A strong quake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island early on Monday (March 14), sending residents fleeing from their homes, but no damage or victims were reported immediately.
The shallow 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit at 2109 GMT (5:09am, Singapore time) at a depth of 21 kilometres (13 miles), with its epicentre 167 kilometres west of the coastal city of Pariaman, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The epicentre was 197 kilometres from Padang, the capital and largest city in West Sumatra province.
Comment: Just 4 minutes before this quake struck another of similar strength hit off the Phillipines.
A much-anticipated snowfall gripped Istanbul Thursday, blanketing the European and Asian sides of the metropolis. It is expected to continue until Monday with temperatures fluctuating below zero degrees Celsius (below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
Unlike a similar cold spell in January, which brought life to a halt in Turkey's most crowded city, the rain did not affect daily life, at least for Thursday.
Roads were clear in most places while traffic density during morning rush hour was far below usual in the city notorious for long traffic jams. Most people preferred mass transit, ditching their cars, apparently out of fear of being stranded for hours on major highways, as was the case during January's snowstorms, which trapped hundreds of motorists along the E-5 and TransEuropean Motorway (TEM).
Blizzards accompanied the snowfall in some districts, while traffic slowed down in districts on higher ground, particularly on the European side. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's (IBB) crews poured salt on the roads to prevent icing, one of the causes of traffic snarls in January's chaos.
Flooding has caused severe damage in areas of Cotopaxi Province in Ecuador. Thousands of people are isolated after bridges were destroyed by overflowing rivers. Flooding has also caused damage to homes in Azuay Province, prompting families to evacuate.
Cotopaxi Province
Local media report as many as 8 bridges have been damaged or destroyed due to flooding in La Maná canton in Cotopaxi province. An estimated 15,000 inhabitants of Guayacán, Malqui, Guasaganda, Pucayacu, La Playita and Choaló are isolated as a result.
Flooding also caused widespread damage to homes in Pucayacu, one of the worst affected areas. Local authorities said the overflowing Quindigua River destroyed the Pucayacu bridge, but also damaged around 180 homes close to the river. Many of the families have moved to safer locations, although reports suggested some families are reluctant to evacuate. Damage along the riverbanks has left some of the house precariously close to the river and likely to collapse. Flooding has also damage water infrastructure, leaving many residents without drinking water supply.
A dead whale more than 28 feet long was found at Manora, Karachi
A large dead whale has been found on the shores of Manohra Island in Karachi on Wednesday, ARY News reported.
According to ARY News, fishermen found a 28-foot-long whale at Manora, which was washed away in the waves off the coast.
Fishermen say the striped dead whale is seven to eight feet wide and more than twenty-eight feet long. All the agencies were unaware and the fishermen dragged a huge fish from Manora without any intervention.
The dead whale has not yet been reported to KPT and the Fisheries Department. The giant dead whale more was pulled from Manora to Fish Harbor, but no agency took notice of the matter.
An invasive species of spider the size of a child's hand is expected to "colonize" the entire East Coast this spring by parachuting down from the sky, researchers at the University of Georgia announced last week.
Why it matters: Large Joro spiders — millions of them — are expected to begin "ballooning" up and down the East Coast as early as May. Researchers have determined that the spiders can tolerate cold weather, but are harmless to humans as their fangs are too small to break human skin.
The Joro spider is native to Japan but began infiltrating the U.S. in 2013, concentrating in the southeast and specifically Georgia, according to NPR. They fanned out across the state using their webs as tiny, terrifying parachutes to travel with the wind.
A three-month-old baby has died in a savage incident involving a dog in a wooded area at night.
The horror unfolded at Ostler's Plantation in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, just after 11pm on Sunday.
A 40-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog that was out of control and both remain in custody.
Lincolnshire Police told the Mirror Online it is not yet clear exactly what happened or how the incident unravelled at the woodland which is situated near Kirkby Moor Nature Reserve.
Chief Supt Andy Cox said: "This is an exceptionally sad incident, and one that we know will impact the local community, or indeed anyone hearing about it.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the world's largest release of genetically engineered mosquitoes, despite warnings by public health experts.
In defiance of science and public health concerns, Monday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the mass release of billions of experimental genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes into the U.S.' most populous and agriculturally significant states.
The British biotechnology company Oxitec was granted an experimental use permit for the release of a genetically engineered version of the species Aedes aegypti across Fresno, Tulare, San Bernadino and Stanislaus Counties in California and in Monroe County in Florida.
This will be the biggest release of GE insects in the world.
EPA's approval came despite growing concerns raised by scientists, public health experts and environmental groups about potential impacts of the experimental releases on public health, the environment and endangered species.
Snowy conditions and unseasonably low temperatures prevailed in much of Greece on Wednesday, as the arrival of storm Filippos brought snow even at low altitudes as well as rainstorms further south.
Schools in western and central Macedonia have closed due to the snowfall where temperatures dropped below zero. Snowfall continued in the mountainous regions of the mainland and in the lowlands of Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace. Gradually, the snowfall will extend to areas of Thessaly and central Greece with low altitude, as well as in the mountains of Crete. Snow will also fall in the Sporades, Evia and the islands of the northern Aegean overnight.
At least 9 people have died in floods and landslides in Indonesia over the last few days, according to reports from local authorities and the United Nations (UN).
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said six people died in Serang City in the province of Banten on the island of Java after they were swept away or electrocuted.
Flooding began in Banten Province after days of heavy rainfall since the start of the month. Indonesia's meteorological agency BMKG reported 180.4 mm of rain fell in Serang in 24 hours to 01 March 2022.
Three wildfires in the Florida Panhandle have burned through more than 13,000 acres and forced evacuations of at least 1,100 homes in an area still recovering from a Category 5 hurricane three years ago.
The Bertha Swamp Road Fire is estimated at 12,000 acres and is 10% contained as of Monday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service. The fire began in Gulf County on Friday and was pushed by winds into neighboring Calhoun and Bay counties on Saturday.
Comment: Just 4 minutes before this quake struck another of similar strength hit off the Phillipines.