Earth Changes

Strong earthquake hits the Philippines again

Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales
Reuters
Thu, 31 Oct 2019 05:00 UTC

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked southern Philippines still reeling from two strong tremors this month, killing at least five people and causing previously damaged buildings and homes to collapse.

The integrity of several buildings and homes on Mindanao have already been weakened by a 6.3 earthquake that struck on Oct. 16 and another 6.6 quake on Oct. 29.

A social welfare officer said five people in North Cotabato province died due to the quake, including a village chief when the office wall collapsed on him. This brought the number of killed to 20 in the series of tremors since Oct. 16.

The latest quake occurred 33 km (20 miles) northeast of Tulunan town in Cotabato province, which lies west of Davao City, where President Rodrigo Duterte was when it happened. His spokesman, Salvador Panelo said the Philippine leader is safe.

Harvest lags in Iowa, and this week's snow won't help

Dean Borg
Iowa Public Radio
Tue, 29 Oct 2019 19:21 UTC

A soybean field near Anamosa is covered in snow Tuesday morning

Prime harvesting weather is fading in Iowa, but three-fourths of the state's corn acreage isn't yet harvested.

The latest update from the U-S Department of Agriculture Monday said Iowa's corn harvesting lags 11 days behind the five-year average at this stage of the season.

As of this past weekend, one-third of the state's soybean crop was still in the field. That's about a week behind average.

People feared dead after boat capsizes as flooding in Somalia forces 182,000 people from their homes

Chiara Giordano
Independent (UK)
Tue, 29 Oct 2019 18:40 UTC

Two children believed to be among those who drowned in city of Beledweyne, UN humanitarian arm says

Numerous people are feared dead after flooding caused a boat to capsize and thousands to flee their homes in Somalia.

Up to 20 people were thrown into the water during the accident in the central city of Beledweyne, near the Ethiopia border, on Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Two children are believed to have been among those who drowned when the vessel overturned in a river flowing through the city in Hiiraan province.

The number of casualties is not yet known, however mixed reports claim between 10 and 15 people are feared dead.

October snow falling on Mauna Kea summit in Hawaii

Big Island Video News
Tue, 29 Oct 2019 12:30 UTC

Building instability and moisture are resulting in extensive fog, ice and high humidity at the summit, forecasters say. Ice and snow can already be seen on observatory webcams.

Ice is starting to cover the summit of Mauna Kea on Tuesday afternoon.

Observatory webcams show snow and fog surrounding the telescopes at the 13,000 ft level of the mountain.

Signs and Portents: Chinese farmer finds two headed snake

Catch News
Wed, 30 Oct 2019 11:34 UTC

Recently, a Chinese farmer was astound after he found a two headed snake in his yard. As per the local reports, the farmer stated that he came across the two headed snake in his home on Monday. The event happened in a village in Hebei province.

The farmer, identified only by his last name Shenzhou stated that he managed to catch the snake and put in on display for others to see it. The two headed snake soon attracted a lot of visitors from in and around the village, all of them waiting with bated breath to catch a glimpse of the rare snake. However, the two headed snake escaped when a kid knocked the pot in which it was captured over.

A clip, posted by People's Daily China, exhibited the two headed reptile moving across the floor.

The clip has cumulated over 21,000 views since it was posted on social media. It has also gathered several reactions, some amazed and others intrigued.

At least 42 people killed in landslide caused by heavy rains in Cameroon

Anna Pujol-Mazzini
Reuters
Wed, 30 Oct 2019 10:15 UTC

A landslide caused by heavy rains in western Cameroon killed at least 42 people overnight, state media reported on Tuesday.

Rescue teams spent the day scouring the rubble of destroyed houses in the town of Bafoussam in the western highlands. Among the bodies recovered were those of 26 children, Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) reported.

The search will resume on Wednesday for additional bodies believed to remain under the rubble, CRTV reported.

