Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 21 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Earth Changes
Map

Attention

Hunter in Namibia trampled to death by elephant he was trying to kill

Elephant
Namibian media say an elephant trampled and killed an Argentine who was in a group of hunters tracking a herd of elephants.

The Namibia Press Agency said the hunter, identified as 46-year-old Jose Monzalvez, was killed on Saturday afternoon in a private wildlife area 43 miles northwest of the small town of Kalkfeld.

The agency said Monzalvez, who worked for an oil company, was with another Argentine and three Namibians when he was killed. It says one of the elephants charged before the group was able to find a spot to aim and shoot.

The report says Monzalvez had a hunting permit with him and that relatives have been informed of his death.

Source: Associated Press

Fire

Firefighters battle wildfires across Greece

Greece wildfires
© Getty Images
Members of the fire department battled to try and extinguish a forest fire in the Kalamos region of Athens, Greece, on Monday
Firefighters battled more than 90 forest fires across Greece on Monday, an outbreak fed by dry winds and hot weather that saw blazes burning near Athens, in the Peloponnese, and on the Ionian islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia.

The fire near Athens was burning unchecked for a second day, damaging dozens of homes. It had started in Kalamos, a coastal holiday spot some 45 km (30 miles) northeast of the capital, and spread overnight to three more towns. A state of emergency was declared in the area.

On Zakynthos, an island popular with foreign tourists, several fires continued to burn for a fourth day and authorities declared a state of emergency. One minister said those fires had been set deliberately.

"It's arson according to an organized plan," Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis, who is the MP for Zakythnos, told state TV when asked to comment on the dozen fires burning on the island. "There is no doubt about it."

It is not clear what caused the fires, and no investigation has begun into possible arson. Late July and August often see a outbreaks of forest and brush fires in Greece, where high temperatures help create tinder-box conditions.


Comment: Record number of 220 wildfires recorded in one day for Portugal


Attention

'Mutant piglet' with two bodies and EIGHT legs dies minutes after birth in China

Deformed pig
© AsiaWire
The 'mutant' pig with two bodies and eight legs.
A 'mutant pig' born with two bodies and eight legs has died just minutes after being born.

Farmer Gao Baiqi, who owns the sow, said the piglet appeared to have been joined to a parasitic twin.

Gao said he had "never ever seen anything like it" after the pig was born with underdeveloped skin and numerous extra limbs.

Gao, who lives in Fe County in Linyi City in China's eastern Shandong Province, spotted the little piglet among the rest of the sow's litter after they were born.

Comment: See also:


Arrow Down

Breaking News: At least 300 killed by huge mudslide after heavy rainfall in Sierra Leone

At least 300 have been killed after a mudslide (pictured) sparked by heavy rain crashed through part of Sierra Leone's capital

At least 300 have been killed after a mudslide (pictured) sparked by heavy rain crashed through part of Sierra Leone's capital
At least 300 have been killed and 2,000 left homeless after a mudslide sparked by heavy rain crashed through part of Sierra Leone's capital.

Homes were swept away in Regent, in the outskirts of Freetown, while roads turned into rampaging rivers as the mudslide struck.

Relatives dug through the mud in search of their loved ones and a morgue overflowed with bodies after heavy rains and flooding.

Shocking pictures on social media have emerged online showing bodies piled up in the mud and people wading through mud.


Cloud Precipitation

Worst flood in 29 years hits the state of Assam, India

Floods Assam

Floodwater in Assam
In what seems to be the state's worst deluge in three decades, the death toll in the second wave of floods rose to 15, with 10 more deaths reported on Sunday. With over 10 *lakh people affected in the last 24 hours, the total number of flood victims shot up to 15 lakh across 21 districts in Assam. Over 85% of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) was inundated.

More than 1.83 lakh displaced have taken shelter in 439 relief camps. Rescue operations by the Army, Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force personnel are underway, said state project co-coordinator of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) Rajib Prakash Baruah. About 3,000 villagers were rescued and shifted to relief camps on Sunday, said defence PRO Lt Col S Newton.


