Earth Changes

South Korea's capital Seoul records heaviest daily rainfall for November

Korea Times
Thu, 19 Nov 2020 05:11 UTC

People wearing face masks try to manage their umbrellas in the rain in Seoul

Seoul and central South Korean regions were soaked with unseasonable heavy rain Thursday, with the capital receiving the heaviest daily precipitation on record for November, the local weather agency said.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), 68.2 millimeters of rain fell in Seoul as of 8 a.m., surpassing November's previous daily record of 67.4 mm set on Nov. 7, 1916. It is the heaviest daily precipitation recorded in the capital during the month of November since modern weather observation began here in 1907.

Precipitation is forecast to further increase for the rest of the day, as Seoul and central regions, including parts of Gangwon and South Chungcheong provinces, are being hit by strong rain of about 20 mm per hour, accompanied by thunder and lightning, the KMA said.

For the rest of the nation, the rainfall amounted to around 5 mm, it added.

Russian Antarctic station rattled by shallow M6.0 earthquake

TASS
Thu, 19 Nov 2020 14:52 UTC

The Russian polar station Bellingshausen in the Antarctic is registering tremors with a magnitude of up to 6.0, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, the country's sole operator of Antarctic research, reported on Thursday.

"At the Bellingshausen station... tremors with a magnitude of 4.7 - 6.0, with their epicenter located at a distance of 40-50 km southeast of the station in the Bransfield Strait at depths in the earth's crust from 1.5 to 10 km," the Institute's press office said in a statement.

The Russian polar stations in the Antarctic are now carrying out preparatory work under the program of the 66th Russian Antarctic expedition. In particular, the Vostok station has completed the work to prepare the runway 3,700 meters long. The Progress and Mirny stations have also finished the work to put runways into operation. The Novolazarevskaya station is carrying out emergency work to clean and restore the runway after a recent blizzard. The first flight of an Il-76 plane from Cape Town is scheduled for November 19.

Storm dumps up to 16 inches of snow in 24 hours on Tahoe-area ski resorts

KTVU
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 14:05 UTC

© Brandon Skinner
The upper mountain at Squaw Valley received 16 inches of fresh snow overnight, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.

The strongest weather system so far this season brought a healthy supply of snow to the Sierra, with multiple ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe-area receiving over a foot in a 24-hour stretch.

Heavy snow developed over the mountains on Tuesday afternoon and snow showers continued into Wednesday morning, causing traffic delays for unprepared drivers while producing solid snow totals.

On the upper mountains at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, 16 inches fell as the resort prepares to open both mountains on Nov. 25.

"The storm came in wet and dropped heavy, saturated snow that is perfect for this time of year, as it creates a strong base layer that thoroughly coats the ground," Public Relations Specialist Alex Spychalsky said in a release.

Power plant in Russia's Vladivostok halts operation due to snow cyclone

TASS
Thu, 19 Nov 2020 13:43 UTC

Over 90,000 residents of the city are left without electricity

The Vostochnaya Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHPP) in Vladivostok has halted electricity generation because of heavy ice with wind, press service of the Russian Energy Ministry told TASS on Thursday.

"The Energy Ministry exercises special control over power supply in the Primorsky Region: a portion of power transmission line turned off due to heavy snow with wind; Vostochnaya CHPP halted electricity generation, and power supply to a portion of consumers has been disrupted," the press service says.

Couple and their 7-month-old baby crushed to death after cliff collapses in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Berny Torre, Claire Gilbody-Dickerson
Mirror
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:49 UTC

Witnesses said the mum tried to wrap her body around her son to shield him when she saw the cliff coming down

A whole family was tragically killed when a cliff collapsed on top of them while they were enjoying the afternoon on the beach.

A young couple, their seven-month-old baby and their pet had no time to escape when the cliff came down on Tuesday.

The mum had reached for her son and had wrapped her body around him to protect him as the debris started falling in Pipa Beach in Tibau do Sul, in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte.

