Earth Changes

Mysterious 'volcano' fire appears in Limpopo, South Africa

Dale Hes
The Times (South Africa)
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 18:26 UTC

The Council for Geoscience is on its way to investigate this strange ground fire in Limpopo.

Scientists from the Council for Geoscience are on their way to Limpopo to investigate the mysterious appearance of a lava-like fire which has injured three people after burning unabated for three weeks at Zaaiplaas Village in Sehlakwane.

In July the Limpopo Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) received a call from the Sekhukune District Municipality regarding the emergence of unusual fire, mud and grey ash in a damp wetland area on the outskirts of the village.

"The PDMC visited the area to conduct rapid assessment. The assessment revealed that the smoke and fires started three weeks ago. There is hot mud and grey ash in the area and three people were burnt by hot ash," said PDMC spokesperson Michael Moja.

The fire has steadily burnt through an area larger than a rugby field, transforming the wetland into what looks like an active volcanic field. A community member, Mbusi Ka-Mphezulu, posted photos on Facebook of a lava-like substance glowing from underneath the ground.

Addressing the 300-pound gater in the room: Man surprised to find 9-foot reptile in his garage in Fulshear, Texas

Brandon Walker
Click 2 Houson
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 16:59 UTC

A man in Fulshear got quite the shock when he opened his garage door Thursday evening. "I took two steps in and his head was literally right there," said Doug Dallmer, describing the nearly 9-foot long alligator that had crawled its way inside the garage. "It was a little nerve-wracking," Dallmer said.

Dallmer called Fulshear police, which in turn called a wrangler to remove the alligator. "It was a big one. We were surprised by how big it was," said Capt. Mike McCoy, Fulshear police. Dallmer recorded video on his cellphone, as a group tried to lasso a rope around the alligator's head. During the recording, the alligator could be heard hissing. It also opened its mouth in an attempt to defend itself.

Alligator sightings are common in Fulshear, as are removals, officials said. Still, this case was odd. "It's unique for an alligator this size. This alligator is quite big," Capt. McCoy said. The official measurement came in at 8 feet, 9 inches long, weighing upwards of 300 pounds.

"It's quite a story. No doubt about it," Doug Dallmer said, breathing a sigh of relief that he and his family are safe. The alligator will be taken to an alligator farm in El Campo, Texas, where it will live on a refuge, officials said. "That was our goal here," said McCoy. "Not to harm the alligator."

Lightning bolt kills man and injures 4 others in Poughkeepsie, New York

Christopher Mele
New York Times
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 14:52 UTC

Emergency personnel put a victim onto a stretcher in Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday, after a powerful thunderstorm hit the park.

© Alex Wagner/The Journal
Emergency personnel put a victim onto a stretcher in Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday, after a powerful thunderstorm hit the park.

A lightning bolt that struck during a fast-moving storm killed one person and injured four, two critically, at a park in the center of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday afternoon, the police and the mayor of the Hudson Valley city said.

The most severly injured of the three unresponsive victims who had been taken to the trauma center at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie died Saturday around 1 a.m., a hospital spokesman, Tim Massie said. The man, who was not immedietely identified, was 50 years old, Mr. Massie said. The two others remained in the hospital's intensive care unit. All three were men in their late 40s to early 50s who had been sitting together on the same park bench, he said.

The other victims were taken to MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. Their conditions were not immediately available.

Comment: Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing

Bear attacks continue to increase in Akita, Japan

Tokyo Reporter
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 14:10 UTC

Asiatic black bear

Following the deaths of four persons due to attacks by bears earlier in Kazuno City this year, Akita Prefectural Police are investigating three more incidents, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Aug. 9).

At 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Kiyomi Abe, 77, suffered injuries to her head and back after she was attacked from behind by a bear in a field at her home in the Hachimantai area. After the woman let out a scream, the bear fled the scene along a national highway.

Ten minutes later, a bear scratched the right thigh of Taeko Abe, 75, in a field about 200 meters away from the first attack. In fleeing the area, the woman broke her left ankle after she jumped down from a height of 1.5 meters. The bear was last seen heading into a forest.

Police suspect that the same animal, measuring about one meter in length, attacked both women.

Comment: See also: Man loses finger in latest bear attack in Japan

and

String of likely bear attacks claims fourth victim in Japan

Man killed by sun bear in Malaysia

Sulaiman Jafaar
New Straits Times
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:49 UTC

© Wikimedia Commons
A Thai man died after he was attacked by a sun bear at a durian orchard near the Renok Baru Kesedar settlement

A Thai man died after he was attacked by a sun bear at a durian orchard near the Renok Baru Kesedar settlement here today.

