Earth ChangesS


Ambulance

Rains cause multiple crashes in Phoenix area

At least 15 vehicle collisions shut down several miles of westbound U.S. 60 between Interstate 10 and Dobson Road through Tempe and Mesa Thursday evening. The most severe wreck was a 27-car pileup in the westbound lanes halfway between Rural Road and McClintock Drive.

Weather was believed to be a factor with heavy rain in the area.

©Channel 12 News
Multiple vehicle collisions are being reported on U.S. 60 westbound between Interstate 10 and Dobson Road Thursday evening.

Cloud Lightning

River Danube bursts its banks after 2 days of torrential rain in Austria

Authorities issued flood warnings in parts of northern and western Austria on Friday after the Danube River and other waterways burst their banks following two days of heavy rain.

Workers used sandbags in an attempt to control flooding in the Vienna suburb of Klosterneuburg after the swollen Danube crested, flooding a train station and a regional highway.

Cloud Lightning

Typhoon 'Fitow' hits Japan - at least two dead, many injured

Typhoon 'Fitow' battered Japan with heavy rains and strong winds Friday, killing at least two people and injuring another fifty.

The typhoon first struck Japan in the Kanagawa prefecture (state) to the southwest of Tokyo, before moving northwards and losing strength. By Friday afternoon, it was around 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the capital, with winds of 108 kph (66 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

An elderly man was killed by a falling tree, and a construction worker perished when he was trapped in landslide at a dam construction site, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Several houses were completely destroyed, and hundreds damaged by floodwaters. Evacuation warnings were given in many areas, and flights were cancelled due to high winds at airports across the country, including eight international flights at Narita airport near Tokyo.

X

Flood death toll hits 7 in Romania

The number of dead from floods in eastern Romania rose to seven on Friday with one person still missing, authorities said after torrential rains ceased.

Heavy rains have washed away dozens of homes in Vrancea, Bacau and Vaslui counties since Wednesday, forcing hundreds out of their homes.

©Reuters

"The death toll has risen to seven people, one is still missing and 1,391 persons were evacuated," said deputy interior minister Victor Dobre.

Bell

Tremors rattle Taiwan's capital

Two strong tremors rattled Taiwan's capital early on Friday, officials and witnesses said, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude of the first quake at 6.5 at 01:51 am local time. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said a second tremor followed four minutes later with a magnitude of 5.7.

Red Flag

Dead Sharks Wash Ashore on Ore. Beaches

NEWPORT, Ore. - A number of young sharks are washing up dead on Oregon's beaches this summer, but researchers are unsure why.

The dead sharks reports started in mid-August, said Bill Hanshumaker, public marine education specialist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Cloud Lightning

1 missing as heavy rains fall on much of Texas

Much of North Central Texas was under a flood warning and authorities were searching for a woman swept away by moving water after torrential rains inundated several areas early Wednesday.

Searchers were combing a creek in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes for a 29-year-old woman. Police say the woman, Christina Marie French, and her 24-year-old male companion escaped early Wednesday morning from a car that was swept from a flooded bridge. They were clinging to branches, waiting for help. The man was rescued, but the woman was swept away by the flood waters.

Bizarro Earth

Another earthquake shakes Mexico's Gulf of California

An earthquake hit Mexico's Gulf of California on Tuesday, not far from the site of a stronger quake recorded on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

The magnitude 5 quake hit about 100 miles north of the resort of Los Cabos on the tip of Baja California, at a depth of 6.2 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

©Reuters
An earthquake hit Mexico's Gulf of California on Tuesday, not far from the site of a stronger quake recorded on Saturday.

Cloud Lightning

Strong typhoon closes in on Tokyo

A strong typhoon closed in on Tokyo Thursday, bringing downpours and gusts that injured 18 people and disrupted hundreds of flights, officials and reports said.

Japan went on alert for landslides and floods as it braced for Typhoon Fitow, which is expected to hit the capital and its vicinity by early Friday.

©TSR

Ambulance

New virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus, may be killing bees

WASHINGTON - A newly discovered virus may be killing bees or may be making some bees vulnerable enough to disappear, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

While the virus probably does not alone account for what scientists call colony collapse disorder, or CCD, it could help explain what is happening to bees across the United States, they said.

The virus, called Israeli acute paralysis virus, or IAPV, was discovered in Israel in 2004 and is new to science.