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Flood situation worsens in the Indian state of Bihar; death toll rises to 153 with 10 million affected


Oman Tribune
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 20:01 UTC
Bihar floods claim 153 lives
© IANS
Bihar floods claim 153 lives
The toll in Bihar floods rose to 153 on while the number of those marooned in 17 districts of the state crossed the 10 million mark.

Meanwhile, as many as 500 people have died and millions have been affected by monsoon floods in northeastern states and Uttar Pradesh, officials said Saturday.

Authorities sought military help in two districts of northern Uttar Pradesh state after heavy rain left hundreds of villages marooned.

As many as 33 out of 75 districts in the state are reeling from floods that have left 55 people dead. "We have sought army's help to reach out to the affected people," T P Gupta, a senior official from the state's disaster management authority, said.

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Attention

Leaves turning brown in August across New England due to fungus attack because of wet summer


wcvb.com
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 16:51 UTC
The tar spot fungus has flourished following wet, cool weather earlier this year
© Leslie Anderson
The tar spot fungus has flourished following wet, cool weather earlier this year
It's still summer, but already the trees are giving us a sign of autumn.

All around New England, brown leaves have been spotted in the month of August, and experts credit the early development to a fungus attacking the trees.

The fungus is called tar spot, and it is caused by a plethora of a wet weather in the area.

"The weekly rain event that we had in May, June, July, has caused the fungus to show up in the leaf and expand from leaf to leaf," said Rolf Briggs, founder and president of Tree Specialists Inc.

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Roses

Update: Sierra Leone death toll increases to 450 after mudslides; 600 still missing, feared dead

Lekan Oyekanmi
The Durango Herald
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 16:15 UTC
Graves

Graves being dug for the dead victims of the Sierra Leone mudslide
Rescue officials in Sierra Leone warned Friday that the chances of finding survivors in the debris of this week's mudslides "are getting smaller every day," as bereaved and homeless survivors faced the magnitude of all they have lost.

Burials and rescue efforts pressed on amid the threat of further disaster. Up to 450 bodies have been recovered in and around the capital, Freetown, after Monday's mudslides and flooding, according to Dr. Simeon Owiss Koroma, the government's chief consultant forensic pathologist. Some 600 others are missing and feared dead.

At least 122 of the victims are children, and a similar number have been orphaned by the disaster, the aid group Save the Children said.

Sayo Jalloh, who lost a son, a brother and 15 other family members, has been too numb to mourn. At a camp for those made homeless in the hard-hit Regent neighborhood, she has been having trouble sleeping and pleads with her traumatized daughter to eat.

"I just keep wondering why I don't see them or even dream about them," she said of her lost relatives. "It just seems like when someone has travelled. I can't even locate the house where used to live anymore, other than to just point at the area."
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Cloud Precipitation

Hurricane-Eclipse conjunction: What's the possibility of an Eclipse-o-cane?

Ryan Truchelut
USA Today
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 15:09 UTC
eclipse storms
© Weather Tiger
Historical locations on August 21 since 1900.
The grand spectacle of a total solar eclipse is traditionally accompanied by many other rare events. The midday air cools and stills. Birds stop singing and prepare for night. Words like "syzygy" leap off the Scrabble board and into the vernacular. Godfathers are obligated to grant favors.

But this time, many skywatchers are wondering whether there will be an additional participant (or participants) in the cosmic dance. Will the shadow of the eclipse fall on tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean?

It may sound like the plot of a direct-to-airplane movie in which Z-list celebrities wield chainsaws, but there is a good chance that at least one tropical storm or hurricane will be within the region of 50% or more solar obscuration on Monday afternoon. Should this occur, it would be the first time an Atlantic tropical system has coincided with a total eclipse since the beginning of regular weather satellite imagery in 1966.

That fact foremost speaks to the true rarity of total eclipses.
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Cloud Lightning

Tropical storm Harvey threatens Central America with flooding, strong winds

Alex Sosnowski and Eric Leister
Accuweather
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 15:10 UTC
Tropical storm Harvey path
After drenching the Windward Islands, Harvey will continue to track toward Central America and may bring dangerous conditions early next week.

