Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

At least 11 dead as Cyclone Gamane strikes Madagascar

Cyclone Gamane
Cyclone Gamane
At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Gamane struck the African island nation of Madagascar.

About 7000 people were affected by the devastation caused by the cyclone, which reached the north of the island on Wednesday, the National Authority for Civil Protection said on Thursday.

The cyclone moved across the island with an average wind speed of 150km/h and heavy rainfall.

In some places, winds of 210km/h were measured.


Tornado2

Waterspouts spotted off the Oregon coast

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At least two waterspouts were spotted Wednesday evening off the Curry County coast. One waterspout was near Brookings and the other was near Gold Beach.


Arrow Down

Giant sinkhole in Rome swallows two cars

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Two parked cars were swallowed by a large sinkhole - 10 metres deep and 10 metres wide - which opened up in the Quadraro district of Rome in the early hours of Thursday.

Police and firefighters closed off the street, Via Sestio Menas, after the chasm opened up at around 01.00. There was nobody injured in the incident.

The vehicles, a Dacia and a Renault, were subsequently removed and the area remained cordoned off on Thursday morning.

It is far from the first time that such an event has occurred in Rome, with the city experiencing a sharp rise in the number of sinkholes in recent years according to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research.


Cloud Precipitation

Aerial footage shows hundreds of solar panels smashed by hail in Texas on March 16

Images captured by Fox affiliate FOX26 Houston KRIV show extensive damage to Fighting Jays Solar in Fort Bend County, Texas.
© FOX26 Houston KRIVImages captured by Fox affiliate FOX26 Houston KRIV show extensive damage to Fighting Jays Solar in Fort Bend County, Texas.
A hailstorm damaged hundreds of solar panels in southeast Texas on Saturday, March 16, footage shows.

Aerial footage provided by Ryan Ashcraft of Ashcraft Aviation shows several damaged solar panels on a 4,000-acre farm near Damon. Ashcraft told Storyful that he was flying with his girlfriend and best friend to go check on their cattle in a neighboring county when they noticed the panels on the solar farm. "They all looked like shattered windshields from the hailstorm a few days before," Ashcraft said.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the area was hit by a severe thunderstorm with large hail and damaging winds on March 16. Other solar farms in southern Texas were also damaged during the storm.

According to South Texas Solar Systems, hail damage to solar panels "can lead to a decrease in efficiency as well as an increased risk of fire."


Snowflake

Snow falls on Malaga in southern Spain following a dramatic drop in temperatures overnight

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Parts of Malaga have woken up to a blanket of fresh snow following a dramatic drop in temperatures overnight.

Whilst low-lying coastal areas have experienced much-needed significant rainfall, Malaga's high altitude areas have been hit by snowfall.

This morning, many of the region's mountains were covered in snow after unseasonably low overnight temperatures.

Snow settled in the Sierra de las Nieves, Sierra Tejeda, Sierra Bermeja and the Torcal de Antequera National Park.

Snow was also visible from the cities of Ronda and Granada.


Comment: Related: Temperature extremes: From 30ºC to snow fall in Portugal


Snowflake

Temperature extremes: From 30ºC to snow fall in Portugal

From 30ºC to snow fall
From 30ºC to snow fall
Several areas woke up covered in snow this morning, including Gerês, Paredes de Coura and Arouca.

Snow fell again in several parts of the country, after several days with thermometers tipping the 30ºC mark.

Castro Laboreiro, in the municipality of Melgaço, woke up painted white after the snow fell during the afternoon and night of Monday.

In Cabana Maior, Arcos de Valdevez, right on the doorstep of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, it also snowed, with several online users sharing images.


Comment: Related: Snow falls on Malaga in southern Spain following a dramatic drop in temperatures overnight


Volcano

Marapi volcano (Western Sumatra): sudden powerful explosion showered summit area with lava bombs

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The explosive eruption at the volcano persists.

A spectacular eruption took place from the summit crater early last night. At aboout 00:13 local time, a towering pillar of grey-to-black ash and glowing ejecta released from the vent could be seen via surveillance cameras in Agam.

The intense explosion sent incandescent pyroclastic material up to a considerable height, consequently showering the upper edifice with lava bombs. The ash column reached 4,400 meters altitude and drifted west-southwest.

In order to mitigate the current risk, people are advised to avoid the area within a 4.5 km radius of the Verbeek Crater.

The alert level for the volcano remains at Level III (Siaga) since 11 January.


Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows customer after floor collapses in shopping mall in China on March 23

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A shocking incident unfolded in Zhenjiang, China, after a massive sinkhole opened up on the second floor of a shopping mall and swallowed a customer on March 23.

Chilling security camera footage captured the woman disappearing as the floor suddenly collapsed beneath her.

A worker on the floor below was also trapped by debris. Both suffered only minor injuries.


Seismograph

Shallow 6.4 magnitude earthquake southwest of Fiji

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An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck the Suva in Fiji during the early hours of Wednesday (local time), the National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported.

The depth of the earthquake was measured at 10 km and the epicentre was 591 km South-West of Suva in Fiji.

"Earthquake of Magnitude: 6.4, Occurred on 27-03-2024, 06:58:17 IST, Lat: -21.21 & Long: 173.85, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 591km SW of Suva, Fiji," said the NCS in a post on X.

The National Center for Seismology (NCS) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for monitoring earthquake activity.

No casualties have been reported so far. Further details are awaited.

Cloud Precipitation

Global cooling: Record outback rains in Australia

So far this month hundreds of millimetres of rain has fallen across the NT as far south as Alice Springs.
© ABC NewsSo far this month hundreds of millimetres of rain has fallen across the NT as far south as Alice Springs.
An exceptional soaking across outback Australia has broken all-time rain records, caused dry Northern Territory rivers to flood, and will supply another boost to waters already flowing south into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.

The current rain event has triggered flood watches for more than 40 Queensland and NT rivers, prolonging a productive northern wet season which has brought frequent soakings deep into the country's interior.

And there's still more rain to come this week — the spell of showers and thunderstorms will continue across much of northern and central Australia this week, before possibly moving south this Easter, and potentially dampening the back half of the long weekend in parts of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.


Comment: A report from about a week prior: Heavy rain, and possible flooding for Northern Territory, Australia as ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan crosses