Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Tropical Cyclone Garance smashes into Réunion Island, bringing 143mph winds - at least 4 killed (UPDATE)

Robert Shackelford and Edward Szekeres
CNN
Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:42 UTC
This satellite image released on February 26, 2025 shows tropical cyclone
This satellite image released on February 26, 2025 shows tropical cyclone "Garance" approaching the French overseas territory island of La Reunion.
Tropical cyclone Garance made landfall on the French Indian Ocean territory of Réunion on Friday, packing gusts of 166 kilometers (103 miles) per hour.

Garance - the equivalent of a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane - made landfall on the northern coast of the mountainous island, France's meteorological agency said.

Garance is the strongest storm to hit the territory, located about 400 miles off the coast of Madagascar, since Tropical Cyclone Firinga in January 1989.

Authorities issued a purple cyclone warning, their highest level, for the entirety of the island as the storm is packing a punch and bringing heavy rainfall, gusty winds and powerful waves to the territory. That was later lowered to a red warning.

Winds could gust over 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour and rainfall totals could exceed 200 mm (7.8 inches).


Comment: Update March 1

FRANCE 24 reports:
French authorities said Saturday that at least four people died in Cyclone Garance's devastating crossing of the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion.

The body of a man was found trapped under one of thousands of trees ripped up by winds of up to 230 kilometres (143 miles) per hour that tore across the island of some 900,000 people on Friday, authorities said giving the new toll.

The other victims, two women and a man, were carried away by flash floods, trapped in a mudslide or killed by an electrical fire sparked by the storm, according to the prefecture.

More than 180,000 people were left without electricity and more than 170,000 without water, authorities said.

The island's international airport was to reopen late Saturday.

The nearby tourist island of Mauritius shut its main airport on Wednesday, while Reunion shut down to flights on Thursday.


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Doberman

Woman dies in suspected XL bully dog attack in Bristol, UK

Chloe Harcombe, Leigh Boobyer and Lee Madan
BBC
Thu, 27 Feb 2025 18:24 UTC
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A 19-year-old woman has died after she was attacked by a dog believed to be an XL bully, police have said.

Two people have been arrested following the attack at about 19:00 GMT on Wednesday at a property on Cobhorn Drive, south Bristol.

Officers confirmed the dog has now been put down. Initial reports suggested it may be an XL bully, but police said it was too early to confirm the breed.

A man and woman, both in their 20s, are in custody after being arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death and possession of a prohibited breed of dog.

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Arrow Down

Large sinkhole devours vehicle in Philadelphia


6abc.com
Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:31 UTC
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An SUV was swallowed by a sinkhole in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The sinkhole opened up on the 2700 block of E. Birch Street around 1:30 p.m. along an old street, with old homes and infrastructure.

Video from Chopper 6 showed the Chevy inside the sinkhole, with only the front end above street level.

"I got a call from my wife, she said something happened outside the house," said the SUV's owner, Steve Williams. "I came home a little early, I get home, I pull up, and lo and behold her vehicle is in a sinkhole."

Williams, a Philadelphia police officer, is taking it all in stride.

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Volcano

Mount Semeru erupts in East Java, Indonesia - ash column reaches 1,100 meters

David Priyasidarta
en.tempo.co
Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:21 UTC
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Mount Semeru in East Java erupted on Wednesday evening, February 26, 2025. The observed ash column reached approximately 1,100 meters above the peak or around 4,776 meters above sea level.

The eruption of the highest volcano on the island of Java occurred at 17:30 WIB (Western Indonesian Time). The observed ash column was white to gray with moderate intensity leaning towards the north. This eruption was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of approximately 2 minutes 16 seconds.

One hour later, at 18:29, the volcano with a height of 3,676 meters above sea level erupted again with an observed ash column height of approximately 900 meters above the peak (approximately 4576 meters above sea level). The observed ash column was white to gray with thick intensity towards the south and southwest. This eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 23 mm and a duration of 163 seconds.

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Doberman

78-year-old woman killed after dog attack in Lee County, Alabama

Elizabeth White
wkrg.com
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:07 UTC
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A Beulah woman has died after being attacked by her neighbor's dogs. According to Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton, Patricia Burt, 78, was pronounced dead at 10:21 a.m. CT on February 25, 2025, at Piedmont Midtown Medical Center in Columbus, Georgia.

The deadly attack occurred around 5:00 p.m. CT on February 24 on Lee Road 356. WRBL spoke with Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, who said Burt had walked over to visit her neighbor and say hello. When Burt went to hug her neighbor, the neighbor's two Cane Corsos escaped their enclosure and attacked Burt. As Burt's husband and the dog's owner tried to stop the attack, Burt's husband pulled out a gun and shot both animals.

