Earth ChangesS


Doberman

Elderly woman mauled to death by stray dog in Odisha, India

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A 65-year-old woman was on Thursday morning mauled to death by a stray dog while she was alone at her house in Jayanarayanpur village of Balasore's Bhograi area. Irate family members later beat the animal brutally leading to its death on the spot.

The deceased was identified as Basanti Sahu. Sources said Basanti was alone at home while her family members had gone to a nearby temple. She was sitting in the verandah when the dog entered the house through the window and pounced on her. On returning from the temple, her family members saw the dog attacking her while the woman was screaming for help. The elderly woman subsequently died.

Peeved, her family members chased the dog and beat it to death. On being informed, police reached the spot and sent the woman's body to Bhograi hospital for postmortem. A case was also registered in this connection.

Tehsildar Himanshu Giri said a team will be sent to the spot for further inquiry.

Villagers, meanwhile, complained that stray dogs had been creating havoc in the locality so much so that they feared going out of their homes. They demanded that the local administration takes appropriate action to curb the dog menace.

Tornado2

Waterspout spotted near Penang International Airport, Malaysia on November 13

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A waterspout was spotted near the hillside of the Penang International Airport earlier this week.

According to a video circulating on social media, it is said that the incident occurred at around 11:15am on Wednesday (Nov 13).

Sin Chew Daily reported that the video was taken by an employee of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) from the traffic control tower at the airport.

The waterspout only lasted for a short time, about 30 seconds, before it shrank into a thin strip and disappeared into the clouds.

Internet users were all abuzz and commented that waterspouts often appear in Penang, but it is the first time they have seen one so close to Penang International Airport.

Some people are concerned that the appearance of the waterspout may affect aircraft takeoffs and landings.


Tsunami

Coastal storm brings tidal flooding to southeastern Virginia, northeastern North Carolina

Buxton Ave flooding
© NNFDBuxton Ave flooding
Tidal flooding impacted several areas of Hampton Roads Friday morning.

10 On Your Side's Raven Payne spoke with a worker near the Lynnhaven Inlet in Virginia Beach, who said they are used to seeing flooding like this, but that they are still taking safety precautions, such as not opening the back deck.

During the flooding conditions, drivers are urged to avoid driving over hydroplane areas and to drive slowly.

In no surprise to anyone, flooding also found its way to the mermaid city. A WAVY 10 viewer sent a photo of a car stranded in flood waters by Pearl and Ligon Street.


Cloud Lightning

Tropical Storm Sara dumps nearly 22 inches of rain in 24 hours on Honduras

Tropical Storm Sara tracks very close to northern Honduras Friday morning.
© CIRA/RAMMBTropical Storm Sara tracks very close to northern Honduras Friday morning.
Tropical Storm Sara is unleashing heavy rainfall in northeastern Honduras, with life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides anticipated through the weekend.

Nearly 20 inches of rain had already fallen in parts of Honduras as of Friday morning with more to come.

Earlier forecasts from the National Hurricane Center told residents along the eastern Gulf of Mexico to monitor the storm for its potential to reach the US, but the center now believes the storm might not survive its trek through Central America and Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

Sara, which formed Thursday afternoon as it closed in on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, is the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. It's a season that's lived up to initial hyperactive forecasts and hasn't played by the rules.

Tropical activity should be winding down in November, but Sara is now the third named storm this month thanks to exceptionally warm water wrought by climate change.


Comment: The Weather Network reports:
Extreme floods and mudslides continued Friday as Tropical Storm Sara wrung out a tremendous amount of moisture over northern Honduras.

The storm's very slow track through the western Caribbean will make flash flooding and mudslides a persistent and life-threatening hazard into the weekend.

Looking ahead, it remains uncertain what—if any—impacts the system or its remnants may have on Florida next week.

The overall pattern over the Caribbean has forced Sara to stall-out near the northern coast of Honduras. It's expected to move very little over the next couple of days. While land interaction will keep the storm from taking advantage of warm waters to strengthen, heavy rain is far and away the greatest threat from this system.

Repeated rounds of torrential downpours have washed over the country's mountainous terrain.

The city of La Ceiba, which is home to a quarter of a million people, measured 556.0 mm of rain in 24 hours as of noon local time on Friday.

Extensive flash floods and mudslides have been reported throughout the region.



Tsunami

Heavy rain puts Algarve, Portugal on flood warning

Picture shows flash flooding in Albufeira in the Algarve yesterday morning
Picture shows flash flooding in Albufeira in the Algarve yesterday morning
According to the meteorologist at the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), today, sometimes heavy showers, thunderstorms and possibly hail are expected, with the greatest impact in Baixo Alentejo and Algarve.

