Around 60 volcanoes erupt in the average year. On any particular day, there are usually about 20 volcanoes erupting somewhere in the world. Naturally, they can't all make headlines. But when there are human tragedies involved, we need to question the priorities of the news media.

Contrast the fuss about eruption warnings in Iceland with the vanishingly low media profile of the current eruption on Fogo, one of the islands in the Cape Verde archipelago off the coast of West Africa.

In Iceland, great fears of an ash cloud eruption that could down or ground aircraft subsided as the magma broke surface beyond the ice and fed a large and spectacular but pretty harmless fissure eruption across a remote and uninhabited region.

On the other hand, since Fogo's eruption began on November 23 it has so far destroyed two villages and the homes of more than 1,000 people.

A 70-pound female Pit Bull, who appeared to have recently had puppies, viciously attacked a beagle being walked by his owners and then bit the owner in the face on Sunday. The incident occurred near the intersection of 40th and Myrtle in City Heights, California, around 4 p.m., according to 10News.

Craig Moreno, who lives nearby, said he had just come home when he saw the woman on the corner in a position that looked like she was a hugging a dog. Then he heard her scream for help and realized she was trying to pull a beagle out of the jaws of the huge Pit Bull.

Several other people were also trying to help, Moreno said, so he just jumped right in and also held onto the beagle.

But the Pit Bull did not let loose - not even when a neighbor hit it with a golf club. It continued until someone found the woman's water bottle and began pouring water onto the dog's face. Moreno described to 10News how they pulled harder as they poured the rest of the water into the dog's face and it finally let go.

High winds and huge waves are affecting north-western parts of the UK as bad weather hits power supplies and travel.

The "weather bomb" has brought hundreds of lightning strikes, temporarily cutting power across the Western Isles, affecting 17,000 homes.

The Met Office has warned parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland to "be prepared" as the rapidly developing storm threatens gusts of up to 80mph.

Wind speeds are expected to peak on Wednesday afternoon and early evening.

Huge numbers of dead seals have been found stranded on Cornish beaches recently, and wildlife experts admit they are baffled.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust says it has attended almost twice as many strandings of seals as would normally be expected for this time of year adding that, throughout October and November, 35 dead seals have washed up along the Cornish coastline, and over the same period a further 37 seals have been rescued alive from Cornish beaches by British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

Caz Waddell, from Cornwall Wildlife Trust said: "While bad weather will undoubtedly have been the cause of some of these strandings, the sheer number of cases has left us slightly baffled. We don't yet have any answers as to why this is happening, but it shows just how important it is for people to tell us about any stranded marine animal they see. The more animals we can study, the more we can try to get to the bottom of what might be going on."

A moose on the rampage attacked two women walking with their dogs, injuring both severely.

The animals can weigh a half ton or more.

"We were just moseying along, hiking, enjoying our hike, and then all of a sudden, I looked up and he was looking right at me,"said Jacquie Boron, 50, who was hiking with her neighbor Ellen Marie Divis, 57, near their homes in Black Hawk, Colo., about 35 miles northwest of Denver.

Boron said the moose grunted and immediately charged toward her, hitting her squarely in the chest and knocking her off her feet.

"I knew that they were aggressive, and I knew that I should be very careful with them," she said. "But I didn't expect them just to charge me."

A relentless attack waged on the Richard family by a Thanksgiving party crasher in Whitmore Lake.

"He kept pounding and pounding and pounding."

It started right after dinner when Mike Richard took his dog Murphy for a walk.

"I took a look off to my right and the ram was over here," Mike said.

A ram broke free from a neighbor's land and wanted very badly to be a part of the Richard's holiday gathering.

"It looked at us and I could see the aggression in its eyes," Mike said. "And started charging after us."

"I slammed the door in its face and that's when all hell broke loose," Paula said.

"He wanted in this house," Mike said.

A Limpopo man has died following an attack by a hippo, the provincial health department said on Tuesday.

"The man was fishing on Friday afternoon when the hippo attacked him," spokesperson Macks Lesufi said.

"When he was rescued, he was badly injured."

Dashi Makhuvele fought tooth and nail with the large animal when it attacked him at Makuleke dam while fishing.

Following his ordeal, the 34-year-old man survived to tell the tale but due to the nature of his injuries he died in hospital on Sunday.

A rare fish species with an odd mating habit and a light dangling from an antenna on its head to attract prey has washed up from the depths at Mooloolaba Beach.

Thirteen-year-old Mia Cornwall discovered the Angler Fish, also known as a Black Sea Devil or a Melanocetus, during a morning walk.

Mia's grandfather Peter Beinssen, who shares her love of all things in nature, arranged for the specimen to be dropped at SeaLife from where it is destined for the Queensland Museum.

Mr Beinssen said the Angler Fish normally lives at depths of around 1600m.

Winds above 74 miles per hour in hills above 2500 feet, and 80 miles per hour in the mountains are forecast for Thursday in what could be the storm of the decade according to Bay Area meteorologists.

The computer models are able to break down the exact time of highest danger. By mid-morning Thursday, models indicate winds peaking at 74 miles per hour sustained, not gusts, above 2500 feet. Above 5,000 feet the forecast is for 80 miles per hour. Along the coast, 60 mile per hour winds are forecasts, with higher gusts. The flatter areas around the bay will have widespread gusts from 40 to 50 miles per hour.

KPIX 5 chief meteorologist Paul Deanno said, "Given the long-term drought and short-term saturated ground, many trees will lose the battle with the wind on Thursday."

Deanno compares this week's storms to other significant events saying, "For those of us who have lived here for a while, the potential of this storm is comparable to the ones in January 2008 and February 1998, both of which caused widespread wind & flooding damage. As always, the forecast can change."

The National Weather Service has issued a whopping 15 separate warnings and advisories for the system including a Flash Flood Watch, Gale Warning, Hazardous Seas Advisory, and High Wind Watch.

Rainfall amounts above eight inches are forecast for the coastal ranges, triggering the Flash Flood Watch, an official notice to be looking for potential flooding. During the storm, these alerts will change from watches to warnings as actual floods begin occurring.

A hurricane, though only used to refer to tropical storms, is declared when sustained winds reach 74 miles per hour, and that level of wind is predicted for Thursday, along with rainfal amounts of over half an inch per hour, and if the storm slows, it could reach one inch per hour, causing serious flooding in the Bay Area.

A major storm will impact the Northeast through Thursday, complete with gusty winds, substantial snow, heavy rain, a wintry mix and flooding.

A strengthening storm along the mid-Atlantic coast will push northward on Tuesday, then inland Tuesday night through Thursday.

According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "This will be a snowstorm for some areas well inland, while impacts similar to a tropical storm will occur along the coast, including much of Interstate-95."

Heavy Interior Snow

The heaviest snow, a general 6 to 12 inches is forecast to fall on the Endless, Catskill and Adirondack mountains. Locally higher amounts can occur.

While the snow will be welcome by those with skiing interests, travel will become extremely treacherous and AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Ben Noll stated that the "wet-clinging nature of the snow could lead to downed trees and power outages."