Earth ChangesS


Fire

Update: Wildfire burns 2,400 acres in Catskill Mountains, New York


yahoo.com
Thu, 07 May 2015 16:10 UTC
Image
A fast-moving wildfire at the southern edge of the Catskill Mountains has affected more than 2,400 acres of state forest.
A fire in Shawangunk Ridge State Forest in the Catskill Mountains of New York has burned over 2,000 acres of land.

The fire has been burning for four days and has been contained in areas of Sullivan and Ulser counties, according to local media. It could take more than three more days to extinguish the fire that has burned more than 2,400 acres, which is more than four square miles.

The fire has caused evacuations, and officials believe the fire started when a homeowner burned debris outside, violating a state-wide burn ban. The burn ban is in effect until May 15.


Comment: See also: Wildfires in New York's Hudson Valley continue to burn

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Windsock

Tornado and severe storms hit northern Germany


The Telegraph
Wed, 06 May 2015 14:19 UTC




Severe storms in northern Germany have left at least one person dead and caused widespread destruction.

Worst hit was the town of Bützow near the northern port of Rostock, where bricks lay scattered in the streets and cars were reportedly thrown meters into the air.

A 26-year-old man was killed in the northern port city of Hamburg when parts of a roof toppled onto his car in the downtown harbourside area, also badly injuring his pregnant girlfriend who was seated next to him.

tornado in Germany 05.05.15
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Windsock

Dust storm hits New South Wales and Victoria, Australia


Stock Journal
Wed, 06 May 2015 14:43 UTC
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Gusts of up to 67km/h were still being felt as the thick dust moved in
Red dust covered much of northwestern Victoria and the west of New South Wales yesterday, making its way into the border city of Mildura, Victoria, shortly after noon as gale force westerly winds culminated with a dust storm.

A cold front moved rapidly through western and central Victoria on Tuesday morning before weakening in the east in the afternoon.

The Bureau of Meterology issued a severe weather warning for numerous districts, including the Mallee, late on Tuesday as damaging winds swept across the state.

Mildura weather station recorded a peak gust of 69 kilometres an hour about 11.41am. Gusts of up to 67km/h were still being felt as the thick dust moved in.

A sharp drop in temperature coincided with the dust storm, falling almost five degrees between 12pm and 12.27pm, to 14.5C, with the 'apparent temperature' as low as 7.1C a few minutes later.

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Dust storm, Australia
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Cloud Lightning

Tornado destroys homes in Mount Hope, Kansas

Matt Riedl and Travis Heying
The Wichita Eagle
Thu, 07 May 2015 13:19 UTC
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© UnknownTornado destroys home in Mount Hope, Kansas
Escorted by her son, Charmaine Foraker walked out to the field where her childhood house was now strewn in pieces to the northeast of Mount Hope.

Family members hugged her as she surveyed the bits of the roughly 100-year-old farmhouse that was destroyed by a tornado Wednesday afternoon.

A tornado spawned at around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday north of Mount Hope, northwest of Wichita, destroying at least three buildings before lifting about 45 minutes later near Burrton.


Comment: Check out: Homes damaged, airport evacuated in Oklahoma after tornadoes, floods, and severe storms

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Cloud Precipitation

Homes damaged, airport evacuated in Oklahoma after tornadoes, floods & severe storms


RT
Thu, 07 May 2015 02:04 UTC
lightning
© Reuters / Gene Blevins
Multiple tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of the state's main commercial airport as a safety precaution. At least one large twister also damaged homes and buildings in the Oklahoma City area.

In addition to severe storms and tornadoes, Oklahoma residents had to contend with power outages, golf-ball-sized hail, and flooding. Even wild animals got loose at one town's Tiger Safari wildlife refuge.

One of the day's largest tornadoes, according to local CBS affiliate KWTV, occurred around 4:30 pm local time and resulted in the formation of several satellite twisters. The big storm, whose main tornado measured about a quarter-mile wide, caused damage in Bridge Creek, Blanchard, Norman and Newcastle in the central part of the state.


