Earth Changes

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf born in China

Kirstie McCrum
Daily Mirror, UK
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:20 UTC

© CEN
Weird occurrence: The calf and Gan Yuanhua, who says that it was born from a cow who has had three healthy calves previously

A calf born with two heads has stunned farmers in a small village.

The animal was born from a cow who has given birth to three healthy calves in the past.

And it would likely have been dismissed by villagers, they say - had they not seen it with their own eyes.

Farmer Gan Yuanhua said: "I heard the cow shuffling around and making odd noises in the shed, and I knew she was about to give birth."

From his home in Shaijin Village in Linshui County, in south-west China's Sichuan Province, he said he initially thought the cow had given birth to twins when he saw the two heads and did not realise immediately that it was a mutation.

Two sperm whales die after beaching on coast of East China

Nectar Gan
South China Morning Post
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 17:52 UTC

Authorities and experts measured the giant carcasses

Two sperm whales have died after beaching themselves on the East China coast in the past two days, the China News Service reported.

On Sunday, villagers found one dead whale beached near Yangkou, in Jiangsu province, while another whale lingered in the deeper water of a channel nearby.

The second whale then became stranded and died on Monday afternoon, about 10km from the first while.

Fisherman Yin Qiufeng said he spotted the whale on the beach early on Sunday.

"[At first] I thought it was a capsized ship, but at a second glance I found it was a huge fish," Yin said. "In the beginning I didn't dare go too close to have a better look because I thought it was still alive, but later I found out it was already dead."

Another dead whale found on coast in Odisha, India; fifth this month

Debabrata Mohanty
The Indian Express
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 17:35 UTC

In the fifth case of whales washing ashore on Odisha coast, the carcass of another giant whale was found near Mangala river mouth in Puri on Tuesday morning.

Divisional Forest Officer Puri wildlife division Chittaranjan Mishra said the forest department officials have seized the decomposed body of the 38-feet-long whale.

"We will bury the body of the whale after ascertaining its cause of death and and send some of its parts to Bhubaneswar to know the species of the whale. We have sought the experts' opinion," he said.

Odisha forest and wildlife department officials have written a letter to the Ministry of Forest and Environment for investigation into the cases of whale carcasses washing ashore.

2 volcanoes erupt within two hours in Nicaragua

Strange Sounds
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 16:46 UTC

The Telica and Momotombo volcanoes are two stratovolcanoes in Nicaragua.

On February 13, 2016 both erupted within two hours. Enhanced volcanic activity in the region.

According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), the Telica volcano, located in the Leon department, erupted at 8:28 a.m. Saturday morning, launching a column of ash and gas some 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) into the air. At least 20 smaller eruptions were recorded at the volcano in the subsequent hours. Ashfall was reported in some nearby communities.

About two hours after the first explosion at Telica, the Momotombo volcano - which had been essentially dormant for 100 years before exploding to life in December - launched a column of ash and gas more than 1,600 feet (500 meters) into the air.

Rare 'super bloom' of wildflowers in Death Valley, California

DeathValleyNP
Youtube
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:50 UTC

In what could be a rare 'super bloom', Death Valley is transforming from a valley of death to a valley of life.

"If you get the chance to see a bloom in Death Valley, especially a super bloom, you should take the opportunity to see it because it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity." - Park Ranger Alan Van Valkenburg

Join Alan in this episode of "Death Valley Exposed" and learn more about the current bloom that is spreading across the park.

Death Valley Exposed is a video podcast series that highlights various snapshots from Death Valley National Park. Produced by Bristlecone Media and the National Park Service in association with Death Valley Natural History Association, an official nonprofit partner of Death Valley National Park.

Several dead in Papua New Guinea due to flooding and landslides

fbc.com.fj
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 14:58 UTC

At least six people in Papua New Guinea are reported to have died as a result of landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains in recent weeks.

The Post Courier newspaper has reported deaths in Chimbu and the Western Highlands.

It reported 200 homes have been destroyed, and bridges have been swept away in Oro and West New Britain provinces.

World Vision PNG response manager Bonie Belonio said disaster authorities and humanitarian organisations were scrambling to assess the extent of the damage so distribution of relief supplies could begin.

He said he believed the rains may have taken many people by surprise after the long drought.

