Earth ChangesS


Attention

Elephant tramples villager to death in Raigarh, India: 4th casualty in a week


The Times of India
Sun, 03 May 2015 18:21 UTC
Image
Elephant on a charge.
A man was trampled to death by a herd of elephants in Chaal forest of Dharamjaigarh region in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, fourth casualty in a week. This is the 12th death recorded from Korba, Surguja, Jashpur and Bilaspur regions of the state this since January.

On an average, 25 people fall prey to tuskers in the state annually.

Foresters said 61-year-old villager from Sharasmal village went to forests to collect forest produce when a herd of elephants attacked and trampled him to death. His maimed body was recovered by officials.

Despite large number of deaths caused by elephants, state government has not been able to come up with an effective strategy to deal with the problem and experts attribute laxity on government's part due to presence of rich mineral resources in forests resulting in mining activities. Large part of forest divisions with elephant presence (accounting to more than 30% of human deaths and crop damage) has been identified as sites for mining.
Read More...
Wolf

Coyote carries off dog in Randolph, New Jersey

Kieran Corcoran
Daily Mail, UK
Sun, 03 May 2015 16:12 UTC
Image
This photograph shows a coyote stalking the Upper West Side of Manhattan on April 22. The animals are said to be most aggressive around this time of year
A vicious coyote attacked a pet dog and dragged it into the forest in a New Jersey town - the latest in a string of incidents which have seen the wolf-like animals encroach on towns and cities.

The beast grabbed the beloved pet, a Yorkshire terrier, in the backyard of his owner's home in the township of Randolph, around an hour west of New York City.

The Yorkie, named Bo, was seen being carried away by the coyote around 10pm Tuesday, police said.

NJ.com reported that Bo's owner had let him out briefly when the coyote struck and watched the abduction without being able to help.

Police and wildlife officials combed the nearby woods in the hope of tracking down either Bo or the coyote, but turned up no trace of either.

Comment: See also this sample of recent reports of coyote attacks on dogs:

Coyote fights 2 large dogs in back yard in Pinellas, Florida

Coyotes seen attacking large dogs in Stamford, Connecticut

More 'rare' urban coyote attacks on Indiana dogs

Spike in coyote attacks on animal pets in Claremont, California

Coyotes killing pets in Seal Beach, California

Read More...
Arrow Down

Scientists: Mount Everest shrunk about 2.8 centimeters after Nepal earthquake; Nepal region lifted about 1 meter


RT
Sun, 03 May 2015 09:51 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Tim ChongMount Everest (C), the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range.
The deadly quake in Nepal not only devastated the country killing thousands but also changed its landscape. Mount Everest shrank a little bit after the disaster, satellite data shows.

According to Europe's Sentinel-1A radar satellite, which passed over the affected area on Wednesday, a day after the 7.8-magnitude quake, Earth's highest mountain is now 2.8 centimeters smaller than it used to be, reports LiveScience.

The lowering is explained by a relief of strain in the Earth's crust, it said citing UNAVCO, a nonprofit geoscience research consortium.

At the same time a region about 120 kilometers long and 50 kilometers wide near Nepal's capital Kathmandu lifted about 1 meter, which partially explains the extensive damage the city suffered. The uplift peaked just 17 kilometers from the city.

The satellite data is still raw and will be analyzed by teams of scientists over the next few weeks. Roger Bilham, a professor in geological sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the Huffington Post that the shrinking of Mount Everest is probably just about one or two millimeters.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Severe rain causes sinkhole in west Sydney; threatens apartment blocks

Georgina Mitchell and Melanie Kembrey
Sydney Morning Herald
Sun, 03 May 2015 07:18 UTC
Image
© Gordon McComskie
Dozens of residents have spent the night away from their homes after fears of a building collapse in Sydney's west.

About 60 people were evacuated from three apartment blocks in Harris Park on Saturday evening after heavy rain damaged a nearby construction site at Parkes Street.

NSW SES media spokesman Todd Burns said the walls of a construction pit had started to crumble after being softened by rain.

Amid concerns the apartment buildings either side might give way, residents spent the night with family and friends and had not been allowed to return on Sunday morning.

Police said initial inquiries indicated that severe weather conditions had caused "excessive soil erosion and affected the structural integrity of the site".

It is not known when the buildings will be deemed safe as investigations involving the site developer, engineers, geologists and gas and electrical companies continue.
Image
© Gordon McComskie
The job was one of more than 1000 the SES had responded to since 7pm on Thursday as wild weather hit Queensland and New South Wales, fatally sweeping three cars off the road north of Brisbane and killing a six-year-old boy at South Ballina.
Read More...
Info

Shallow magnitude 3.9 earthquake reported in Los Angeles area

Quakebot
The LA Times
Sun, 03 May 2015 05:48 UTC
Image
© BingA map shows approximate location of the epicenter of Sunday morning's quake near View Park-Windsor Hills.
A shallow magnitude 3.9 earthquake was reported Sunday morning one mile from View Park-Windsor Hills, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 4:07 a.m. PDT at a depth of 5.6 miles.

