Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

South Africa: Seven killed in lightning strike in KwaZulu-Natal

lightning
© Unknown
The KwaZulu-Natal disaster management unit was on Saturday providing support to the families of seven people who died -- including a two-year-old girl -- when a marquee was struck by lightning.

"We are visiting the seven families and offering them support. Tomorrow [Sunday] we will go visit the hospitals," said Mthokozisi Duza, the head of the province's disaster management unit.

Sixty-seven people were also injured. Fourteen of were receiving treatment in local hospitals.

He said details about the incident were sketchy and an inquest docket had been opened.

Parents and children had gathered for a Christmas party on Friday afternoon at the Inkosiyethu crèche when the lightning struck.

Umbrella

Rains in Venezuela Cause 3 Deaths in Caracas, 2 in Miranda State

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© Unknown
Caracas - The ceaseless rains that have fallen for several weeks in Venezuela caused three deaths in Caracas on Friday and two earlier in Miranda state, while authorities in the northwestern state of Falcon were forced to declare a state of emergency.

Before dawn Friday a mudslide in a poor neighborhood near the capital's downtown area buried three children ages 11, 8 and 2, while leaving four people injured.

The bodies of the three young victims were recovered by firefighters, while the injured - two adults and two minors - were hospitalized.

On Thursday the downpours in Miranda state in the northern part of the country left two people dead and more than 1,000 families affected, the regional director of Civil Protection, Victor Lira, said.

The official said that the swollen Cupira River in the eastern part of the state swept away and drowned one person, while another was buried in a mudslide.

Streets were flooded in the Barlovento region of Miranda state, where "631 homes are flooded more than a meter (3 feet) deep in water," Lira said.

Bizarro Earth

1,000 Herdsmen Trapped in Inner Mongolia's Snowstorm

One of the heaviest snowstorms in 30 years has led to at least 1,000 herdsmen being trapped in the interior of China's Inner Mongolia region, a media report said Saturday.

The snowstorm hit Xing'an prefecture, 1,500 km northeast of Inner Mongolia capital Hohhot, last week. Snow piled up to 30 cm in most parts of the region and a metre in some areas, the China Daily reported.

The snow was 40 days earlier than its usual arrival time and was the heaviest in 30 years, officials said. At least 700 livestock are believed to have perished in the storm.

The winds have so far hampered efforts to start a rescue operation in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which has been cut off since a major snowstorm a week ago.

The lives of the herdsmen were not threatened as they have enough stocks of food and no casualties have been reported, said Qiu Feng, a government official.

Snowman

Snow Hits France Early

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© Daniel FinnanParis's Luxembourg gardens, winter 2009
France has been hit by unusually early snow with the first snowfall of the winter hitting the east of the country on Thursday and Paris Friday afternoon. The cold snap will see temperatures plummet and is likely to last at least a week, according to Michel Daloz of Météo France.

As in much of the rest of Europe, relatively heavy snow has hit lowlying areas three weeks earlier than usual. The cold is likely to move south at the weekend.

Temperatures will drop below zero overnight in some areas, with 0°C to 5°C during the day.

Although 2009's winter saw the heaviest snowfall for 30 years, it did not start in low-lying areas until December.

Snow has not arrived this early since 2005, when winter was also colder than last year. Any part of the country could be disrupted by the harsh weather this year, meteorologists warn.

Paris on Monday announced its plan to tackle the effects of cold this winter.

Bizarro Earth

UK on Snow Alert as Mercury Plunges

Snow Storm
© UKPACars struggle to climb the hill on Penrhiwfer Road, Tonyrefail, Wales.
Severe weather warnings for almost all of the UK are in place, with heavy snow, widespread icy roads and bitter temperatures forecast.

Some 10ins (25cm) of snow is expected to fall over higher ground, while parts of the Midlands and London will not escape a dusting. Overnight temperatures across the UK plunged well below zero again, after a day when much of the country was badly disrupted by the earliest widespread snow for 17 years.

The Met Office said London and the South East, the South West, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and the north east of England face widespread icy roads. The North East, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands and the South West were also braced for heavy snow and Wales and Northern Ireland can expect icy roads while Scotland is in line for more heavy snow and drifts thanks to a biting wind.

Forecasters said the cold snap is set to tighten its grip, blanketing swathes of the country in white by the middle of next week.

Aisling Creevey, of MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "It's definitely staying cold and going into next week, we could see a lot more snow. There is a low pressure system across the country and if it moves the way it is looking to at the moment, it's going to be very windy, very snowy and really bitter."