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits Auckland Islands off New Zealand

Tom Evans
Daily Star (UK)
Mon, 15 Feb 2016 13:46 UTC

EPICENTRE: The earthquake was just 258 miles away from mainland New Zealand

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has hit the Auckland Islands off the south coast of New Zealand, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Earthquakes 6.0 to 6.9 can cause a lot of damage in very populated areas. News of this earthquake comes just days after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake killed at least 11 people in Taiwan.

The epicentre of the quake is said to have been just 258 miles away from mainland New Zealand.

The earthquake follows a 5.7 magnitude quake hit Christchurch yesterday, causing cliffs to collapse.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck shortly before 1930 GMT on Monday and was centered 136 miles northwest of Auckland Island. It was at a depth of 6.2 miles.

There was no immediate tsunami alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Minutes later, reports emerged that another earthquake hit Zacharo Town along Greece's west coast.

Powerful gas explosion partly destroys residential building in Russia; 7 dead, many feared trapped

RT
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 02:40 UTC

Russian Emergencies Ministry members work at the site of a residential five-storey apartment building after a gas explosion in the early morning, in the city of Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow, Russia, February 16, 2016

An entire section of a five story residential building in the Russian city of Yaroslavl has collapsed in a powerful gas explosion, which killed 7 people. The emergencies services say many are feared trapped under the rubble.

"Gas exploded in a five story residential building, the structure caved in from the first to the fifth floor," an emergencies ministry representative told RIA Novosti.

"People remain under rubble," the ministry confirmed, adding that at least ten flats have collapsed.

Rescue workers have taken seven bodies from the rubble. Kristina Guzovskaya of the Investigation Committee for the Yaroslavl region, has told Interfax that among the victims there are four women, one man and two children, possibly an 11- and 6-year-old.

Odd Australian creature washed up identified as pike eel

Tim Connell
Newcastle Herald, Australia
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 02:33 UTC

Giant eel, "messed up crocodile" or unidentified lake monster?

A creature apparently photographed at Swansea has confused and slightly frightened locals since it washed up on social media on Monday.

Ethan Tippa, who posted the photo on Facebook, typified the general response.

"What the f--- is it?"

The answer, said marine biologist Julian Pepperell, is that it's a pike eel.

The angle of the photo made it difficult to judge the creature's length, but it seems longer than the species' average maximum of 1.8 metres.

"I think it's definitely a pike eel. The head is very indicative of that species," Dr Pepperell said.

"It's hard from the photo to get an idea of the scale."

The nocturnal pike eel is common in NSW waters, but surprisingly little is known about it.

Dr Pepperell said the species is frequently caught by fishers at night who get "the fight of their lives" when they reel in a powerful, thrashing predator with a nasty bite.

Cold blast shatters records in northeastern US on Valentine's Day

Alex Sosnowski
AccuWeather
Mon, 15 Feb 2016 19:33 UTC

© AP Photo/David Sharp
Frost on a window forms a heart-shaped pattern on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in Falmouth, Maine, where the early morning temperature dipped below zero. Temperatures dropped to even lower levels during the Valentine's Day weekend in the Northeast.

Assisted by a southward shift in the polar vortex, temperatures plummeted to their lowest levels in decades in some locations of the Northeast at the start of Valentine's Day.

The polar vortex is a storm that is typically centered near the North Pole and tends to keep the coldest air trapped in northern Canada. Occasionally, this storm weakens or shifts enough to allow frigid air to plummet southward into the United States.

The frigid weather follows one of the warmest starts to a winter on record.

Dozens of locations in the Northeast shattered record lows for the date on Sunday morning.

Many locations dipped to their lowest levels of the winter, while some locations plunged to lower levels than all of last winter.

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Earth Changes

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf born in China

Two sperm whales die after beaching on coast of East China

Another dead whale found on coast in Odisha, India; fifth this month

2 volcanoes erupt within two hours in Nicaragua

Rare 'super bloom' of wildflowers in Death Valley, California

Several dead in Papua New Guinea due to flooding and landslides

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits Auckland Islands off New Zealand

Powerful gas explosion partly destroys residential building in Russia; 7 dead, many feared trapped

Odd Australian creature washed up identified as pike eel

Cold blast shatters records in northeastern US on Valentine's Day

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