Earth ChangesS


Phoenix

Thousands evacuated due to raging forest fire near Valparaiso, Chile

Eva Vergara
news.yahoo.com
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 18:03 UTC
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© APPlumes of smoke from a wild fire rise over Valparaiso, Chile, Friday, March 13, 2015.
A serious forest fire spread quickly on Chile's coast Friday and threatened to reach the nearby port cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.

Officials said the fire began at an illegal garbage dump in the afternoon and flames were spread quickly by high winds, leading authorities to declare a state of catastrophe in the area. Deputy Interior Secretary Mahmud Aleuy said that about 4,500 people in six neighborhoods had been evacuated as flames advanced nearby and that an additional 10,000 might need to be moved.

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Cloud Lightning

Heavy rainfall kills 14 and damages crops in North India


The Tribune (India)
Sun, 15 Mar 2015 17:42 UTC
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© Ashok RainaThe foothills of the Dhuladhars overlooking the lush green Kangra valley experienced fresh snowfall on Sunday.
Widespread rains battered large swathes of North India on Sunday bringing mercury down by several notches, even as it claimed 14 lives and damaged crops in several regions.

Twelve people were killed in Rajasthan due to rain, lightning and hailstorms, which also destroyed Rabi crops in the state, while two were killed in Uttarakhand in rockslide triggered by heavy rain.

Cold conditions returned to Delhi after the showers as the day temperature plummeted to 19.6 degree Celsius, nine degrees below normal. According to the Meteorological department, the city received 3.6 mm rains till 5.30pm this evening. The minimum temperature was 16.6 degrees, two notches above normal, while maximum was registered at 19.6 degree. On Saturday, the maximum was recorded at 27.3 degrees.
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Snowflake

Turkish ski resort of Uludağ hit with heavy snowstorm


national.bgnnews.com
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 16:51 UTC
Ongoing snowfall reached about 2 meters on Saturday on Uludağ Mountain, in what has been a suprise with spring right around the corner.

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Uludağ Mountain
The 2,543-meter mountain, located in Turkey's western province of Bursa, has witnessed one of its best seasons in the year with the occupacy rate in hotels going at 100 percent.

The snowfall also hit the 2014 Uludağ Economic Summit featuring prominent members of the Turkish business world as well as Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan.
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Cloud Precipitation

Ohio River set to rise to highest level in decades

Brianna Lee
International Business Times
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 15:58 UTC
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© Reuters/Jim Young Weather services have issued flood warnings for the Ohio River, which is expected to reach its highest level since 1997 Sunday.
Weather services issued multiple alerts Saturday for Cincinnati and several other Midwest cities Saturday as the Ohio River rose toward its highest level in nearly two decades. Rains could push the river just a few feet short of the levels seen in the 1997 flood that marked one the river's most severe on record. Local communities have evacuated residents from high-risk areas.

The Ohio River Forecast Center predicts the river could crest at 58 feet -- six feet above minimum flood levels -- by Sunday, according to local reports. The river reached 64 feet in 1997, marking one of the most serious floods the area had seen in decades. The 1997 flood resulted in power cuts for thousands of Ohioans and an estimated $180 million in damage, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

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Cloud Lightning

4 cyclones in South Pacific simultaneously: The biggest, Super-Cyclone Pam, is South Pacific's strongest ever


Matangi Tonga
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 13:24 UTC
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© NASAThree powerful tropical cyclones bearing down on Australia and Vanuatu: Olwyn (left), Nathan (center), and Pam (right) were seen by MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite at 2:20 Universal Time on March 13, 2015.
The strongest tropical cyclone on record in the South Pacific, Tropical Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 super storm, hit Vanuatu last night causing deaths and destruction. This morning Pam had a central pressure as low as 899hPa and was gusting up to 335km per hour at its centre.

It is one of four cyclones unusually affecting the South Pacific at the same time.

The Vanuatu Meteorological Services warned very destructive hurricane-force winds of 250 kilometres per hour continued to affect the country's southern provinces this morning. It said the central pressure of the system was estimated at 900 hectopascals, which is among the strongest tropical cyclones on record.

