Earth ChangesS


Attention

Dead humpback whale washed ashore on beach in Brewster, Massachusetts

Paul Waclawski and his son, Jack Waclawski, 3-and-a-half-years old, of Brewster, get a closer look at the dead humpback whale Sunday morning. A dead humpback whale
© MERRILY CASSIDY/CAPE COD TIMESPaul Waclawski and his son, Jack Waclawski, 3-and-a-half-years old, of Brewster, get a closer look at the dead humpback whale Sunday morning. A dead humpback whale remains on the beach between Crosby Landing Beach and Linnell Landing Beach in Brewster. Photo taken Dec. 15, 2024
The carcass of a humpback whale washed ashore on the beach between Crosby Landing Beach and Linnell Landing Beach in Brewster over the weekend.

Stacey Hedman, the communications director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said the animal was a juvenile 34-foot female humpback weighing about 18 tons or 36,000 pounds.

After being towed to a better location, the IFAW team will perform a necropsy, or animal autopsy, on the animal, said Hedman in an email.


(Video here)

Doberman

78-year-old man killed in pit bull attack in Beaumont, Texas

Man dies after pit bull attack.
© Beaumont Animal CareMan dies after pit bull attack.
KFDM/Fox 4 News has learned a 78-year-old man is the victim who died following a horrific pit bull attack in Beaumont.

Beaumont Police and Animal Care are investigating the attack, reported at about 11 a.m. Monday.

Police received a call asking for a welfare check on a man bleeding following a dog attack in the 1400 block of Orange Avenue.

Officers and EMS helped the victim and Animal Care was contacted to assist. The victim's son told us he rushed over and found his father bleeding heavily on the ground.


Seismograph

Buildings in Vanuatu damaged and casualties reported as magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits - at least 14 dead (UPDATE)

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Injured people have been arriving at hospital, reports have said, on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu after a powerful earthquake struck just off its coast, damaging buildings and causing landslides.

The tremor was centred near the capital, Port Vila, the largest city on the group of 80 islands, at a depth of 35 miles (56km) below the earth's surface on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

It was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock at the same spot and the shudders continued throughout the afternoon and evening local time.

Dan McGarry, a journalist based in the city, told The Associated Press he heard of one death in the quake from a police officer outside Vila Central Hospital where he saw three people on gurneys "in obvious distress".


Comment: Update December 18

Anadolu Agency reports:

The southern Pacific nation of Vanuatu sought international aid after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake killed at least 14 people, including two Chinese citizens, and damaged buildings and other infrastructure.

The UN estimates that 116,000 people could be affected, highlighting urgent humanitarian needs in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the nation of around 334,000 people.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai declared a state of emergency, calling for international aid.


The Vanuatu government is "reporting 14 confirmed fatalities and 200 treated for injuries at the main hospital in Port Vila... Rescue operations continue to free those trapped after the quake, and attention turns to urgent needs like first aid, shelter and water," said Katie Greenwood, head of delegation for the Pacific region at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).



Arrow Down

20-foot-wide sinkhole appears on road in Lucknow, India

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A 20-foot-wide sinkhole has appeared on the Vikas Nagar Main Road after a section of the road caved in. Visuals of the crater have surfaced on social media.

According to reports, new instances of neglected road maintenance and deteriorating conditions in Lucknow emerge regularly.

As per the reports, on Monday morning, a road in front of Punjab National Bank on Vikas Nagar Main Road sank, resulting in a massive sinkhole and disrupting traffic. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported in the incident. After the incident, the Municipal Commissioner and other officials arrived at the spot to inspect the crater.

The police have closed the road by installing barricades. This is not the first instance of a road collapsing in the area. According to The Times of India, the frequency of such incidents has increased over the past five years. While Lucknow used to witness only 1-2 cases annually, the number has now risen to 5-6 cases per year.

On December 5 A section of the road near the IT intersection in Lucknow caved. The police barricaded the site to prevent accidents.


Attention

Dead whale washes ashore on beach in Ayrshire, Scotland

The huge minke whale was discovered on Irvine Beach this morning and reported to the Coastguard
The huge minke whale was discovered on Irvine Beach this morning and reported to the Coastguard.
A whale has washed up on an Ayrshire beach with dog walkers urged to stay away.

