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Yet another sinkhole opens up in the UK, this time in Southampton

James Franklin
Southern Daily Echo
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 14:08 UTC
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The one metre wide sinkhold at Southampton Sports Centre
A sinkhole has appeared in a children's play area in Southampton.

Flooding has caused part of the Children's Pleasure Park at the city sports centre to disappear.

There is now a hole about one metre wide and up to four feet deep at the site in Bassett.

While the park remains open, three trampolines have been cordoned off as a safety precaution.

Fred Salter, who runs the park, said the hole first appeared on Friday when the area was covered in six inches of floodwater.

He said: I've never seen anything like this before at the sports centre.

"I am worried that it could happen anywhere around here because there was so much water running down the hole.
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Massive sinkhole almost swallows mini-van in Yonkers, New York


westchester.news12.com
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 13:50 UTC
A water main break created a sinkhole that nearly entrapped a brand new mini-van
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A massive crater on a Yonkers street almost swallowed a brand new mini-van overnight.


Rafael Rodriguez tells News 12 he parks in front of his home on Mulberry Street all the time. But, Wednesday morning his van was teetering in the air on an angle over a massive hole. He learned later that a water main ruptured underneath the asphalt, which was already weak from snow and ice. "This was no ordinary pothole, it was a water main break that was happening underneath the surface causing the road to just open up...now, I have my car towed with damage, transmission, body damage and everything," says Rodriguez.

DPW crews on the scene say the hole is 5-feet deep, and the pipe burst was most likely caused by the frigid weather.
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Bizarro Earth

Increase in giant squid discoveries off Japan's coast is 'some kind of omen,' says fisherman

Heather Saul
The Independent, UK
Thu, 20 Feb 2014 13:47 UTC
Giant Squid
© The Independent, UKThe two longest tentacles of one of the creatures caught in the town of Iwami were missing, meaning it could have spanned eight metres.
An increase in the number of giant squid being caught along the Sea of Japan coast is leading fisherman to fear it may be some kind of omen.

A giant squid was taken to the Himi fishing port in Toyama Prefecture on 4 January, and another was discovered in a net off Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture on 8 January, according to The Japan Times.

Three squid were taken to Sado and Himi that measured between three and four metres long, the newspaper has reported.

The two longest tentacles of one of the creatures caught in the town of Iwami in Tottori Prefechure were missing, meaning it could have spanned eight metres prior to its capture.

Several of the creatures have been ensnared in fishing nets. Earlier this month a local fisherman caught a four-metre giant squid off the coast of Sadogashima Island.
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Sinkhole swallows car's wheel in Wallington, London

Mike Pyle
Sutton Guardian
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 13:37 UTC
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A five foot-wide sinkhole has opened up in the middle of a Wallington street.

The hole, which is around three feet deep, opened up and swallowed the wheel of a car in Maldon Road at 9am today.

Police have closed the road between Manor Road and Harcourt Road.

A statement from the police said: "The hole is in the road and is about 5ft wide and 3ft deep. A car had one of its wheels in the hole and the vehicle has now been recovered.

"It is believed the car was being driven at the time the hole opened up. There are no injuries reported. Sutton Council is aware."

Sinkholes have been reported around the country following the recent heavy rains.

The British Geological Survey said the country can expect more holes as the water table recedes following the bad weather.
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The hole, which is around three feet deep, opened up and swallowed the wheel of a car in Maldon Road at 9am.
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UK riddled with sinkholes! Another one opens up, this time in Suffolk


BBC
Thu, 20 Feb 2014 13:27 UTC
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Workers had to dig down into the hole to remove loose rubble as part of the repair process
A sinkhole, which forced the closure of a main road in the centre of Lowestoft, has been repaired.

The hole, which was about 15ft (5m) long and 8in (20cm) deep, appeared just off the A12 at Station Square.

A section of the road was closed in both directions overnight on Tuesday for investigations.

Catherine Brookes, from the Highways Agency, said while engineers had not found a "definite cause" the void had now been filled in.

The agency closed the A12 in both directions on Tuesday from 20:00 GMT as a safety precaution and traffic through Lowestoft was diverted via the A1117 and Oulton Broad.

The A12 was reopened on Wednesday morning, but Denmark Road remained closed between Station Square and Katwijk Way.
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Vehicle barely avoids sinkhole in Chadron, Nebraska

Kerri Rempp
Rapid City Journal
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 13:15 UTC
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© Julie PfisterThis vehicle barely avoided a sinkhole on Country Club Road Wednesday morning. The sinkhole is the result of a water main break. The road is closed until further notice
City water crews and county road crews are busy repairing a broken water main south of Chadron this morning.