Furthermore, at 8:00 am today, Saturday, the Fiji Meteorological Service reported that Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam (Category 5) was located about 890km West of Nadi.

"It has a central pressure of 899hPa and average wind speeds of 250km per hour close to the centre with gusts up to 335km per hour. It is currently moving South 20km per hour. It is gradually turning southeasterly," Fiji Met stated.
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Bizarro Earth

U.S. Geological Survey reports earthquake in western North Carolina


WYFF4.com
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 22:55 UTC
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The U.S. Geological Survey has reported an earthquake that shook part of Swain County late Friday night.

The U.S.G.S. tracked the earthquake to Cherokee and said it happened at 11:51 p.m.

According to the U.S.G.S. website, this was a 2.8 magnitude earthquake.
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Info

Biocide! 2.9 million whales slaughtered in 100 years

Kevin Heath
wildlifenews.co.uk
Thu, 12 Mar 2015 20:47 UTC
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Whales slaughtered.
The first estimate of the number of whales killed during the 2oth century is set to be published in the next edition of Marine Fisheries Review. Researchers hunted through the records and found that between 1900 and 1999 a total of 2.9 million whales were killed.

The scale of modern industrial whaling that took hold in the early and mid 1900's is astonishing. The researchers, Robert C. Rocha, Jr., Phillip J. Clapham, and Yulia Ivashchenko , found that between 1900 and 1962 the number of sperm whales killed equalled the total estimated to have been killed over the previous 200 years.

But the height of the whaling industry was only just beginning. In the following 10 years between 1962 and 1972 the industry managed to repeat the scale of killing.

The researchers estimated that between 1712 and 1899 whaler in small sailing boats managed to kill 300,000 sperm whales. Modern techniques and improved shipping meant whalers killed 300,000 sperm whales between 1900 and 1962. Then the big factory ships were launched and in just 10 years another 300,000 sperm whales were caught.

By the time the International Whaling Commission had effectively banned whaling in 1982 they estimate that at least 2,870,291 had been killed since the start of the century.
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Arrow Down

School bus gets stuck in sinkhole in Kensington, Philadelphia


philadelphia.cbslocal.com
Fri, 13 Mar 2015 18:05 UTC
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© Paul Brown/CBS3Sinkhole.
Crews responded to the scene after a school bus reportedly became stuck in a sinkhole in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood.

Officials say the incident was reported around 3:30 p.m. Friday at the 400 block of E. Ontario Street.

Chopper 3 was over the scene where it appears the front wheel of the bus got caught in the sinkhole.

Officials tell CBS 3 Eyewitness News no one inside the bus was injured.

The Philadelphia Water Department responded to the scene. They say a large hole in the sewer is what led to the sinkhole.

Water service has been fully restored to about 20 customers who were affected, according to the Water Department.

C and D Streets will remain closed.

Crews will begin repairs Saturday morning.
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Arrow Down

Bus ends up stuck in sinkhole in Lackawanna, New York


wkbw.com
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 17:56 UTC
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Bus stuck in sinkhole.
No students were injured Friday when a bus got stuck in a sinkhole on a street in Lackawanna.

John Sengbusch shared this picture with 7 Eyewitness News, taken on Modern Avenue.

He says there is a water main break on the street, which likely caused the sinkhole.

A second photo with this story from Sengbusch shows the large crater after the bus was removed.
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Arrow Down

Massive sinkhole opens up in Southport, UK

Alan Weston
Liverpool Echo
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 17:46 UTC
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A sink hole in Churchtown village has caused traffic chaos
A busy road junction in Southport is likely to be closed "for several weeks" after a collapsed sewer caused a large sink hole to appear.

The hole, which is 15ft by 10ft, is at the traffic lights at the junction of the A565 (Cambridge Road) and the A5267 (Preston New Road) in Churchtown.

The sewer collapse caused delays for drivers heading through the village, and motorists commuting from Southport to Preston.

Engineers were on site all day today using tankers to pump water from the hole.
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