Earth ChangesS


Sun

Northern California: Growing list of communities running out of water in 60 days


Sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
Mon, 29 Sep 2014 03:57 UTC
California's water shortage has reached a critical stage.
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© CBSCritical areas that are running out of water in 60 days.
At least a dozen communities in Northern and Central California are at risk of running out of water in just 60 days. The areas in jeopardy include Colusa and El Dorado County. These are relatively small communities and they rely on one source of water.

Butte County north of Sacramento is getting hit hard. At Big Bend Mobile Home Park near Oroville, home to more than 30 families, the water supply is so low that between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., it is completely shut off.

"Hard when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night," said resident Michelle Payne. "I guess we're not flushing." The only water source for her entire community is a single well. There are other wells on the property, but they have all run dry.

"There's really nothing can you about it," said resident John Dougherty. "I don't water any plants... try to cut back on toilet usage... whatever we can do is what you gotta do...all we can do." "Pretty much anything that was alive weeks ago is dry, 'cuz we haven't been able to water," said Payne.

Some families have started driving five miles down the road to get drinking water from a spring box, for themselves and their animals.

Statewide the water shortages are getting worse. In just a month, the Water Resource Board's list of communities at risk of running out of water in 60 days has grown from 8 to 12. Big Bend Mobile Home Park made that list.

Comment: From February, 2014:
California drought: 10 communities at acute risk of running out of drinking water in 60 days

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Attention

The rising tide of contaminants

Deborah Blum
New York Times
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:06 UTC
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© Brent Frazee/Kansas City Star, via MCT, via Getty Scientists are concerned by the increasing variety of contaminants in the environment. Traces of pesticides and caffeine were found in the Zumbro River, above, in Minnesota.Credit
Deborah Swackhamer, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota, decided last year to investigate the chemistry of the nearby Zumbro River. She and her colleagues were not surprised to find traces of pesticides in the water.

Neither were they shocked to find prescription drugs ranging from antibiotics to the anti - convulsive carbamazepine. Researchers realized more than 15 years ago that pharmaceuticals - excreted by users, dumped down drains - were slipping through wastewater treatment systems.
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Attention

Black bear attacks man walking his dogs in Larkspur, Colorado

Kerry Leary
9news.com
Fri, 05 Sep 2014 21:11 UTC
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A man was attacked by a bear Wednesday evening while walking his dogs in a Larkspur neighborhood.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife says the man was walking his dogs when he suddenly saw a bear running at him from the side. The bear bit him in one arm and then the man began to fight back. He injured the other arm when defending himself. After the man began to defend himself, the bear ran away.

"Generally, black bears in Colorado are not aggressive, so this is kind of a strange case," Jennifer Churchill with the Colorado Division of Wildlife said. "We certainly think it's a cause for concern because in general, bears don't like to come near people with dogs."

The man was transported to a local hospital. He was admitted, treated and released last night. The dogs were not injured.

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Attention

Peru rattled by 4.9 magnitude earthquake - kills at least 8


Weather.com
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 14:42 UTC
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© Weatherchannel.com

The small farming town of Misca was rattled by a magnitude 4.9 earthquake Sunday.
At least eight people are dead and four are missing after a shallow 4.9-magnitude earthquake rocked a remote village in Peru on Sunday, according to Dia Correo. Most of the victims were killed after their crudely constructed homes collapsed, the Associated Press reports.

The quake was centered 25 miles southeast of Cuzco in the farming town of Misca in the Paruro region and was a relatively shallow five miles deep.

Spanish-Language news site El Comercio reports that four of the dead are children, including a three-month-old baby. Landslides in the area have made it difficult for rescue personnel to reach those affected.

El Comercio reports that nearly 45% of the homes in the village have been destroyed and power has been knocked out. Displaced residents were moved to a local soccer field for safety, according to RPP Noticias.
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Attention

Bear attacks hunter in Pine County, Minnesota


Argus Leader
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:55 UTC
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© APBlack Bear
Authorities are investigating a black bear attack on a hunter in the woods of east-central Minnesota.

Pine County Sheriff Robin Cole says in a statement that the hunter had been tracking a wounded bear early Saturday. The victim told deputies the bear charged out of the darkness and knocked him to the ground, clawing and biting him. He suffered severe lacerations and bites to his chest, arms and legs. He tried to fight off the attack by stabbing at the bear with his hunting knife.

