Earth Changes

Lightning kills father and son returning from work in Oaxaca, Mexico

Explica.co
Thu, 17 Jun 2021 10:15 UTC

The intense rain with electric shocks claimed the lives of father and son, Cirilo Luis and Sergio Luis, 59 and 25 years old, when they returned from field work, it began to rain, so they took refuge in a small room with a roof sheet, where lightning struck.

Isaías López Ramírez, municipal president of San Nicolás Yaxe, Oaxaca, confirmed the incident that occurred last Monday night, in the jurisdiction of Ocotlán de Morelos, on the property owned by the victims.

Upon transcending this mishap, the authorities and relatives arrived at the scene, but could do nothing for the father and son, because they died instantly from the discharge of electricity.

'Ferocious' storm destroys large patches of forest in central Victoria, Australia

Rhiannon Stevens
ABC Ballarat
Thu, 17 Jun 2021 05:07 UTC

Storm damage in Bullarto, central Victoria

A week after ferocious winds damaged swathes of forest in central Victoria some locals are saying it is the worst storm damage they have ever experienced.

Resident Lily Langham said in the 35 years she had lived near Daylesford she had never seen anything like it.

"It looked like a logging coup," she said.

After driving through forest south of Daylesford to survey the damage, she said the one positive was hearing birds had returned to the forest.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Dr Blair Trewin said last week's storm was on a scale not seen in many decades.

The wild weather was highly unusual because of the wind direction and length of time such high winds lasted, Dr Trewin said.

"There's been 25 other times in the last 20 years when there have been wind gusts over 100km an hour [at Kilmore]," he said.

"But there's only been one case out of those 25 where winds have come from a similar direction to what they did this time."

Shallow M6.1 earthquake strikes Indonesia's Moluccas islands

Bernadette Christina
Reuters
Wed, 16 Jun 2021 13:36 UTC

Hundreds of people near Indonesia's Moluccas islands rushed to higher ground on Wednesday after an earthquake of magnitude 6.1, fearing aftershocks and a possible tsunami.

The quake struck at a depth of 19 km (11 miles). There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) urged people in a text message to move away from beaches and seek higher ground, noting that the warning applied especially to Seram Island.

BMKG had initially said a tsunami triggered by the movement of tectonic plates was unlikely - but then said one could still be triggered by underwater landslides, of which there would be no warning.

"If the tsunami is caused by an underwater landslide, it cannot be detected from the current early warning system," the head of BMKG, Dwikorita Karnawati,told a news conference.

'Apocalyptic': Waves of spider webs blanket Australia after floods

Sushmita Panda
Sputnik
Wed, 16 Jun 2021 08:09 UTC

A rare phenomenon of spiders forming cobwebs is happening in several parts of Australia right now. Tens of thousands of spiders have taken over entire regions and the sight is enough to scare anyone.

Several parts of Australia's Victoria are enveloped with blankets of spiderwebs after flash floods destroyed the nests and habitats of many small creatures like Spider.

Laos suffers widespread flooding in wake of tropical storm Koguma

The Star (Malaysia)
Mon, 14 Jun 2021 14:00 UTC

The Nam Song River bursts its banks in Vang Vieng.

Parts of northern and central Laos have been hit by floods after Tropical Storm Koguma blew across Laos over the weekend, reports Laotian Times.

Floods and landslides triggered by Tropical Storm Koguma have impacted residences and agricultural land in Vientiane Province, Xayaboury, Xiengkhouang, and Bokeo.

According to local reports, Pha Oudom District in Bokeo Province has seen floodwaters rise, with houses washed away. Authorities have yet to make an official report on the extent of the damage.

Meanwhile, the Nam Houng River in Xayaboury province burst its banks today, flooding rice fields and entering villages and settlements along the river.

Mudflows and rockfalls hit Dagestan, Russia after heavy rainfall

Meteovesti.ru
Wed, 16 Jun 2021 13:38 UTC

Abundant rains with thunderstorms passed on the territory of the Republic of Dagestan last Monday. According to the data of meteorological stations, up to 21-33 mm of precipitation fell in the region per day, which is from 1/3 to 1/2 of the monthly norm of June.

