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Nine killed by flash flooding near Payson, Arizona

David Schwartz
Reuters
Mon, 17 Jul 2017 03:02 UTC
Payson flash flood
© Amy Lloyd
Nine people died after flash floods swept away crowds at Cold Springs swimming hole Payson, Arizona, on Saturday afternoon
At least nine people drowned while swimming in an Arizona river when they became overwhelmed by flash flooding following heavy rains in the drought-stricken region, officials said on Sunday.

Authorities were searching for at least one other missing person after the incident on Saturday afternoon in the Verde River near Payson, about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Phoenix, Water Wheel Fire and Medical District Fire Chief Ron Sattelmaier said.

Local media reported at least two children were among the dead. The Gila County Sheriff's Office did not give details of the deceased or those missing.

A search-and-rescue operation was under way involving sheriff's deputies and the Arizona Department of Public Safety Ranger Helicopter, as well as members of the local Whispering Pines Fire Department and U.S. Forest Service, Sheriff Adam Shepherd said in a statement.

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Snowflake Cold

'Coldest temperature in years' across Australia's south east

Benedict Brook
NEWS.com.au
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 06:31 UTC
Qantas turboprop ready to be de-iced
© supplied
A Qantas turboprop ready to be de-iced.


TEMPERATURES plummeted to a record breaking -12C this morning as winter made its presence felt across Australia's south east.

AUSTRALIA may have just recorded its coldest temperature of 2017 as a series of cold fronts barrelled across the country's south east on Sunday.

NSW and Victoria both had a freezing start to the day dropping to -12C in the mountains. Qantas has been forced to de-ice planes at Melbourne — a task usually only needed in Canberra and Hobart.

Sunday will still be chilly for Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart but temperatures will rise further north.

South of the Murray, the mercury in Ballarat fell to -2.1C, in Bairnsdale to -3.5C and at Mount Hotham to -7.8C.

But that's nothing on NSW and the ACT where residents of Orange woke to a low of -6.3C, and Canberra fell to -7C. But the mountain resort of Perisher knocked it out of the winter ballpark slumping to -12.1C at 3.30am.
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Cloud Lightning

Frightening lightning strikes when least expected

RNN Staff
KCBD
Sun, 16 Jul 2017 21:23 UTC
Flashes and streaks of lightning in the summer sky can be awe-inspiring. They're also signs to seek shelter as soon as possible.

lightning strike
© Pixabay
As frightening as it is spectacular, summer lightning is both a sight to behold and a force to avoid.
Lately, the force of nature seems to be making its own public safety announcements, with folks being caught off guard in shocking ways.

On Monday, a 27-year-old swim instructor in Florida was walking to work when lightning struck an antenna atop a pole that was 75 yards away from her. The effects of the indirect lightning strike were so serious that she was hospitalized. She said she felt the shock, describing as a burning sensation. A surveillance camera caught her stopping short as the strike occurs, then bolting toward the office door.
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Ice Cube

Forget extreme temperatures: Nothing kills as many people as moderate cold

Joanne Nova
JoNova
Sun, 16 Jul 2017 20:00 UTC
Cold in Kashmir
© The News Tribe
Some are scoffing at the idea that rising heating costs will kill people. But check out the number-one temperature-killer in 74 million deaths across 13 countries. It's not the extremes that we need to worry about, the deadly phrase is "mildly suboptimal temperatures". Look at the blue finger of death in the graph below, starkly showing how irrelevant "extreme heat", or any other ambient temperature zone, is.

Do you need an excuse to turn the heater on in winter? Low ambient room temperatures will thicken your blood.

Moderate cold accounted for as many as 6.6% of all deaths. Extreme temperatures (either cold or hot) were responsible for only 0·86%.

Join the dots — will we save more lives by:

a) making homes cold now in the hope that lower "carbon" emissions will,

b) mean less deaths from heat in 90 years time despite people probably having better access to heaters and air conditioners?

Would you sacrifice ten years of your life...
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Fire

Wildfires close in on Williams Lake, BC; thousands ordered to evacuate


RT
Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:51 UTC
Canada wildfire
© taramcconnery / Instagram
An entire city and surrounding areas in British Columbia were forced to evacuate as raging wildfires intensified by strong winds spread across the region.

