Earth ChangesS

Cloud Lightning

Record downpour prompts flood watches near Calgary

Residents living near Calgary have been placed on notice after tributaries of the Bow River surged with as much as 70 millimetres of rain over the weekend.

Flood watches were in effect in several soggy communities, including Ghost River, Jumpingpound Creek and Waiparous Creek.

Cloud Lightning

Ukraine farmers suffer in worst drought for century

Svitlana Nadich is almost beyond hoping that even a little rain will fall on her brittle, parched wheatfields in southern Ukraine.

The $20,000 investment made by four village families, the sowing and care in applying fertilizer, all appear to be in vain as the region endures its worst drought in more than a century.

Clock

Colorado: Bugs killing off Aspen's namesake tree

EAGLE COUNTY - With each new day, city officials in Aspen find more dead or dying aspen trees. They say the culprit is a tiny insect known as the Willow Scale.

Red Flag

Developing: Wildfire whips up, out of control in Western Colorado

GLENWOOD SPRINGS - A wildfire continues to grow quickly in Garfield County, forcing authorities to shut down roads and issue evacuations as the flames spread.

Attention

Update: Kilauea rumbles on, 260 quakes on Big Island

The event's duration has scientists unsure what will be left when the shaking stops

Geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are baffled by a swarm of more than 260 small earthquakes that shook the upper East Rift Zone of Kilauea over the course of several hours yesterday.

Magic Wand

Rare Giant Manta Born at Japan Aquarium

What is believed to be the first giant manta ray born in captivity has arrived at a southern Japanese aquarium, the facility said Sunday.

The baby manta, a female, was born late Saturday in a huge fish tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, more than a year after its parents mated, the aquarium said in a statement posted Sunday on its Web site.

In a video capturing the birth, the baby manta, rolled up like a tube, came sliding out of the mother manta, then quickly spread its fins and began swimming around.

The scene, recorded by the aquarium, was broadcast by national broadcaster NHK on Sunday.

Cloud Lightning

Torrential Rains Flood Texas Cities

Torrential overnight rainfall flooded a handful of north Texas towns Monday, killing two people and stranding residents and their pets on the roofs of their homes awaiting rescue.

©Associated Press

Creeks swollen by as much as 8 inches of rain inundated parts of the towns of Gainesville and Sherman near the Oklahoma state line.

Clock

Tiny but Hungry, Moth Threatens California Crops

SAN FRANCISCO - Full grown, the light brown apple moth is roughly the size of a nickel: a little dirt-colored insect with an adult life span shorter than the average summer vacation.

Attention

Swarm of 230 small quakes rocks Big Island

About 230 small earthquakes shook the upper East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano beginning early this morning, prompting officials to close off most of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as a precaution to protect visitors.

Wine

Giant Frogs Raid Toilets, Power Lines

It sounds like the plot of a B movie.

People scream after finding huge frogs in their toilet bowls. Electrified amphibians cause multiple blackouts. Frogs hitch rides in cars, later surprising unsuspecting drivers.

It's all real, and, according to the University of Florida, the invasive Cuban tree frog is responsible for the chaos. The species has colonized over half of Florida and is now moving in on the rest of the state. The 6-inch-long frogs, which dwarf native tiny tree frogs, have also been found in Georgia, South Carolina, California, Hawaii and Canada.

©AP photo/University of Florida/IFAS/Josh Wickham
In this photo, Steve Johnson holds a Cuban tree frog at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Plant City. The invasive frog, which can be more than six inches long, has colonized the southern half of the state and is moving north.