Earth Changes

Floods cause devastation in north west of Ireland; 63% of August rainfall fell in just 9 hours

Seamus McKinney
The Irish News
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 18:43 UTC

© Margaret McLaughlin
Cars were swept into the River Faughan at Drumahoe on the outskirts of Derry during severe rain and storms in the north west.

Serious questions have been asked over the response of authorities to severe floods that devastated the north west.

More than 100 people had to be rescued in the north alone after roads and bridges collapsed, cars were washed away and homes and businesses destroyed in Tuesday night's storm.

Counties Tyrone, Derry and Donegal were worst affected after 63 per cent of the average August rainfall fell within just nine hours.

Millions of pounds worth of damage was caused to homes, roads and businesses during the worst floods seen in the area in living memory.

Some farmers also lost sheep during the flooding.

The north's Department of Infrastructure has pledged financial support for home owners affected.

Dead marine life on Gulf coast sets off concerns over dead zone; 47 dolphins and 51 sea turtles found so far in 2017

Meg Farris
wwltv.com
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:14 UTC

This year, 47 dolphins and 51 endangered sea turtles have died off the Gulf Coast and scientists are trying to figure out if they are the latest victims of the massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Those scientists are also sounding the alarm that these swift environmental changes are affecting all life in our ecosystem.

Life-long Gulf Coast fisherman, Reggie Walker said it's getting harder and harder to make a living.

"It's just getting real bad right here, right now. It's not nothing like it used to be back in, years ago," said Walker, who lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

He doesn't need to see news reports about the largest dead zone in Gulf history, the size of New Jersey, because he sees the effects first hand every day.

'There had to be over 1,000': Dead snow geese wash up near Cambridge Bay, Canada

CBC News
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 17:36 UTC

Carcasses of dead snow geese are seen on the shoreline, near the Nunavut community of Cambridge Bay. A resident said the birds dotted the shoreline for at least 20 kilometres.

© Government of Nunavut/Department of Environment
Carcasses of dead snow geese are seen on the shoreline, near the Nunavut community of Cambridge Bay. A resident said the birds dotted the shoreline for at least 20 kilometres.

Hundreds of dead snow geese have washed up on the shores near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and it may be some time before officials figure out what caused them.

The geese washed up near Long Point, west of the Nunavut community. David Ohokannoak, who lives in Cambridge Bay, drove by the carcasses on Sunday evening on his ATV.

"It was just dead geese for about, maybe 20 kilometres of shoreline," he said. "There had to be over a thousand...there was too many to even count.

"It's a long drive, so you can see them for that whole drive, you just see nothing but geese. Kind of sad to see."

Ohokannoak said most of the carcasses were washed up right on the shore, while a couple were located further away from the coast.

Snow geese migrate to the Arctic in massive numbers each summer. In past years, they have been known to devastate large areas, traveling in the millions.

Eight hikers missing after enormous landslide tumbles down a Swiss mountain

Sara Malm
Daily Mail
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:40 UTC

You shall not pass: This image shows the destruction caused by the landslide in Bondo village

This is the moment when a huge landslide began in the Swiss mountains yesterday morning, hinting at the beginning of the devastation it would leave it its wake minutes later.

Footage shows a mass of rocks and dust come off a cliff side of the Piz Cengalo mountain, and start making its way down the valley towards the village of Bondo, near the Italian border, forcing evacuations and leaving several people feared dead.

Eight hikers, including German, Austrian and Swiss citizens, are still missing more than a day after disappearing from the mountainside, and some 200 people had to leave their homes in the eastern canton of the Grisons.

Police had initially announced that no one was hurt in the landslide, but on Thursday acknowledged that rescue workers were flying over the area in search of mountain climbers and hikers who might have been hit by the slide.

Six of the eight people known to have been in the area and who have not yet been located had been reported missing by their relatives, the police said, adding that the search for them had intensified overnight, with a Swiss army helicopter taking part.

Shallow 5.6 magnitude earthquake rocks northern Iraq

Prensa Latina
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:56 UTC

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook some cities in northern Iraq Wednesday, causing damage to some infrastructure, local media reported.

According to online newspaper Rudaw, so far there are no reports of deaths, only material damages in buildings and means of transportation.

The US Geological Survey confirmed that the epicenter was located at a depth of 10 kilometers, 32 kilometers northeast of Kuysinjaq.

Nine dog attack fatalities recorded in 2016 for South Africa; more than the total for the preceeding 9 years

Okuhle Hlati
IOL
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:26 UTC

Man's best friend is more likely to turn on him in South Africa than anywhere else in the world.

According to law firm DSC Attorneys, the country has the highest incidence of dog attacks on humans than any other in the world. The firm is advising people on their rights and possible claims stemming from dog attacks.

