Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

2013: Year of the sinkhole in U.S.

Francys Vallecillo
World Property Channel
Wed, 11 Dec 2013 09:26 UTC
Sinkhole
© Reuters
While the number of natural disasters affecting U.S. property owners was lower than expected in 2013, an unusually high amount of sinkhole activity captured media attention and raised awareness for risks related to this often-overlooked hazard.

Three separate sinkhole catastrophes occurred in Florida in 2013, which may be the sinkhole capital of the U.S., according to the latest Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis by CoreLogic.

In one the disasters, a sinkhole formed underneath a man's home, causing his tragic death. In Clermont, Florida, a 100-foot sinkhole heavily damaged a tourist villa. There are 23,000 identified sinkholes in the U.S. identified by CoreLogic, underscoring the substantial risk from sinkholes for the country and Florida in particular.

Overall, the report shows record low numbers of natural hazard events in 2013.

Comment: Sinkhole activity is becoming a regular occurrence:

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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows 14 year old in The Netherlands

Zack Newmark
NLTimes
Wed, 11 Dec 2013 17:32 UTC
Flooding
© Martijn DraerThe flooded street that nearly gobbled up a 14-year old in Rotterdam.
A 14-year-old girl cycling home from school yesterday was shaken up yesterday when she biked into a hidden sinkhole. One witness at the scene pulled the girl, Sarah, out before she was harmed.

The girl was biking on the Noordsingel in Rotterdam-Noord. Water covered some of the road's surface, but the girl decided to bike through the puddle.
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Snowflake Cold

Connecticut: Arctic cold - then a winter storm arrives Saturday

Alex Sosnowski,
accuweather.com
Fri, 13 Dec 2013 09:03 UTC
Image
The coldest air of the season so far is settling in around Connecticut. A new winter storm will move in this weekend and tap into that cold air.

Temperatures will dip well down into the teens Thursday night.

A breeze will add to the cold for a time, producing RealFeel® temperatures near zero.

A storm will develop over the Deep South Friday and will head northeastward Saturday.

While warmer air will move up with that storm, odds favor an extended period of snow Saturday afternoon into Saturday night. Roads are likely to be slippery and snow covered in some areas, because they have been made cold by the recent Arctic air.
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Wolf

Coyote shot dead after 3 attack a British Columbia woman, Canada

Belle Puri and Brady Strachan
cbc.ca
Fri, 13 Dec 2013 09:11 UTC
Image
Three coyotes attack B.C. woman
A conservation officer has destroyed a coyote that he believes was one of three that attacked a woman and a dog in B.C.'s Okanagan region this week.

The woman, Sarah James, was walking a friend's small Labrador Retriever on Wednesday on the Summerland Centennial Trail, a popular hiking trail in Summerland, when she was approached by three coyotes.

The coyotes went after the dog, and James crouched over it to protect it from the attack.
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Cloud Lightning

Storm Ivar leaves 55,000 homes without power in Sweden


thelocal.se
Thu, 12 Dec 2013 08:51 UTC
Tens of thousands were left without electricity on Friday morning after a storm nicknamed Ivar swept in over the north. Pre-schools and schools will remain shut until Monday.

Image
© TTStorm waves near Östersunde on Thursday night.
The winds damaged roofs, forced police to close off roads and the Höga Kusten bridge, while one man was taken to hospital with serious damage to his torso after a tree fell on top of him. The hospital in Öresund said the man's injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

By morning, about 55,000 homes were without electricity in the county of Norrland. Customers of energy companies Eon, Härjeåns Nät, Fortum, and Jämtkraft have all been affected, including several schools and pre-schools in and around Ånge and Fränsta. Pupils will be allowed to return by Monday.

Police in the town of Östersund counted at least a hundred incidents related to the storm.

"There was a lot of pressure for a while," duty officer Hans Ängquist told the TT news agency. He said that by 2am the storm had abated and the police returned to regular duties.

A spokesman for Västernorrland regional police said residents were well prepared for the storm, but it had nonetheless caused a lot of damage to powerlines, roofs, and cars.

Energy company Eon has sent out a shoal of workers to repair the damaged power lines.

"In total, we have 300 people who are either out there now or going out tomorrow," Eon spokeswoman Louise Gudmundson told TT.
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Snowflake

Winter storm pummels Middle East

Rana Moussaoui
newsinfo.inquirer.ne
Fri, 13 Dec 2013 08:10 UTC
Image
A Syrian refugee man holds his son near his tent as a heavy snowstorm batters the region, in a camp for Syrians who fled their country’s civil war, in the Chouf mountain town of Ketermaya, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013. The United Nations refugee agency says it is “extremely concerned” for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees scattered across the region amid a snowstorm with high winds and torrential rains
A bruising winter storm brought severe weather to the Middle East Thursday, forcing the closure of roads and schools and blanketing already miserable Syrian refugee camps with snow.

