Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Floods death toll rises to 11 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Heavy rains battered the KZN North Coast on Sunday night.
© IPSS Medical RescueHeavy rains battered the KZN North Coast on Sunday night.
Eleven people have now been confirmed dead due to floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

Five people died last night in the eThekwini metro.

Search and rescue teams are searching for two people after their shack was washed away in the Tongaat area.

Hundreds of houses have been damaged in several parts of the province.

The heavy rains have also damaged water and electricity infrastructure.

Meanwhile, eThekwini municipality has closed beaches in the north, and a few in the south, until further notice, due to concerns about water quality.

Meanwhile, more heavy downpours are expected on Sunday.


Seismograph

Multiple earthquakes hit Oklahoma City metro area, including 2 of 4.4 magnitude

earthquake
A series of earthquakes struck Oklahoma Friday evening into Saturday morning, including at least two of 4.4 magnitude.

A 3.2 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 9:37 p.m. CT near Arcadia, which is located just northeast of Oklahoma City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

About 10 minutes later, a 4.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded about four miles west of Arcadia, according to the USGS and local ABC News affiliate KOCO.

This was followed by two smaller earthquakes of 2.7 magnitude and 2.5 magnitude, respectively, according to the USGS. On Saturday morning, the earthquakes started again with one of 2.6 magnitude recorded near Acadia around 4:45 a.m. CT.

Cloud Precipitation

Syria floods kill four

Flooded fields in Akkar area of Tartus province, northwestern Syria.
Flooded fields in Akkar area of Tartus province, northwestern Syria.
Four people were killed on Saturday as their car slid off a bridge into a heavy rainfall-induced water stream in the northwestern Syrian province of Tartus, the local Sham FM radio reported.

Numerous villages in the province had experienced heavy downpours and suffered the subsequent widespread flooding, said the report, citing Provincial Governor Hassan Hassan.

The governor added that plastic houses were submerged, and vast areas of agricultural land were inundated, as the rivers, streams, and channels overflowed onto surrounding villages' fields.

Meanwhile, the rainwater seeped into residential areas in the nearby Karad and Kartou villages, with damage still unknown.

XINHUA


Cloud Precipitation

Torrential rains leave at least 11 dead in Brazil - month's worth of rainfall in 24 hours

People look at a car that was swept into the flooded railways of the Acari metro station after heavy rains caused destruction in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday.
© AFPPeople look at a car that was swept into the flooded railways of the Acari metro station after heavy rains caused destruction in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday.
Torrential rains that turned avenues into rivers killed at least 11 people in Rio de Janeiro, the fire department said Sunday.

The rainstorm hit northern parts of Rio particularly hard, where people died in a landslide, drownings, and electrocutions. Firefighters were still searching for a woman who went missing after her car fell into a river as of Sunday evening.

Water from the storm reached the roofs of cars on some stretches of Avenida de Brasil, a major thoroughfare in the city.

Mayor Eduardo Paes decreed the situation an "emergency" and urged people to stay home for their own safety, and so as not to disrupt rescue and recovery efforts.


Fire

Houses set alight as lava from volcano eruption reaches Icelandic town

iceland volcano
© AFP VIA GETTY IMAGESAn aerial photo shows the first fissure erupting on Sunday morning.
Houses have caught fire in the fishing town of Grindavík in south-west Iceland after a volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month.

Two fissures formed near the town on Sunday after an increase in seismic activity that prompted authorities to evacuate the community the day before.

A first eruption began at 8am when a crack opened in the ground about 450 metres from the town. Protective barriers of earth and rock pushed lava from the first fissure away from the town. However, a second crack then opened around midday on the edge of town, measuring around 100 metres by the evening, with that lava engulfing the homes.


Fire

Volcano erupts on southwestern Japanese island of Suwanosejima

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A volcano has erupted on the remote island of Suwanosejima in southwestern Japan, the government said early Sunday.

No damage has been confirmed due to the eruption, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing a local police station in Kagoshima prefecture.

The government later issued a level 3 volcanic alert - out of 5 - for Suwanosejima, restricting the entrance to dangerous areas surrounding the volcano.

Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Toby Chopra and Mark Potter


Fire

Indonesia evacuates 6,500 people after Lewotobi volcano spews clouds of ash

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Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews volcanic materials from its crater during an eruption in East Flores, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Indonesian authorities have evacuated about 6,500 people on the island of Flores after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano spewed thick clouds of brownish ash over the past few days.

No casualties or major damage have been reported so far.

The eruptions in East Nusa Tenggara province are part of hot gas spills that have become more frequent in recent days.

The 5,197ft mountain is one of the "twin volcanoes" - the Lewotobi Laki-laki and Lewotobi Perempuan - in the Flores Timur district.


Fire

Indonesia: Marapi volcano erupts for second time in just over a month

Mount Marapi spews volcanic material from its crater during an eruption in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on January 14, 2024.
© Givo Alputra/APMount Marapi spews volcanic material from its crater during an eruption in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on January 14, 2024.
Indonesia's Marapi volcano has erupted for the second time in weeks, the country's geological agency said Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the 2,891-meter-high (9,500 feet) volcano began erupting at 6 a.m. local time (6 p.m.ET).

The volcano in West Sumatra province erupted at least twice, the agency said according to Reuters.

Reuters also reported nearby houses, vehicles and evacuation tents set up by the local disaster agency were covered in volcanic ash.


Sun

Birds 'falling from trees' as Aussie town on verge of record heat streak

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According to one local, birds are not coping well with the ongoing heat.
The history books are on the verge of being re-written with one Aussie town so hot that birds are reportedly falling from trees. Resident of Western Australia have been warned to brace for more extreme heat this weekend as one of the country's hottest towns continues to swelter through a brutal four-week stretch of daily maximum temperatures above 43C.

The temperature peaked at 45C in Marble Bar, in northwest Western Australia on Friday. If the streak continues through to Monday, it will be the town's longest run of consecutive days where the mercury has risen to such uncomfortable heights.

Caravan park manager Cath Nation said the extreme heat was tough on the small outback town and most people retreated indoors by about 9am each day to escape it. But sadly, most wildlife don't have the same luxury and as a result have been paying the price.

"We've got birds dropping out of trees," she told AAP. "I was just taking a walk down near the camp kitchen and there were dead birds laying there, carked it, keeled over, too hot."

Comment: Meanwhile over the same 4 week-period the eastern side of the country has endured record-breaking floods:


Snowflake Cold

Arctic freeze continues to blast huge swaths of the US with sub-zero temperatures

Ice forms along a dam built in the Des Moines River as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit on January 14, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.
© Joe RaedleIce forms along a dam built in the Des Moines River as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit on January 14, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.
A dangerous Arctic blast will continue sweeping across the U.S. on Monday and linger through at least midweek, prolonging a bitter cold that set record-low temperatures in parts of the country and threatens to further disrupt daily life, including an NFL playoff game and the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest in Iowa.

The National Weather Service said wind chills are expected to push temperatures 30 degrees below zero from the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa, testing the hardiness of caucusgoers willing to brave the deep chill on Monday.

"You can't sit home," former President Donald Trump told supporters Sunday. "If you're sick as a dog, you say, 'Darling, I gotta make it.' Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it."