Earth Changes

Italy wildfire: 400 people flee raging 'dramatic' blaze as fireball engulfs skyline

Lottie O'Neill
Daily Star (UK)
Mon, 09 Aug 2021 10:10 UTC

More than 400 people have been evacuated

Hundreds of tourists and residents have been evacuated as wildfires continue to rage in Italy.

More than 400 people have fled from their homes, hotels, and campsites in the seaside district on the Adriatic coast on Sunday, according to fire crews.

Clips of the flames approaching a cafe on social media show thick plumes of smoke billowing through the streets.

A helicopter and firefighting plane have been deployed to aid crews working to douse flames raging on the ground.

The fire is bringing down houses and blocked traffic on state road 16.

Ten hectares of pine forest in Vesuvius Park have gone up in smoke.

Heavy rain and flash floods affect 4 departments of El Salvador

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 18:35 UTC

Flood rescue in San Miguel, El Salvador, 07 August 2021.

Stormy weather including heavy rainfall since the start of August has caused damaged and flooding in 4 departments of El Salvador.

Storms, strong winds and heavy rain affected El Salvador from 02 August, 2021. Four homes were damaged by floods in southern parts of the city of San Salvador and another in Chanmico canton of the municipality of San Juan Opico, La Libertad department, Civil Defence reported.

Further heavy rain from 06 August caused powerful flash floods in San Miguel city and surrounding areas in San Miguel department. Firefighters rescued people from vehicles in flood water. No injuries were reported, however. El Salvador's Ministry of the Environgment reported over 60 mm of rain fell in 24 hours to 07 August in San Miguel city.

Lightning strikes kill 1,178 people in 8 years across Bangladesh

Financial Post
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 18:19 UTC

Deaths from lightning strikes have increased in monsoon in the country, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Lightning strike is another concern during the monsoon in Bangladesh as the country is the third-most lightning-prone region in the world.

"Deaths from the lightning strikes have witnessed a rise in the country in recent years, especially in haor regions. At least 1,178 people died from lightning strikes between 2013 and 2020," DGHS spokesperson Dr Nazmul Islam said in a media briefing on Sunday.

April, May and June are the lightning prone months in the country, he said, adding installing safe electric connection and lightning neutralising method at homes and implementing modern building code should ensure safety from lightning."

Lightning strikes claim 17 lives in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, India

India Today
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 17:50 UTC

At least 17 people have been killed and several others injured in separate incidents of lightning strike in states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha, as monsoon wreaks havoc across the country.

In West Bengal, at least four people have lost their lives due to lightning strikes in two districts of the state. According to a senior official, two persons died in Purba Medinipur district's Nandigram, while two others, including a woman, were killed in Purba Bardhaman district when lightning struck them.

Additionally, seven people were injured in lightning strikes in Purba Bardhaman districts, the official said, adding that all the people were working in agricultural fields.

Comment: Lightning strikes also killed 5 in Jharkhand on July 6 while another 7 were killed a day later in Bihar by what appears to have be a single bolt.

Megadrought shuts down California's Lake Oroville hydro power plant for the first time

ZeroHedge
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 17:38 UTC

lake oroville california drought hydropower

Lake Oroville fell to a record low of 642-feet above mean sea level.

One of California's most important hydroelectric plants has ceased operations due to falling water levels, according to the Department of Water Resources (DWR).

On Wednesday, Lake Oroville fell to a record low of 642-feet above mean sea level. By Thursday, the lake stood at 641-feet above mean sea level. Readers may recall in mid-June, we said if the "640 feet is breached, then officials will likely be forced to close the Edward Hyatt Power Plant for the first time since it opened in 1967."

Hitting the threshold was enough for DWR to declare the hydroelectric power plant had to cease operations. Lake management officials are in a water preservation emergency amid a megadrought and scorching heat waves.

Comment: Indeed, the Lake Oroville complex was in a precarious state in times of too much water. A blessing in disguise?

Dead emaciated seabirds wash up on shores of western Alaska

Diana Haecker
The Nome Nugget
Fri, 06 Aug 2021 13:38 UTC

Starting last week, regional residents reported numerous dead seabirds washing up on regional beaches. UAF Alaska Sea Grant Agent Gay Sheffield said the uptick in washed up sea bird carcasses on beaches started last week, July 28. Different species of sea birds were washed on to beaches at Golovin, Solomon, Nome and a dead murre was reportedly found on a beach at Little Diomede.

On Monday, August 2, a Nome resident found 15 dead birds on a 7.2 mile-stretch at Nome's West Beach. The birds were one horned puffin, six murres, seven shearwaters and one kittiwake.

Sheffield said multiple species were found dead and that preliminary analysis found them in a severely emaciated state. Bird carcasses will be shipped to the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will then send the bodies to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Lab in Madison, Wisconsin. There, the birds will be examined for disease or harmful algal biotoxins. Sheffield urges the public to report sightings of dead sea birds, to take photos, to note the location and if possible, to bag any freshly dead bird and bring it in for analysis. Report the strandings to Gay Sheffield, UAF Sea Grant Alaska, 907-434-1149 or to Kawerak Subsistence Director Brandon Ahmasuk at 907-443- 4265 or 907-434-2951.