But before they could flee the beach, the cliff came tumbling down and crushed the entire family, the Daily Star reports.

Airbus damaged by hail near Rio De Janeiro

Jay Singh
Simple Flying
Thu, 19 Nov 2020 12:14 UTC

An Azul Linhas Aereas Airbus A320neo performing a domestic flight on November 15th, 2020, in Brazil had to divert after suffering a hail strike that affected certain instruments onboard the aircraft. The aircraft safely landed at Rio de Janeiro's Galeão Airport, though the aircraft faced some visible damage.

The incident

On November 15th, an Airbus A320neo for Azul performing flight AD 4194 from Curitiba to Rio de Janeiro's Santos Dumont Airport ran into a hail storm on approach, according to a report in the Aviation Herald.

While descending and approximately 20 nautical miles (~37 kilometers) out from the airport at 4,500 ft (~1,372 m), the crew decided to abort the approach due to a nail strike. After climbing, the aircraft diverted to another airport in Rio, Galeão Airport, and landed there safely.

Hailstones 'as big as tennis balls' batter Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Nivashni Nair
Times Live
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:43 UTC

Hailstones as large as tennis balls battered Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday afternoon.

Pietermaritzburg residents ran for cover when hailstones as large as tennis balls battered the KwaZulu-Natal capital on Wednesday afternoon.

The sudden hailstorm started at 3pm and within minutes had damaged property and vehicles.

Wykeham Collegiate pupils watched the downpour from indoors before running out to play as soon as the hailstorm ended.

"The temperature in Pietermaritzburg was scorching today, so the girls were thrilled with the excitement of the afternoon storm which saw hailstones the size of golf and tennis balls raining down," said Wykeham marketing co-ordinator Jackie Clausen.

She said the school would assess the damage to property and vehicles on Thursday.

"But today we are just enjoying some lighthearted fun," Clausen said.

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Global grain shortages begin to manifest

Adapt 2030
Thu, 19 Nov 2020 06:08 UTC

Several consulting and agribusiness firms have stated the same facts after the Global Grains Geneva meetings, we have reached the point of no surplus on the planet for corn, soybeans and wheat. The world needs to find 24 million new acres to grow grains moving forward. What we grow is what we have from this point forward. Sainsbury closes all deli counters for fish, meats.

Comment: As well as natural disasters devastating crop growth, the insane response to the coronavirus crisis and losing value of currency in Western nations in particular, have made the production, availability, purchasing and distribution of food - a MAJOR global issue the likes of which we haven't seen in generations.

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Lightning bolt kills 3 people in western Indonesia

Xinhua
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 20:22 UTC

Three people have been killed by a lightning in Indonesia's western province of South Sumatra, a local official said Wednesday.

The three victims who were residents in Ogan Komering Ulu district were hit by the lightning at a farm in Karang Lantang village on Tuesday afternoon, the district's mitigation agency head Amzar Kristofa was quoted by state news agency Antara as saying.

The victims' bodies had been taken to their homes for burials, said Kristofa, adding the lighting also struck a number of trees in a plantation area.

The agency's head has called on the local community to increase their awareness during the seasonal transition period.

"If the rain is accompanied by lightning, it is better to enter the house instead of taking shelter under a tree, particularly in an open area as the risk of being struck by lightning is high," Kristofa said.

Thousands hit by floods in north-western Venezuela - at least 5 fatalities reported

Floodlist
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 19:03 UTC

Parts of north-western Venezuela have seen severe flooding over the last few days, with at least 5 fatalities reported and thousands of families affected.

In a statement of 10 November, the Government of Táchira State more than 1,500 families were affected across several municipalities including Junín, Bolívar, Cárdenas, San Cristóbal, Sucre, Torbes and Francisco de Miranda. Three people lost their lives in the floods.

Flooding wreaked havoc, damaging hundreds of homes, along with roads and bridges. The state government said the losses totalled over US $ 20 million. One of the worst hit areas was the city of Rubio in Junín municipality where the Carapo River broke its banks.