Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

North Carolina, US: Five Dead, Families Stranded, Thousands Without Power After Irene

Josh Shaffer, Anne Blythe, Katelyn Ferral and John Frank
The News & Observer
Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:00 UTC
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© Chuck Liddy/The News & ObserverMaria Melnikova, 22, a seasonal worker from Russia who is staying in Buxton, protects her face from wind-blown sand.
Hurricane Irene triggered at least five deaths, swamped coastal families in waist-high water and left more than 500,000 homes without power - a bruising that will take the state days, if not weeks, to heal.

The cyclone killed three people in cars, including a 15-year-old girl whose father's vehicle collided with another under a blacked-out traffic light in Goldsboro. Four more children were ejected from that car and taken to Wayne County Memorial Hospital.

Floodwaters pushed onto the Outer Banks from the sounds, making parts of N.C. 12 impassable around Duck, Nags Head and Kitty Hawk, and prompting curfews for all but law enforcement.

The storm led to 100 swift-boat rescues in Craven County. An additional 26 people were rescued in Pamlico County, including two pregnant women and a pair of infants. Water rose so high there that the National Guard couldn't get through in pickup trucks, leaving some residents without aid until morning.
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Igloo

Austria: After record warm temperatures snow in the Alps


Planetski
Sun, 28 Aug 2011 04:13 UTC
alpsnow
© James Cove
We have been sent some pictures of the recent snow that has fallen over the Austrian Alps. Taken from a plane as it flew into Innsbruck airport. The country has been wallowing in a heatwave and then suddenly the temperature dropped.

Last week in Austria records were broken as the temperature hit the late 30s in the lowland areas. It was warm up in the mountains too with temperatures in the low 30s in places.

The Central Agency for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) reported the warmest spell of the summer.

Then it fell sharply and snow came down to around 1,500m in parts of the Tirol.

Our content editor, James Cove, was flying into Innsbruck at the weekend and has sent us the pictures below.
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Bizarro Earth

Sixth Tremor Hits Kashmir in 8 days


Kashmir Dispatch
Sat, 27 Aug 2011 10:26 UTC
Kashmir Valley
© Opus88888 / WikipediaMarking the three regions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu, Kashmir valley and Ladakh.
Srinagar - A moderate intensity earthquake, sixth in eight days, was felt in the Kashmir valley midnight, officials said here Saturday. Coordinator Disaster Management Cell Kashmir, Aamir Ali said the tremor of magnitude 5.4 on Richter scale occurred at 2.02 am.

The jolt was epicentred in Feyzabad, Afghanistan at 36.44 degree north latitude and 70.69 degree east longitude, he said.

Earlier, from August 19 to 23, five moderate earthquakes measuring between 4.8 to 5.1 on Richter scale recorded in the Valley.

Amir Ali said that earthquakes are a natural phenomenon caused due to movement of techtonic plates.

"We cannot stop earthquakes but we can certainly take measures to prevent damages due to earthquakes."
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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Irene rakes up East Coast, shuts down New York

Ned Barnett
Reuters
Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:34 UTC
Irene sandbags Virginia
© Reuters/Lucas JacksonPeople stand behind sandbags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irene in Amagansett, NY August 27, 2011.
Hurricane Irene charged up the East Coast Saturday toward New York, shutting down the city, and millions of Americans hunkered down as the giant storm halted transport and caused massive power blackouts.

"The storm is coming," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the more than 8 million people who live in the United States' most populous city that includes Wall Street, one of the world's major financial centers.

From the Carolinas to Maine, tens of millions of people were in the path of the 580 mile-wide storm that howled ashore in North Carolina at daybreak Saturday, dumping torrential rain, felling trees and knocking out power.

At least seven deaths were reported in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. Several million people were under evacuation orders on the U.S. East Coast.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which connects Virginia's Eastern Shore with the mainland and is regarded as a modern engineering wonder, was closed because of the winds and rain.

This year has been one of the most extreme for weather in U.S. history, with $35 billion in losses so far from floods, tornadoes and heat waves. President Barack Obama was keeping a close eye on preparations for the hurricane.

New York City's normally bustling streets turned eerily quiet after authorities ordered unprecedented major evacuations and shut down its airports and subways.
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USA

How many presidents felt earthquakes in the White House?

Peter Grier
The Christian Science Monitor
Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:20 UTC
President Obama didn't feel this week's Virginia earthquake much, because he was on Martha's Vineyard. But two other presidents wrote about being shaken by tremors in the White House.

