At least 20 people have been killed and 340,000 made homeless by massive floods that have swept through the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Three days of torrential rain have caused rivers to burst their banks, sending muddy water up to 3m (10ft) deep into homes and businesses.
Authorities say the city of nine million people is now on its highest level of alert.
The floods are said to be the worst to hit Jakarta for five years.
Meteorologists have warned the downpour is likely to continue for another week, and with heavy rains falling on hilly regions to the south, more flooding is threatened.
Earth Changes
This is the second time in less than two months Central Florida has been struck by severe storms. The first time was in December when several tornados ripped through the area, causing structural damage, but no fatalities.
Here is the latest information as the recovery effort continues for people in Lake, Sumter, Seminole, and Volusia counties whose lives were shattered by tornadoes.
The National Weather Service now says at least three tornadoes struck Central Florida.
An EF-3 tornado packing winds between 155-160 miles per hour touched down in Lady Lake, Lake Mack and Paisley.
An EF-2 Tornado, with winds between 110-137 miles per hour hit DeLand, and an E-F 1 tornado, with winds up to 100-105 miles per hour, touched down in New Smyrna Beach.
Here is the latest information as the recovery effort continues for people in Lake, Sumter, Seminole, and Volusia counties whose lives were shattered by tornadoes.
The National Weather Service now says at least three tornadoes struck Central Florida.
An EF-3 tornado packing winds between 155-160 miles per hour touched down in Lady Lake, Lake Mack and Paisley.
An EF-2 Tornado, with winds between 110-137 miles per hour hit DeLand, and an E-F 1 tornado, with winds up to 100-105 miles per hour, touched down in New Smyrna Beach.
Sun-worshipping humans might welcome the news, but for groundhogs and other hibernating animals, a longer winter could be a blessing.
A recent trend toward increasingly mild winters is disrupting normal hibernation patterns for many high-latitude and high-elevation species-and in some cases it may be a matter of life or death.
From marmots in the Rocky Mountains to bears in the Moscow Zoo, animals are spending less time napping. The change may be placing some species fatally out of synch with their environment.
When animals hibernate they're able to conserve the energy stored in their fat during periods when food is scarce. So when they are abnormally active, they risk using up their stored energy before they can replace it.
A recent trend toward increasingly mild winters is disrupting normal hibernation patterns for many high-latitude and high-elevation species-and in some cases it may be a matter of life or death.
From marmots in the Rocky Mountains to bears in the Moscow Zoo, animals are spending less time napping. The change may be placing some species fatally out of synch with their environment.
When animals hibernate they're able to conserve the energy stored in their fat during periods when food is scarce. So when they are abnormally active, they risk using up their stored energy before they can replace it.
An American-based conservation society patrolling the waters of the Ross Sea off of Antarctica is offering a $25,000 reward for the coordinates of Japanese whaling ships.
The Sea Shepherd Society announced the reward during its "Operation Leviathan" mission to stop illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean. Two Sea Shepherd ships, the Farley Mowat and the Robert Hunter, are in the Antarctic with 70 volunteers from 14 countries. They believe they are within 500 miles of the Japanese whaling fleet.
The Sea Shepherd Society announced the reward during its "Operation Leviathan" mission to stop illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean. Two Sea Shepherd ships, the Farley Mowat and the Robert Hunter, are in the Antarctic with 70 volunteers from 14 countries. They believe they are within 500 miles of the Japanese whaling fleet.
MOSCOW -- Strange colored snow that fell in three different Siberian regions is not toxic and may have been caused by dust and soils blown into the atmosphere from neighboring Kazakhstan, a Russian emergency official said Friday.
The snow, which fell Wednesday afternoon, was yellow, green and orange and covered more than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) in at least three provinces, said Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov.
The snow, which fell Wednesday afternoon, was yellow, green and orange and covered more than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) in at least three provinces, said Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov.
Tremors began on U.S. West Coast three days ago
VICTORIA - Check the emergency supplies, first aid kits and flashlights, there is an increased probability of a major earthquake hitting B.C.'s south coast during the next week.
VICTORIA - Check the emergency supplies, first aid kits and flashlights, there is an increased probability of a major earthquake hitting B.C.'s south coast during the next week.
VICTORIA - Scientists are warning that if B.C.'s south coast is going to be hit by an earthquake soon, it's likely to happen during the next week.
A series of tremors that started in Puget Sound along the U.S. West Coast three days ago are working their way up Vancouver Island and are being tracked by seismologists at the Geological Survey of Canada.
A series of tremors that started in Puget Sound along the U.S. West Coast three days ago are working their way up Vancouver Island and are being tracked by seismologists at the Geological Survey of Canada.
PARIS - Global warming is so severe that it will "continue for centuries," leading to a far different planet in 100 years, warned a grim landmark report from the world's leading climate scientists and government officials. Yet, many of the experts are hopeful that nations will now take action to avoid the worst scenarios.
They tried to warn of dire risks without scaring people so much they'd do nothing - inaction that would lead to the worst possible scenarios.
They tried to warn of dire risks without scaring people so much they'd do nothing - inaction that would lead to the worst possible scenarios.
Comment: Yes, there is Global Warming. Yes, it is partly due to human activities. No, it is not mainly due to human activity, it is cyclical and we are at that point on the cycle where rapid warming is followed by sudden, massive, cooling as it has done again and again throughout history. And sudden glacial rebound occurss much, much, much faster than the mainstream science currently admits.
We here at SOTT don't often go out on a limb about such things, and when we do, it is because we have done the research, so you can take this one to the bank.
LADY LAKE, Fla. - Disaster crews with dogs went from one pile of debris to another in a search for bodies Friday after powerful storms, including at least one tornado, smashed hundreds of homes across central Florida and killed 19 people or more.
It was the second-deadliest combination of thunderstorms and tornados in Florida history, cutting a 40-mile swath of destruction across four counties just before daybreak, terrorizing residents of one of the nation's biggest retirement communities, and leaving trees and fields littered with clothes, furniture and splintered lumber.
Residents helped pull the dead from the ruins.
It was the second-deadliest combination of thunderstorms and tornados in Florida history, cutting a 40-mile swath of destruction across four counties just before daybreak, terrorizing residents of one of the nation's biggest retirement communities, and leaving trees and fields littered with clothes, furniture and splintered lumber.
Residents helped pull the dead from the ruins.
ATHENS, Greece: A moderate earthquake shook parts of northwestern Greece on Friday, the Athens Geodynamic Institute reported. No damage or injuries were reported.
The temblor, which had a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, occurred just after 2 p.m. (1200GMT). Its epicenter was east of the town of Paramythia in Thesprotia province, about 315 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Athens. The quake was felt in surrounding areas.
The temblor, which had a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, occurred just after 2 p.m. (1200GMT). Its epicenter was east of the town of Paramythia in Thesprotia province, about 315 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Athens. The quake was felt in surrounding areas.
Comment: Japan is UBER-EEEVIL! Whale hunting should have ended long ago. Any truly civilized society would not hunt a creature that is probably as intelligent as human beings.