"It has the potential to cause rapid flooding again, like yesterday [Thursday], but it is not comparable to what happened in Spain. It is a more benign situation, but they are still floods and can have negative impacts, causing some damage", Maria João Frada told Lusa agency.

Therefore, the IPMA issued an orange warning for Beja and Faro until 6pm today, then changing to a yellow warning.

"However, it is likely to return to orange. The depression is practically stationary until Saturday and the wind component is from the southeast in these regions and everything comes from the sea. Extreme wind phenomena may also occur," she said.

According to Maria João Frada, heavy showers are also expected for Setúbal and Lisbon, but with less severity.


Tsunami

Panama floods claim 11 lives as government declares State of Emergency

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© Senafront / AFP
Eleven people have died in Panama due to storms that, over the last twelve days, have caused over 100 million dollars in losses from flooding and infrastructure collapse, the Panamanian government reported on Thursday. "Eleven Panamanians have lost their lives in this situation, more than 1,000 families have been directly affected, and the number continues to rise," said the Minister of the Presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac, during a press conference.

The situation has led the government to declare a state of emergency across the country "as a consequence of the severe damage caused" by the rains, Orillac added. The most affected areas are the western provinces of Chiriquí, bordering Costa Rica, Veraguas, and the indigenous Ngäbe Buglé comarca, where the government has declared a red alert.

Hours earlier, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino confirmed that during Tuesday's cabinet meeting, losses were estimated at "100 million dollars," but now "it should be more with the damages that occurred yesterday (Wednesday) in important roads across the country."


Comment: Related and pertinent: Red Alert on Pacific Coast as flooding worsens in Costa Rica - November rainfall already up to 10 times more than normal - 3 feet in 6 days


Windsock

Massive dust storm causes vehicle pileup on California highway

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A powerful dust storm known as a haboob caused a vehicle pile-up on a central California highway, sending several people to hospitals with minor injuries, authorities said.

An enormous rolling cloud of dust reduced visibility Monday afternoon on State Route 152 in Madera County, causing motorists to crash into one another, according to the California Highway Patrol.

About 20 cars were involved in the accident, the highway patrol said.

Video posted online by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection showed a massive wall of dust sweeping across the landscape near Chowchilla.


Arrow Down

Madagascar riverbank landslide hits boat, killing 16

Two of the dead passengers were children, one aged nine and the other around five months.
Two of the dead passengers were children, one aged nine and the other around five months.
A chunk of ground which broke off from a riverbank in western Madagascar killed 16 people after slamming into a passenger boat, police and local media said Thursday.

The landslide-caused accident happened late on Tuesday on the Tsiribihina River in the Menabe region.

"Of the 26 passengers, 16 did not survive," police said.

The boat had stopped late at night at Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, a village about 320 kilometres (200 miles) southwest of the capital Antananarivo, so that passengers could have a break, L'Express de Madagascar newspaper reported Thursday.

Arrow Down

30-metre sinkhole cuts off Madrid's Avenida de los Toreros

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The Avenida de los Toreros in the Salamanca district of Madrid was closed on Wednesday November 13 after a sinkhole measuring 30 metres long and six metres deep was created by the rupture of a water pipe.

At around 6pm, the Madrid City Council Fire Department withdrew after cutting the pipe to prevent water leakage and ensuring that no damage had occurred to the gas pipe.

The sinkhole, which has affected both Avenida de los Toreros and Calle Pilar de Zaragoza, is about 30 metres long and six metres deep.

During the prevention work, the firefighters have recovered two motorcycles that were parked on the road and had fallen into the hole.

From now on, once the area has been secured, Canal de Isabel II will manage the repair of the pipeline and the roadway.


Lightning

Woman struck by lightning and suddenly dies in Peru

Gabriela Daiana Basallo was fatally struck by lightning in front of her husband Samuel
Gabriela Daiana Basallo was fatally struck by lightning in front of her husband Samuel
A woman has tragically died in front of her devastated husband after being struck by lightning during a holiday mountain hike in Peru.

Gabriela Daiana Basallo, 32, from Argentina, was hiking in the Red Valley, known for its unique orange and red-coloured mountains, in Peru's Cusco region when she was hit by lightning and killed.

Her husband, Samuel Andres Sierra, a Chilean national, was left seriously injured. Rescuers found Gabriela's body covered in burns following the accident, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon, November 12, according to police reports.

The authorities were alerted by tour guide Efrain Zamora Galindo about the death of the young woman, who hailed from Buenos Aires and was the mother of a 10 year old boy, as per local media reports. They had been descending a mountain after a hike when the lightning bolt struck Gabriela.