Coastguard teams were called to the scene in Irvine at around 10am on Monday morning after the mammal was found by dog walkers.

The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) confirmed to Ayrshire Live that they believe the cetacean that has washed ashore is a minke whale.


Tsunami

3 killed as fresh floods hit 4 southern provinces of Thailand

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At least three people died in fresh flooding which battered four provinces in the South yesterday, which has affected over 43,500 households across the region to date.

Phatsakorn Bunyalak, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), said floods in the South have inundated at least 43,595 homes in 27 districts across Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

While the floods have begun to recede in many areas, authorities in Surat Thani remained on high alert, as water levels in the Tapee River continued to increase, according to a DDPM report yesterday.

The renewed flooding claimed the lives of three people in Nakhon Si Thammarat -- the worst-hit province -- where 32,608 households across 11 districts are affected by inundation, Mr Phatsakorn said.


Tsunami

Severe weather causes landslides and flooding across Vietnam -10.2 inches of rain in 24 hours

The landslide at Khanh Le Pass
The landslide at Khanh Le Pass
Severe weather has plagued Vietnam over the past few days as heavy rain continues to impact various regions, leading to significant disruptions and hazards. According to the local traffic police department, the prolonged rainfall has resulted in landslides on several roads, particularly along the Khánh Lê Pass connecting Nha Trang and Đà Lạt. Thượng tá Nguyễn Văn Tiếp, head of the traffic police in Lâm Đồng, indicated on December 15, "Due to the heavy rains lasting several days, landslides occurred this morning on the Khánh Lê Pass.

The affected areas are located at km42, km54, and km59, causing severe traffic disruptions on National Route 27C." Authorities have swiftly responded to the situation by limiting access to the affected route, urging both locals and tourists to exercise caution.

Meanwhile, severe rainfall has also hit Quảng Ngãi province, where meteorological reports indicate rainfall exceeding 260 mm, particularly in mountainous areas. A spokesperson from the Quảng Ngãi Meteorological Center stated, "Over the past 24 hours, regions have experienced moderate to heavy rain, especially noticeable above 260 mm at certain locations. Due to this rainfall, river levels have risen rapidly, prompting emergency flooding advisories on rivers such as the Vệ and Trà Câu." The water levels of the Vệ River have reached 3.4 m and the Trà Câu River at 5.34 m, both of which are approaching emergency thresholds. Flooding has become particularly problematic for lower-lying areas.


Cloud Precipitation

South-east Queensland in Australia hit by heavy summer rain and flash flooding - 3.7 inches of rainfall in just 40 MINUTES

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Over the weekend the Brisbane region saw 94mm of rain in 40 minutes hitting suburbs like Mansfield, East Brisbane, Morayfield and Camp Hill the hardest.

More storms are being forecast and South-East Queensland is on on high alert.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, 'It's a reminder that a large percentage of Brisbane is built on a floodplain.'

'The thing about some of these areas is that they are very low-lying, and because of their level in terms of the ground level, the water is effectively at creek level.'

'The only real solution to stop flooding in some of those areas would be for everyone to move out. There's no drain that's going to fix it, and we're not going to ask people to move out of areas that have been established for 100 or 150 years, and so that's the challenge,' the Lord Mayor continued.


Tsunami

Russian tanker splits in storm, spilling oil into Kerch Strait, Black Sea

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A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm on Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said.

The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals.

Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking.

Footage on state media showed waves washing over its deck.


Comment: See also these recent similar reports:


Doberman

Stray dog mauls 3-yr-old to death in Himachal Pradesh, India

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A three-year-old child was mauled to death by a stray dog at Tandi in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul-Spiti district, police said on Sunday. The disaster management department has asked the district administration to provide a compensation worth Rs 4 lakh to the boy's parents.

The child was playing in the courtyard of his house, when the dog entered and attacked him. The boy's mother, rushed to rescue him but he had already suffered severe injuries. He was taken to Keylong Hospital with the help of local people and died during treatment.

The chilling incident, which took place at the house of a Nepalese couple in Sangam village under Tandi panchayat area, has triggered panic among residents and raised concerns over the rising incidents of dog attacks in Lahaul Valley.