Rains led to the emergence of multiple mudflows and rockfalls, as a result of which 11 roads were blocked in several districts of Dagestan.

Several vehicles were carried away by stormy streams of water and mud, including a column of municipal vehicles hit by a mudflow. Detours have been organized on all blocked roads, and it is planned to clear the roads from debris within the next few days.

Several streets were flooded in the capital of the Republic, the city of Makhachkala. There, a girl standing at an open window died from a lightning strike during a thunderstorm.

(Translated by Google)

Rare Egyptian vulture is spotted on the Isles of Scilly, UK - first time in 150 years

SAM TONKIN
Daily Mail
Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:33 UTC

Rare sighting: An Egyptian vulture, considered endangered worldwide, has been seen in the UK for the first time in 150 years

They are known for applying brightly-coloured mud to their faces 'like make-up'.

But now a rare Egyptian vulture, considered endangered worldwide, has been seen in the UK for the first time in more than 150 years.

The bird of prey, also known as 'the pharaoh's chicken' because of its links to ancient Egypt, was spotted on the Isles of Scilly in what has been described as a 'once-in-a-century' sighting.

It is thought it may have come from northern France and became confused while migrating.

Sharks bite 12-year-old boy, 71-year-old man in Volusia County, Florida

Adrienne Cutway
Clickorlando.com
Mon, 14 Jun 2021 12:20 UTC

Two shark bites and a drowning were reported at Central Florida beaches on Monday, according to Volusia County Beach Safety.

Both shark bites were reported in New Smyrna Beach under red flag conditions. One involved a 71-year-old Jupiter man who was in knee-deep water with his boogie board when a shark bit his right foot. He was treated on the scene and released.

The second bite occurred when a 12-year-old Cocoa Beach boy jumped off his surfboard and into waist-deep water. The boy was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center as a trauma alert to be treated for a bite to his right calf, officials said.

Bhutan and Nepal - Flash floods leave at least 10 dead, many missing

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 16 Jun 2021 11:45 UTC

At least 10 people have died in Bhutan after heavy monsoon rainfall triggered flash flooding in a remote mountain camp in Laya. Meanwhile rain has also triggered flash floods and landslides in parts of nearby Nepal, where officials say several people are reported missing.

Bhutan

Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said in a statement that 10 people have died and 5 are injured, 2 of them seriously, in the tragedy which struck in the early hours of 16 June. The victims are believed to be a group that was collecting cordyceps at a site in Laya.

Rescue efforts are continuing and helicopters have been mobilized to evacuate the injured. A rescue team including personnel from the military has been sent to the affected area, which is extremely remote.

The Prime Minister offered his condolences to the bereaved families and the community of Laya. He also urged people across the country to avoid visiting or camping near rivers and to be aware of the dangers brought by heavy rainfall during the monsoon.

Unseasonal hailstorms continue to inflict massive crop losses in Jammu

The Weather Channel
Sat, 12 Jun 2021 07:00 UTC

Jammu's farmers distraught as unseasonal hailstorms destroy crop

"Every time we go out for hoeing the maize saplings, the rain and hailstorms start. Till now, our net sown area of around 5 kanals of land has been devastated by unseasonal hailstorms four times," said an anxious-looking Guddo Devi.

The 26-year-old was preparing the firewood to make dinner for her three children while speaking about the calamity. She lives in the remote Pounsa hamlet in the Chenani Tehsil of Jammu's Udhampur district, and like her, many farmers in the surrounding areas of Udhampur have lost their crops to hailstorms.

In these winter zones, farmers often cultivate only one crop a year in the autumn, and this loss has left them anxious about surviving the cold months ahead.

Usually, it does not hail in Jammu in June! This year, however, unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms have wreaked havoc in the region by damaging standing crops in hundreds of kanals (1 kanal is equal to 0.125 acres) in the winter areas of Udhampur district.

Comment: Jammu and Kashmir suffer heavy losses to orchards due to hailstorms