Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute today confirmed that 71 people have died in the flooding that has ravaged parts of the country over the last 10 days.

The worst affected province is Zambezia, where 49 of the victims died. The area has been badly hit by flooding after the Licugno river overflowed. The province of Nampula has also been badly affected by flooding caused by heavy rainfall over the last two weeks.

The country's authorities have set up 34 relief centres to house those displaced by the floods. It is understood that around 30,000 people are currently staying in the centres.

A 5.9 meter long and 3.2 meter wide minke whale weighing 2 tons was found dead, stranded in a fishnet in the East Sea 19 kilometers from land in Wondeok-eup, Samcheok City, Kangwon-do on January 20.

The whale was sold for 48 million won (US$ 44,138) on consignment. The minke whale is the third whale found stranded in Korean waters so far this year. One minke whale was found in a net near Pohang on January 14, and sold for 16 million won (US$ 14,711) on consignment. Another was found stranded near Daejin Port in Donghae City on January 12, and sold for 19 million won (US$ 17,463).

A peculiar creature with 'rodent-like teeth' has washed up on a North Devon beach.

Delphine Sutherland found the dead fish while walking at Woolacombe and posted a photo of it on Facebook to try to find out what it was.

Ilfracombe Aquarium director Lawrence Raybone said it looked like a trigger fish, typically found around the coasts of Spain and France.

He said: "It's more commonly found by sea anglers during the summer months while this shoaling animal is heading north on its migration route.

The two-metre long fish - known as a frilled shark - was captured near Lakes Entrance in Victoria

A terrifying prehistoric shark which has 300 razor sharp teeth has been caught by a group of fishermen in Australia.

The bizarre-looking creature was captured by the bemused fishermen near Lakes Entrance in Victoria.

The dark brown two-metre long fish is a frilled shark, which is also known as the 'living fossil'.

The discovery of hundreds of dead mackerel in the Bras d'Or Lake has area residents wondering what caused the fish to die.

Annette Coffin, a resident of Ben Eoin, first discovered dead fish in the water in front of her home a week ago.

"Last Monday morning, there were dead fish everywhere, on the shore and in the water," she said. "They were sort of under the ice - there was a light coating of ice, and there were tons of them on the beach, and when I came out and had a look they were everywhere."

An 18-month-old boy was killed by the family's two dogs Monday morning, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies responded to the 16000 block of Cherokee Road in Brooksville at 10:58 a.m. regarding a dog bite to a small child. Hernando County Fire Rescue also responded to the scene.

"It is a terrible, terrible event," said Sheriff Al Nienhuis. "Obviously even those of us who work with death and dying and serious injuries every day, the firefighters on scene I talked to earlier, they were heartbroken and the deputies, as well."

Deputies said Declan Moss was playing on the porch with his grandfather watching him.

For some reason, the dogs attacked him and he died from those injuries.

The dogs are described as medium-sized, mixed breeds.

Neighbors said they always appeared to be friendly.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports an active breakout of the Kilauea Volcano lava flow that began June 27 advanced about 120 yards toward Highway 130. An update Saturday from the Hawaii County Civil Defense said the original flow front and south margin breakout remain stalled. However, a breakout along the north side of the flow remains active and has advanced down slope below an area near the stalled front. The leading edge of the breakout was 0.4 miles from Highway 130 and west of the Pahoa police and fire stations. The Civil Defense agency says dry weather is likely to keep brush fires a concern.

Source: Fox 8

Tonga underwater volcano creates new island:

A Tongan volcano has created a substantial new island since it began erupting last month, spewing out huge volumes of rock and dense ash that has killed nearby vegetation, officials said on Friday. The volcano, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the South Pacific nation's capital Nuku'alofa, rumbled to life on December 20 for the first time in five years, the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry said. It said the volcano was erupting from two vents, one on the uninhabited island of Hunga Ha'apai and the other underwater about 100 meters (328 feet) offshore.

The ministry said experts took a boat trip to view the eruption on Thursday and confirmed it had transformed the local landscape. "The new island is more than one kilometer (0.6 mile) wide, two kilometers (1.2 miles) long and about 100 meters (328 feet) high," it said in a statement. "During our observations the volcano was erupting about every five minutes to a height of about 400 meters (1,312 feet), accompanied by some large rocks... as the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island."

It said ash and acidic rain was deluging an area 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) around the volcano, adding: "Leaves on trees on Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai have died, probably caused by volcanic ash and gases." A number of international flights were cancelled earlier this week amid concerns about the volcano's ash plume but they resumed on Wednesday, with authorities saying debris from the eruption was not being thrown high into the atmosphere. "Tonga, which is almost 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) northeast of New Zealand, lies on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," where continental plates collide causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.

Source: Discovery News

"The ancient Mayan civilization collapsed due to a century-long drought. Minerals taken from Belize's famous underwater cave, known as the Blue Hole, as well as lagoons nearby, show that an extreme drought occurred between 800 and 900 A.D., right when the Mayan civilization disintegrated. After the rains returned, the Mayans moved north - but they disappeared again a few centuries later, and that disappearance occurred at the same time as another dry spell. [...] The new results strengthen the case that dry periods were indeed the culprit." [Emphasis - KN]

This is according to a André Droxler, an Earth scientist at Rice University and co-author of this new study. It's inaccurate to say that the Maya "disintegrated;" approximately seven million are alive and living today in Central America. The Maya may have experienced epic drought, but was that the whole picture? Drought. Maya demise. Checkmark. Perhaps not! But let's follow this thinking for a bit...

Chasing Ice is a 2012 documentary film about the efforts of nature photographer James Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey to publicize the effects of climate change, directed by Jeff Orlowski. It was released in the United States on November 16, 2012.

The documentary includes scenes from a glacier calving event that took place at Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland, lasting 75 minutes, the longest such event ever captured on film. Two EIS videographers waited several weeks in a small tent overlooking the glacier, and were finally able to witness 7.4 cubic kilometres (1.8 cu mi) of ice crashing off the glacier. "The calving of a massive glacier believed to have produced the ice that sank the Titanic is like watching a city break apart."

The calving event lasted 75 minutes, and the glacier retreated a full mile across a calving face three miles wide. The height of the ice is about 3,000 feet - 300 to 400 feet above water, with the rest below water.

Event Time

1. 2015-01-20 06:59:52 UTC
2. 2015-01-20 00:59:52 UTC-06:00 at epicenter
3. 2015-01-20 01:59:52 UTC-05:00 system time

Location

15.022°N 91.339°W depth=161.9km (100.6mi)

Nearby Cities

1. 1km (1mi) SW of Santa Maria Chiquimula, Guatemala
2. 7km (4mi) ESE of Momostenango, Guatemala
3. 12km (7mi) NNE of Totonicapan, Guatemala
4. 14km (9mi) NE of San Francisco El Alto, Guatemala
5. 98km (61mi) WNW of Guatemala City, Guatemala

Tectonic Summary

Seismotectonics of the Caribbean Region and Vicinity

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.