Earth ChangesS


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Mexico City sinkhole has 20 families evacuate


Excelsior
Fri, 23 May 2014 08:47 UTC
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© SPECIAL
With a length of 15 meters and a depth of at least 10 meters, the sinkhole forced security to evacuate. No injuries were recorded.

A sinkhole which originated on the corner of Águila Blanquinegra and James Watt, Perimeter Village San Simon Culhuacán, forced the the Iztapalapa authorities to evict at least 20 families.
The rupture of a water pipe with a diameter of 50 inches, belonging to the Water System of the City of Mexico, caused by several days of leaking, the cavity, which is 15 meters wide and almost 10 meters deep.
The local authorities have provided the affected families to stay at a hotel close by for elderly, while they have established a temporary shelter for the young.

Comment: So a leaking pipe caused the collapse? If it's not the 'tired' limestone theory, it's the leaking pipe story which authorities bring out to calm any further questions about a concerning tendency:


Erosion of soluble bedrock (sometimes involving water saturation) seems indeed to be factors in the growing phenomena, but it seems a key player is missing to explain the worldwide rise of this and other areas of growth in extreme climactic and geologic events. Look for Pierre Lescaudron's soon to be released book, for clues on the matter:

ecthcc


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Cloud Lightning

Floods wipe out entire towns in Balkans


Newsweek
Wed, 21 May 2014 12:35 UTC
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© Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Flooding and landslides destroyed homes in Krupanj, Serbia. At least 49 people have been killed already by the worst floods in central Europe for a century.
Serbia on Tuesday declared three days of national mourning and reported another death in the worst rainfall to hit the Balkan region in living memory, even as the rising River Sava threatened more havoc.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the death toll in the town of Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade, alone had reached 14.

At least 40 people have died in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, after days of the heaviest rainfall since records began 120 years ago caused rivers to burst their banks and triggered hundreds of landslides.

On Serbia's border with Bosnia, the mayor of Mali Zvornik said an "entire hill" was threatening to slide into the River Drina and flood the town and neighbouring Zvornik. Obrenovac was almost deserted, evacuated by police and soldiers on fears of a new flood wave.

In northern Bosnia, the Sava broke sandbag defences overnight and flooded several villages near the town of Orasje.

The government in Bosnia says more than 1 million people, or a quarter of the population, have been affected by the flooding and landslides, comparing the destruction to that of the country's 1992-95 war.

Comment: The floods have been unprecedented since records began almost 120 years ago. Homes have been submerged and many destroyed by landslides. People are worried they not be able to return to their villages.
Balkans floods trigger Bosnia's worst exodus since war - deathtoll rises to at least 47
Bosnia, Serbia hit by worst flooding in 120 years
Bodies pulled from submerged homes, thousands evacuated in Balkans 'worst ever' flooding

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Music

Mysterious Windsor hum's source revealed as Zug Island - but scientists still have no idea what the cause is


National Post
Fri, 23 May 2014 11:50 UTC
Zug Island
© National Post, Canada
A federally funded study confirms a humming noise in Windsor, Ontario, emanates from an island across the Detroit River but fails to completely solve the long-running mystery over the vibration.

Essex Conservative MP Jeff Watson, who revealed the findings Friday, says the acoustic monitoring study shows the rumbling is real and reaches Windsor from heavily industrial Zug Island in River Rouge, Mich.

But he says the investigation - done by scientists at the University of Windsor and Western University - fails to pinpoint just what has been causing the phenomenon.
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Bizarro Earth

Unusual moose behaviour in Canada raises questions


VOCM.com
Fri, 23 May 2014 17:08 UTC
Moose
© Screen Capture/YouTube
An experienced woodsman on the west coast is raising concerns after witnessing some unusual and alarming behaviour in a moose. Jack Besaw was out on his ATV near Black Duck Siding last weekend when he noticed the animal walking around in circles and banging into trees. He says he's never seen anything like it before.

He says the animal, which appeared otherwise healthy, was walking in tight circles like a dog chasing its tail. It eventually left the railbed, and lay down in the woods. The Department of Environment says circling behaviour is generally associated with brain worm infection or other neurological trauma, but without a more detailed investigation, officials say it's difficult to say for certain.


Brain worm infections are typically associated with caribou, but confirmed cases have been seen in moose.

Comment: This has also been happening in Minnesota, USA.

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Bizarro Earth

Rare dust storm blew over Reno, Nevada

Emerson Marcus
Reno Gazette-Journal
Fri, 23 May 2014 16:42 UTC
Reno Dust Storm
© Scott McGuire/National Weather Service
A giant cloud of dust shooting at least 5,000 feet in the sky blew through Reno Thursday evening for what meteorologists called a "very rare" occurrence.

