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Mon, 04 Dec 2023
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Fire

Mount Marapi: Eleven hikers killed as volcano erupts in Indonesia

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Eleven hikers have been found dead near the crater of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano after it erupted over the weekend, rescuers say.

Twelve others are missing and the search was suspended on Monday after another, smaller eruption.

There were 75 hikers in the area during the main eruption on Sunday but most were safely evacuated.

Marapi spewed a 3km (9,800ft) ash cloud into the air, dimming the sky and blanketing surrounding villages in ash.

It is among the most active of Indonesia's 127 volcanoes and is also popular among hikers. Some trails reopened only last June due to ash eruptions from January to February. Marapi's deadliest eruption occurred in 1979, when 60 people died.

Three people were rescued near the crater on Monday before the search was suspended. They were "weak and had some burns", said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency.


Seismograph

Magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes off southern Philippines - 7th mag. 6+ in area within 30 hours

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A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Philippines, following a series of strong quakes in the same area. Early morning on Monday, the 6.9 magnitude earthquake jolted the southern Philippines early Monday, the United States Geological Survey said.

Yesterday, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake and a deadly magnitude 7.6 quake Saturday struck in the same region.

At least two people were killed and several were injured after Saturday's quake, according to AFP news agency.

Saturday's quake triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific region and sent residents along the east coast of Mindanao fleeing buildings, evacuating a hospital, and seeking higher ground.

Comment: For details of the other quakes, see: 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes the Philippine Sea, 5 aftershocks of mag.6 or greater


Cloud Precipitation

One dead, 11 missing in flash floods around Indonesia's Lake Toba

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One person died and 11 were missing after flash floods hit near Lake Toba in Indonesia's North Sumatra province, the country's disasters agency BNPB said, with scores of people evacuated and rescue efforts underway.

Heavy rain followed by flash floods on Friday evening hit the region located on the shores of the lake, damaging dozens of houses, a church, a school and a hotel, BNPB said in a statement on late Saturday.

Lake Toba, the world's biggest volcanic lake, is a popular tourist destination for Indonesians and international visitors.


Cloud Precipitation

Tanzania Floods: Tragedy strikes Hanang District with 20 fatalities and 70 injuries after heavy overnight rain

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In the early hours of December 3, 2023, the tranquil life in Katesh and Gendabi areas within Hanang District, Manyara Region, Tanzania, was interrupted by severe flooding. The overnight rains triggered mudslides and instigated the partial collapse of Mount Hanang. The aftermath - a shocking tally of at least 20 fatalities and 70 injuries, with homes, shops, business areas, and the main bus station in Katesh lying in ruins.


Black Cat

Leopard mauls 13-year-old boy to death in Indian district of Bijnor, 18th human kill there in 9 months

Stock image of leopard
© Getty
A 13-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard at a sugarcane field on Thursday.

The attack occurred around 1.30pm at Sabdalpur Rehra village in Bijnor district. Notably, this is the 18th human kill in a leopard attack in nine months in Bijnor. The last incident was on November 3, when a big cat killed another boy.

The forest department claimed that more than 40 leopards have been trapped and relocated since the attacks began in February.

On Thursday, Alfez along with friends went to a sugarcane field, 500m away from the village. Once they reached, a leopard suddenly appeared and dragged him away. Alfez's friends then screamed for help. Farmers working nearby started looking for the boy.

Attention

Elephants claim 3 lives in 4 days in Indian district of Sundargarh - 18 killed there in 11 months

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Residents of villages in Sundargarh district are living in fear as elephants, in search of food, have reportedly claimed three lives in the past four days, bringing the total number of human deaths to 18 in the past 11 months. The ongoing paddy harvesting season has escalated the human-elephant conflict, with incidents reported across various forest divisions.

On November 29, Hiralal Behera (25) was killed by a wild elephant while attempting to protect his standing crops near Gargarbahal village in Bargaon range. The following evening, Mangri Munda (58) lost her life when a wild elephant attacked her house at Bhaluadihi in Patmunda under the Koida range. Additionally, the death of a woman in a suspected elephant attack inside the Satabhaya forest of Birmitrapur range on November 29 is pending confirmation with the autopsy report.

Fire

Eruption on newly formed island caught on camera off the coast of Iwo Jima, Japan

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Newly released aerial footage captured by the Japanese coast guard showed a volcano exploding on a new island formed off the coast of Iwo Jima.



Nebula

Skies in Mongolia mysteriously turn blood-red

The eerie red skies seen in Mongolia.

The eerie red skies seen in Mongolia.
In an extraordinary celestial display, the skies over Mongolia turned deep, blood-red as the country experienced one of the rarest auroral events on Friday and early Saturday.

The intense colouration is attributed to the initial impact of a significant solar storm that collided with Earth, creating a spectacle that left onlookers in awe.

The phenomenon, known as an aurora, typically occurs closer to the poles and is often green in colour. However, the auroras seen in Mongolia were of a striking crimson hue, a rarity caused by the interaction of solar particles with oxygen at high altitudes — over 241 kilometres above the Earth's surface, where the atmosphere is much thinner.

Seismograph

7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes the Philippine Sea, 5 aftershocks of mag.6 or greater

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A major, 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea on Saturday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 10:37 p.m. Philippine time, data from the agency shows.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake's reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.


Comment: Earthquake Track noted 5 aftershocks of mag.6 or greater, for details see here, here, here, here and here.


Better Earth

Unusually large Southern Hemisphere ozone hole baffles scientists

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FILEPHOTO: Ozone hole 2021
The ozone hole over Antarctica keeps intriguing by its unusual pattern this 2023 season. The Southern Hemisphere ozone hole size had a series of rebounds in late November, as shown by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) data, at a period when it usually declines until its closure. This behaviour raises questions about what's behind yet another peculiar ozone hole season.

The Southern Hemisphere ozone hole is unusually large, at a time when it normally reduces until its total closure, generally in December. Instead, since the end of October the ozone hole area has virtually remained unchanged, with a series of rebounds, remaining at a size of some 15 km2, to become the third largest after 30 November.

Comment: Despite decades of propaganda scaring people into believing that everything from hairspray to old fridges were destroying the ozone layer, it has become fairly clear that, despite claims to the contrary, the mechanisms driving the formation of the ozone layer are very poorly understood by mainstream science: Magnetic storms can destroy up to a quarter of the Earth's ozone layer, new study reveals

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