Earth Changes
A tornado that tore through Albany, Georgia, left at least 4 dead. The town of roughly 77,000 people saw significant damage with trees and power lines downed and blocking streets in the Radium Springs area, WALB reports. A child was reportedly trapped by a tree during the storm.
In a Facebook live video, County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas described the town as looking as if a nuclear bomb went off.
"We need a lot of help," he said in the video. "This is really bad."
Fourteen people were killed in Georgia, and four people died in Mississippi as a result of the adverse weather.
The deaths occurred as a direct result of severe weather according to State Emergency Management officials.
Georgia's Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency Sunday morning for seven counties in the state.
"These storms have devastated communities and homes in SouthCentral Georgia, and the state is making all resources available to the impacted areas," Deal said in a statement.
The 55-year-old was attacked near the Great Barrier Reef by a large Bull shark - an aggressive breed, according to experts - at around 12:40pm local time on Saturday. The bull shark, apparently four metres long, repeatedly bit the diver causing "serious lacerations" to his left arm and abdomen, the newspaper said.

Cabins and vehicles were swept away by floodwaters at the El Capitan Canyon Resort & Campground, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.
Near Phoenix, firefighters from several agencies worked together to save two men who were trapped in a wash, according to the Associated Press. Each of the two men was lifted separately out of the vehicle that got stuck in the rushing waters, and neither were injured in the ordeal, the report added.
The men were only identified by a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesperson as a father and a son, the AP also said.
Until now, the biggest snowfall was 202 inches, which came in March 2011. So far this January - 212 inches. That's more than 17 ft (more than 5 meters).
Until now, January snowfall has averaged "only" 70 inches.
According to Maric, two more icebreakers will arrive in Serbia, to reopen the river to navigation all the way to Belgrade.
He told state broadcaster RTS that two Hungarian icebreakers worked until late on Wednesday and would continue today, helped by a drone that will be used to observe the area and coordinate the vessels.
Maric said that the whether will be unfavorable with low temperatures until January 23, that will result in more ice forming on the river.
Serbia's own two icebreakers - the Greben and the Bor - are deployed downstream from Belgrade, defending the hydro-power plant Djerdap (Iron Gate).
Twitter user @sfjes caught the flashes of light on video, and the sight is electrifying, to say the least.
The Twitter user reports that he was standing only a few hundred feet from the tower, which stands between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro. He reported witnessing seven to eight lightning bolts strike the famed San Francisco landmark.
The tornado prompted Mayor Johnny DuPree to sign an emergency declaration as dozens of firefighters continue to search for casualties from the devastating storm.
Homes and buildings have been decimated, trees uprooted and numerous cars, and even a large truck, were flipped over. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) said at least four people are known to have died.
The tornado caused damage across a three-county area, according to local news outlet the Hattiesburg American, quoting Lee Smithson of MEMA.
Residents around the Marina heard a loud explosion and emergency services were rushed to the scene.
The incident at Monmouth House in Cambrian Place is not being treated as suspicious and teams are working to solve the problem.
Fire station manager Steve Richards said at the scene: "It's an underground cable fault. We responded to several calls of a large explosion in the vicinity of Monmouth House.
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The earthquake, which struck at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, was centered about 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of Panguna, a town on Bougainville Island that is located northeast of mainland Papua New Guinea and is geographically part of the Solomon Islands archipelago.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which put the preliminary magnitude at 8.4, said the earthquake struck at a depth of 168 kilometers (104 miles), making it a relatively deep quake. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) put the preliminary magnitude at 8.0.
As a result, a tsunami alert has been issued for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Vanuatu, and Chuuk. "Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.















Comment: The responsible storm system is unusually strong for winter and much more characteristic of spring. North Little Rock, set a record for its lowest January pressure. See also:
Study: Tornado outbreaks are increasing - but scientists don't understand why