Earth ChangesS


Umbrella

More than 40 feared dead after floods in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Alvar Mwakyusa
Tanzania Daily News
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 08:00 UTC
Tanzania flooding
© Daniel Hayduk / AFPPedestrians cross the flooded Old Bagamoyo Road in the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam on April 12th.
Some 41 people are feared dead as a result of floods caused by downpour that hit Dar es Salaam for about three days over the weekend, according to Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Saidi Meck Sadiki.

Mr Sadiki, who by virtue of his position is the Chairman of the Regional Defence and Security Committee, noted, however, that so far 25 people have been confirmed by police to have died as a result of the floods.

"In Ilala District, there are two people who have been reported missing while 11 have been confirmed dead while in Kinondoni, there are seven confirmed deaths and 14 were reportedly buried before corroboration by the police.

In Temeke, seven people perished. "I have directed the police to visit families of the 14 people reported dead to ensure that the said persons really died as a result of the floods as the search for other bodies continue," Mr Sadiki told this newspaper in a telephone interview.
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Cloud Grey

Strong winds cause 2 ships to collide in Chesapeake Bay; third vessel runs aground


AP
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:49 UTC
Two vessels collided in a main shipping channel and a 751-foot cargo ship ran aground in the lower Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday in high winds gusting up to 70 mph, the Coast Guard said.

The 79-foot rig vessel Petite and the 1,065-foot container ship MSC Charleston collided about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday "due to weather" in the Thimble Shoal Channel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. There were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution and both vessels were safely anchored, the release said.
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Snowflake

Norway: Avalanche kills 4 skiers


AP
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:00 UTC
Norwegian police say rescuers have found the bodies of four skiers who were killed by an avalanche in central Norway.

The four men were reported missing late Monday after skiing off-piste in the Sunndalsfjella mountains.
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Attention

Nicaragua on maximum alert after series of earthquakes


BBC News
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 15:49 UTC
Nicaragua resuce
© ReutersPeople living in buildings most at risk of collapse are being evacuated to shelters
The authorities in Nicaragua have put the entire country on an "extreme red alert", the highest possible, after the country was hit by a series of tremors.

Nicaraguans were asked to sleep outdoors as seismologists warned of the possibility of a powerful earthquake rocking the Central American country.

Officials said the recent tremors had reactivated a fault which caused a devastating earthquake in 1972.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people were killed in the disaster.
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Radar

Strong earthquake hits South Atlantic Ocean: 6.9 Magnitude at Bouvet Island


eTN
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:14 UTC
A 6.9 earthquake shook the remote Bouvet Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean Tuesday Morning.

Bouvet Island (Norwegian: Bouvetøya, is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway located in the South Atlantic Ocean at 54°25.8′S 3°22.8′ECoordinates: 54°25.8′S 3°22.8′E. It lies at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and is the most remote island in the world, approximately 2,200 kilometres (1,400 mi) south-southwest of the coast of South Africa and approximately 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) north of the Princess Astrid Coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.
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Attention

Dead pilot whale washes up near Coopers Beach, Southampton

Tara Conry
Newsday
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 07:48 UTC
Image
© Riverhead FoundationA 15-foot dead pilot whale was discovered Sunday, April 13, 2014 on a beach in Southampton near Cryder Lane, according to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, which returned to the beach Monday to conduct a necropsy on the whale.
A 15-foot dead pilot whale was discovered Sunday on a beach in Southampton near Cryder Lane, according to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.

Robert DiGiovanni, the foundation's executive director and senior biologist, said researchers took a few samples Sunday, and that he was headed back to the beach Monday morning with a crew to conduct a necropsy on the whale.

"We'll do as much of a necropsy as we can, but it's going to have to remain on the beach," he said.

DiGiovanni said the Southampton Highway Department was able to move the animal further up on the beach, so it wouldn't wash away, but the whale is too large for researchers to take to the foundation's necropsy lab in Riverhead.

The team will look first for any external injuries, and then take more samples before disposing of it, DiGiovanni said.

