Russian emergency services struggled to maintain the country's often creaky heating infrastructure on Saturday as temperatures in some of the coldest regions on Earth plunged to bone-chilling levels, officials said.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement it was providing emergency help in a village in the Siberian province of Yakutia where a fault in a main heating pipeline had left 11 apartment buildings, home to 175 people, without heat.
Outdoor temperatures in the village of Artyk had plunged to minus 54 degrees Celsius (minus 65 Fahrenheit) in recent days, according to the provincial newspaper Yasia.
Earth Changes
THE STARK headline appeared just over a year ago. "2007 to be 'warmest on record,' " BBC News reported on Jan. 4, 2007. Citing experts in the British government's Meteorological Office, the story announced that "the world is likely to experience the warmest year on record in 2007," surpassing the all-time high reached in 1998.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the planetary hot flash: Much of the planet grew bitterly cold.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the planetary hot flash: Much of the planet grew bitterly cold.
FERNLEY, Nev. - Hundreds of homes sat in as much as 8 feet of water Sunday following a canal rupture as freezing temperatures hindered efforts to get the water to drain away.
As many as 400 homes were damaged when the canal's bank gave way following heavy rainfall produced by the West Coast storm system that had piled snow at least 5 feet deep in the Sierra Nevada and blacked out thousands of customers in three states. At least three deaths were blamed on the storm.
"In 10 minutes the entire back yard was completely flooded. It was just nothing but water," said Kristin Watson, whose home backs up to part of the canal. "We just sort of panicked because we knew we had to get out of there real quick."
As many as 400 homes were damaged when the canal's bank gave way following heavy rainfall produced by the West Coast storm system that had piled snow at least 5 feet deep in the Sierra Nevada and blacked out thousands of customers in three states. At least three deaths were blamed on the storm.
"In 10 minutes the entire back yard was completely flooded. It was just nothing but water," said Kristin Watson, whose home backs up to part of the canal. "We just sort of panicked because we knew we had to get out of there real quick."
Heavy overnight snowfalls covered most parts of Iran on Sunday, leading to closure of schools and major roads and cancelled domestic flights.
Most of the Iranian cities, particularly those located in the northern parts of the country, were blanketed by non-stop snowfall which still continues.
Primary and secondary schools were closed in Tehran and most cities including in Qazvin where university classes were also cancelled due to heavy snow.
Most of the Iranian cities, particularly those located in the northern parts of the country, were blanketed by non-stop snowfall which still continues.
Primary and secondary schools were closed in Tehran and most cities including in Qazvin where university classes were also cancelled due to heavy snow.
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| ©AFP |
Athens, Greece -- A powerful earthquake measured at magnitude 6.1 and centered about 75 miles southwest of Athens startled residents of southern Greece Sunday morning, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
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| ©USGS |
Two strong earthquakes shook the West Coast in the Queen Charlotte Islands region early this morning. There is no tsunami warning in effect for the area.
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| ©AP Photo/Tony Avelar |
| Tree service worker Ramiro Bautista cuts the remaining tree that fell and on power lines that cut off service to homes in Felton, Calif., Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. |
Sacramento, California - Howling winds, pelting rain and heavy snow pummeled California on Friday, toppling trees, flipping big rigs, cutting power to more than a million people and forcing evacuations in mudslide-prone areas.
Flights were grounded and highways closed in Northern California as gusts reached 80 mph during the second wave of an arctic storm that sent trees crashing onto houses, cars and roads. Forecasters expected the storm to dump as much as 10 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada by Sunday.
A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred by wildfires and to paralyze the mountains with deep snow.
Chronic boozing sends male flies chasing after any and every potential mate.
From the annals of insect biology comes a cautionary tale for those recovering from their post-New Year's celebration: heavy boozing has been shown to send male fruitflies, like their human counterparts, into a lusty fog.
From the annals of insect biology comes a cautionary tale for those recovering from their post-New Year's celebration: heavy boozing has been shown to send male fruitflies, like their human counterparts, into a lusty fog.
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| ©Getty |
| Fruit flies get amorous under the influence of constant booze. |
A mud volcano that forced more than 15,000 people to abandon their homes on the Indonesian island of Java in 2006 has breached the barriers built to contain it, causing further damage, police said.
Residents in Porong in East Java province fled from their homes in panic late on Thursday when hot, foul-smelling mud began to flow into the area, covering the nearby railway tracks and a main road.
Residents in Porong in East Java province fled from their homes in panic late on Thursday when hot, foul-smelling mud began to flow into the area, covering the nearby railway tracks and a main road.
