A rare tornado ripped through South Los Angeles on Friday, causing damage over nearly 20 blocks.
Roofs were torn off an apartment complex and two homes, according to the National Weather Service, which verified the tornado was a category EF0.
"We looked outside and everything was flying down the sidewalk," one resident said. "It was really wild."
Earth Changes
© Thaddeus Pawlowski
Aerial view of Sao Paulo flooding
Aerial view of Sao Paulo flooding
© World Conservation Society
Bangladeshi villagers try to collect oil that spread in the river after an oil tanker sank in the Shela River in Mongla, in a photo taken on December 11, 2014
Bangladeshi villagers try to collect oil that spread in the river after an oil tanker sank in the Shela River in Mongla, in a photo taken on December 11, 2014
Thousands of litres of oil have spilt into the protected Sundarbans mangrove area, home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins, after a tanker collided with another vessel on Tuesday.
The government has sent a ship carrying oil dispersants to the area, which is inside one of three sanctuaries set up for the dolphins.
But environmentalists say the chemicals could harm the delicate ecology of the Sundarbans, a UNESCO world heritage site.
As authorities debated whether to deploy the dispersants, the company that owns the stricken oil tanker said it would buy up the oil that local villagers have collected.
Comment: This is the third catastrophic oil spill this month causing untold devastation to the environment.
Courtesy of Shell Oil: One of the worst oil spills in years causes environmental disaster in Niger Delta
Oil spill in Israeli nature preserve causes one of country's worst environmental disasters
'Catastrophic' Bangladesh oil spill threatens rare dolphins
A two-headed Near Eastern fire salamander tadpole born from a wild mother in a laboratory in Israel
Two heads are likely not better than one for the Near Eastern fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata), which was born, alive, in a laboratory at the University of Haifa in Israel. Researchers aren't sure why the salamander tadpole has two noggins, but say random mutations or environmental pollution could be culprits.
"I could speculate, but it would be pure speculation," Leon Blaustein, an ecologist whose lab discovered the salamander, told Live Science.
Residents say the dead fish in Lake Bryant near Levy Hammock Road are creating a terrible smell.
"About three days ago fish started washing up on shore," said Angela Rivers. "It was pretty sad though, all of the fish were at the top of the water, and you could see they were trying to get air."
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials estimate more than 400,000 fish have died so far. Unusually large numbers of birds are showing up at the lake, eager to feed on the dead fish.
"The whole entire lake, including the canal, just looked like it was raining, but it was fish coming to the top," said Rivera.
Tuesday afternoon, Channel 9's Myrt Price was at Lake Bryant as fisherman, unaware of the problem, showed up to fish.
"There is no sense in going fishing, the fish are dying already. (I) can't take them home to eat or anything like that," said fisherman Larry Godfrey.
© AP
A deer stands in the bathroom of a house in Galloway, N.J
A deer stands in the bathroom of a house in Galloway, N.J
Police say a deer burst through the front doors of a New Jersey home, darted through the residence and ransacked the master bathroom.
Galloway police received a 911 call at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday from a woman reporting that a deer ran through her house while she was putting sweet potatoes in the oven. The woman said she followed the deer into the back of the house and locked it in a bathroom.
Responding officers found the glass on the front storm door shattered. They also found the frame on the main door damaged, indicating that the deer muscled its way through two doors to enter the home.
After a brief standoff, police escorted the deer from the home and released it into the wild.
The bathroom was significantly damaged.
Source: AP
© Agence France-Presse
The oil tanker was carrying an estimated 357,000 litres (77,000 gallons) of oil when it sank in the Sundarbans’s Shela river, home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
The oil tanker was carrying an estimated 357,000 litres (77,000 gallons) of oil when it sank in the Sundarbans’s Shela river, home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
The tanker was carrying an estimated 357,000 litres (77,000 gallons) of oil when it sank in the Sundarbans' Shela river, home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins, after colliding with another vessel on Tuesday.
Rescue vessels have now salvaged the tanker, but officials said the damage had already been done as the slick had spread to a second river and a network of canals in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, which straddles India and Bangladesh.
"It's a catastrophe for the delicate ecology of the Sundarbans," the area's chief forest official Amir Hossain said. "The oil spill has already blackened the shoreline, threatening trees, plankton, vast populations of small fishes and dolphins."
Hossain said the oil had already spread over a 60-km-long area of the Sundarbans. Spread over 10,000 square kilometres, the Sundarbans is a Unesco-listed World Heritage Site and home to hundreds of Bengal tigers. The delta comprises a network of rivers and canals.
The team, led by Dr Siba Prasad Parida, began work on Tuesday morning. After spraying chemical powders, the team started cutting out the flesh of the whale.
The extraction process was delayed due to excessive secretion of oil and worms from the body of the dead whale. "We had to re-position the whale 20 feet away with the help of a bulldozer to get going," said local forester Umesh Mohanty.
© Naval Research Laboratory
A NASA satellite image shows a storm forming over the Pacific Ocean that should arrive over most of California on Dec. 11, 2014.
A NASA satellite image shows a storm forming over the Pacific Ocean that should arrive over most of California on Dec. 11, 2014.
As much as 8 inches of rain could fall on coastal mountains over a 24-hour period starting late Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Ski resorts in the northern Sierra Nevada could get more than 2 feet of snow.
"It's a short amount of time for that amount of water," Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson said. "We are anticipating some localized flooding, maybe some downed trees and downed power lines. It could have an effect on a wide range of people."
The storm is expected to be one of the windiest and rainiest in five years and could also cause debris slides, especially in areas affected by this year's intense and widespread wildfires.Public schools in San Francisco and Oakland and some private schools in the Bay Area planned to stay closed Thursday.
San Francisco Unified School District Superintended Richard A. Carranza said he didn't to put students at risk and that staff absences and power outages could affect the district's ability to supervise and feed students.
Wind gusts of up to 70 mph were expected on mountain tops, creating possible blizzard conditions in the Sierra. Rain, pounding surf and gusty winds were forecast for Southern California starting Thursday evening.
In California's agricultural heartland, farmers were looking forward to the dousing after three consecutive dry years. Parts of the state have experienced above-average rainfall this year, but not enough to make much of a dent in the drought.
Comment: "8 inches of rain could fall on coastal mountains over a 24-hour period" will likely wreak more havoc than just 'localized flooding', like perhaps mudslides?
© USGS
2014-12-10 21:03:39 UTC
2014-12-11 05:03:39 UTC+08:00 at epicenter
Location
25.568°N 122.448°E depth=254.4km (158.1mi)
Nearby Cities
86km (53mi) NE of Keelung, Taiwan
108km (67mi) ENE of Taipei, Taiwan
113km (70mi) NE of Yilan, Taiwan
116km (72mi) ENE of Banqiao, Taiwan
918km (570mi) ENE of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Scientific Data
Comment: Sao Paulo has gone from one extreme to the other.
See: Brazil drought crisis deepens in Sao Paulo and other areas