"I've been here 10 years and I've never seen it in Reno," said Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Reno.

Dust storms are common in the Middle East and referred to as haboobs, derived from the Arabic term habb meaning "to blow."

And blow it did in Reno.

Just before 6 p.m. Thursday, meteorologists noticed thunderstorms in Fallon. In eastern and central Nevada locations - such as Fallon, Lovelock and Winnemucca - it's not rare for thunderstorms to shoot bursts of wind at the ground, picking up large amounts of dust.
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Binoculars

Rare Bermuda seabird spotted off Kerry coast, Ireland

Linda McGrory
Irish Examiner
Thu, 22 May 2014 16:11 UTC
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One of the world's rarest birds - once thought extinct for over 300 years - has been spotted off the Kerry coast.

The Bermuda petrel, better known as the Cahow, was observed by crew members of the Celtic Voyager - the Irish Marine Institute's research vessel.

The "astonishing" sighting of the endangered seabird took place off Kerry on Monday. Within hours, the Bermuda Audubon Society confirmed the report through data emitted by the bird's electronic geolocator.

The medium-sized Cahow is the national bird of Bermuda.

It is currently being "laboriously brought back from the brink" by conservationists with only about 180 of the species known to exist.

A slow-breeding ground-nester, the bird was wiped out during the 1600s when colonisation of the North Atlantic island introduced species such as boars, cats, dogs and rats.

It was rediscovered on the island in 1951.
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Question

Giant jellyfish invasion seen off the coast of Cornwall, UK

Sarah Ann Harris
Daily Express, UK
Thu, 22 May 2014 15:21 UTC
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© GETTY/SWNSBen Dunstan spotted thousands of barrel jellyfish making their way to the shore
Amazing video shows the moment a paraglider spotted an invasion of giant jellyfish heading straight for Britain's beaches.

Ben Dunstan was using a GoPro camera attached to his helmet to film a friend's boat as he glided overhead.

But as the 32-year-old travelled along above the clear waters off Gerrans Bay, Cornwall, he was distracted by a menacing sight.

Mr Dunstan spotted a horde of hundreds of tropical Barrel jellyfish drifting towards the shore.

Barrel jellyfish are usually found in warmer water, but several have been sighted in British seas recently.

Although their sting is minor, the bizarre-looking creatures look especially creepy because of their shocking 3ft length.

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Cloud Lightning

A rare hailstorm blankets parts of Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo

Everton Fox
Aljazeera
Tue, 20 May 2014 12:02 UTC
Brazil hail
© AFPSao Paulo does not have any snow ploughs so bulldozers were required to help clear the roads after a 20cm layer of ice built up on some streets.
A storm has brought marble-sized hail to Sao Paulo. The city, which is the largest in Brazil and will host the opening game the football World Cup on 12 June, was coated in a layer of ice up to 20cm in places.

Authorities had to send bulldozers in to help clear the streets of the ice. This part of Brazil is subtropical so the city does not actually have any snow ploughs.

The Centre for Emergency Management said the storm broke a dry spell that caused historically low levels at the main dams that supply water to Sao Paulo. The equivalent of 10mm of rain was recorded.

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Cloud Lightning

'Tornado-like storm' kills two in Cambodia

Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Laignee Barron
The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 22 May 2014 00:00 UTC
Cambodia storm
© PVireak MaiVillagers inspect a concrete pillar yesterday that toppled over during a storm and killed two in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district.
A mother and child were killed on Tuesday in what Russey Keo district residents described as a tornado-like storm that stripped off roofs, split trees and swept chairs and baby chicks into the skies.

According to villagers, the unprecedented weather started with clouds thickening and turning darker than the muddy river. The winds gathered speed and formed a long, rotating vortex that pummelled their homes for more than an hour.

Mot Saly, 30, was securing his property while his mother-in-law took his 6-month-old daughter to a neighbouring village. His wife, 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were huddled inside the house when he said he saw the storm's funnel rip his home from its stilts and drop it back down as a collapsed pile of wood.
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Attention

Campbeltown fishing boat hauls in dead minke whale in Scottish waters


Campbeltown Courier
Tue, 20 May 2014 04:12 UTC
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The whale is believed to have been dead before it was caught
A Campbeltown fishing boat made a surprise catch on Tuesday, May 20 - substantially larger than its usual target of prawns.

The crew of The Crest discovered a 26ft-long,three-ton minke whale snared in their equipment at Kilbrannon Sound off Peninver. They believe it was already dead when caught.
Crowds gathered to look at the giant of the sea after it was landed at Campbeltown New Quay around midday.

Read the full story in the Campbeltown Courier,May 23 2014,also at www.campbeltowncourier.co.uk/digital from the same date.
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