Earth ChangesS


Volcano

Ambae residents warn of increased volcanic activity at Manaro Voui, Vanuatu

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People on Ambae Island in Vanuatu say activity at the Manaro volcano has increased significantly.

Vanuatu's Meteorology and Geohazards Department has raised alert levels from level two major unrest to level three minor eruption.

Communities close to the volcano have been advised to follow key messages to protect against ash falls, gas and acid rain.

Ambae resident Gibson Tari says he's urging people to remain calm.

The last major eruption on Ambae Island was In 2017, where more than 11,000 residents were evacuated.


Tsunami

Heavy rain soaks Central Australia, closing roads and inundating cattle stations - 2 feet of rainfall in 48 hours

Flooding on Sunday at Lake Nash Cattle Station on the Barkly Tableland.
© Erin GibsonFlooding on Sunday at Lake Nash Cattle Station on the Barkly Tableland.
Heavy rain across large parts of the Barkly and Central Australia over the past three days has closed roads and inundated cattle stations, with more wet weather forecast to be on the way.

A tropical low has been circling in recent days in the Simpson and parts of the Barkly and Tanami areas, bringing heavy local rainfall and damaging winds.

The severe weather is expected to continue into tonight and early tomorrow morning, with a storm Watch and Act advisory declared today.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has advised locally intense rainfall that could lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible across the southern Barkly and northern Simpson districts, as well as rainfall totals of up to 200 millimetres and damaging winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour.

It is also forecasting the chance of thunderstorms tonight across much of the NT, excluding the south-west, and severe thunderstorms in a broad area south of Daly Waters.

The BOM said it could not be certain about the position and strength of the upcoming wet weather, but urged residents to stay up to date with warnings.


Snowflake

Over 3 feet of snow in 48 hours dumped on Vancouver Island's mountain ranges

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© MOUNTWASHINGTON.CAMount Washington Alpine Resort webcam image from Monday, Feb. 23. The heavy snowfall forced the resort to temporarily suspend ski operations on Sunday morning. About 108 centimetres of new snow fell on the ski hill over 48 hours, creating “safety concerns,” according to the resort.
Officials are warning anyone heading into the backcountry to use extreme caution after more than 100 centimetres of snow blanketed parts of Vancouver Island's mountain ranges over the weekend, creating a high avalanche risk.

Avalanche Canada said snow sliding was at its highest danger level on Monday and could remain there through the week, depending on conditions.

The warning was issued for the mountain terrain from Lake Cowichan to Port McNeill. Several natural and skier-induced slides have already been reported in Strathcona Provincial Park.

Avalanche Canada forecaster Martina Halik said the new snow is burying a widespread hoar frost layer, creating "touchy avalanche conditions."

She said the fine crystallized hoar frost layer isn't immediately bonding with the new snow and can break under the load of heavy snowfall, creating a high hazard.

"That's the biggest problem right now," Halik said Monday. "This slab of storm snow on top of these feathery crystals creates persistent problems. We'll have to see what happens with this layer, but it's definitely going to take a few days to get it to bond.


Tsunami

Insane drone footage shows extent of flooding in Hawaii - rainfall rates topping 8 inches per hour

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Torrential rain pounded parts of Hawaii, inundating homes and businesses in Haleiwa, Waialua, Mapunapuna, Fort Shafter, Moanalua Gardens and Moanalua Valley. The National Weather Service reported rainfall rates topping 8 inches per hour, triggering flash flood warnings and forcing closures as muddy floodwaters swallowed roads and properties.


Snowflake Cold

Best of the Web: 5,000 flights cancelled as US east coast digs out of record 3 FEET snow - over 600,000 properties without power

A groundskeeper clears snow from the walkways inside the Trinity Church graveyard in lower Manhattan during a snow storm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York.
© Seth WenigA groundskeeper clears snow from the walkways inside the Trinity Church graveyard in lower Manhattan during a snow storm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York.
A major storm hit the US east coast on Monday, bringing record-breaking snow that caused disruptions for millions and thousands of flight cancellations.

Parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts have seen nearly 37in (94cm) of snowfall, with more than 19in in New York City's Central Park, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Weather warnings stretched from North Carolina to northern Maine, with some in place further north in parts of eastern Canada.

More than 600,000 properties on the US east coast endured power outages, while the Boston Globe - a major US newspaper - said it will not go to print for the first time in its 153-year history due to the storm.

Travel across the region has been severely limited, with some states and cities implementing travel bans during the worst period of the storm.


Attention

6 sperm whales that stranded in Denmark have died

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© Mads Claus RasmussenSeveral whales have stranded in Denmark.
The sperm whales that stranded off the Danish island of Fanø in recent days are dead. According to the DR television station, four sperm whales were discovered on Friday between Fanø and the Skallingen peninsula. Two more animals were added in the course of Saturday.

The animals now stranded are young males. According to the news agency Ritzau, the jawbones were sawed off the dead animals and sent to the University of Copenhagen for further analysis. The number of stranded animals varied on Saturday. At first it was reported that some animals were still alive.

Third stranding of whales this year

This is the third time this year that sperm whales have stranded in Denmark. Just three weeks ago, an animal almost 14 meters long surfaced on a beach in North Jutland. A few days later, another sperm whale was discovered on a sandbank near the town of Esbjerg. According to the news agency Ritzau, the last time a sperm whale stranded in Denmark before the current incidents was ten years ago.

At this time of year, male whales migrate from the cold waters of the Arctic to warmer areas south of England, according to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Sometimes they get lost and end up in shallower waters.

Lightning

Lightning strike kills mother and 4 children, injures 8 more in Mozambique

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© Notícias
A lightning strike hit 13 people on Saturday in the administrative post of Chimbunila, Niassa province, northern Mozambique, killing at least five on site—a mother and her children—according to an announcement on Sunday.

A source from the National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD) in Niassa province, cited by local media on Sunday, reported that two people were seriously injured and transported to a hospital in Lichinga, while six sustained minor injuries, all caused by the lightning strike.

The lightning event surprised the local population and, accompanied by heavy rain, caused trees to fall and widespread destruction throughout the Chimbunila administrative post.

Mozambique is currently in the midst of the rainy season, one of the most severe in several years.

Seismograph

Earthquake of magnitude 6.1 rocks Bering Sea, Alaska

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An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 rocked Bering Sea on Monday, a statement by the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 45km.

In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 6.1, On: 23/02/2026 10:41:52 IST, Lat: 52.81 N, Long: 170.08 W, Depth: 45 Km, Location: Bering Sea."


Seismograph

7.1-magnitude quake strikes off eastern Malaysia

A map shows a 7.1 earthquake struck off the coat of Malaysia early Monday morning local time. (Credit: U.S. Geological Survey)
© U.S. Geological SurveyA map shows a 7.1 earthquake struck off the coat of Malaysia early Monday morning local time.
A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck early today (23 February) off Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The epicentre was located less than 100 kilometres northeast of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, at a depth of 619.8 kilometres, the agency said.

The quake occurred at 12:57am (local time). There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Tsunami

Heavy rains and flooding hits Piura, Peru

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According to Senamhi, the Chira River has entered a red threshold alert, due to the flow rate that has reached 1,832 cubic meters.

The intense rains that are occurring in the Piura region have so far left one man dead, almost a thousand victims, more than seven thousand people affected, 3,160 homes affected, of which 428 have already been declared uninhabitable, according to the report of the Piura Regional Emergency Operations Center (COER-Piura).

RPP 's correspondent in Piura reported that the deceased victim was a merchant who sold mangoes and lemons, who lost his life in the Sol Sol ravine, in the Pacchas sector, in Chulucanas, when he was returning by motorcycle from Tambo Grande.

According to our journalist, the stream was active due to the rains and the current swept the man away, causing his death by drowning.


Comment: A day earlier in the far south of the country: Heavy rainfall caused extensive damage across 16 districts in Arequipa