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Experts sent in to monitor volcano hotspot in Nicaragua as 3 more magma mountains erupt

Jon Austin
Daily Express (UK)
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:37 UTC
Nicaragua’s Momotombo Volcano continues to erupt after a century of inactivity, on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016.
© Álvaro Sánchez/The Tico Times
Nicaragua’s Momotombo Volcano continues to erupt after a century of inactivity, on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016.

Disaster experts are keeping a close eye on a seismic hotspot after three large volcanoes began erupting with fears of a fourth in the offing.

Volcano experts from the US, UK, Costa Rica and local geologists are observing activity at four active peaks in Nicaragua after the flurry of explosions.

The biggest, and most active, is the enormous 1,297-metre Momotombo stratovolcano, near the city of León.

Momotombo, on the north of Lake Managua 25 miles from Nicaragua's capital Managua, blew for the first time in 110 years in December, and has been active ever since.

In a post about the situation Costa Rican English-speaking news site The Tico Times wrote it had sent "geologists and local townspeople into a tizzy"

Monotombo re-awoke with a spectacular explosion in December
© YouTube
Monotombo re-awoke with a spectacular explosion in December
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Attention

5.9 magnitude earthquake hits off Antarctica in the Indian Ocean


BNO News
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:22 UTC
earthquake
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has struck the Indian Ocean between Antarctica and Australia, seismologists say. No tsunami warnings have been issued.

The earthquake, which struck at about 5:08 a.m. Sydney time on Wednesday, was centered about 454 kilometers (282 miles) northeast of the French scientific station Dumont d'Urville in Antarctica, or about 2,261 kilometers (1,405 miles) south of Hobart on Tasmania.

The earthquake struck at a depth of about 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) below the seabed, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The earthquake was not strong enough to generate a tsunami, and no alerts were issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre.

No damage or casualties were expected from Wednesday's earthquake.

Earthquake Antarctica
© USGS
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Ice Cube

Amazing ice: 5 stunning natural sculptures from this winter


RT
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 15:24 UTC
Frozen lake
© RadiantSpiritGallery/YouTube
Lake Superior
As winter wanes and spring creeps in for much of the northern hemisphere, we checked out some impressive images of ice, particularly surrounding the world's largest - and coldest - lakes.

Whether it's ice stacking on Lake Superior in the US, car-shaped icicles in Canada, or floating blocks on Lake Baikal in Russia, mother nature has put on quite a show this season.

Lake Superior, USA

As sheets of ice crashed on the shore of the great Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, they stack up like broken glass, creating a beautiful and somewhat hypnotic scene.


Lake Baikal, Siberia

With temperatures dipping to -19 degrees Celsius (-3 Fahrenheit) and strong winds, a block of ice can be seen floating across the frozen lake as though it's just off to meet another block further along.


Comment:
Shivering Al Gore
© Compeau's/2009


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Tornado1

Dozens killed after powerful cyclone Winston ravages Fiji; experts warn of Zika & Dengue threats


RT
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 10:47 UTC
Fijian village
© NZ Defense Forces
A remote Fijian village is photographed from the air during a surveillance flight conducted by the New Zealand Defence Force on February 21, 2016
Dozens of people have been killed by the powerful cyclone Winston, which has been ravaging Fiji in recent days. Experts warn that the island country can suffer possible outbreaks of the Zika and Dengue viruses.

The footage posted on the Fijiian government website shows a massive scale of destruction on the small island - whole villages have been flooded amid Winston's destructive winds, which reportedly reached about 325 kph.

"The images emerging from early aerial assessments of affected areas are truly heartbreaking, leaving little doubt about the ferocity of this cyclone," said Osnat Lubrani, UN Resident Coordinator in Fiji.
Fiji Island aftermath
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that the recovery process will take "a long time."

"Almost no part of our nation has been left unscarred. And many of our rural and maritime areas bore the brunt of Winston's fury," he said.

Aid agencies said that Fiji now may face outbreaks of the Zika and Dengue viruses, both of which are caused by infected mosquitoes.

"The threat of dengue and Zika in the coming days in Fiji is real," said Chris Hagarty, senior health program manager at Plan International Australia. "The period immediately following a disaster of this scale can be a particularly dangerous one."


According to the UN, more than 8,100 people "are currently sheltering in evacuation centers" and 150 houses have been destroyed in the storm.
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Fire

Home leveled by massive explosion in Washington state, blast felt miles away


CBS News‎
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 09:30 UTC
Port Orchard house explosion
© South Kitsap Fire and Rescue
South Kitsap Fire and Rescue confirms the explosion happened at a residential structure. The building was leveled.
A massive house explosion in a Seattle suburb knocked out windows several hundred yards away and was mistaken by some locals to be an earthquake.

Officials told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV in Seattle the explosion occurred in a residence in Port Orchard shortly after 4 a.m.

It is not known if anyone was home during the blast.