Less than four hours later, another large tornado sprouted from the same storm near Bridge Creek. A daycare center was reportedly struck, but fortunately all the children and staff had already been moved to a shelter.
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 7.1 - 149km SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea


US Geological Survey
Thu, 07 May 2015 07:52 UTC
Panguna Quake_070515
© USGS
Time
  1. 2015-05-07 07:10:22 (UTC)
  2. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 149km (93mi) SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
  2. 161km (100mi) SW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
  3. 409km (254mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
  4. 521km (324mi) ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
  5. 642km (399mi) WNW of Honiara, Solomon Islands
Scientific Data

Comment: Earth is 'opening up'. Other big earthquakes in just this one region over the last couple of months include:

March 16 2015 - 6,3 quake
March 30 2015 - 7,7 quake
April 30 2015 - 6.9 quake
May 1st 2015 - 7.1 quake
May 5th 2015 - 7.5 quake

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Attention

Three earthquakes in 30 minutes strike Concord Fault in California


CBS Local
Wed, 06 May 2015 07:15 UTC
concord earthquakes 06.05.15
The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting three earthquakes, two with a 3-plus magnitude, have struck Concord Wednesday morning.

The USGS says the first quake, a magnitude 3.2, was centered east of Highway 242 in Concord and struck at about 7:01 a.m. PDT Wednesday. The second and largest, a 3.6-magnitude, struck at 7:32 a.m. It was later downgraded to a 3.5. The third, a 2.6-magnitude, hit shortly after at 7:35 a.m.

Over 100 people, mostly in Pleasant Hill, reported feeling the earthquakes, according to USGS' online "Did You Feel It" survey.

concord earthquakes
People chimed in over Twitter after some light shaking.


Comment: These latest earthquakes come only days after Michigan,Texas, Mississippi, California, Idaho and Washington were all jolted by significant earthquakes.

For more information about our increasingly extreme weather and overall planetary upheaval, see: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2015

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Question

Winter bird migrants from Himalayas stay south in Tamil Nadu, India

P. Oppili
The Times of India
Wed, 06 May 2015 18:40 UTC
Image
© Wikimedia CommonsIndian Pitta (Pitta brachyura).
Indian pitta and black-naped oriole, two species of migratory birds from the Himalayan region, have extended their stay in the Grizzled giant squirrel sanctuary in Srivilliputhur.

Sighting of these rare birds were recorded during a bird census last Saturday and Sunday. Bombay Natural History Society member S Chandrasekar, who took part in the census, said normally these birds stay till the end of March. When temperatures soar, they return to their habitat after nesting and roosting. This time they are hanging around. We need to study the reasons.

Five species of birds have been recorded during the census, the other three species being the Wayanad laughing thrush, yellow-throated bulbul and Malabar trogan. A decade ago it was considered that the yellow-throated bulbul was purely an Eastern Ghats species. Sighting of this bird last week in the Western Ghats has opened new possibilities of studies. Similarly, the sighting of Malabar trogan was reported from camps set up in high altitude areas. All the five species were not recorded in last year's census.

Comment: See also: Migrating birds still delayed by cooler than normal weather in Canada

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills two in Amersfoort, the Netherlands

Zack Newmark
NL Times
Wed, 06 May 2015 18:49 UTC
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A lightning strike in an Amersfoort, Utrecht park left two people dead, safety office Veiligheidsregio Utrecht reported on Wednesday. The two victims likely took shelter from the rain underneath a tree, and lightning may have hit both the tree and the victims, a safety office spokesman said.

The bolt of lightning came down in Randenbroek Park at about 2:30 p.m. The fire department was quickly called to the scene and tried to resuscitate the victims after the incident but to no avail.

It is not known yet "if they died immediately, or if they died later," an Utrecht Safety Region spokesman said. "Their identities are not known."

A spokesperson on the scene said that police is starting an investigation to identify the victims.
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Attention

Man killed by elephant in West Bengal, India


Press Trust of India
Tue, 05 May 2015 17:52 UTC
Image
Asian elephants.
A 67-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant near Belpahari town in Midnapore West district today, forest department officials said.

Sukhen Mura of Banspahari village had come to Belpahari to collect his old age pension and was returning home in a cycle through a forest where a herd of three elephants were staying.

One of the three pachyderms wrapped Mura with its trunk and flung him on the ground, the officials said.

After being taken to hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.
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