The quake was classified by the USGS as "light" but was felt over a wide area of the L.A. basin. The Los Angeles Fire Department said it had received no reports of damage.

A 3.5 quake rattled the same general area on April 12. Both quakes were centered on the Baldwin Hills/Inglewood border. The Newport-Inglewood fault runs along that area.

In the aftermath of that quake, some residents asked whether oil production in the area might have been a factor. But Caltech scientist Lucy Jones wrote on Twitter that it was unlikely because the depth of the quake was so far below oil production facilities.

According to the USGS' "Did You Feel It" survey, the quake was felt over a wide area of the Los Angeles basin as well as areas to the east.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was two miles from Inglewood, two miles from Culver City and four miles from Lennox.

In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
Read More...
Snowflake Cold

New cold climate to devastate global agriculture within a decade


spaceandscience.net
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 11:18 UTC
Image
Crops damaged by snow.
The Space and Science Research Corporation (SSRC) announces today that the predicted new cold climate will soon begin to end the historic era of growth in US and global agricultural output that began after the end of World War II. Specifically, as a result of recent events on the Sun and changes in the Earth's climate, the SSRC again warns that record crop yields and volume in the US and Canadian corn, wheat, and soybean belts are about to end. The SSRC expects the first substantial damage could be observed at any time but certainly within the next ten years.

This new announcement is based on a well researched set of new climate trends of oceanic and atmospheric temperatures, and solar activity.

The SSRC believes as long as the Sun continues its solar hibernation (a once every 206 year cold climate event) that we are on the precipice of a long term drop in global temperatures. It is entirely possible that the decades-long period of record global agricultural output that our world has enjoyed will soon be over, perhaps for many decades.
Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall in the Irkutsk region of Russia


iceagenow.info
Sat, 02 May 2015 10:56 UTC
Image
The weather on May 2 in Irkutsk.
The month of May began with hail and snow.

Today, May 2, in some areas of Irkutsk was at one degree, with snow.

Yesterday almost the entire territory of the Irkutsk region had heavy snowfall . Especially in the evening, snow fell abundantly in Slyudyanka area.

On social networks, perturbed Irkutsk citizens have asked if they could return to April, because it was warmer than it is now.

Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for this link
Read More...
Snowflake

Severe weather warning for snow in May in Scotland


The Scotsman
Sat, 02 May 2015 10:39 UTC
Image
© PA A Yellow snow warning for Scotland has been issued which may affect parts of the A9.
A severe weather warning for snow which could make higher roads hazardous was issued today by the Met Office.

It said accumulations of up to 20cm (8in) were likely, mainly above 400m but possibly as low as 300m, with drifting caused by strong easterly winds.

Main routes which could be affected include the A9 around the Drumochter pass, the A82 north of Tyndrum and the A87 west of Invergarry.

The agency warned: "The public should be aware of the risk of difficult driving conditions on higher roads.
Read More...
Road Cone

Rare earthquake strikes Michigan; 4.2 magnitude

Jennifer Dixon
Detroit Free Press
Sat, 02 May 2015 15:44 UTC
Image
© USGS
No injuries or damages were reported today after a magnitude 4.2 earthquake rattled Michigan and surrounding states shortly after noon today.

John Bellini, a geophysist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Goldon, Colo., said the earthquake's epicenter was roughly five miles south of Galesburg, or nine miles southeast of Kalamazoo in central Michigan.

He said the earthquake at 12:23 p.m. could be felt widely across lower portions of the state and into northern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, eastern Illinois, southeastern Wisconsin, and western Ontario.

Gov. Rick Snyder's office said there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

Bellini said Michigan has had only one other earthquake of this magnitude, a 4.6 earthquake that shook the state in August 1947. Its epicenter was close to Saturday's - about 30 miles to the southeast.

He said earthquakes of this magnitude are capable of causing minor damages, such as knocking items from shelves, cracking plaster or windows, or damaging brickwork or chimneys on older buildings.

He called today's earthquake "quite uncommon. Michigan doesn't get a lot of large earthquakes."

Since 1973, the state has had only two other recorded earthquakes - one in the western reaches of the Upper Peninsula, the other in central Michigan. He said dates for those quakes were not available.
Read More...
Attention

5.7 magnitude earthquake hits Japan's Hachijo-jima island


RT
Sat, 02 May 2015 17:15 UTC
Image
© USGS
A 5.7-magnitude earthquake has struck 168 km from Japan's Hachijo-jima island, USGS said, adding that the depth of the quake stood at 10 km.

USGS initially placed the magnitude of the quake at 6.1 but later dropped it to 5.7.

Hachijo-jima, a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea, has a population of about 8,000 people.

The quake occurred 456 km from the country's capital, Tokyo, which is home to some 13 million inhabitants.It also struck 359km from the towns of Shimoda, home to 23,000 residents, and Tateyama, which has 28,000 people.

In April, southwestern Japan's Miyakojima and Yaeyama areas were placed on high alert with tsunami warnings after a 6.8-magnitude underwater earthquake struck off Taiwan's coast. Waves as high as one meter were expected to hit southwestern territories.
Read More...