Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Recent increase in number of hurricanes and tropical storms shown on amazing infographic of all storms recorded globally since 1851

Mark Prigg
The Daily Mail
Fri, 24 Aug 2012 07:50 UTC
It is an astonishing view of the swirling paths hurricanes and tropical storms have taken across the globe.

This amazing image was created by designer John Nelson, and shows data of every recorded event since 1851.

It also offers a unique perspective of the earth from the bottom up - with Antarctica in the middle, the Americas on the right and Asia on the left
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© John Nelson, IDV SolutionsAn astonishing new map reveals all of the world's hurricanes and intense weather events since 1951 in a single image.
Mapmaker Nelson, the user experience and mapping manager for IDV Solutions, a data visualization company, claims the unique view was the best way to tell the story of the data.

'When I put it onto a rectangular map it was neat looking, but a little bit disappointing,' Nelson told OurAmazingPlanet.

But the unorthodox, bottom-up perspective allowed the curving paths the storms make across the world's oceans to shine, he said.

Comment: Go here to see John Nelson's hurricane and tropical storms map in close-up detail.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes four times in the exact same spot

Sam Sweeney
nbc40.net
Fri, 24 Aug 2012 06:17 UTC
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They say lightning never strikes twice in the same spot... but how about four times?

"It was definitely the closest I've ever seen a lightning strike," LT. Jay Kircher said.

LT. Jay Kircher says he and his crew were sitting in the operations center when they heard the crack and then saw four lighting bolts come down and make a meteor like hole right in the center of the tarmac with spraying debris everywhere.

"I remember it was so different, usually you just hear it, you hear the crack and maybe a little rumble, but this was like a transformer about to explode," Kircher explained.

The U.S. Coast Guard has strict guidelines in place as far as severe weather goes, and all of their pilots have spent much of their careers studying it, and they say they have never seen anything like this.
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Cloud Lightning

Double typhoons on course to slam China: six storms since the start of August


The Extinction Protocol
Thu, 23 Aug 2012 06:13 UTC
Two powerful typhoons are heading toward China, putting the weather-beaten nation on alert again after four storms have caused landfalls across the country since the start of August.
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© Weather Underground
Typhoons Tembin and Bolaven may have a combined impact on coastal areas in the coming 10 days," Zhang Chang'an, chief forecaster at the China Meteorological Administration, said on Wednesday.

Both storms are strengthening, with Bolaven expected to be the strongest typhoon to hit China this year if it lands in the country, Zhang said, adding that the storm will bring maximum winds of 220 km/h.
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Radar

Four quakes rock Nepal in past 12 hours


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:10 UTC
Four consecutive earthquakes - two of them powerful ones - rocked western Nepal in past 12 hours.

With their epicenters in the border area of Rolpa and Rukum districts, the tremors of the first quake were felt in Kathmandu at 10:15 pm last night.

Its magnitude was 5.6 on the Richter scale, according to Dilli Ram Tiwari, survey officer at National Seismological Centre (NSC) in Kathmandu.

The second quake was measured at 10:27 pm yesterday, and it was 4.4 in magnitude.

The NSC has recorded two earthquakes this morning also. The quakes at 6:02 am and 9.40 am were 4.4 and 5.2 on the Richter Scale, Tiwari said.

Source: The Himalayan
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Attention

Alert level raised on previously extinct Colombian Sotará volcano: an eruption would be first known in recorded history


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:04 UTC
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Sotara volcano looks set to erupt for first time in recorded history
According to INGEOMINAS, the Observatorio Vulcanológico and Sismológico de Popayán reported that during 8-14 August seismic activity at Sotará increased.

The seismic network recorded 110 magnitude 0.2-1.6 events mainly located in an area 0.1-5 km NE of the peak, at depths of 2-6 km. Inflation was detected in the NE area, coincident with the zone of increased seismicity.

Web-camera views showed no morphological changes.

The Alert Level was raised to III (Yellow; "changes in the behavior of volcanic activity"), or the second lowest level. (Smithsonian Institute)

Source: Earthquake Report
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Arrow Down

Infrastructure unraveling: Section of longest bridge in China, just nine months old, collapses and kills 3


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:49 UTC
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© Hao Bin/European Pressphoto AgencyA collapsed section of the Yangmingtan Bridge’s ramp, in the city of Harbin, dropped 100 feet to the ground on Friday, killing three people and injuring five.
One of the longest bridges in northern China collapsed on Friday, just nine months after it opened, setting off a storm of criticism from Chinese Internet users and underscoring questions about the quality of construction in the country's rapid expansion of its infrastructure.

A nearly 330-foot-long section of a ramp of the eight-lane Yangmingtan Bridge in the city of Harbin dropped 100 feet to the ground. Four trucks plummeted with it, resulting in three deaths and five injuries. The 9.6-mile bridge is one of three built over the Songhua River in that area in the past four years.

China's economic stimulus program in 2009 and 2010 helped the country avoid most of the effects of the global economic downturn, but involved incurring heavy debt to pay for the rapid construction of new bridges, highways and high-speed rail lines all over the country.
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Umbrella

New deadly flood hits Russia's south: 4 killed, over 1,500 affected


Russia Today
Wed, 22 Aug 2012 05:28 UTC
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Four people have died, three more are missing and over 1,500 have been affected by a devastating deluge that inundated the region, already severely battered by the deadly disaster in July.

­Three of the dead have already been identified, Emergency Ministry says. They are reported to have been tourists.

The overall number of those affected by the disaster currently stands between 1,500 and 1,800 people, according to different sources.

The heavy rainfalls battering the area in the last 24 hours - in some places the average monthly falls - triggered the flooding.
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Arrow Down

112 families displaced by landslide in Dolkha, northern India


Himalayan Times
Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:23 UTC
As many as 112 families have been displaced due to landslides that took place in Dolkha district between mid July to mid August this year.

Majority of the displaced families are from Bhirkot VDC. As many as 24 families have been completely displaced while others have been affected partially as a result of landslides.

Similarly, landslides completely displaced six families in Bhimeshwor Municipality and 10 other families have been partially affected.

The landslides also damaged houses in Jafe, Namdu, Mirge, Babare, Sahare, Suspakshamawati, Dandakharka, Chyama, Pawati and Laduk VDCs, according to Nepal Red Cross Society.

Harka Bahadur Shrestha, President of NRCS, Dolkha, said the NRCS had distributed clothing, utensils, and tent worth Rs. 6,500 per family as immediate relief to the landslide victims.

The landslide completely displaced 49 families and left partial damages in the houses of 63 families in Dolakha, added Shrestha.
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Igloo

Global Cooling: Greenpeace Arctic oil rig protesters pointing in wrong direction


Russia Today
Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:10 UTC
A Russian floating oil rig in the Arctic has been ambushed - by a group of Greenpeace activists. Six men scaled the platform and are currently dangling off the side, suspended by cables, in protest against energy giant Gazprom's plans to drill in the area. Let's now talk to Piers Corbyn, the director of WeatherAction.com

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Cow Skull

Food supply on its last legs: High price of corn forcing US farmers to feed candy to livestock

Robert Bradfield
wpsdlocal6.com
Mon, 13 Aug 2012 04:10 UTC

At Mayfield's United Livestock Commodities, owner Joseph Watson is tweaking the recipe for success.

"Just to be able to survive, we have to look at other sources for nutrition," he said.

His 1,400 cattle are no longer feeding off corn. The prices, Watson said, are too high to keep in stock. So earlier this year, he began to buy second hand candy.

"It actually has a higher ratio of fat then actually feeding them straight corn," Watson said.
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