Earth Changes

Thousands hit by floods in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Floodlist
Mon, 04 May 2020 09:37 UTC

Floods in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, May 2020.

Disaster authorities in Indonesia have reported flooding in Bandung Regency, West Java, a region blighted by flooding over the last few months.

Recent heavy rainfall triggered flooding on 30 April, affecting the 5 sub-districts of Dayeuhkolot, Baleendah, Arjasari, Bojongsoang, and Banjaran.

Flood water was up to 2 metres deep in some areas. As of 02 May, 21,888 homes had been submerged, affecting 81,088 residents (24,898 families). Schools, places of worship and other public buildings have also been flooded.

Strong mag. 6.0 earthquake - Northwest of Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Volcano Discovery
Sun, 03 May 2020 13:02 UTC

Date & time: Sunday, 3 May 2020 11:54 UTC
Magnitude: 6.0
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 31.33°N / 128.77°E (Japan)
Nearest volcano: Kuroshima (128 km)
Primary data source: GFZ
Estimated released energy: 6.3*10^13 J (17.5 GWh / 15080 tons of TNT / 0.9 atomic bombs equivalent) [learn more]

Six out of 7 bodies found after police officers killed by raging floodwaters in Kenya

Florah Koech
Daily Nation (Kenya)
Sat, 02 May 2020 18:49 UTC

Rescuers have found the bodies of six of the seven police officers who drowned in Kagir River, Baringo North, following flash floods on Thursday night.

One more body was found on Saturday, as the search entered day two, raising the total to six since Friday evening.

Twelve officers of the Anti-Stock Theft Unit were returning to their camp in Chemoe, from a security meeting in Kabarnet, when their truck was swept away by raging floodwaters.

Seven officers were swept downstream while five managed to jump to safety.

Heavy rain leaves 8 dead, homes destroyed by floods and landslides in Rwanda

Floodlist
Sun, 03 May 2020 18:35 UTC

Floods in Rwanda after heavy rainfall from 01 May 2020.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MINEMA) in Rwanda reports that heavy rain fell across the country from 01 May causing severe damages.

As of 03 May 8 people had died, 5 were injured, more than 100 houses had collapsed and roads were closed.

According to Meteo Rwanda, more heavy rain is expected in Kigali city, Northern Province and Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Muhanga and Ruhango districts over the next 7 days, increasing the risk of further floods and landslides. MINEMA urged people to take necessary precautions.

Cell towers collapse during storm in Pune, India

PUNEKARider
YouTube
Fri, 01 May 2020 14:30 UTC

Mobile tower falls down in Pune from top of a building in Mangalwar Peth. Heavy rains affects in Pune

Today wind speed was :- 16-20 Kmph

Two dead as landslides hit after 10 hours of heavy rainfall in Kigezi, Uganda

Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Sun, 03 May 2020 14:11 UTC

Part of the area destroyed by landslide

Two people have died and 31 houses have been destroyed following landslides that hit Kigezi sub region.

Mr Elly Maate, the police spokesperson for Kigezi region, said Everist Ahimbisibwe, 9, and Cleo Amanya, 4, both children of Mr Julius Atwine, a resident of Karengyere village, Muko Sub County in Rubanda District, were swept away by running water amid heavy down pour.

Mr Maate, said that the two female juveniles were braving a heavy downpour to return home.

The floods resulted from a heavy downpour that started on Saturday morning at around 2.00am and lasted for over 10 hours.

Woman dies in alligator attack at South Carolina pond - third such incident for the state in past 4 years

Alicia Victoria Lozano and The Associated Press
NBC News
Sun, 03 May 2020 11:15 UTC

Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said.

The officers were called to a pond on Kiawah Island around 5 p.m. and saw the animal attack, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office said. The woman was already dead.

A sheriff's deputy shot and killed the alligator and then retrieved its carcass to help in the ongoing investigation.

70,000 evacuated after heavy rain causes dam wall collapse in Uzbekistan

Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov
Anadolu Agency
Sat, 02 May 2020 09:18 UTC

Some 70,000 people have been evacuated from eastern Uzbekistan as hundreds of houses were submerged under waters from a collapsed dam, said government officials on Saturday.

Agricultural lands and some residential areas in the region were flooded, hundreds of houses were damaged, and 56 people were injured in the Sirdaryo region after the Sardoba Dam partially collapsed due to heavy rain, according to Murod Sadikov, spokesperson of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Rescue efforts in the region continue, and the water flow was redirected to local rivers.

Asia's 'murder hornet' found in US for first time

Paula Froelich
New York Times
Sat, 02 May 2020 21:11 UTC

Enough already.

Now, deadly hornets from Asia that measure up to 2 inches long have been found for the first time in the US — and researchers are worried they're colonizing.

The aggressive insects, nicknamed "murder hornets," can wipe out bee colonies within hours and have stingers long and powerful enough to puncture beekeeping suits.

Beekeepers in Washington have already seen the hornets devastate their hives; Japan attributes 50 human deaths a year to the nasty buzzers, which have "teardrop eyes like Spider-Man, orange and black stripes that extend down its body like a tiger, and broad, wispy wings like a small dragonfly," according to the New York Times.

Researchers are determined to keep the hornets in check.

"This is our window to keep it from establishing," Washington state entomologist Chris Looney told the Times. "If we can't do it in the next couple of years, it probably can't be done."

Sinkhole opens up and swallows floodwater in Bomet County, Kenya

Operanewsapp.com
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 20:04 UTC

Resident of Bomet County were treated to a shocking show of sink-hole that swallowed vegetation around it.

A sinkhole is a cenote, sink, sink-hole, swallet, swallow hole, or doline, is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. With area being swampy from the video, underground water current may have forced the water and vegetation to the inside.

From the details in the video, this geographical phenomenon may have been caused by the heavy rainfall that continue to pour across the country. The area in the video also seem to be swampy and this may explain why the vegetation around it were 'disappearing' underground.

Sinkholes can be natural or man-made. They are caused by either erosion or underground water. The video from Bomet strongly suggest that the sinkhole may have been caused by underground water.