The victim was flown to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he's listed in stable condition.

The bear fled and has not been found, but the sheriff's office says there's no risk to the general public.

The victim's name has not been released.
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Attention

Wasilla man shoots bear trying to enter home, Alaska

Tegan Hanlon
Alaska Dispatch News
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 19:33 UTC
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A 32-year-old man shot and injured a bear in Wasilla on Tuesday after the animal attempted to enter his home, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Around 10:20 p.m., Greg Kasachev called troopers and reported that he shot a bear that "made attempts to gain access to his residence," said a trooper dispatch posted online Wednesday.

Troopers responded to the home on Alan's Drive and found the injured bear near a tree in the backyard. Troopers killed the bear. It was released to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

A troopers spokesperson contacted Wednesday did not yet know whether it was a black bear or grizzly.
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Windsock

Tropical Storm Kammuri to batter Japan with rain, rough surf, wind

Adam Douty
Accuweather.com
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 04:43 UTC
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Tropical Storm Kammuri has gradually become more organized during the past several days. The system began early this past week as a weak area of low pressure that produced showers and thunderstorms near the Mariana Islands.

Kammuri is now located to the southeast of Japan and is generally moving to the north. A turn to the northeast is expected Sunday into Monday which will cause the storm to miss Japan. However, Kammuri will still pass close enough to bring a few impacts to the country.

The key factor in the movement of the tropical storm is a fast-moving trough of low pressure that AccuWeather.com meteorologists have been tracking since it was located over 1,000 miles away across Siberia.

Now that this trough is located across eastern Asia, Tropical Storm Kammuri is feeling the effects as the storm is being pulled to the north and eventually the northeast.

As the trough of low pressure continues to interact with Kammuri, effects will become even greater which will cause Kammuri to accelerate to the northeast across the northern Pacific early this coming week.
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Cloud Lightning

Wild weather: Rare lightning, hail strike Napa Valley in California

Tim Fang
CBS 5KPIX
Fri, 26 Sep 2014 23:32 UTC
Napa Valley hail 1
One month after an earthquake struck the Napa area, the region was pounded by an incredibly rare hailstorm Friday afternoon. Heavy rainfall and lightning were also reported throughout the North Bay.

A viewer in the Napa County community of Browns Valley took video of hail covering the ground like snow.

KPIX 5 meteorologist Paul Deanno reported six inches of hail in the Napa area. Children were seen making snow angels and had snow fights with the hail.

"It was nothing but rain, then all of a sudden it comes down. It was complete hail for a good to 20 to 25 minutes," said Paul Frommelt of Napa. "In the 49 years I've lived here, I've never seen anything like this ever."
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Ambulance

Seven dead in central China landslide after heavy rain


English.news.cn
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 10:59 UTC
China landslide
© xuanen.gov.cnRescuers searching for survivors after a landslide hit a suburban community in Xuan'en County, central China's Hubei province on Saturday, September 27, 2014.
Seven people have been confirmed dead and another four were injured after a landslide buried several houses in a suburban community in central China's Hubei Province Saturday, local authorities said Sunday.

The landslide struck four houses in Xuan'en County of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture at about 6:10 a.m. Saturday. Local government confirmed that 11 people lived in one of the four houses while the rest three were unoccupied.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday, eight people have been rescued and rushed to hospital, but four of them died. The rest three were found dead early Sunday morning, said the rescue headquarters.
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Cloud Lightning

More than 30 people believed dead at Japanese volcano


Fox News
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 16:35 UTC
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© AP Photo/Koji UedaSeptember 28, 2014: A military helicopter, aiding in rescue operations, flies above Mount Ontake as it continues to erupt in Nagano prefecture. Military helicopters plucked several people from the Japanese mountainside Sunday after a spectacular volcanic eruption sent officials scrambling to reach many more injured and stranded on the mountain.
The bodies of more than 30 people believed to be dead have reportedly been discovered near the summit of an erupting volcano in central Japan.

A police official from Nagano prefecture told the Associated Press that the victims were not breathing and their hearts had stopped, which is the the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors can examine it. The official added that the exact location where the bodies were found and the identities of the victims were not immediately known. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
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