, 12, son of Ayub Ali of Rupabali village in Jamalganj upazila, and Phulmati Begum, 8, of Tepikona village in Dharmapasha upazila.

Police said Afzal, a Class VI student of Rupabali Government Primary School, was struck by lightning in Dhopakhali area in the town around 7:30pm. He died instantly.

A thunderbolt hit Phulmati while she was playing in the yard around 7:00pm.

Windsock

Incredible time-lapse footage of supercell storm forming over Kansas which spewed hailstones bigger than baseballs

supercell storm in Kansas
© Robert Sinner / LSM / BarcroftFormidable: The giant rotating thunderstorm was captured on camera on Wednesday as it spread across the countryside in Kansas
This incredible sped-up footage captures a supercell storm evolving and moving across Kansas last week.

The phenomenon was filmed on June 4 by extreme weather fan Robert Sinner and shows the rotating thunderstorm moving across the countryside in Hanston.

Supercells are among the most powerful weather formations found on land and the latest to terrorise Kansas spewed hailstones larger than baseballs.

supercell storm in kansas
© Robert Sinner / LSM / BarcroftAstonishing footage: A bolt of lightning shoots across the sky as the rare weather phenomenon tears through Hanston in Kansas last week
Describing Wednesday night's supercell, Mr Sinner said: 'I have chased hundreds of storms, but finding a rare low precipitation supercell with a sunset, which is isolated with no other storms around is rare.

'It had a breathtaking structure showing the rotation and updraft of the cell, along with the biggest hail stones I have ever seen, which measured over three inches wide.

'In the video you can see the updraft rotating and the storm topping out between 48,000 to 50,000ft is a perfect mix for large hailstones.'

Disabled army veteran Robert, 34, who lives in Kansas, became interested in storm-chasing four years ago.

He said: 'I was already a keen photographer when I chased my first storm and tornado in 2011.