Kirstie Haslam, a partner in the firm, said dog bites account for tens of millions of injuries annually, and in South Africa dogs account for 76 percent to 94 percent of animal bite injuries, and dog bite fatalities are higher because of lack of post-exposure treatment and appropriate access to healthcare.

In the US, the figure is three percent to 18 percent and also lower in Australia, Canada and France.

"There were nine dog attack fatalities in 2016, more than the total number in the nine years from 2006-2015, and so far in 2017, reported dog attack fatalities and injuries are a daily occurrence.

With high crime rate, large breeds of dogs are popular and many dogs are trained to be aggressive for security purposes.

Source: Cape Argus

Locals panic as various sea fish wash up on beach in Kerala, India

Haritha John
The News Minute
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:03 UTC

The reason for this unusual occurrence has not yet been established as no marine department has yet turned up to study it.

The residents near the Alappuzha beach in Kerala were greeted with the horrifying sight of different sea creatures lying dead on its shores on Saturday. From Jellyfish, Balanus amphitrite, to the poisonous Pufferfish and Physalia Physalis (man-of-war) these marine animals were found lying dead on the beach by locals.

The reason for this unusual occurrence has not yet been established as no marine department has yet turned up to study it.

Most of these species are found in the deep sea. Locals noticed these marine animals dying on the shore since Saturday afternoon and it continued until Monday.

According to Professor AA Mohamed Hatha, Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry in Cochin University, the occurrence might be due to climate change, variation in the saline content of the sea or the monsoons.

Large sinkhole closes road in Lynchburg, Virginia

Kari Beal
WSET
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 20:06 UTC

Lynchburg Department of Emergency Services says there is a water main break on Fort Avenue near Fenwick Drive, which is down from Crown Sterling and next to the pumpkin patch.

DES said the eastbound lane is closed as they try to maintain the sinkhole.

The water main break caused a pretty big sinkhole in the eastbound lanes of Fort Avenue and was growing while crews were on the scene.

The owner of Crown Sterling said the water main break was caused by a car accident and now the restaurant will have to close since there is no water.

As 12-inch valve ruptured underneath the road which caused the sinkhole; Dept. of Water Resources crews responded to turn the water off, but the sinkhole had already developed.

Six dead as Typhoon Hato smashes into Macau and Hong Kong

Rappler
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 19:41 UTC

Typhoon Hato left 5 dead in the gambling hub of Macau on Wednesday, August 23, as it brought chaos and destruction to the enclave after sweeping through neighboring Hong Kong, where one man also died.

Local media showed severe flooding had left cars underwater and people swimming in Macau's city streets, with the territory's mega-casinos running on back-up generators.

The Macau government said one of the men died after being injured by a wall that blew down, another fell from a fourth floor terrace and another was a Chinese tourist hit by a truck. Details on the two others who died were not immediately available.

Apple Daily showed footage of people swimming through muddy water in what are usually roads, and being swept off their feet by winds.

Atacama desert in Chile erupts in floral beauty after unexpected rain falls in driest place on Earth

Jimmy Nsubuga
Metro (UK)
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 13:31 UTC

View of flowers in the Atacama Desert, Chile, on 17 August 2017

Deserts are meant to be dry and lifeless places but this one in Chile has just had a dazzling bloom of flowers.

The plants grew in the Atacama Desert following unexpectedly heavy rainfall in the north of the country during the winter months.

Flowers usually grow there once every seven years (because it's the driest place on Earth) but the extra rain meant it occurred just two years after the last bloom.

Atacama is one of the most arid places in the world so visitors were shocked when they stumbled across the bloom of more than 200 floral species and endemic fauna.

It was so baffling the desert is now attracting thousands of tourists who are eager to see the flowers.

And we don't blame them for wanting to witness the rare spectacle.

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Earth Changes

Floods cause devastation in north west of Ireland; 63% of August rainfall fell in just 9 hours

Dead marine life on Gulf coast sets off concerns over dead zone; 47 dolphins and 51 sea turtles found so far in 2017

'There had to be over 1,000': Dead snow geese wash up near Cambridge Bay, Canada

Eight hikers missing after enormous landslide tumbles down a Swiss mountain

Shallow 5.6 magnitude earthquake rocks northern Iraq

Nine dog attack fatalities recorded in 2016 for South Africa; more than the total for the preceeding 9 years

Locals panic as various sea fish wash up on beach in Kerala, India

Large sinkhole closes road in Lynchburg, Virginia

Six dead as Typhoon Hato smashes into Macau and Hong Kong

Atacama desert in Chile erupts in floral beauty after unexpected rain falls in driest place on Earth

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