The body of Mat Didik@Madidi Basa, 40, was found by his son Muhamad Naim, 15, who went out to search for him about 6am.

District police chief Superintendent Rajab Ahad Ismail said the victim had gone out alone to the orchard about 10pm and most likely came across the bear.

"Villagers claimed that they had seen a bear prowling in the orchard. People have also spotted a bear eating durian on a tree. He could encountered the bear while he was collecting the durian and was attacked by the animal.

"There were slash wounds on his head," he said.

Meanwhile, Kelantan Wildlife director Mohamad Khairi Ahmad Said said the department received the information at 8.15am and has deployed five staff to investigate the incident.

Tornadic waterspout illuminated by lightning storm captured over Adriatic Sea

Strange sounds
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 06:25 UTC

While seeking Perseid meteors, Olivier Staiger found tornadic waterspout! This incredible night thunderstorm was captured east of Cattolica, Italy off the Adriatic Sea on August 10, 2016.

Olivier Staiger explains: Wednesday, August 10th, 2016, I drove about 700km in the afternoon from Switzerland to Italy to chase a rare potential situation for waterspouts with Perseid meteors in the Adriatic Sea.

Early cold temperatures hit Denver, Colorado; Summer snow falls on Pikes Peak

Chris Spears
CBS News - Denver
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:48 UTC

A cold front brought a taste of early fall to Colorado on Friday including a dusting of snow on top of Pikes Peak.

It's not uncommon for Colorado's highest mountains to record occasional summer snow.

Friday's temperatures started off in the 40s across the mountains with a few valleys dipping into the 30s.

Metro Denver saw overnight lows fall into the lower and middle 50s with a few upper 40s on the fringes of the city as reported by CBS4 Weather Watchers.

Torrential rain and floods slam Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Amy Wold, Heidi Kinchen and Steve Hardy
The Advocate
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 18:55 UTC

Heavy rain expected to stay through Friday and into the weekend has prompted historic flooding in the Baton Rouge area, forcing people from their homes, snarling traffic and closing schools throughout southeast Louisiana.

In Central, flooding is forcing several hundred people to get things out of their homes in the face of rising water, according to Central Mayor Jr. Shelton.

"Virtually every road now in the city has some kind of water problem," he said, with many roads closed.

"We've never seen anything like this before."

Andrew Simar, 25, of Hooper Road in Central, was getting gas in his car around 11 a.m. after just barely getting out of his flooding home with his wife and three-year-old son.

The couple started packing Friday morning after his wife returned home from LSU because of cancelled classes and the news reported the possibility of flash flooding.

Flash flooding in Wisconsin, Minnesota results in mudslides, washed out roads and water rescues

Pam Wright
The Weather Channel
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 18:29 UTC

Flooded roadways in the town of Cream, Wisconsin.

Flash flooding in parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota washed out roads, caused mudslides and prompted several water rescues after more than seven inches of rain fell in some areas Thursday.

Motorists were stranded in the floods, and there were also reports of basement collapses in the Minnesota towns of Willmar and Olivia, according to the Associated Press.

"If you talk to the experienced, or old-timers here, nobody's ever seen it rain quite like this in that short of time," Willmar Public Works director Sean Christensen told the AP.

Willmar residents were asked to stay home Thursday due to the flooding, and because the city's wastewater treatment plant was overwhelmed, residents were asked to limit their water use until further notice, the AP also reported.

"I'm afraid people were praying for a little bit of rain too much and it all got here all of a sudden," Christensen told the AP.

In Gilmanton, Wisconsin, water rescues were performed after rising waters flooded homes along a creek, Bill Graul of WKBT-TV reported.

6 people killed in Myanmar floods; over 420,000 affected

Nay Pyi Taw
The Indian Express
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 18:08 UTC

Six killed in rain related incidents in Myanmar

Six people were killed in Myanmar due to floods caused by torrential rains, affecting over 420,000 people nationwide, authorities said on Friday.

The flooding, which began in July, is still persistent in Bago, Ayeyawaddy and Yangon regions although some regions such as Kachin state and Sagaing, Mandalay and Magway have closed their relief camps as flood waters have receded, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement said.

Nine townships in Bago region, 12 in Ayeyawaddy and three in Yangon were the latest areas hit by flooding, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's western and northwestern states of Chin and Rakhine have been alerted for possible flash flood and landslide as a depression is forming over the northwest Bay of Bengal, according to the Meteorology Department on Thursday.