Officials said the home was leveled by the blast, and the fire has been contained. The cause of the explosion is unclear.

An elementary school several hundreds yards away saw many of its windows shattered.

Several nearby residents told KIRO they initially thought it was an earthquake. One resident told KIRO that officers at Naval Base Kitsap in nearby Bremerton across the inlet from Port Orchard sent officers searching the base for the source until they realized what had happened.


Comment: Last August a huge gas explosion leveled a large section of a motel in Bremerton in Washington state.

There seems to have been an increase in the number of massive house explosions around the world in recent months, with investigators still attempting to determine the cause in many cases. Could a 'cosmic' source of ignition be responsible for some of these incidents?

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Attention

26 dead gannets found at Ormond Beach, Florida

Emily Blackwood
Ormond Beach Observer
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 16:02 UTC
Dead Northern Gannet
© J. Walker Fischer
One of many dead gannets washed ashore on Ormond Beach on Feb. 19
Twenty-six dead Northern Gannets have been brought in to the center since Valentine's Day.

While Ormond Beach resident Walker Fischer was taking a stroll on the beach this past Friday, he counted four dead Northern Gannets and a pelican within a mile's walk.

The Volusia County Beach Patrol said the increase was not uncommon for this time of year. Due to migration patterns, there is an increase in the amount birds in the area, and they find a few dead birds every day. They believe the recent death are mostly like of natural causes.
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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall paralyses daily life in Sivas, Turkey


cihan.com.tr
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 15:00 UTC
Heavy snowfall in Sivas, Turkey
© Turan Temel
Heavy snowfall in Sivas, Turkey
Central Turkish province of Sivas, which had been witnessing spring weather conditions in the middle of the winter for a while, took heavy snowfall, paralyzing daily life across the city.

Snowfall which has begun with blizzard in the late hours continued until the morning hours of Saturday. Following the snowfall the snow has reached 50 centimeters in depth across the province. As walking on the pavement has nearly become impossible since the thick snow layer also many cars have stayed under the snow drift.

Many people, who intended to reach their working place, had difficulty while clearing their car from the snow banks. People shovel up the ways of their working place.

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Bizarro Earth

13 bald eagles died in Maryland

Brian Clark Howard
National Geographic
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 11:57 UTC
Dead blad eagle
© Maryland Natural Resources Police
One of the eagles found dead on a Maryland farm
It's a whodunit for the animal kingdom: State and federal wildlife officials are trying to find out what happened to 13 bald eagles that were discovered dead on Maryland's Eastern Shore on Saturday.

The birds of prey were found on a farm in rural Caroline County, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Washington, D.C. and just west of the 3,800-acre Idylwild Natural Area. A man looking for shed deer antlers found some of the birds and phoned state officials, who then found several more.

Comment: Interesting how they immediately assume someone is responsible and thus a reward is offered, but they don't know the cause of death. How about out-gassing due to the Earth opening up? On a related note, this is certainly symbolic given that the national bird of the USA is the bald eagle.

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Tornado2

Tornado activity in Illinois well above average for 2015

John Dodge
CBS Local
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 12:37 UTC
tornado damage in Coal City, Illinois
© CBS
Aerial view of tornado damage in Coal City, Illinois, the morning after a storm on June 22, 2015.
Illinois was hit hard by tornadoes in 2015, well above its average and the fourth-most in the nation, according to the National Weather Service.

Based on preliminary data, Illinois had a total of 69 twisters, well above the state's 25-year average of 53.

By August, the Chicago area had set a record for the number of tornadoes in 2015.

Only Texas (239), Kansas (125) and Oklahoma (110) had more, and all three states were well above their state's average.

Illinois' neighbors to the west, Iowa (58) and Missouri (48), were slightly above their average.

Interestingly, another Plains state, Nebraska, was well below its average, with only 26 reported tornadoes.

In total, the United States reported 1,152 tornadoes in 2015, with the overwhelming majority (1,069) reported as relatively weaker EF-0 or EF-1 storms.

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Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods hit eastern Israel


Times of Israel
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 11:02 UTC
Israel floods
© Akil al Ziadneh/Albayan
Flooding in the Bedouin town of Um Namila, near Rahat in the Negev on Monday, February, 22, 2016

Flash floods hit eastern Israel as temperatures drop throughout country; warmer days expected later in the week

Several Israeli schools and roads were closed Monday due to flooding as rain and wind bashed the country after a week of unseasonably high temperatures.

Flash floods in the area of Ein Gedi in eastern Israel prompted school closures in the area. On Mount Hermon, heavy snow and wind led operators to close the ski resort.

A group of 10 hikers who were stranded due to the inclement weather in the Negev, next to the Ramon Crater in southern Israel, were rescued. A search and rescue unit was called to the area and safely brought the hikers out using jeeps, reports said.

The southern city of Sderot also experienced flooding, as well as many Bedouin areas of the Negev.

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