"Around 10 p.m. I heard a noise," said Albert Kenge, who survived the landslide. "I saw a big cloud of dust and when it dissipated, I saw that the mountain had collapsed."

Gulf Stream is 15% weaker, region south of Greenland coldest in 1,000 years

Peter Sinclair
Yale Climate Connections
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 21:19 UTC

'We are 50 to 100 years ahead of schedule with the slowdown of this ocean circulation pattern,' says climate scientist Michael Mann.

A stubborn blue spot of cool ocean temperatures stands out like the proverbial sore thumb in a recent NASA image of the warming world - a circle of cool blue on a planet increasingly shaded in hot red.

A region of the North Atlantic south of Greenland has experienced some of its coldest temperatures on record in recent years, a cooling unprecedented in the past thousand years. What explains that anomaly?

Climatologist Michael Mann of Penn State University, in this month's "This is Not Cool" video, explains that this phenomenon may be an indication that the North Atlantic current, part of a larger global ocean circulation, is slowing down.

Comment: A bit more data from Phys.org:

Levke Caesar, a scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and co-author of a study that found the current to be 15% weaker. "When the circulation slows down, we have less heat transport to that region."

Another study, published last year in the journal Nature, found the system to have reached its weakest point in 1,600 years, although it says the loss of strength probably began from natural factors.

Deadly landslide after heavy rain in Peru

Floodlist
Tue, 29 Oct 2019 18:34 UTC

After the landslide in Perené district, Chanchamayo province, Peru.

At least 1 person died and 11 homes were destroyed after a landslide in the Junín Region of Peru.

The landslide occurred in the Perené district, Chanchamayo province, late on 25 October, 2019. A short burst of heavy rain caused the landslide, sending mud, fallen trees and debris from surrounding hillsides onto the houses below.

Peru's National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI) said a total of 5 people suffered injuries, 3 of which were serious. INDECI transferred the victims to nearby hospitals. Around 30 people were evacuated to safe areas.

Military personnel, including engineers, have been deployed to help with repairs and clean-up operations.

LO ÚLTIMO | Una niña murió tras el derrumbe de un cerro en Perené ► https://t.co/xqWoeDOgrG pic.twitter.com/hSREh4x9po
— Canal N (@canalN_) October 26, 2019

Nearly two dozen gulls found dead, seriously injured in Port Canaveral, Florida

Greg Pallone
mynews13.com
Mon, 28 Oct 2019 18:05 UTC

Nearly two dozen birds are dead in Brevard County, and we may never know why.

It's a Halloween week mystery that could have come out of a Hitchcock movie.

The team at Melbourne's Wild Florida Rescue got a call late Saturday night while at their annual Halloween party.

The Brevard Sheriff's Office deputies were at a sad scene on Mullet Road in Port Canaveral.

"When we got there we were shocked, there were gulls scattered straight down the road," Heather Pepe with Wild Florida Rescue told Spectrum News 13.

Comment: 3 weeks ago in the same state: More sick Laughing Gulls turn up on Anna Maria Island, Florida

Summit County ski areas in Colorado have already received up to 42 inches of October snowfall

John Meyer
The Denver Post
Mon, 28 Oct 2019 11:25 UTC

The next storm, due early Tuesday, is expected to add another 6-8 inches

If you're peeved because we've just had our third October snowstorm with another one due early Tuesday, maybe this will cheer you up: The three Front Range ski areas that are open have been getting good snow, and they're looking forward to more from this next storm.

Keystone, which opened Oct. 12, has received 40 inches of snow this month, and Breckenridge, which is currently slated to open Nov. 8 but might open early, has received 42 inches, according to a spokeswoman.

"It's hard to believe it's October right now," Keystone/Breckenridge spokeswoman Sara Lococo said Monday morning. "Snow is still falling here in Breckenridge and across Summit County. It's just incredible that it looks like mid-winter conditions. The weather has been great, and the temperatures have been great, so our snowmakers have been out in full force."