Earth ChangesS


Attention

Man killed by elephant in West Bengal, India


Press Trust of India
Tue, 05 May 2015 17:52 UTC
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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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Attention

Elephant kills person in Rangamati, Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Wed, 06 May 2015 17:44 UTC
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Asian elephant.
A youth, who was injured by a wild elephant at Madhyam Ghanmor village in Longdu upazila on Monday night, died at Longdu Upazila Health Complex early yesterday.

The deceased is Joyprakash Chakma, 38, a resident of the village.

Police said a wild elephant from the adjacent hills entered the village and attacked Joyprakash while he was guarding his paddy field around 8:30pm on Monday night, leaving him critically injured.

Villagers rushed him to Longdu Upazila Health Complex, where he succumbed to his injuries around 6:00am.
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Attention

With 17 million poultry dead or dying of bird flu, Iowa declares emergency


newser.com
Sat, 02 May 2015 14:08 UTC
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© AP /Marcio Jose Sanchez This Sept. 10, 2008, file photo shows chickens huddling in their cages at an egg processing plant at the Dwight Bell Farm in Atwater, Calif.
A state of emergency was declared yesterday by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad with nearly 17 million chickens and turkeys dead, dying, or scheduled to be euthanized due to a widening bird flu outbreak. The proclamation activates disaster response and recovery procedures for the state's homeland security and emergency management personnel. It authorizes use of state resources, supplies, equipment, and materials to track and monitor bird flu, establish restrictions around affected farms, and assist in the rapid detection of cases. It also allows state agencies to help in the disposal of poultry carcasses, an increasing problem in a state where about 27% of its 60 million egg-laying chickens will be wiped out. Reuters reported last week that this could be the worst bird flu outbreak in US history.
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Arrow Down

Another sinkhole shuts down part of street in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Frank Warner
Allentown Morning Call
Wed, 06 May 2015 14:02 UTC
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© UnknownA sinkhole that developed in Allentown just a few days before.
A sinkhole that developed Tuesday evening forced the Allentown Streets Department to close the 200 block of North 30th Street, city police said.

The sinkhole was discovered when a pedestrian noticed a narrow, 3-foot-long crack in the pavement, about 3 to 4 feet deep. Police said that, just below the pavement, the sinkhole affected an area as wide as 15 feet.

Police Capt. Bill Reinik said the middle of the block was barricaded shut, but residents still can reach their homes. He said the sinkhole probably can be repaired with relatively little bother.

Comment: Also see: Sinkhole again in Allentown, Pennsylvania - this time it closes Lehigh Parkway South

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Info

Wildfires in New York's Hudson Valley continue to burn


The Citizen
Wed, 06 May 2015 13:39 UTC
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© Jim Sabastian / Times Herald-Record via APIn this aerial photo, smoke rise from a brush fire along the Shawangunk Ridge northeast of Ellenville, N.Y., Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Officials suspect the blaze, which started Sunday, was caused by a homeowner burning rubbish outdoors in violation of a statewide burn ban.
A fast-moving wildfire at the southern edge of the Catskill Mountains has forced some homeowners to evacuate.

The fire, which started just before noon on Sunday in the Town of Mamakating, has affected more than 1,700 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge State Forest.

The Ulster County Sheriff's Department asked some residents in the Cragsmoor area to play it safe and leave their homes.

Comment: Also check out:

  • Fireball seen in Eatontown, New Jersey
  • Michigan, Texas, Mississippi, California, Idaho, and Washington all jolted by significant earthquakes
  • Possible threat of eruption at Hakone volcano as 100 volcanic earthquakes recorded


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Cloud Lightning

1 dead after severe storms ravage Hamburg and Buetzow, Germany


The Guardian
Wed, 06 May 2015 13:16 UTC
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© EPAThe mayor of Buetzow says the town has suffered "massive damage"
The German town of Buetzow has been left extensively damaged by what residents described as a tornado that tore off roofs, overturned cars and ripped up trees, with more destruction reported in other parts of Germany.

Roof tiles and debris were strewn across the streets and buildings left severely damaged when the storm struck on Tuesday.

Dozens of cars were destroyed and people injured as trees were upturned and buildings damaged by the winds. One person in the city of Hamburg was killed by falling debris.


Comment: Check out SOTT's Earth Changes Summary for April, 2015 for the most severe events from the last month. It does look like 'complete madness'.

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Cloud Precipitation

Cuba struck by second severe flood in a week: 14 inches of rain in a day

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Wed, 06 May 2015 12:41 UTC
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Over 2,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in Barocoa, in Guantánamo Province, Cuba, after a storm and severe flooding damaged 100s of homes in the areas, according to Cuba's State News Agency, Granma.