Cloud Lightning

4 killed by lightning bolt in Afar, Ethiopia; 13 such deaths in last 3 weeks

Lightning
Four people died in lightning strike Sunday in Afar regional state in northeastern Ethiopia, police said Monday.

Afar regional state Police Sergeant Ali Buto said five other people who were injured in the lightning strike are being treated for their injuries at nearby medical centers.

The lightning strike also killed several livestock in the area.

Ethiopia's arid Afar regional state has been experiencing a spate of deadly lightning strikes as the rainy season which starts from June and continues until early September seems to increase incidences of lightning strike, according to Afar regional state office of Disaster Risk Management and Food security.

In the last three weeks alone, a total of 13 people have died as a result of lightning strikes, with the latest fatalities pushing up the death toll to 17 so far in Afar regional state.

Cloud Lightning

Mountain biker killed by lightning strike near Telluride, Colorado

lightning
A 24-year-old man died Sunday while mountain biking near Telluride.

A tweet from the San Miguel County Sheriff indicates the man suffered fatal injuries due to a lightning strike.
24yom mtn biker struck & killed by lightening strike E. Fork Trail near Telluride. Deputies, EMS, SAR, attempted life saving efforts. More. pic.twitter.com/CB4jonSfri

— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) August 13, 2017
The rider was with his girlfriend in the Lizard Head Wilderness, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

Fire

Record number of 220 wildfires recorded in one day for Portugal

FIREMAN
Portugal is fighting to put out a spate of wildfires after the southern European country hit a year high of outbreaks for a single day on Friday, authorities say.

Portugal's Civil Protection Agency, which coordinates its firefighting efforts, said Saturday that it recorded a record for this year of 220 separate wildfires on Friday.

Over 2,500 firefighters supported by over 800 vehicles and 15 air units were still mobilized on Saturday morning to combat the flames.

Portugal has been hard hit by wildfires, including one that killed 64 people in June, during a summer marked by high temperatures and a lack of rain.

Wildfires in Portugal this year have accounted for more than one-third of the burnt forest in the entire 28-country European Union.


Source: Associated Press.

Arrow Down

Firefighters rescue man who fell into 10-foot deep sinkhole in Philadelphia

Eugene Clarke, a Strawberry Mansion block captain, was rescued after he fell down a sinkhole late Saturday night. Clarke's wife took a photo of him before firefighters pulled him out.

Eugene Clarke, a Strawberry Mansion block captain, was rescued after he fell down a sinkhole late Saturday night. Clarke's wife took a photo of him before firefighters pulled him out.
A man had to be rescued by fire department personnel after falling into a 10-foot sinkhole in Philadelphia.

Officials said the 58-year-old man was walking in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood in northwest Philadelphia at about 11 p.m. Saturday.

They said he stepped off a curb between two parked cars and fell into the newly formed sinkhole that was about two feet wide and 10 feet deep.

He was rescued by firefighters and was taken to Temple University Hospital for treatment of injuries said not to be life-threatening.


Source: Associated Press

Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains kill 11 in northern Iran

A file photo of floodwaters in northeastern Iran

A file photo of floodwaters in northeastern Iran
Heavy downpours have caused flooding in northeastern and western Iran, killing 11 people and leaving two others missing.

Torrential rains have been battering the Iranian provinces of Khorasan Razavi, Golestan, North Khorasan, and Semnan in the country's general northeastern area, and Ilam Province in its west over the past days, causing rivers to overflow their banks.

Morteza Salimi, the head of Relief and Rescue Operations at Iran's Red Crescent Society, said the flooding had claimed eight people in Khorasan Razavi, two in Golestan, and another in North Khorasan.

Two people have gone missing in Golestan's Aliabad County, he said.

In Khorasan Razavi, which has suffered the brunt of the human losses, flooding has hit the cities of Dargaz, Quchan, Nishapur, and Kalat. Mojtaba Ahmadi, the director of the Red Crescent Society in the province, said 190 rescue workers had been dispatched to the affected areas there, alongside ambulances and aid shipments.