A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has struck southern Kyrgyzstan, east of the city of Osh, seismologists say.

The earthquake, which struck at 11:29 p.m. local time on Tuesday, was centered about 31 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan. It struck about 15.6 kilometers (9.7 miles) deep, making it a very shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center measured the earthquake at a preliminary 5.9, while the USGS measured it at 5.5.

The earthquake was widely felt in the region but there was no immediate word about damage or casualties.

Local officials were not immediately available to comment and no other details were available.

Nearly two dozen tornadoes were reported around Kansas on Monday afternoon and evening, part of a rare November outbreak that spanned three states in Tornado Alley.

The outbreak was the latest on record for northwest Kansas and so many tornadoes touched down in southwest Kansas that a weather official called it "unprecedented" for that part of the state in November.

A total of 41 tornadoes were reported in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Significant damage occurred near Pampa, Texas, and lesser damage was reported elsewhere.

An 11-month-old boy was attacked and killed by the family's pet pit bull last night, according to Oneida County Sheriff Robert M. Maciol. The incident occurred about 7:15 p.,m. at a home at 2700 State Route 12B in the town of Marshall in Oneida County.

The 2-year-old pit bull named Diesel was in the family's living room playing with Lisa M. Cittadino's three daughters ages 7, 10 and 12, police said. Cittadino, 32, toid police she turned her back momentarily and then heard screams from her son and daughters.

Cittadino said she saw the dog attacking her son, and began to frantically try to get the dog to release his grip on her child, police said. Once the dog let go, she called 911 and began giving her son first aid, police said.

Heavy rain and flash floods in Saudi Arabia along its Red Sea coast has killed five people.

The Saudi Civil Defense said on Tuesday that three children were among those who were killed by the flash floods.

An 11-year-old child reportedly drowned in the western province of Yanbu. Another child, whose age was not disclosed, was swept away and killed by floodwaters in the northwestern province of Ha'il. A third child drowned in an area on the outskirts of Jiddah.

"We are all pained today by the loss of our children's lives in accidents and various areas after being swept away by the floodwaters," the Civil Defense authority said in a message posted on Twitter.

Also in Jeddah, two other people died when they were electrocuted by a lamp post.

Big shark feeding on dead whale at Cape Conran shows biodiversity of East Gippsland marine ecosystem

Have you ever thought the waters off Gippsland are relatively shark free? It's true, we have nowhere near as many shark attacks as further north...but the sharks are here.

And if you want evidence, there was plenty of it at Cape Conran yesterday.

A large sperm whale beached itself at Salmon Rocks and an opportunist shark turned up for a feed.

Mexico's Colima volcano, also known as the Fire Volcano, erupted on Monday sending a plume of smoke and ash some 9,842 feet into the air.

Located in the southwestern Mexican state of Colima, the volcano has been exhibiting continuous activity since July 9 which has prompted evacuations several times.

It was previously active in January and February of 2015 and is part of the Pacific's Ring of Fire.

Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanos, but only 14 are considered active.

Major eruptions in Mexican history have included the 1953 eruption of the Paricutin Volcano in Michoacan, the 1982 eruption of Tacana Volcano in Chiapas and the 1986 eruption of the Colima Volcano.

Reuters Media

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck southwest of Ioannina in Greece at a depth of some 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Service.

The quake hit early Tuesday, with the initial reading adjusted to 6.8 and the depth changed to 5 kilometers, according to the scientists. According to the University of Athens, the magnitude was 5.9.

Large tornados ripped through the Texas panhandle on Monday night, including one estimated to be a mile wide that reportedly leveled a Halliburton plant, causing chemical and gas leaks. Downed power lines were also reported.


According to ABC 7 Amarillo, the Halliburton plant in Pampa, Texas was "completely leveled."

As of yet, no injuries have been reported and the building itself was empty when the tornado struck, according to KAMR News. Many cars were outside of the facility, however.


The chemical spills and gas leaks are currently being contained, Gray County Emergency Coordinator Sandi Martin told the news outlet. There is reportedly concern that radioactive materials might have been released.

Have you noticed that seismic activity along the Ring of Fire appears to be dramatically increasing? According to Volcano Discovery, 39 volcanoes around the world have recently erupted, and 32 of them are associated with the Ring of Fire. This includes Mt. Popocatepetl which sits only about 50 miles away from Mexico City's 18 million inhabitants. If you are not familiar with the Ring of Fire, it is an area roughly shaped like a horseshoe that runs along the outer perimeter of the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes and approximately 75 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur along the Ring of Fire. Just within the last 24 hours, we have witnessed a 4.4, a 5.4 and a 5.7 earthquake in Alaska, a 6.8 earthquake in Chile and 20 earthquakes in Indonesia of at least magnitude 4.3. And as you will see below, this violent shaking along the Ring of Fire seems to continue a progression of major disasters that began back during the month of September.

Hurricanes bringing record flooding and 'rivers of ice' to the Middle East... is it possible that Mother Nature is reflecting back to humanity the socio-political chaos in the region - and, indeed, globally?

In October 2015, deluges caused fatal flash-flooding along the French Riviera, Turkey's Black Sea coast, Greece's islands, southern Italy, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean as 'medi-canes' pummeled the region. 'Medi-cane' is, of course, a newly created term to describe this new weather pattern. Climate shift has also spread to the Middle East, where raging storms have brought weeks of unprecedented flash-flooding all the way from Egypt to Iran. Intense hailstorms last month turned the Arabian desert into rivers of ice, while Cyclone Chapala - the second strongest recorded storm in the Arabian Sea behind only Cyclone Gonu in 2007 - became the first ever storm to make landfall in Yemen.

Strong seismic activity last month included multiple volcanic eruptions in Mexico spewing ash thousands of feet into the air, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in northern Argentina that damaged infrastructure, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that killed 400 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the worst ever landslide in Guatemala killing 350 people. Sinkholes swallowed a street in England and a car in Sicily, while the land opened up to form a new ravine in Wyoming. Typhoon Mujigae dropped multiple destructive tornadoes, while waterspouts came ashore in Florida, France, Italy, Tunisia, and the Canary Islands, often preceding deluges that sent rivers of mud down streets and out to sea.

In mid-October, Typhoon Koppu set a new rainfall record in the Philippines: a staggering 52 inches (1.32m) in 24 hours. In a matter of days, Los Angeles went from experiencing a record heatwave to devastating hailstorms and record rainfall; the resulting mudslides buried hundreds of vehicles on a busy highway. Category 5 Hurricane Patricia dumped 20 inches (0.5m) of rain in Mexico's southwest, turning streets into rivers. Patricia was - at one point, in terms of sustained wind speeds - the strongest storm ever recorded, globally, and was the strongest ever for the Western Hemisphere in terms of both wind speeds and barometric pressure.

Texas went from experiencing record heat and wildfires earlier in the month to being flooded for the second time this year, with some rainfall records breaking those set in May. Hurricane Joaquin combined with another storm system to produce a "one-in-1,000-year" rainstorm that inundated parts of the US Eastern Seaboard. Hardest hit were the Carolinas, which saw floodwaters reach record levels. In the 'bizarre' department last month, we've got video footage of a 'ghost city' apparition above Foshan in southeastern China and a 'moth-like' UFO filmed in Ohio. On Halloween, an asteroid - discovered only two weeks prior - passed by Earth, just as large meteor fireballs were seen across Europe.

These were the signs of the times in October 2015...