White House Earthquake
© Yuri Gripas/REUTERSPolice close Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House is evacuated after an earthquake that was centered in Virginia Tuesday.
Has any US president experienced an earthquake? Of the seismic variety, we mean, as opposed to political upheaval?

We ask because President Obama has (so far) missed his chance. The magnitude-5.8 temblor that rolled from Virginia through the nation's capital on Aug. 23 was one of the strongest ever to hit the region, but Mr. Obama didn't feel it. He was on Martha's Vineyard playing golf.

He has also said he didn't detect the magnitude-3.4 earthquake that hit Washington in the early hours of July 16, 2010. He was asleep in the White House at the time.
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Radar

10,000 Earth Tremors Recorded On German-Czech Border

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:16 UTC
czech map
© Google MapsEpicentre of a 3.6 magnitude earthquake which struck on Friday. (click to enlarge)
The Geophysical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic says it has recorded almost 10,000 earthquakes during the last three days in West Bohemia, a region located close to the Czech Republic's western border with Germany.

The earthquake swarm started late on Tuesday and continued through Friday. While many have gone unnoticed by the local population some of the larger tremors, including eight quakes exceeding 3 magnitude have been felt in the towns of Chemnitz, Karlovy Vary, Birch, and Luby.

The most recent earthquake measured 3.6 magnitude on the Richter Scale and hit at 0645hrs GMT on Friday at a shallow depth of three miles. The quake epicentre was located 81 miles (129 km) NE of Nürnberg 82 miles (131 km) SW of Dresden, 90 miles (144 km) W of Praha, 128 miles (204 km) NW of Budejovice, 131 miles (210 km) NNW of Schärding, and 227 miles (364 km) NW of Wien.
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Stop

Queensland, Australia: Marine Animal Deaths "Explained"

David Sparkes
The Observer
Wed, 24 Aug 2011 05:00 UTC
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© UnknownDr Scott McAuley said the barra had opaque eyes, red spots and a ragged tail.
New statistics reveal the severity of this year's horrendous run of marine animal deaths.

The dead bodies of 119 turtles have been found in Gladstone Harbour this year.

The figures will do nothing to ease the sense of frustration gripping the region's coast-loving public.

The Observer has received a range of statistics on Gladstone's marine animal deaths from the office of Environment Minister Vicky Darling.

Eight dugongs and five dolphins have also been found dead.

There is still no sign of a list containing specific information, such as locations and dates.

This is despite calls from Gladstone Region Mayor Gail Sellers for every autopsy result to be made public.
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X

Another shark attack reported in Russia's Far East


American Sociological Association
Sat, 27 Aug 2011 10:19 UTC
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© RIA NovostiAnother shark attack reported in Russia's Far East
Rescuers in Russia's Far Eastern region of Primorye are checking a report of another shark attack a day after the swimming ban was lifted, a spokesman for the region's rescue service said on Saturday.

"We received information that a man was attacked by a shark near the town of Slavyanka. The report is currently being verified," the spokesman said.
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Stop

UK: Mystery 'corkscrew' deaths of seals revealed as fatal attraction to sounds of ship's propellers


The Daily Mail
Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:55 UTC
Scientists investigating the death of seals washed up with mystery 'corkscrew' injuries now believe that females may have a fatal attraction for some ship's propellers.

Experts suspect that female harbour seals - also known as common seals - are lured into the killer ducted blades because they produce the same accoustics as mating calls of male seals.

Of seven harbour seals found along the Fife coast with the horrific trademark injuries this summer - five turned out to be females.

Image
© AlamyThe UK is host to populations of grey as well as common seals. Scientists were left baffled when dozens of corpses were found with horrific injuries
Scientists at the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University have now traced twice as many seals killed by the corkscrew injuries - first reported last year - and over a wider area and period.
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X

Water, water everywhere: Dam breaks down in Grozny, Chechnya flooding 200 houses with over 500 people


Itar-Taas
Sat, 27 Aug 2011 08:30 UTC
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© Russia-24
The dam was broken down in Grozny due to heavy rains and a growing water level on the Sunzha River. The broken dam flooded about 200 houses, in which more than 500 people live, the chief press officer of the North Caucasus regional emergency center Kantemir Davydov told Itar-Tass by phone on Saturday.

"The flood situation has worsened on the Sunzha River in the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny and the dam was broken down at 12.35 p.m. Moscow time. Some 188 houses, in which 549 people live, including 129 children, happened to be in the flood area," Davydov said.
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