Harvey developed on Thursday afternoon east of the Windward Islands, becoming the eighth named tropical system of the 2017 Atlantic season.

After inundating the Windward Islands to end the week, the system is expected to track across the warm Caribbean Sea this weekend. While warm waters will favor strengthening, wind shear and other factors may keep the system from doing so quickly.
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Attention

Harbour seal climbs aboard kayak, attacks paddler near Chatham Island, British Columbia

Ceilidh Millar
Chek
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 13:19 UTC
seal attack
It started out as a regular Thursday kayak trip for Alan Campbell and Debbie Leach.

On Aug. 10, Campbell and Leach along with two other kayakers left from Telegraph Cove and headed towards Chatham and Discovery Islands.

"We were grouping up when the attack occurred" explained Campbell.

The excursion turned into a frightening experience when Leach noticed a large harbour seal charging at their kayaks.

"I didn't really think anything of it at first," said Leach.

"Usually the seals are shy and just swim away, but then it grabbed my rudder and pulled my foot pedal right out of the socket."

The seal tried to mount two of the kayaks without much success until it reached Campbell.


Comment: See also this report of another attack by the same species that occurred on the same day about 10 miles from the above incident: Seal bites man in Friday Harbor, Washington

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Cloud Lightning

Ten persons hit by lightning bolt at tourist attraction in Jamaica

Shanice Watson
The Gleaner
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 13:05 UTC
Lightning
Ten persons are now being treated at the St Ann's Bay Hospital after they were stuck by lightning at the Mystic Mountain tourist attraction in St Ann yesterday afternoon.

Managing Director of the attraction, Mike Drakulich, says the incident happened about 4:30 p.m.

Six of the injured were tour guides and four were tourists.

According to Drakulich, the affected persons were partaking in a zip line tour when the lightning stuck.

Showers, brought about by a weather system affecting Jamaica over the past few days, had been affecting Ocho Rios prior to the incident.
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Seismograph

Two shallow earthquakes with magnitudes over 4 shake Turkey's Gökova Bay


Hurriyet Daily News
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 12:54 UTC
MAP tURKEY
© EMSC
Two earthquakes with magnitudes of over 4 shook the Gökova Bay off Turkey's Aegean coast on Aug. 18, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has stated.

The first earthquake with a 4.2-magnitude hit the Gökova Bay at 3.47 p.m. at a depth of 7 kilometers, according to AFAD.

It was followed by another 4.5-magnitude quake at 5.10 p.m. in the same region, at the depth of 16.7 kilometers.

The region has been struck by several earthquakes in recent weeks, with a 5.1-magnitude hitting it on Aug. 8. At least 490 quakes were recorded in the aftermath of the tremor.
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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes 880 kilometers off the coast of Liberia


Front Page Africa
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 12:43 UTC
chart
An earthquake of 6.8 magnitudes on the Richter scale occurred approximately 880 kilometers off Liberia's shore, the ministry of information, culture and tourism has confirmed Friday morning.

The ministry, however, assured the public that the quake poses no threat of a tsunami

The Ministry of Information assured the public in the release that relevant government agencies and security apparatus are continuing to monitor the situation and will readily inform the public and new and additional information becomes available.

The government has assured all citizens to remain calm but alert in the wake of the incident.
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Attention

Pygmy sperm whale discovered washed up on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina

Maggie Angst
The State
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 11:57 UTC
The pygmy sperm whale found washed up on Daufuskie Island
© Amber Keuhn
The pygmy sperm whale found washed up on Daufuskie Island
When Joanne and Mike Loftus spotted a whale struggling in the surf Thursday night on Daufuskie Island, they helped push it back out to sea.

Watching it swim away, the two were excited.

"We thought we saved its life," Mike said.

When the pair went back out Friday morning for turtle patrol, they saw that the 11-foot male pygmy sperm whale had washed up dead.

Mike said he learned an important lesson from the experience.

"When you see a beached whale, you're supposed to stay away and call authorities, because it could be diseased, ... and if you push it back out, it could be attacked by sharks and have a violent death, instead of the death it's supposed to have," he said.
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