Earth Changes

About 200 waterbirds found dead near O'Leary's Lake, Wisconsin

Craig D. Reber
Telegraph Herald
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 15:41 UTC

An estimated 200 dead American coots recently have been sighted near Dubuque's Lock and Dam No. 11 on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River.

Fishermen observed the dead birds near O'Leary's Lake, located near Eagle Point Road, off of U.S. 61/151.

Coots are dark-gray to black in color, with a bright-white bill and forehead. Duck-like in many ways, they are members of the rail family in the same avian order as cranes.

"They're not much good for anything. Some people eat them," said Carl Hanson, owner of the Eagle Point fishing barge, who saw the dead birds floating in the water.

The deaths aren't that unusual. This is the seventh time since 2002 that waterfowl die-offs have been documented on the upper Mississippi River, and each time prior, trematodes were responsible, officials said.

Heavy rain causes flooding in Johannesburg, South Africa

Genevieve Quintal
news24.com
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:20 UTC

MV under water by BP garage on O'Reilly Merry Street, Benoni

Heavy rain has caused flooding in the Benoni area, on Johannesburg's East Rand on Thursday, paramedics said.

Numerous collisions were reported, most of them minor, because of the rain and flooding, ER24 said.

No injuries were reported.

The N12 highway was affected as well as the Snake Road off-ramp and O'Reilly Merry Street.

Heavy rains caused flooding on the N12 in Benoni. Fortunately no-one was injured. pic.twitter.com/PbdrYOB7uM

— ER24 EMS (Pty) Ltd (@ER24EMS) December 17, 2015

Torrential rains flood Ashkelon, Israel setting new record

Sue Surkes
Times of Israel
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 12:19 UTC

Schools and roads engulfed as downpour drowns coastal city with 92 millimeters in a single hour

Nearly 10 centimeters of rain fell in only one hour Thursday in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, flooding schools and kindergartens, bringing chaos to roads, and setting a new meteorological record for rainfall in a single hour.

Local police and firemen were out in force in kayaks, rubber rafts and all-terrain vehicles to bail out drivers and pedestrians stranded by the torrential downpour.

Two lanes collapsed on Ben Yehuda Street, and Bialik and Hatayassim streets were deluged and had to be closed.

Reports came in of flooding at the city's Beit Hehezkel and Neve Dekalim schools and at several city kindergartens. Staff at Barzilai hospital mopped up rainwater that had seeped in and continued work as normal.

The Israel Meteorological Service reported from its Ashkelon station that 112 millimeters of rain fell between 7 a.m. and noon Thursday, while the the station of the Local Towns Association — which is automated and measures rainfall constantly — registered 118 millimeters.

Of that rain, a national record of 92 millimeters fell in 60 minutes — breaking the previous record for a downfall in an hour of 88 millimeters, set by Haifa University in October 2008. Ashkelon now also has the dubious honor of holding first place for the most rain in half an hour — 67 millimeters.

Comment: Last month heavy flooding in Israel led to a road collapse and submerged cars, whilst two Egyptian children drowned in floods in Jordan.

Rare winter lightning hits house in Minnesota, US

Dana Thiede
KARE
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:32 UTC

Just about everyone across Minnesota will tell you this has not been a run-of-the-mill start to winter.

Snow is hard to come by for most areas of the state, temps have been unseasonably warm, and it feels a bit more like spring than our cruelest season.

But Wednesday brought a different winter weather twist for Bill Wolfson of Orono. He and his wife were sitting in their second-story breakfast nook around 8:45 a.m. when the home was struck by a lightning bolt, launched by a system of thunder snow. DNR climate statistics suggest it is a phenomena that occurs only once every five years or so.

"It was essentially like the 4th of July, we had an explosion up on the rooftop," Wolfson explained. "Smoke, sparks...."