"At this point, it appears to be a horrific, tragic set of circumstances involving neighbors who are friendly," Jones said.

Burt was transported to the hospital with critical injuries but did not survive. The Lee County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack. Sheriff Jones said his office had never received complaints about the dogs before the incident. Burt's body will be sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for a postmortem examination.

The case remains under investigation and will be presented to a Lee County grand jury. WRBL will provide updates as more information becomes available.

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Attention

Rare Arabian sea humpback whale found dead in Oman


Oman Observer
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 11:43 UTC
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The Environment Authority (EA) in Al Wusta Governorate is dealing with the death of an Arabian Sea humpback whale that reportedly perished yesterday off the coast of Al Jazir in Al Wusta Governorate.

Acting in cooperation with the authorities concerned—including the Wali's Office, the Royal Oman Police and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources—the EA began to handle the incident in a systematic manner, to identify the animal and establish the causes of death.

The EA said that it works to ensure that cooperation would proceed in a streamlined manner and that the multiparty team, now fully operational, would complete the mission and bury the whale in a suitable location.

The Arabian Sea humpback whale is quoted in the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as a rare and endangered species. It figures as one of 20 species of whales inhabiting the seas of the Sultanate of Oman, and this is evidenced by research studies conducted through satellite tracking.

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Attention

In the 4 years between 2020-21 and 2023-24, human deaths due to elephant encounters in India increased from 464 to 629


downtoearth.org.in
Thu, 27 Feb 2025 10:39 UTC
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Human deaths due to attacks by megafauna like elephants and tigers have seen opposite trajectories in the last four years, an analysis by the State of India's Environment (SOE) 2025 has revealed.

While human deaths due to encounters with elephants increased between 2020-21 and 2023-24, tiger attack deaths saw a decline in the same period, as per SOE 2025.

The report, published every year by DTE, is a comprehensive documentation of the year's major developments and happenings in a wide range of subjects and issues — ranging from climate change, waste management and the pandemic to air and water pollution, industrial contamination and food.

State of conflict

Human fatalities caused by elephants were 464 in 2020-21 as per the SOE 2025. They rose to 545 in 2021-22, 605 in 2022-23 and 629 in 2023-24, as per the analysis by Rajit Sengupta and Kiran Pandey from the Centre for Science and Environment and DTE.
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Attention

5 devotees en route to temple killed by elephants in Andhra Pradesh, India


Hindustan Times
Tue, 25 Feb 2025 18:56 UTC
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At least five devotees were killed and several others injured when a herd of elephants attacked them while they were walking through the Seshachalam forest en route to Lord Shiva's temple at Talakona in Andhra Pradesh's Annamayya district for the Mahashivratri celebrations around 5.30am on Tuesday.

A police officer said the devotees attempted to scare the elephants by shouting. "...the elephants became aggressive. ...the elephants encircled and attacked them," he said.

The devotees ran for their lives but the elephants trampled upon some of them leaving five dead on the spot and several others injured. Police and forest department officials rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. "The injured were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors have said that the condition of two remained critical," said the police officer.

Police said the devotees who were killed were from Urlagaddapadu village in the Railway Koduru Mandal. Further details were awaited.
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Attention

Two farmers killed in wild bear attack in Tamil Nadu, India


dtnext.in
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 18:44 UTC
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Two farmers were killed in a wild bear attack near Varusanadu in Theni district on Tuesday night. The deceased victims have been identified as Mani alias Manikandan (44), of Thangammalpuram, and Karuppaiya (55), of Dharmarajapuram, sources said.

The incident occurred in the evening when both farmers were carrying loads of lemon picked from their farms. Much to their shock, they encountered a wild bear which attacked them. Both were killed on the spot.

On being alerted, forest personnel from Kandamanur and Kadamalaikundu police inspected the spot and held inquiries. The bodies were taken to Theni Government Medical College Hospital.

Based on a complaint, the police filed a case, sources said.
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Tsunami

7 bodies recovered after floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Thandoluhle Ngcobo
ewn.co.za
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 14:44 UTC
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The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance Department confirmed that rescue teams have recovered the bodies of seven people who were swept away by flood waters.

Five bodies that washed up in a canal in Lamontville, south of Durban, were recovered and the bodies of two women were found ashore at two separate locations in Durban.

The South African Weather Service has issued a level two weather warning for the province - indicating the possibility of further rainfall throughout the day.

Heavy rainfall has impacted large portions of the province, causing significant damage and flooding.

Search and rescue teams have been working around the clock in the hope of finding survivors.


Comment: In addition, just six days prior: 6 killed after mudslides caused by heavy rainfall in Durban, South Africa

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