This is the second major flood event to hit Cuba in the last few days. Wide areas of the capital city of Havana were flooded on 30 April after 188 mm of rain fell in 24 hours. At least 2 people died and several buildings collapsed. Havana has not been affected by the heavy rain this time around.

Granma say that 350.7 mm of rain fell in Barocoa from 02 to 03 May 2015.

The rain forced rivers to burst their banks and resulting floods damaged homes, roads and crops. The areas of La Granjita and Horno de Cal were said to be the worst hit. Over 250 homes were damaged either by flooding or strong winds. At least 4 homes were completely destroyed. Some of those displaced have since started to return to their homes
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Attention

Bear captured after chasing two people at Granby refuge, Connecticut

Rob Polansky
erietvnews.com
Tue, 05 May 2015 12:22 UTC
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Black bear.
A black bear chased a man and a woman out of a refuge in Granby on Monday.

It happened at the McLean Game Refuge on Brandoor Hills Road.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was searching for the animal, and at a little after 2:30 p.m., officials had brought in a bear trap to help capture the bear.

It said the victims were identified as 62-year-old Clyde Grindal and 25-year-old Jessica Kraiza.

Officials said the two people were chased "by an unusually aggressive black bear" in separate incidents within one hour.

The man allegedly suffered some scratches including a laceration to the chest and was treated at the scene. Officials said it is unclear if the scratches were from tree branches while he was running from the bear.

The woman told officials that the bear came up to her when she was walking the trail near the trout pond.

"It chased her first, but it was for a short period of time, the bear lost interest with her, but maybe a minute later, based on the calls Granby police got, the male was chased," said Col. Kyle Overturf of DEEP police.
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Bizarro Earth

Possible threat of eruption at Hakone volcano as 100 volcanic earthquakes recorded


RT
Tue, 05 May 2015 16:44 UTC
hakone hot spring resort
© AFP PhotoAnglers fish from a boat floating on Lake Ashinoko in front of Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, and other mountains covered with coloured autumn leaves at a Hakone hot spring resort, some 100 kms west of Tokyo
There has been a rise in the number of volcanic earthquakes recorded in Hakone, Japan. The nearby Hakone volcano began belching steaming gas and meteorologists say there is a possible risk of an eruption.

There were two minor quakes registering 2.4 and 2.0 recorded at the Hakone volcano, which is located in the Kanagawa Province and is 80 kilometers southwest of the capital Tokyo. Meanwhile, there were a total of 98 volcanic earthquakes recorded at the popular hot springs resort of Hakone on Tuesday up until 15:00 local time. During the whole of Monday, 34 were logged.

Japan's meteorological agency has issued a warning to limit access to the resort.

"Activity at Hakone... is in a state of uncertainty," the agency said in an advisory, which was reported by AFP. "There is a possibility that a minor eruption may suddenly occur," it said. "Please do not enter dangerous zones."

Despite the warning, the agency still believes the risk of the Hakone volcano erupting is minimal. It is maintaining an alert level at 1 on a scale of 5. Level 1 means "normal."

Comment: Japan's meteorological agency may be downplaying the threat to avoid panic or hinder tourism, but volcanoes that have long been dormant are beginning to wake up and there has been an alarming increase in eruptions and earthquakes worldwide:

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Arrow Down

Deadly landslide of snow and mud triggered by Nepal earthquake captured by satellite; 200 dead

Chris Dolce
Wunderground.com
Sun, 03 May 2015 20:37 UTC
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© USGS/NASA
The small village of Langtang, which was located along a popular trekking route near the base of Mount Langtang, was completely buried by ice and rocks shaken loose by devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015. At least 200 people died in this disaster.

The village was located below a very steep ridge and above the ridge there is a glacier towards the north-west and large snow field right above the village, MountainHydrology writes.

"There has been a lot of snow fall this year and at the moment of the earthquake there were considerable amounts of snow at higher altitudes. From a preliminary investigation we think it is most likely that either a snow avalanche from directly north of Langtang village or a debris/ice avalanche from the north-west has caused this disaster."

These are marked by red arrows in the map:
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© Mountain Hydrology
While cloudy conditions have hampered satellite observations of Nepal since the earthquake, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a clear view on April 30, 2015.

A mixture of snow, ice, and debris - which originated in snowfields on the slopes above Langtang - slid toward the Langtang River and buried the village.

Walter Immerzeel and Philip Kraaijenbrink, members of a group of volunteer scientists (Mountain Hydrology) with expertise in remote sensing, were the first to identify and analyze the landslide using Landsat 8.
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