Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Spring flooding leads to landslides in Quebec, Tim Hortons closure in New Brunswick


Toronto Sun
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 11:24 UTC
Sherbrooke Flooding
© QMI AgencySherbrooke Flooding
The spring thaw and steady rain triggered floods that inundated Quebec towns, washing away homes, forcing evacuations and causing a landslide.

In Sherbrooke, Que., in the Eastern Townships, the Saint-Francois river reached a record 25 feet Wednesday and floodwaters cut the city in two.

Firefighters rang doorbells just after midnight on Wednesday and asked 480 people to leave their homes, bringing the total number of displaced people to 632.

Downtown streets flooded and quickly froze in Sherbrooke as morning temperatures neared -10 C.

The situation was also precarious in Saint-Raymond, Que., east of Quebec City. Torrential rains caused the Saint-Anne River to rise at breakneck speed on Tuesday evening, flooding the downtown core. Mayor Daniel Dion told QMI Agency that 300 people were told to leave their homes.
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Rainbow

Halo observed around the sun in Central Florida

Kevin Clay
WESH.com
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 14:03 UTC
sun halo Florida
© Matthew SalvatiA halo around the sun appeared in Central Florida.
Dozens of WESH 2 viewers sent pictures of a mysterious ring or "rainbow" around the sun Wednesday afternoon.

So what was it?

A sun halo is caused by a refraction of sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds within the Earth's atmosphere. It forms what looks like a circular rainbow around the sun.
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Cloud Grey

Five volcanoes erupting at once on the Kamchatka Peninsula

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That?
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:00 UTC
Image
© ISS Crew Earth Observations/Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center
Remote. Cold. Rugged. Those three adjectives capture the essence of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Another word - perhaps more applicable than anywhere else on Earth - is "fiery."

Of the roughly 1,550 volcanoes that have erupted in the recent geologic past, 113 are found on Kamchatka. Forty Kamchatkan volcanoes are "active," either erupting now or capable of erupting on short notice. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured activity at five of them during a single satellite pass on April 14, 2014.

Imagery follows.
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Attention

Whale found dead in Port Elizabeth harbor to be brought to Jersey City for necropsy

Michaelangelo Conte
The Jersey Journal
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 14:09 UTC
Image
© Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalA whale that was found dead in New York Harbor was transported to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility at Caven Point Marine Terminal in Jersey City where marine veterinarians performed a necropsy to find out the cause of death, on April 16, 2014.
A 30- to 35-foot whale found dead in the water in the area of Port Elizabeth will be brought to Caven Point Terminal in Jersey City tomorrow where a necropsy will be performed, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers said.

The Army Corps of Engineers was notified on Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the dead whale had been spotted, Corps spokesman Chris Gardner said today. The Corps has lashed the whale to one of its barges used to collect drifting debris in the harbor in order to keep the whale from disrupting ships' navigation, Gardner said.

Gardner said the whale will either be towed or lifted by a drift collection vessel and brought to Jersey City where it will be placed on land for the necropsy. He said he did know what type of whale it is but said officials have it narrowed down to several possible species.

The spokesman said he did not know if the whale had any visible signs of injury such as from a boat propeller and said that will be determined tomorrow. Gardner said the whale was not brought ashore today due to the rainy weather because the necropsy will be performed outdoors. Moving the whale tomorrow will be contingent on the weather as well.

Necropsy is another word for autopsy and is used with reference to animals.
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Attention

40-Foot gray whale washes up on Oregon Coast

Ian Forrest
kptv.com
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:44 UTC
Image
© Matt FletcherA dead gray whale washed ashore on the Oregon Coast on Tuesday.

A dead, decomposing 40-foot gray whale washed ashore in the Oregon Coast town of Seaside on Tuesday morning, and marine experts advise staying away from the massive carcass because it's "really nasty."

Keith Chandler, a marine mammal expert from the Seaside Aquarium, said the whale has been dead for "quite some time."

"It's really smelly. We're quite a ways from it and I can smell the whale," Chandler said.

Dr. Debbie Duffield from Portland State University will collect samples on the dead whale and try to determine its cause of death.

Once marine experts have finished collecting all the data they need, the city of Seaside will likely bury the whale. Chandler said it will be a challenge.
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Umbrella

More than 40 feared dead after floods in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Alvar Mwakyusa
Tanzania Daily News
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 08:00 UTC
Tanzania flooding
© Daniel Hayduk / AFPPedestrians cross the flooded Old Bagamoyo Road in the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam on April 12th.
Some 41 people are feared dead as a result of floods caused by downpour that hit Dar es Salaam for about three days over the weekend, according to Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Saidi Meck Sadiki.

Mr Sadiki, who by virtue of his position is the Chairman of the Regional Defence and Security Committee, noted, however, that so far 25 people have been confirmed by police to have died as a result of the floods.

"In Ilala District, there are two people who have been reported missing while 11 have been confirmed dead while in Kinondoni, there are seven confirmed deaths and 14 were reportedly buried before corroboration by the police.

In Temeke, seven people perished. "I have directed the police to visit families of the 14 people reported dead to ensure that the said persons really died as a result of the floods as the search for other bodies continue," Mr Sadiki told this newspaper in a telephone interview.
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Cloud Grey

Strong winds cause 2 ships to collide in Chesapeake Bay; third vessel runs aground


AP
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:49 UTC
Two vessels collided in a main shipping channel and a 751-foot cargo ship ran aground in the lower Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday in high winds gusting up to 70 mph, the Coast Guard said.

The 79-foot rig vessel Petite and the 1,065-foot container ship MSC Charleston collided about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday "due to weather" in the Thimble Shoal Channel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. There were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution and both vessels were safely anchored, the release said.
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Snowflake

Norway: Avalanche kills 4 skiers


AP
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:00 UTC
Norwegian police say rescuers have found the bodies of four skiers who were killed by an avalanche in central Norway.

The four men were reported missing late Monday after skiing off-piste in the Sunndalsfjella mountains.
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Attention

Nicaragua on maximum alert after series of earthquakes


BBC News
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 15:49 UTC
Nicaragua resuce
© ReutersPeople living in buildings most at risk of collapse are being evacuated to shelters
The authorities in Nicaragua have put the entire country on an "extreme red alert", the highest possible, after the country was hit by a series of tremors.

Nicaraguans were asked to sleep outdoors as seismologists warned of the possibility of a powerful earthquake rocking the Central American country.

Officials said the recent tremors had reactivated a fault which caused a devastating earthquake in 1972.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people were killed in the disaster.
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Radar

Strong earthquake hits South Atlantic Ocean: 6.9 Magnitude at Bouvet Island


eTN
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:14 UTC
A 6.9 earthquake shook the remote Bouvet Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean Tuesday Morning.

Bouvet Island (Norwegian: Bouvetøya, is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway located in the South Atlantic Ocean at 54°25.8′S 3°22.8′ECoordinates: 54°25.8′S 3°22.8′E. It lies at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and is the most remote island in the world, approximately 2,200 kilometres (1,400 mi) south-southwest of the coast of South Africa and approximately 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) north of the Princess Astrid Coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.
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