The busted main created a sinkhole roughly 10 feet across and five feet deep on Country Club Road. The break was discovered early Wednesday morning when a vehicle barely avoided resulting sinkhole.

"The city's first and strongest concern is making sure that nobody was injured," said Chadron's public works director Milo Rust.

The driver and passenger were able to mostly avoid the sinkhole but the rear of their SUV did fall in to the edge of it, and they suffered bumps and bruises, Rust said.

The water main carries water from the city dams as part of the city's distribution system but is currently dedicated to providing water only to the golf course. No other customers are impacted by the break.
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Phoenix

Multiple wildfires break out in chilly south-central Nebraska


nebraska.tv
Thu, 20 Feb 2014 11:11 UTC
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© nebraska.tv
Firefighters were battling winds Tuesday as they worked to knock down a fire on the northern edge of Atlanta.

Crews responded from Holdrege, Loomis, Bertrand and Oxford to contain the blaze.

Officials say about 600 acres burned before the fire was extinguished.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown, but it is believed that it could have been the result of a previous permit burn.

"It's not real likely we know right now what the cause is, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife did have a permit burn out here a couple weeks ago and it may have been a result from that," said Pat Gerdes, director of Region 15 Emergency Management. "The embers and everything have now kicked up because of these high winds. We've had multiple fires across south-central Nebraska today because of it."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department was at the scene to check for hot spots.
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Radar

4.1 magnitude earthquake hits south Wales


The Guardian
Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:10 UTC
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© Tim Ireland/PAThe beach at Woolacombe, north Devon. Where a 4.1 magnitude earthquake may have hit.
British Geological Survey investigates reports of 4.1 magnitude quake in Bristol channel with tremors in north Devon and south Wales

Experts are investigating reports of an earthquake in the south-west of Britain. The British Geological Survey (BGS) said there were reports of a quake centred on north Devon. A spokesman said: "It looks like there was an earthquake originating in north Devon at 13:21 so we are just analysing it." The size of the tremor is not yet known but reports on Twitter suggest that it was felt in north Devon and south Wales.

Twitter user Robin Beer said: "Anybody else feel the earth tremor just now?! #ndevon #barnstaple #earthquake." Ant Veal tweeted: "Noticeable earth tremor just now (13.22GMT) in Exeter. Lasted 3 seconds. #Devon #earthquake."
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Ice Cube

"Three Suns" seen in Argentina


El Liberal
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 04:54 UTC
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© UnknownSun Dog, or parhelion
Translated from Spanish by the SOTT Team

Yesterday, a few minutes after 7pm, Nature surprised the citizens of Santiago del Estero once again. This time "three suns" caught everyone's attention and raised doubts about the strange event that took place when the Sun made itself visible on the province's capital. As soon as the phenomenon was recorded, hundreds of witnesses used the social networks to upload pictures and find out about the origin of this event, making it obvious that this spectacle had not been missed by many.

The "three suns" were clearly visible in the sky, in the Western areas of the capital. This strange phenomenon barely lasted a few minutes until the Sun hid behind the horizon.

This is known as a parhelion (Sun Dog) and is produced by the effect of the sun's rays passing through ice crystal fragments in the atmosphere. Sometimes a bright reddish spot can be seen on both sides of the Sun .

In order for a full halo to be formed it is necessary for the ice crystals in the atmosphere to be spread out in all possible directions. However, that does not always occur. When the atmosphere is extremely quiet, the crystals tend to fall horizontally.

When the Sun is at a low altitude, these crystals happen to be in the right position to refract the Sun's light toward its sides, producing two sources of light next to it.
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Phoenix

New Mexico firefighters scratching their heads as massive wildfire razes 450 acres 5 months too early


publicnewsservice.org
Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:58 UTC
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© Greyson Rennels Fires are also burning across the state line in Muleshoe, Texas
It appears that New Mexico may be in for a long and eventful fire season following a very early start.

Arlene Perea, the fire information officer with the Albuquerque Zone Type 3 Incident Management Team, says fire season doesn't usually start until late April or May.

But very dry conditions and strong winds are creating nearly ideal wildfire conditions.

"Probably the earliest I've ever been out is April," she adds. "We may have small fires, but we don't normally have anything that would cause a need to bring in a team to manage it."

Perea says a nearly 450 acre wildfire about 20 miles south of Albuquerque on the Isleta Pueblo began over the weekend, and as of Wednesday was at least 50 percent contained.
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