Earth ChangesS


Stop

California: Fire in San Bernardino National Forest explodes to 18,000 acres


Sign on San Diego
Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:22 UTC
An out-of-control wildfire in the San Bernardino National Forest tore through 18,000 acres of brush and timber Saturday, forcing evacuations in a pair of mountain communities.

The entire resort community of Green Valley Lake and the Fawnskin area near Big Bear Dam were under a mandatory evacuation order. About 5,000 people were affected, said Jim Wilkins of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

"It's just been running and gunning all day long, eating up ground," Wilkins said. "It's a very aggressive fire burning through fuels that haven't been burned in 50 to 75 years."

Winds of about 20 miles an hour and humidity of just 10 percent were helping the blaze grow and it crept within a half-mile of homes in Fawnskin, Wilkins said.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

August was warmest on record for Western North Carolina

Dale Neal
Asheville Citizen-Times
Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:34 UTC
The National Climatic Data Center has confirmed what you probably already knew sweating through the end of the summer.

August 2007 was the hottest in 113 years of record-keeping with an average temperature of 77.1 degrees across Western North Carolina, according to preliminary data from the Asheville-based archives for the nation and world's weather. That bumped out August 1900 out of the hottest spot with an average of 75.1 degrees.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

One million affected by Africa floods


news.com.au
Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:30 UTC
Several of Africa's poorest countries are in dire need of assistance due to severe floods that have killed more than 200 people and affected a million in recent weeks, officials have warned.

The latest victims were reported in Rwanda, where officials from the northern region said floods killed 15 people and destroyed more than 500 homes since Wednesday.

©BBC
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Snow falls in Tomahawk, Wisconsin


Wausau Daily Herald
Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:28 UTC
Visitors and residents in this Northwoods city got a surprise this afternoon just in time for this year's Fall Ride. The stunner: snow.

With temperatures hovering at 45 degrees and intermittent showers, conditions seemed right for the wintry weather.

Nancy Swan, co-owner of Erv's Sales & Service on North Fourth Street, didn't seem surprised when the white stuff momentarily came down at about 1 p.m. today.
Read More...
Snowman

Arctic sea route opens as ice melts


Reuters
Sat, 15 Sep 2007 04:47 UTC
The Arctic's Northwest Passage has opened up fully because of melting sea ice, clearing a long-sought but historically impassable route between Europe and Asia, the European Space Agency said.

Sea ice has shrunk in the Arctic to its lowest level since satellite measurements began 30 years ago, ESA said, showing images of the now "fully navigable" route between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

©(ESA/Reuters)
An orange line shows the most direct route the ice-free Northwest Passage beside partially blocked Northeast passage (blue line) in this Envisat ASAR mosaic photo of the Arctic Ocean, early September, 2007. The dark gray colour represents the ice-free areas, while green represents areas with sea ice. The Northwest Passage has opened up fully because of melting sea ice, clearing a long-sought but historically impassable route between Europe and Asia, the European Space Agency said.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Indonesia quake may have affected mud volcano in East Java


The Age
Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:36 UTC
Indonesia's powerful earthquake may have affected the devastating mudflow in East Java.

The Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Board today said the massive crater had been spurting more mud than normal in recent days.

Nine villages - including thousands of homes, factories and rice paddy fields - have been buried by the mud, which started flowing from the site of a gas exploration well during drilling 3km underground more than a year ago.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Rains spark flooding in southern Spain - one dies, two go missing


DPA
Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:21 UTC
Heavy rains have sparked flooding in southern Spain, where currents swept away the body of an elderly man and the car of two people who remained missing, emergency services said Friday.
Read More...
Attention

Around 150 large forest fires raging across Russia


RIA Novosti
Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:57 UTC
Almost 9,000 hectares (22,260 acres) of Russia's forests are ablaze, with 150 large-scale fires continuing to rage across the country, an emergencies situation ministry spokesman said.

"Since last Wednesday, 207 fires have been registered, 58 of which have been put out, but 149 are still blazing across an 8,860-hectare (21,895-acre) area," the press spokesman said.

The worst affected areas are in East Siberia, with the Republics of Buryatia and Tyva operating under a state of emergency.
Read More...
Evil Rays

Indonesia hit by more than 40 earthquakes in 24 hours


RIA Novosti
Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:18 UTC
A total of 41 earthquakes with magnitude of over 4.5 on the Richter scale have hit Indonesia in the last 24 hours, the country's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said Thursday.

The most serious of these was an 8.4-magnitude quake with an epicenter off the western coast of the island of Sumatra on September 12. The quake caused the deaths of at least nine people.

One of Sumatra's provinces, Bengkulu, has the dubious distinction of being the world record holder for earthquake activity, with over 694 tremors with magnitude of 4.6 or higher in the first five months of last year.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Alaskans flee village under flood threat

Jeannette J. Lee
Associated Press
Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:42 UTC
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - More than half the residents of an isolated Arctic village were evacuated as storm surges threatened to flood their slender barrier island Thursday, the latest chapter in their losing battle against the sea.

With no road system within hundreds of miles of Kivalina, about 100 people, mostly seniors and children, boarded small propeller planes to the regional hub city of Kotzebue. More than 100 others embarked on a grueling 70-mile nighttime journey by boat, all-terrain vehicle and bus to shelter at the mountain headquarters of a zinc mine.
Read More...