Earth ChangesS


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Almost 40 dead or missing in flood-hit western Ukraine

A total of 38 people, including eight children, are dead or listed as missing following devastating floods in western Ukraine in late July, the health ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The statement does not specify how many people have been killed in the country's worst storms in a century. Earlier reports put the death toll at 31 people, including six children, with one person unaccounted for. A total of 498 people are confirmed as having been injured.

Authorities fear the floods could cause a serious health problem in the worst-hit Ivano-Frankovsk Region in western Ukraine, where almost 20 livestock burial zones, 38 cemeteries and four garbage disposal sites have been flooded. All the potential sources of infection have been cordoned off.

Cloud Lightning

Tropical storm looms off Texas-Louisiana coast

HOUSTON - Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Monday, threatening to come ashore on the Texas-Louisiana coast at near-hurricane strength.

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©REUTERS/NOAA/Handout
Tropical Storm Edouard formed near a major oil and gas producing area of the northern Gulf of Mexico August 3, 2008.

Edouard, the fifth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 7 a.m. report.

The storm, which formed near a major oil- and gas-producing area of the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, was about 80 miles south-southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and 285 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas.

It was moving west at about 8 mph (13 kmh) and forecasters said it could bring as much as 6 inches of rain.

The Hurricane Center said Edouard was expected to gain strength and could be near the 74-mph (119-kph) threshold for hurricane status when it neared land by Tuesday morning.

Cloud Lightning

Brazil: Plane struck by lightning at Curitiba Airport

A TAM (Brazil) Airbus A319-100, registration PR-MAO performing flight JJ3004 from Curitiba,PR to Sao Paulo Congonhas,SP (Brazil) with 46 passengers, was already on the runway ready for takeoff, when a lightning struck the airplane.

Cloud Lightning

Two killed, 6 injured by lightning in Mexico

Mexico City - Police say a lightning bolt has struck a soccer match between firefighters and civil protection workers in southern Mexico, killing two and injuring six.

Cloud Lightning

Norway: Lightning hits 91 spectators at racetrack

Oslo - A lightning bolt struck 91 auto racing fans at a racetrack in Norway Sunday, and 45 people were taken to hospital with minor burns, police said.

Cloud Lightning

Freak tornado kills three in France

A freak tornado killed three people and injured nine as it destroyed houses, overturned cars and ripped trees out of the ground in France last night.

The flash storm gutted up to 40 homes in just minutes as it battered Hautmont and three other small towns in the north of the country.

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©Unknown
Tornado damage in northern France

Bulb

Award-winning Astronaut Questions Man Made Global Warming

NASA has played a key role in one of the greatest periods of scientific progress in history. It is uniquely positioned to collect the most comprehensive data on our biosphere.

For example, recently generated NASA data enabled scientists to finally understand the Gulf Stream warming mechanism and its effect on European weather. Such data will allow us to improve our models, resulting in better seasonal forecasts.

NASA's Aqua satellite is showing that water vapor, the dominant greenhouse gas, works to offset the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2). This information, contrary to the assumption used in all the warming models, is ignored by global warming alarmists.

Evil Rays

Moderate earthquake strikes Taiwan

Taiwanese authorities say a moderate earthquake has struck the eastern part of the island, rattling buildings but causing no casualties or damage.

The Central Weather Bureau says the 5.4 magnitude quake hit 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the city of Hualien at 2:55 a.m. Saturday(1855 GMT Friday).

Hualien is 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of the capital Taipei.

Bizarro Earth

Mother Earth Naked: A Modern Masterpiece

Have you ever wondered what our world would look like stripped bare of all plants, soils, water and man-made structures? Well wonder no longer; images of the Earth as never seen before have been unveiled in what is the world's biggest geological mapping project ever.

South America on the globe
©OneGeology
Geology of South America on the globe.

Earth and computer scientists from 79 nations are working together on a global project called OneGeology to produce the first digital geological map of the world. This project is doing the same for the rocks beneath our feet that Google does for maps of the Earth's surface. These scientists have achieved their goal in just over one year after initiating this global project. For a science that usually counts time in millions of years, this is no mean feat!

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World's smallest snake is as thin as spaghetti

WASHINGTON - Scientists have identified the world's smallest snake -- a reptile about 4 inches long and as thin as spaghetti that was found lurking under a rock on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

smallest snake
©Unknown
Handout photo of Leptotyphlops carlae resting on US quarter