Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Argentina floods: Buenos Aires streets turn into rivers after torrential rain

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Torrential rain in Buenos Aires caused flash floods and disrupted air traffic in Argentina's capital region on Tuesday.

Drone views showed the magnitude of the downpour as streets looked like rivers from Avellaneda to Lanus.

An orange alert was issued to warn citizens of "dangerous meteorologic phenomena for society, life, goods, and environment."


Boat

Parts of Western Australia flooded as more than half a year's rain falls in 24 hours

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Police have said they hold "serious welfare concerns" for seven people missing hundreds of kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie amid heavy rain and flooding that has cut off road and rail links into Western Australia.

Two vehicles, a beige-coloured Toyota LandCruiser and a white Mitsubishi Triton, were believed to have left Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Sunday between 10am and 2pm, making for Tjuntjuntjara, Kalgoorlie Police said on Tuesday.

Both vehicles contained elderly drivers, with the Mitsubishi Triton also containing five other passengers, four of whom are children aged between seven and 17.

"Concerns are held for the occupants of these two vehicles due to serious weather conditions. It is unknown how much food and water the occupants have in their possession," police said in a statement.

Parts of WA experienced more than half a year's rain in 24 hours over the weekend, with more than 155mm of rain recorded at Rawlinna, 900km east of Perth, since 9am Friday.

The Eyre Highway has been closed since the weekend and is likely to remain out of operation for several days.


Volcano

Deepsea eruption expected off Vancouver Island after 200 Earthquakes in an hour

Juan de Fuca Ridge
An image of the sea floor at the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge is shown in a handout photo (The Canadian Press/HO-Ocean Network Canada/Ocean Exploration Trust)
Scientists believe hot magma will erupt under the Pacific Ocean floor in deep waters off Vancouver Island after they detected up to 200 small earthquakes per hour in the area.

They say the expected rupture about five kilometres deep and 260 kilometres off the coast of Tofino, B.C., will be too distant and small to be cause for concern, but offers a unique opportunity to learn more about how the Earth's crust is formed.

Martin Scherwath, a senior scientist with Oceans Networks Canada, says lava could break through anywhere from weeks to a few years from now, offering the first chance for the phenomenon to be captured by the network's suite of underwater instruments.

The magma is estimated to be about 800 degrees Celsius but will cool rapidly when it hits the ocean water.

He says "almost fluid, runny rock" will come out of the sea floor, solidify and quickly turn black, while the heat causes the water around it to fizz.

Mr. Scherwath says he and fellow geophysicists will be watching to see how much of the Earth's crust is formed with one eruption, while biologists will be most interested in how animals respond to any changes.

Comment: Why no one is freaking out about the looming massive earthquake threat in the Pacific Northwest


Cloud Precipitation

Severe floods in Oman as torrential rains batter governorates

Screengrab from a video shared by weather monitoring centre
Screengrab from a video shared by weather monitoring centre
Torrential rains and thunderstorms have swept through several governorates in the Sultanate of Oman, leading to severe floods and activating emergency protocols.

The North Al Batinah Governorate, particularly the areas of Liwa and Shinas, along with Buraimi Governorate's Madha, experienced intense early morning rainfall Saturday, following severe thunderstorms on Friday that triggered flowing valleys and reefs.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has forecasted partly cloudy to cloudy skies across most governorates, with potential thunderstorms bringing strong winds, hail, and flash floods affecting regions such as Al Buraimi, Al Dhahira, North Al Batinah, South Al Batinah, Al Dakhiliyah, Muscat, North Al Sharqiyah, South Al Sharqiyah, Al Wusta, and Dhofar.

The CAA warned of reduced horizontal visibility and advised caution.


Arrow Down

Two New Zealanders die in avalanche in Japan

The avalanche hit Mount Yotei in Hokkaido, Japan, on Monday, killing two people from New Zealand.
© Jun AsanoThe avalanche hit Mount Yotei in Hokkaido, Japan, on Monday, killing two people from New Zealand.
Two people from New Zealand died in an avalanche in Mount Yotei in Japan on Monday, police said.

A third person, also caught in the avalanche, sustained a shoulder injury.

Police in Japan confirmed that two foreigners "have sadly passed away" following an avalanche, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

A spokesperson said: "The New Zealand embassy has offered consular support to the families of those involved."

The two New Zealand nationals lost their lives while skiing in the backcountry of Mount Yotei, approximately 90km from the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido island.

Arrow Down

Man dies in avalanche while skiing in Kananaskis, Alberta

Avalanche locator map
© Robson Fletcher/CBCAvalanche locator map
A 19-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., was killed in an avalanche in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on Sunday, according to Canmore RCMP.

Police said the avalanche happened around 1 p.m. on a mountain known as The Tower, about 25 kilometres south of Canmore and just east of Mount Engadine Lodge.

"One of the males was able to escape by digging himself out of the snow; however, the second male was buried," the RCMP said in a news release.

Police said they recovered and the man's body on Monday morning with the assistance of Kananaskis Mountain Rescue.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills tour guide, wounds French tourists in Peru

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A lightning strike killed a Peruvian tour guide and injured six French citizens during a hike on the multi-coloured Vinicunca mountain, a tourist hotspot in the heart of the Andes, police said Monday.

The mountain, one of Peru's most iconic sites along with Machu Picchu, has become a major attraction in the last decade, as warming temperatures have melted its glacier caps and revealed its colours.

Police said in a statement that the lightning strike on Sunday afternoon had left the French tourists, aged 22 to 40, with "burns and injuries".

They have been hospitalised in the city of Cusco.

Vinicunca mountain, also known as the rainbow mountain or mountain of seven colours, has distinct hues striped across its slopes, the result of an accumulation of sediment over millions of years.

It rises to over 5,200 metres above sea level.

The death of the tour guide brings to five the number of people killed by lightning in the Peruvian Andes this year, according to authorities.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 4 people in Mozambique

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Four people have died and three others are wounded after being struck by lightning in Mozambique, which is now bracing for Storm Filipo.

The lightning strikes happened in the northern town of Mogincual, in Nampula province.

Meanwhile, the southern and central provinces of Gaza, Inhambane, Sofala and Zambézia have been placed on alert for severe thunderstorms expected later on Monday.

Storm Filipo has now reached the Mozambican coast and could evolve into a severe tropical storm, before dispersing back out to sea.

Increased rainfall has already been recorded and there are fears of mudslides. Boats and vessels are being warned by Mozambique's National Institute of Meteorology (Inam) to take precautions.

Natural disasters are common in Mozambique, particularly during the rainy and cyclone season which runs between October and April.

Source: BBC

Snowflake

Five skiers found dead and one missing in Swiss Alps during snow storm

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The bodies of five missing skiers have been found in the Swiss Alps, police have said.

Local authorities are still searching for a sixth person.

A huge search and rescue operation was launched on Saturday after the group went missing near the 3,706m high Tete Blanche mountain.

They had set off from Zermatt, home of the famous Matterhorn mountain, on a ski tour towards Arolla along the Swiss-Italian border.

Five of the six skiers were found at 21:20 local time (20:20 GMT) "without any signs of life," a statement from Swiss Valais canton police said.

Authorities had previously told the BBC that the skiers were all Swiss nationals, and range in age from 21 to 58 years old.

Local police said teams on both sides of the route were alerted but severe weather was hampering the operation.

Kayak

Roads along New Hampshire coast flooded during high tide

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This marks the second time in two months that communities along the Seacoast were hit hard by flooding.