Earth ChangesS

Cloud Lightning

Symbolism: Dramatic video shows moment lightning strikes behind Statue of Liberty

liberty lightning
A breathtaking video taken during Wednesday's thunderstorm shows the moment lightning strikes behind the Statue of Liberty.

The 21-second clip posted to Twitter shows dark grey clouds hanging above Lady Liberty, with a massive strike disappearing behind her pedestal. The scene was filmed from a dock on Ellis Island.

An intense thunderstorm with heavy winds rolled through the Big Apple Wednesday afternoon, with the National Weather Service issuing a severe threat for the city and the Lower Hudson Valley between 5 and 9 p.m.

Meteorologists warned the Post of potential for weak tornadoes and widespread flooding in the city before the rain begins to let up around 10 p.m.

Between 1 and 1.5 inches of rainfall is expected in the city, though as much as 2 inches of rain could drop across the area depending on how fast the system passes overhead.


Seismograph

6.2-magnitude earthquake recorded west of Tofino, British Columbia

quake
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake was detected west of Tofino, British Columbia early Wednesday morning.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) agency, the quake struck 250 kilometres west of Tofino.

Earthquakes Canada's preliminary data identified the quake as a magnitude 4.0 and that it struck in the Gold River region of B.C.

Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Western Xizang, China - EMSC

quake
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck China's Western Xizang region on Thursday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The quake was very shallow, at a depth of 5 km (3.11 miles), EMSC said.

Attention

Best of the Web: Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Largest floods in Chinese history wipe out the country's food & grain supply

The Kwanyin temple built on a rocky island in the middle of the Yangtze River is seen flooded as the water level surge along Ezhou in central China's Hubei province
© Chinatopix Via APThe Kwanyin temple built on a rocky island in the middle of the Yangtze River is seen flooded as the water level surge along Ezhou in central China's Hubei province on Sunday, July 19, 2020.
The largest floods in the last 400 years are beginning to overwhelm China's central cities and surrounding grain growing and agriculture zones. At present 100+ million people will need to evacuate. With the unfathomable losses of food production, China will need to go on a buying spree unlike the world has ever seen for food imports. This will start with rice from Asia and move to every continent. The images in the video will give you an idea of the situation, and the precarious events our world will witness. Gold, silver, cryptocurrency, how will China pay for it all?


Boat

South Asia floods displace 9.6 million people, kill 550

flood
More than 9.6 million people across South Asia have been affected by severe floods, with hundreds of thousands struggling to get food and medicine, officials and aid organizations said Wednesday.

About 550 people have died in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, while millions have been displaced from their homes since the flooding began last month, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or IFRC.

The organization warned of a humanitarian crisis, saying that close to one third of Bangladesh has already been flooded, with more flooding expected in the coming weeks. It said that 2.8 million people have been affected, and that more than 1 million are isolated.


Attention

100-ton dead blue whale found stranded, decomposing in Kupang Bay, Indonesia

Local flock to Na Batu Kepala Beach in Nunhila subdistrict, Alak district, East Nusa Tenggara, where a 100-ton dead blue whale was found stranded and decaying on Tuesday afternoon.
© Sigiranus Marutho BereLocal flock to Na Batu Kepala Beach in Nunhila subdistrict, Alak district, East Nusa Tenggara, where a 100-ton dead blue whale was found stranded and decaying on Tuesday afternoon.
Fishermen found a 100 ton dead blue whale stranded and decaying in Kupang Bay, specifically on Na Batu Kepala Beach in Nunhila subdistrict, Alak district, East Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday afternoon.

The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth. The discovery of the 29-meter-long carcass immediately went viral and became a spectacle for thousands of residents of Kupang city and its surrounding areas.

"[We] responded quickly to reports from residents regarding the marine mammal stranded at the beach," Kupang Water Conservation Area Agency (BKKPN) head Ikram Sangadji said on Tuesday.


Cloud Precipitation

Over 2,400 villages submerged, death toll mounts to 87 in Assam, India

flood
The floods in Assam have affected 30 districts, causing enormous damages to the livelihoods of more than 55 lakh and claiming 87 lives, according to the flood situation report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The report also stated that 2,409 villages in the state have been affected.

Incessant rainfall since the past four days in the state has led to water levels rising in the Brahmaputra and its tributary Krishnai river in the region.

1,09,358.67 hectares of crops have been damaged across the states due to the deluge.


Cloud Precipitation

Niger hit by devastating floods, 9 killed

floods
Heavy floods in Niger have claimed nine lives and destroyed more than 2,000 homes, affecting at least 20,000 people, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. The southwestern Dosso region, central-south Maradi and Tahoua and Tillaberi in the west have been worst hit, it said in a statement. Niger, one of the world's driest as well as poorest countries, often experiences intense rainy seasons, which typically last two or three months.


Cloud Precipitation

Severe floods hit Nizhniye Sergi, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

flood
In the Sverdlovsk region on the evening of July 20, the city โ€‹โ€‹of Nizhnie Sergi, in which nine thousand people live, flooded . Due to heavy rainfall, two rivers Serebryanka and Storozhevaya overflowed their banks; water poured through the streets, blowing away garages, cars, trees and even an iron footbridge.

As stated in the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the night of July 21, a total of 231 residential private houses, where more than 550 people live were flooded.

Read more (article in Russian).


Boat

Bangladesh floods claim 54 lives, affect 2.4 million people, says UN

Photo shows flood-affected houses in Faridpur, Bangladesh, July 19, 2020.
© XinhuaPhoto shows flood-affected houses in Faridpur, Bangladesh, July 19, 2020.
Severe flooding in Bangladesh, which has killed at least 54 people and affected over 2.4 million people, could be the worst since 1988, the United Nations has said.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Tuesday (local time) that some 56,000 of those impacted already have been displaced and are taking refuge in government shelters, Xinhua reported.

"At least 54 people have reportedly been killed to date as a result," Dujarric told reporters at a regular briefing.

"The UN and our humanitarian partners are helping the government respond to the situation by providing food, water purification facilities, hygiene and dignity kits, as well as emergency shelter supplies," he said.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund recently provided UN agencies with 5.2 million US dollars to help families most at risk, the spokesman said.