Earth Changes
We previously noted that both beef and pork (courtesy of the affectionately named Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus) prices have been reaching new all time highs on an almost daily basis. It is time to update the chart. Below we show what a world in which the Fed is constantly lamenting the lack of inflation looks like for beef prices...
© QMI Agency
Sherbrooke Flooding
Sherbrooke Flooding
In Sherbrooke, Que., in the Eastern Townships, the Saint-Francois river reached a record 25 feet Wednesday and floodwaters cut the city in two.
Firefighters rang doorbells just after midnight on Wednesday and asked 480 people to leave their homes, bringing the total number of displaced people to 632.
Downtown streets flooded and quickly froze in Sherbrooke as morning temperatures neared -10 C.
The situation was also precarious in Saint-Raymond, Que., east of Quebec City. Torrential rains caused the Saint-Anne River to rise at breakneck speed on Tuesday evening, flooding the downtown core. Mayor Daniel Dion told QMI Agency that 300 people were told to leave their homes.
© Matthew Salvati
A halo around the sun appeared in Central Florida.
A halo around the sun appeared in Central Florida.
So what was it?
A sun halo is caused by a refraction of sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds within the Earth's atmosphere. It forms what looks like a circular rainbow around the sun.
© ISS Crew Earth Observations/Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center
Of the roughly 1,550 volcanoes that have erupted in the recent geologic past, 113 are found on Kamchatka. Forty Kamchatkan volcanoes are "active," either erupting now or capable of erupting on short notice. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured activity at five of them during a single satellite pass on April 14, 2014.
Imagery follows.
© Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
A whale that was found dead in New York Harbor was transported to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility at Caven Point Marine Terminal in Jersey City where marine veterinarians performed a necropsy to find out the cause of death, on April 16, 2014.
A whale that was found dead in New York Harbor was transported to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility at Caven Point Marine Terminal in Jersey City where marine veterinarians performed a necropsy to find out the cause of death, on April 16, 2014.
The Army Corps of Engineers was notified on Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the dead whale had been spotted, Corps spokesman Chris Gardner said today. The Corps has lashed the whale to one of its barges used to collect drifting debris in the harbor in order to keep the whale from disrupting ships' navigation, Gardner said.
Gardner said the whale will either be towed or lifted by a drift collection vessel and brought to Jersey City where it will be placed on land for the necropsy. He said he did know what type of whale it is but said officials have it narrowed down to several possible species.
The spokesman said he did not know if the whale had any visible signs of injury such as from a boat propeller and said that will be determined tomorrow. Gardner said the whale was not brought ashore today due to the rainy weather because the necropsy will be performed outdoors. Moving the whale tomorrow will be contingent on the weather as well.
Necropsy is another word for autopsy and is used with reference to animals.
© Matt Fletcher
A dead gray whale washed ashore on the Oregon Coast on Tuesday.
A dead gray whale washed ashore on the Oregon Coast on Tuesday.
A dead, decomposing 40-foot gray whale washed ashore in the Oregon Coast town of Seaside on Tuesday morning, and marine experts advise staying away from the massive carcass because it's "really nasty."
Keith Chandler, a marine mammal expert from the Seaside Aquarium, said the whale has been dead for "quite some time."
"It's really smelly. We're quite a ways from it and I can smell the whale," Chandler said.
Dr. Debbie Duffield from Portland State University will collect samples on the dead whale and try to determine its cause of death.
Once marine experts have finished collecting all the data they need, the city of Seaside will likely bury the whale. Chandler said it will be a challenge.
© Daniel Hayduk / AFP
Pedestrians cross the flooded Old Bagamoyo Road in the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam on April 12th.
Pedestrians cross the flooded Old Bagamoyo Road in the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam on April 12th.
Mr Sadiki, who by virtue of his position is the Chairman of the Regional Defence and Security Committee, noted, however, that so far 25 people have been confirmed by police to have died as a result of the floods.
"In Ilala District, there are two people who have been reported missing while 11 have been confirmed dead while in Kinondoni, there are seven confirmed deaths and 14 were reportedly buried before corroboration by the police.
In Temeke, seven people perished. "I have directed the police to visit families of the 14 people reported dead to ensure that the said persons really died as a result of the floods as the search for other bodies continue," Mr Sadiki told this newspaper in a telephone interview.
Two vessels collided in a main shipping channel and a 751-foot cargo ship ran aground in the lower Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday in high winds gusting up to 70 mph, the Coast Guard said.
The 79-foot rig vessel Petite and the 1,065-foot container ship MSC Charleston collided about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday "due to weather" in the Thimble Shoal Channel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. There were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution and both vessels were safely anchored, the release said.
The 79-foot rig vessel Petite and the 1,065-foot container ship MSC Charleston collided about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday "due to weather" in the Thimble Shoal Channel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. There were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution and both vessels were safely anchored, the release said.
Norwegian police say rescuers have found the bodies of four skiers who were killed by an avalanche in central Norway.
The four men were reported missing late Monday after skiing off-piste in the Sunndalsfjella mountains.
The four men were reported missing late Monday after skiing off-piste in the Sunndalsfjella mountains.
© Reuters
People living in buildings most at risk of collapse are being evacuated to shelters
People living in buildings most at risk of collapse are being evacuated to shelters
Nicaraguans were asked to sleep outdoors as seismologists warned of the possibility of a powerful earthquake rocking the Central American country.
Officials said the recent tremors had reactivated a fault which caused a devastating earthquake in 1972.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 people were killed in the disaster.