Heavy snow and frost cause problems in Punta Arenas, Chile

El Pinguino
Sat, 07 Aug 2021 13:02 UTC

During the day, some traffic accidents with minor damages were reported in different sectors of Punta Arenas, as well as falls of people due to snow and frost.

In the early hours of yesterday, a heavy snow began to fall in Punta Arenas, which covered the main streets of the city in white, and even more so in the western sector.

This created problems for drivers, who found it difficult to walk, also considering that in recent days the flow of vehicles increased considerably.

No bridge over troubled waters: Raging flood destroys bridge in Taiwan after typhoon hits coast

Independent (UK)
Sun, 08 Aug 2021 12:18 UTC

A bridge in southern Taiwan was destroyed and washed away by raging floods on Saturday.

Large amounts of rain have also hit the east coast as typhoon Lupit turned into a tropical depression, making landfall.

Footage from Kaohsiung City captures the moment a bridge collapses, with muddy floodwater first running through and over the structure, before pulling it away.

Elsewhere in Taoyuan City, locals gathered to watch a reservoir overflow.

Lupit, the ninth typhoon of the year to affect the area, formed on 4 August.

Flooding in Europe sends price of potatoes soaring

Marc Walker
Bristol Post
Sat, 07 Aug 2021 20:07 UTC

The UK could experience a shortage of chips as the demand for potatoes grows in Europe.

After heavy flooding last month, the price of spuds has soared on the continent and buyers are targeting Britain, the Daily Star reported.

A "perfect storm" of inflation, labour shortages, environmental disaster, Brexit, rising fuel and distribution costs, has caused the problem.

Comment: Note that some of these factors are entirely avoidable and their impact could be easily mitigated, however. when these natural disasters are combined with these man-made crises, which are affecting more than just potatoes, the effect could be particularly devastating for producers and consumers.

But this has been added to by the continuing impact of Covid, triggering food shortages and spiralling bills, Lynx Purchasing reported.

Comment: Back in 2018 the price of potatoes in Europe rose 900% because of a Europe-wide drought and heatwave; the following year flooding caused the prices to rise; and this years unsettled and cool weather across much of western Europe is likely to take its toll on an already strained supply chain.

For more on the increasing climate upheaval on our planet, check out SOTT's monthly documentary Earth Changes Summary - July 2021: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

Also check out SOTT radio's:

French wine production falls to 'historically low' level after vineyards devastated by severe frost

RT
Fri, 06 Aug 2021 15:08 UTC

France's agriculture ministry reported on Friday that it has experienced one of the worst years on record for wine production, as a devastating late-spring frost sent output to "historically low" levels not seen since 1977.

The impact of the damaging frosts is expected to result in the nation, which is the second-largest wine producer globally, seeing its output fall to the "historically low" level of 24 to 30% in 2021. This would put it at a level below that of 1991 and 2017, when output was significantly hampered by a similar late-spring frost that destroyed harvests. Agricultural Ministry's statement read:

"For now, it looks like the yield will be comparable to that of 1977 - a year when the vine harvest was reduced by both destructive frost and summer downpours."

Addressing the department's findings, Agricultural Minister Julien Denormandie described the frost's impact as "probably the greatest agricultural catastrophe of the beginning of the 21st century."

The greatest amount of damage occurred back in April, when several nights of cold spells hit the main wine production regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and the Rhône Valley with frosts that hadn't been seen in decades.

Comment: Frost damage takes its toll, a harbinger for low production and increasing shortages as agriculture weathers the big chill.

Quote of the Day

State power has its own limits defined by the fact that it is authority that reaches people from outside. State power cannot oversee and dictate the creative states of the soul and mind, the inner states of love, freedom and goodwill. The state cannot demand from its citizens faith, prayer, love, goodness and conviction. It cannot regulate scientific, religious and artistic creation. It should not intervene in moral, family and daily private life, and only when extremely necessary should it impinge on people's economic initiative and creativity.

- Ivan Ilyin

Whats a Lizzo? Is that like a Lesbo? Asking for a friend....

Bezel Bub

New York hospitals prepare for staffing crisis as vaccination mandate forces mass firings [Link]

Serig

I think we need to start a GoFundMe so we can air drop AK-47's into Australia....

Bezel Bub

slime biden exacts no consequences for murdering 10 afghans, but punishes cowboys for riding horses

smertzasmert

Oh btw, random sort of tangential comment related to much of the "food" in this particularly fallow season. Uhm, wtf...I forgot what I wanted to...

sir_isO

Earth Changes

Italy wildfire: 400 people flee raging 'dramatic' blaze as fireball engulfs skyline

Heavy rain and flash floods affect 4 departments of El Salvador

Lightning strikes kill 1,178 people in 8 years across Bangladesh

Lightning strikes claim 17 lives in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, India

Megadrought shuts down California's Lake Oroville hydro power plant for the first time

Dead emaciated seabirds wash up on shores of western Alaska

Heavy snow and frost cause problems in Punta Arenas, Chile

No bridge over troubled waters: Raging flood destroys bridge in Taiwan after typhoon hits coast

Flooding in Europe sends price of potatoes soaring

French wine production falls to 'historically low' level after vineyards devastated by severe frost

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