Temperatures will barely rise above freezing on Saturday, with the South West set to be the warmest at around 3C.

Phoenix

Indonesia's Mount Bromo Volcano Spews Ash into Sky

Mount Bromo
© Ben Tubby/FlickrMount Bromo
Jakarta -- Officials say one of Indonesia's dozens of volcanos has shot ash into the air in a minor eruption that caused no injuries.

Earlier this week the government raised the alert level at Mount Bromo to its highest level, telling villagers and tourists to stay off the rumbling slopes.

Government volcanologist Agus Budiono says the mountain, a popular tourist attraction, spewed ash more than 1,600 feet (500 meters) in the air Friday.

Mount Bromo typically erupts about once a year but unlike nearby Mount Merapi rarely spits debris and hot gas far from its crater. However, two people were killed in a 2004 eruption.

Bizarro Earth

US: 17 Rare Sea Turtles Rescued Off Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Green Sea Turtle,
© Don Lewis and Sue Wieber Nourse/AP PhotoGreen Sea Turtle
Quincy - Seventeen rare sea turtles suffering a variety of ailments are recovering at the New England Aquarium after being rescued over the past two days off of Cape Cod, Mass.

The turtles rescued by volunteers with the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary at Wellfleet Bay are being cared for at the aquarium's new animal care center in Quincy. They eventually will be released back to the ocean.

Most of them are Kemp's ridley turtles and are suffering from hypothermia, dehydration and malnourishment. The turtles usually migrate to warmer waters in the winter, but aquarium officials say strong northwest winds Wednesday drove the turtles to shore.

Many had body temperatures in the 50s, when they should have been in the 70s.

An aquarium spokesman says it's unusual for the center to care for so many at one time.

Fish

Eyeless Cave Fish Found in Indonesia

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© Agence France-PresseThis picture of a newly discovered eyeless fish, the Cavernicole, was released by the Expedition of Lengguru-Kaimana 2010.
Eyeless cave fish and a frog that carries its offspring on its back are among the new species a team of scientists have discovered in Indonesia's eastern Papua region.

The researchers from the Institute of Research and Development (IRD) in Montpellier, southern France, studied caves, underground rivers and jungles in the remote Lengguru area of New Guinea island.

'In terms of discoveries almost everything remains to be done in this area, which is very difficult to access but which has exceptionally rich biodiversity,' IRD scientist Laurent Pouyaud told AFP.

For seven weeks, the team including biologists, paleontologists and archaeologists explored the vast limestone 'labyrinth' where species have evolved in isolation for millions of years.

In one previously undocumented cave they found a new species of fish which had developed without eyes or pigmentation.

Igloo

UK: Widest-spread November snowfall for 17 years causes hazardous conditions on roads

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Motorists battled with hazardous conditions on the roads today as the widest-spread November snowfall for 17 years gripped the country. Parts of the UK were blanketed in white as many woke to wintry scenes and freezing temperatures following a bitterly cold night.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings, flagging up drifting snow for the eastern side of the country as well as parts of Wales and Northern Ireland, while North Yorkshire County Council said six village primary schools were forced to close. Worst-hit were the Scottish Highlands, with up to 8ins (20cm) of snow forecast to settle in Grampian - along with Yorkshire, north east England and East Anglia.

But the rest of Britain did not escape unscathed and snow ploughs and gritters were out in force. A heavy dump of snow caused havoc for commuters in north east Scotland and northern England where up to to 4ins (10cm) had settled today. Drivers also struggled on the North York Moors, which have been hit by bad weather and sub-zero temperatures.

The A170 at Sutton Bank was particularly affected, as was the B1249 at Staxton Bank near Scarborough. The A165 Reighton bypass was partially blocked this morning, with slow traffic around the Sands Road junction.

Arrow Up

Indonesian Volcano Death Toll Rises To 324

The number of people killed in recent eruptions of Indonesia's most volatile volcano has risen to 324, according to an official.

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© Gembong Nusantara/Associated PressA man stands in his destroyed village after the eruption of Mount Merapi in Klaten, Indonesia, on Friday. In addition to those killed immediately in the disaster, people have died from burns they sustained, officials say.
Syamsul Maarif of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday the official death toll from Mount Merapi's eruptions rose after some victims succumbed to severe burns and more bodies were found on the volcano's slopes.

The volcano, located in the middle of the central Indonesian island of Java, initially erupted Oct. 26 - less than 24 hours after a tsunami slammed into the remote Mentawai islands at the western end of the country, killing 509 people.