Indonesia's Mount Bromo volcano in East Java continues eruption

Manila Bulletin
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 22:37 UTC

Mount Bromo volcano in East Java, Indonesia erupted Tuesday spewing column of ash by up to 1.5 km. to the sky, a disaster management agency official here said.

Powerful bursts of hot ash and gravel erupted from the rumbling volcano at 06:00 a.m. local time, heading west to northwest as far as 2.5 km from the crater, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster management agency said.

Tourist and visitors are banned from entering the slope by up to 2.5 km from the crater, he said.

"Residences are warned to keep vigilant over continuation of the eruption and possible greater eruption," he told Xinhua via phone.

The agency and local community have prepared for any emergency to counter possible risks of greater eruption, Sutopo said.

The 3,829-meter-high Mount Bromo last erupted in January 2011, forcing airlines to ground their planes.

Mount Bromo is one of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes.

Unusually large dust storm billows through Boulia, Australia

Daksha Rangan
The Weather Network
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 11:23 UTC

A "larger than normal" dust storm billowed through the Australian outback town of Boulia Tuesday, creating an otherworldly spectacle.

Local photographers jumped at the opportunity to capture the Martian-like moment, where visibility was reportedly limited to just a few metres.

Although dust storms are common in the area, lifestyle photographer Ann Britton told the Brisbane Times that Tuesday's happening was substantially larger than usual.

USGS reports 6.6-magnitude quake hits off southern Pacific coast of Mexico

RT
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:14 UTC

An earthquake with magnitude 6.6 occurred near Pijijiapan, Chiapas, Mexico at 19:49:54.80 UTC on Dec 17, 2015.

The quake location 15.892°N 93.429°W depth=96.9 km (60.2 mi) ENE of Tres Picos, Mexico.

Carlsbad State Beach in California swallowed by ocean

Sputnik
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 19:23 UTC

An interesting weather phenomenon occurred on the West Coast of the US.

Whether it was caused by El Nino or not, the Carlsbad State Beach was almost completely swallowed by the ocean.

5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Mikas Matsuzawa
CNN Philippines
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 18:14 UTC

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck near the town of San Juan in Ilocos Sur on Thursday evening (December 17), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Aftershocks are expected, it added.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), however, said the quake that struck at 8:44 p.m. had a magnitude of 5.4.

Strong quake felt in one town

Based on Phivolcs' earthquake intensity scale, an Intensity 5 or a strong quake was reported in the town of Sinait, more than 30 minutes drive from the town of San Juan.

Many sleeping people are awakened, while stationary vehicles rock noticeably at this intensity, the agency said.

Lightning strikes kill soldier, fisherman in the Philippines

A. Perez Rimando
The Standard (Philippines)
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 18:05 UTC

An Army soldier and a fisherman were killed when they were struck by lightning in separate incidents during heavy rain Tuesday afternoon here, police said.

A report received by Sr. Supt. Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City Police Director, identified the fatalities as Army Cpl. Eduardo R. Talanayan, 29, of the Army's Alpha Co., 1st Infantry Battalion, and Rey M. Masucang, 43, of barangay Buenavista in Curuan district.

The report said Talanayan was resting near an electric post inside his outpost at Sitio Malasugat, Barangay Sangali Port Area when lightning hit, causing his electrocution. Residents in the area took the troop to the nearby Mindanao Central Sanitarium where he was declared dead on arrival.

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Earth Changes

About 200 waterbirds found dead near O'Leary's Lake, Wisconsin

Heavy rain causes flooding in Johannesburg, South Africa

Torrential rains flood Ashkelon, Israel setting new record

Rare winter lightning hits house in Minnesota, US

Indonesia's Mount Bromo volcano in East Java continues eruption

Unusually large dust storm billows through Boulia, Australia

USGS reports 6.6-magnitude quake hits off southern Pacific coast of Mexico

Carlsbad State Beach in California swallowed by ocean

5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Lightning strikes kill soldier, fisherman in the Philippines

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