An evacuation alert was issued for Williams Lake and surrounding areas in Cariboo Regional District on Saturday.

"All individuals in the City [Williams Lake] and the above areas must evacuate immediately," the order stated.

Around 12,000 people live in the city, and the same number of people in the surrounding areas were also ordered to evacuate, CBC Canada reported.
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Attention

New eruption on the Reunion island: Piton de la Fournaise volcano erupts for the third time this year

Gary Walton
The Big Wobble
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 12:41 UTC
volcano
The volcano began erupting early this morning, making it the third eruption this year (after the ones in January and May).

Following an increase of earthquakes over the past days, an intense seismic crisis started 22:20 local time last night - sign of the magma moving towards the surface.

The eruption itself, when the magma reached the surface, began at around 00:50 this morning from a new fissure on the SSW slope of Dolomieu crater near the Chateau Fort cinder cone.

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Boat

17 villages in Maguindanao, Philippines submerged in flood water for 2 months now

Jasper Acosta
ABS-CBN News
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 11:36 UTC
17 villages in Maguindanao submerged in flood water for 2 months now
© ABS-CBN News
17 villages in Maguindanao submerged in flood water for 2 months now
Seventeen low-lying villages in Kabuntalan town, Maguindanao, have been flooded for two months now because there's nowhere for stagnant water to go and rivers continue to overflow.

The local government said it expects the flooding to subside by September.

Flood-water levels are almost 2 feet high, submerging the Sangguniang Bayan headquarters, the police station and several houses.
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Snowflake

Snow falls in the middle of July in Schefferville, Quebec

Charles-Olivier Caron
The Sherbrooke Times
Wed, 12 Jul 2017 09:56 UTC
Schefferville in northern Quebec

July snow in Schefferville, Quebec
The community of Schefferville, located in the North of Quebec has seen its been shortened by Mother Nature. The snow fell during last night, while the temperatures were very cool.

The mercury hit 1 degree Celsius on Wednesday morning at Schefferville and the slush has been seen by many citizens. According to Francois Desy, who lives in the community with almost 200 people, the snow was visible a little more in altitude, on the small mountains near the city. Some white spots were visible on the mountains at low altitude.

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Snowflake

Chilly in Chile: 280,000 lose power in first Santiago snowfall for 20 years


Sky News
Sun, 16 Jul 2017 06:27 UTC
Santiago snow
© Getty Images
The cold snap brought a rare opportunity to build snowmen in Santiago


Up to five centimetres come down in the city's first snowfall for decades, causing havoc in the Chilean capital.

More than 280,000 people have reportedly been left without power in Santiago after a rare blanket of snow hit the Chilean capital.

About 3-5cm of the white stuff came down on Saturday in what some reports say is the first snowfall there for 20 years.

A security guard at a medical facility died from an apparent heart attack while trying to clear snow, according to reports, while trees struck electricity lines.

And two other people - a 15-year-old girl and her grandmother - were thought to have been injured after they suffered electric shocks from a damaged cable.

The snow has also led to treacherous driving conditions.


Comment: Last month snow and heavy rains disrupted mining operations in the desert region of northern Chile.

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Seismograph

Shallow 5.3 magnitude earthquake rattles Greek island of Crete


The Indian Express
Sun, 16 Jul 2017 05:44 UTC
Crete earthquake
© GOOGLE MAPS
Greece lies in an especially earthquake-prone zone and tremors of this magnitude are not considered exceptional. Three aftershocks, each of a magnitude of 3.5, have occurred within half an hour of the main quake.

Greece's Institute of Geodynamics says that a magnitude 5.3 earthquake has rattled the island of Crete. The earthquake occurred on Saturday at 11:30 pm local time off the southern coast of Crete, at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The Institute reported that the epicentre is near the coastal town of Ierapetra and about 60 kilometres southeast of the island's largest city, Heraklion.

Although the temblor was felt strongly in the eastern part of Crete, according to local media, no casualties or damages have been reported so far. Three aftershocks, each of a magnitude of 3.5, have occurred within half an hour of the main quake.

Greece lies in an especially earthquake-prone zone and tremors of this magnitude are not considered exceptional.
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