DiGiovanni said the foundation usually sees one to two pilot whales wash ashore each year.
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Attention

Multitude of dead animals wash up on local beaches in Florida


actionnewsjax.com
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 07:18 UTC
Image
Dead marine life wash ashore along our local beaches.

There's something fishy going on in our local waters. No pun intended. According to The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: six dolphins, a shark, a humpback whale and multiple manatees/sea turtles have washed up in the last two weeks.

"We know the dolphins are related," marine biologist Nadia Gordon said. "As far as the shark and see turtles, I can't answer that."

The morbillivirus is believed to be the cause of the dolphin deaths. The disease has claimed the lives of 80 in Northeast Florida since July 2013. On a bigger scale, 1200 dolphins have been found dead from New York to Florida since July- up from the average 180 a year.

Biologists still have work to do, but they're hoping they get a lead soon.

"We're hoping it will die off soon and we won't have to worry about it anymore," Gordon said.
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Cloud Lightning

Cyclone Ita hits East coast of Australia: worst-hit areas could go weeks without power

Kristian Silva
Brisbane Times
Tue, 15 Apr 2014 03:50 UTC
Ingham flooded after cyclone Ita
© TwitterIngham flooded after Cyclone Ita.
More than 6000 homes and businesses remain without power in the far north as Cyclone Ita begins to move away from the Queensland coast.

Ergon Energy has restored power to about 20,000 properties since noon on Sunday, although Premier Campbell Newman said the worst-hit areas could go weeks without electricity.

On Monday morning, Energy Minister Mark McArdle said vegetation damage and issues with access had made it difficult to restore power to parts of Kuranda and the Cairns northern beaches.

There were also 736 properties in Townsville that were waiting to be re-connected and 1100 customers offline in the Mackay, Whitsunday and Proserpine regions.

Gusts of 100km/h are forecast between Sarina, near Mackay, and Yeppoon, northeast of Rockhampton on Monday.

But the Bureau of Meteorology said the gales should start easing as Ita weakened to a tropical low and moved away from the coast.
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.9 - Bouvet Island region


US Geological Survey
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 23:12 UTC
Bouvet Island Quake_150414
© USGS
Event Time
2014-04-15 03:57:00 UTC
2014-04-15 04:57:00 UTC+01:00 at epicenter

Location
53.493°S 9.152°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

Nearby Cities
394km (245mi) ENE of Bouvet Island, Bouvet Island
2263km (1406mi) SSW of Hermanus, South Africa
2274km (1413mi) SSW of Bredasdorp, South Africa
2285km (1420mi) SSW of Grabouw, South Africa
3071km (1908mi) SSW of Maseru, Lesotho

Technical Details
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Snowflake Cold

Snowy Owls dying and having trouble migrating north due to prolonged cold weather

Ellisha Rader Mannering
webpronews.com
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 14:08 UTC
Image
It is time for many bird species to begin their spring migrations and Snowy Owls are among the many species that migrate. Although most birds migrate without any trouble it seems that more and more snowy owls are being found dead along their migration paths. While most ornithologists believe the recently reported Snowy Owls deaths are not related and only accidents, many are still studying the dead birds to be sure.

When a Snowy Owl wearing a GPS tracking device was found dead near Martha's Vineyard, many people became concerned and wanted to know why this bird and so many others were dying. Tufts University veterinary center and Norman Smith, who is an expert on Snowy Owls, decided to find out what caused the bird's death. They named the bird Sandy Neck.

The team examined the bird and released a report with their findings. The report said,

"The necropsy at Tufts showed no trauma except for a minor deep bruise in her left pectoral, no food in the proventriculus (stomach) or gizzard, and no signs of disease or unusual parasites. As Gus (Ben David) noted, she was in otherwise excellent condition - great muscle mass and fat deposits. Nor was there any water in the respiratory system. Mark Pokras (a veterinarian and professor at Tufts) said if he had to guess, she got swamped, swam to shore and went down from hypothermia - but also couldn't rule out drowning."
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