The nearly three-year-old conflict in Syria has killed an estimated 126,000 people and displaced millions, including more than two million who have fled across the borders and thousands who are living in makeshift camps.

Footage posted online by activists showed war-battered areas of Syria shrouded in snow, and at least two children have died from the cold, according to a spokesman for the opposition National Coalition.

Bad weather also delayed the first-ever international UN airlift, set to leave the Kurdish region of northern Iraq for Qamishli in northeastern Syria.

"When it will start is difficult to say - I think the authorities in Qamishli are going to check conditions at the airfield on Friday," UN refugee agency (UNHCR) regional spokesman Peter Kessler told AFP.

Heavy snow in Turkey forced the cancellation of scores of flights and caused major disruption to road and sea traffic.

In tent camps across Lebanon, thousands of Syrian refugees huddled on muddy floors under plastic sheeting that provided little relief from the icy winds.
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Cloud Lightning

Freak storm to batter Britain: 100mph winds and downpours to cause chaos

Nathan Rao
The Express, UK
Fri, 13 Dec 2013 07:49 UTC
Another freak storm is set to sweep Britain next week as our topsy-turvy weather continues.

Image
© GETTYForecaster warns 'we are heading into an unsettled period'
Torrential rain and 100mph gales are expected to topple trees, bring down power lines and damage buildings.

And forecasters warn that this time there will be no let-up until Christmas.

As parts of the country were still struggling yesterday to clear up the damage caused by last week's storm and devastating tidal surge, there were reports of 80mph winds next week with 100mph storm-force gusts likely to lash areas of the North.

After a few days of relatively calm, foggy weather, Leon Brown, forecaster for The Weather Channel, said a shift in the jet stream would turn things more unsettled over the weekend.

He warned Britain could feel the full brunt of the storm by Wednesday with gales continuing until Christmas.

"There is a 30 to 40 per cent risk of severe gales for central and southern Britain on Thursday as a deep area of low pressure tracks east to Scotland," he said.

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© SWNSMist shrouds countryside near Ashford as a few days of calm weather precede next week’s big storm
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Bizarro Earth

'Imagine America without Los Angeles': Expert warns Southern California isn't ready for major earthquake


CBS
Wed, 11 Dec 2013 22:48 UTC
Image
© David K. Lynch
A leading earthquake expert has issued a dire warning to Californians about the expected impact of a major disruption to the San Andreas fault line.

The title of Dr. Lucy Jones' lecture this week to the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco was titled "Imagine America without Los Angeles."

As KCAL9′s Dave Bryan reports, Jones, a Science Advisor for Risk Reduction at the U.S. Geological Survey, says when the "Big One" hits Southern California, the damage could be much greater, and could last much longer, than most of us ever imagined.

"Loss of shelter, loss of schools, loss of jobs and emotional hardship. We are risking the ends of our cities," she said during the presentation.

According to a USGS study called the "Shakeout Report," when a high-magnitude earthquake rocks the San Andreas fault, the damage will go far beyond the collapsed buildings and freeways seen in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
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Question

Underground pipeline explodes into fireball in Oakland


KVTU News
Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:51 UTC
Fire!
© KTVU.com
Crews have shut off the flow of gas to a 4-inch pipeline that ruptured in a neighborhood in the Oakland hills Tuesday morning, sparking an underground fire that burned for hours and caused the evacuation of nearby homes.

The one-alarm fire was reported at Golf Links Road and Fontaine Street at 8:24 a.m., Oakland fire Battalion Chief Lisa Baker said.

Flames could be seen coming up through cracks in the roadway. No injuries were reported.

Six homes were evacuated, and residents of other homes nearby were advised to shelter in place, Baker said. A hazardous materials team was called to the scene.

PG&E crews shut off the flow of gas at 11:37 a.m.

James Gouig, 36, who lives at that intersection with his cousin, said he was at home when he heard a knock at the front door.

At first he was annoyed because he thought it was a salesperson, he said. However, the person at the door turned out to be a neighbor telling him his front lawn was on fire.
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Cloud Precipitation

At least 2 dead in Rio de Janeiro as heavy rains cause widespread flooding, traffic chaos


Associated Press
Wed, 11 Dec 2013 13:09 UTC
flood Brazil
© Guardian
Torrential rains caused chaos and at least two deaths in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Traffic was snarled, airports temporarily closed and commuter trains halted after flood waters engulfed many parts of the city.

Firefighters said two bodies were found in a river on the poor northern outskirts of Rio.

The federal government said it would send in police to counter some looting that was reported, and the Rio state government asked for assistance in providing water, food and cots for some 2,000 families that were driven from their homes by flooding.

Some people took to the streets in jet skis to rescue neighbours from homes surrounded by water. Commuters were seen standing atop buses as water rose to the windows. Sirens warning citizens to be alert for mudslides rang in more than 40 poorer neighbourhoods.
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