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Wild elephant kills man trying to take a selfie in Nepal


iol.co.za
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 20:26 UTC
Charging elephant
© Getty
Charging elephant
A man was killed in southern Nepal as he tried to take a selfie with a wild elephant, authorities said Wednesday.

The man had been driving a water tanker when he stopped to take a photograph with the animal. The wild elephant attacked the man and killed him, Parsa Wildlife Reserve officials said.

The wild elephant was part of a herd moving from the western to the eastern part of the reserve, an annual movement during the monsoon.

A herd of 21 jumbos made the movement on Tuesday. The elephants disrupted traffic on the highway that passes through the forest for several hours.

There are 65 elephants in the Parsa Wildlife Reserve and around 170 total wild elephants in the country. About the same number are kept as working elephants at tourist resorts and government-run breeding centres.

Deaths from elephant attacks are not uncommon in southern Nepal's buffer zones near forest areas.

Source: DPA

Comment: See also: Elephant kills woman taking photographs on Java, Indonesia

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Bizarro Earth

Volcano on the outskirts of Rome is waking up, researchers say


Sputnik News
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 20:13 UTC
Rome, Italy
© Pixabay
A new study is warning that a volcano may be awakening in Italy in the Colli Albani Volcanic District, on the outskirts of Rome. A new Geophysical Research Letters study, authored by Fabrizio Marra and others, reports that over four million people could be at risk if the Colli Albani volcano complex, bordering the Rome metropolitan area, goes into a full-scale eruption.

The Alban Hills, or Colli Albani as it is called locally, was particularly active between 608,000-351,000 years ago, when it produced massive eruptions of ash totaling some 67 cubic miles, Wired reported.

"This change in behavior is good news for Rome, because the Colli Albani appears to be more regular in the spacing of its eruptions than most volcanoes. In their new study, Marra and team identify dormancy and recurrence intervals for the Colli Albani that, since 608,000 years ago, have varied from 29,000±2,000 to 57,000±4,000 years, averaging 41,000±2,000 years between eruptions and 38,000±2,000 years between periods of renewed activity," Wired detailed.

Researchers propose that, as it has been roughly 36,000 years since the most recent eruptions, and that the volcanos have been remarkably consistent in their patterns, they may be due for a period of increased activity. The revelations are troubling, as the area is a mere 16 miles from the center of Rome.

"Rome doesn't have to harbor the same apprehension that Naples must have for the Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius. However, this would be an excellent time to start planning, in case the Colli Albanidoes decide it is time to wake back up," Wired suggested.
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Attention

Strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Kermadec Islands


Daily Mail
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 15:35 UTC
The uninhabited Kermadecs where the quake struck are New Zealand's northernmost islands, lying 1,100 kilometres north of Auckland
© Ted Aljibe
The uninhabited Kermadecs where the quake struck are New Zealand's northernmost islands, lying 1,100 kilometres north of Auckland
A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific late Wednesday, the US Geological Service that monitors quakes worldwide said.

The quake's epicentre was 201 kilometres (124 miles) north east of Raoul Island -- the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, striking 12 kilometres below the surface, the USGS said.

There were no reports of casualties or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

The uninhabited Kermadecs, New Zealand's northernmost islands, lie 1,100 kilometres north of Auckland.

They are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a hotbed of volcanic and earthquake activity at the intersection of several tectonic plates.

Source: AFP
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Attention

Rough seas toss up dead whale in New Zealand

Mike Dinsdale
New Zealand Herald
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 14:19 UTC
At 22 metres long, the decomposing whale is starting to get

At 22 metres long, the decomposing whale is starting to get "very smelly" and potentially dangerous.
A 22-metre long blue whale washed up on a private Far North beach has excited a marine mammal expert but also sparked a health warning as the giant sea creature decomposes.

The whale was probably a blue whale, but whether it is a pygmy blue or a true blue whale would not be known until samples taken by the Department of Conservation had been analysed, Forest & Bird marine mammal specialist Anton van Helden said.

It washed up on a private beach about 40 minutes north of Kerikeri on Saturday.

Mr van Helden said even the best analysis may never uncover the cause of death.

The 22-metre long blue whale washed up on a private Far North beach.

The 22-metre long blue whale washed up on a private Far North beach.
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Tornado1

Tornadoes, flooding causes severe damage in Minnesota

Sean Breslin and Jon Erdman
The Weather Channel
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 00:29 UTC
Storm damage to homes in Litchfield, Minnesota
© KARE 11
Storm damage to homes in Litchfield, Minnesota.
A combination of flooding rain and tornadoes hammered parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Monday into early Tuesday morning in the latest round of severe weather to hit the Midwest.

One twister left widespread moderate damage on the northwest side of Litchfield, Minnesota, just after 5:30 p.m. CDT. Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze said 15 to 20 homes sustained damaged and two other dwellings are a total loss. The tornado was confirmed and rated EF2 by the National Weather Service; the twister had maximum wind speeds of 115 mph.

"We heard the siren and we knew we had to move, so we took off," Litchfield resident Diane Kelbing told KARE-TV. "The garage is gone, the shed is gone the snowmobile trailer is gone, we've got a snow plow in the tree."

Litchfield Mayor Keith Johnson told Fox 9 this is the worst tornado damage he has ever seen in the city.

"I've lived in this town 52 years and I've never seen a storm like this in our community," Johnson told KARE.

Another confirmed tornado in progress near Watkins was also relayed by the NWS. Homes and a nursing home were reportedly damaged, and there were minor injuries in Watkins, the AP also said. Electricity was out Monday evening in Watkins and northwestern Litchfield.

An EF2 tornado was also confirmed in Watkins, and the twister that hit this town had wind speeds as high as 125 mph, according to the NWS. It carved a damage path two miles long, the survey revealed.

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Snowflake

Cold front brings July snow to Klamath, Oregon

Stephen Floyd
Herald and News
Tue, 12 Jul 2016 21:31 UTC
Crater Lake snow
© Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake snow
An unseasonal cold snap brought snow to northern Klamath County Sunday with additional cold weather possibly arriving next weekend.

Areas such as Crescent and Crater Lake National Park saw between 2 and 3 inches of snow, while other parts of the region saw temperatures dip as low as the 30s.

Meteorologist Mike Petrucelli, of the National Weather Center's Medford office, said both cool and moist weather is abnormal for mid-July, but not impossible.

"It's not unheard of, but just unusual" said Petrucelli.
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Health

Beaver attacks paddle boarder in Asheville, North Carolina

John Boyle
wcsh6.com
Mon, 11 Jul 2016 18:30 UTC
Beaver

Beaver
A beaver suspected of carrying rabies attacked a paddle boarder on Beaver Lake, inflicting multiple lacerations.

An animal control officer with the Asheville Police Department caught the beaver Saturday, less than a day after the 3:30 p.m. ET Friday incident. It was euthanized and was being tested Monday at a state laboratory in Raleigh N.C., for the virus.

"I saw a big splash, but I didn't see what the splash was from," said Betsy Bent, 67, who has used Beaver Lake for 22 years. "It came up under my board and knocked my board over, and then it latched onto my leg and wouldn't let go. I didn't know what it was at that time. I didn't think there was any 'Jaws' in Beaver Lake."

Once Bent fell in the water, the beaver kept attacking.

"I was yelling, 'Help, I'm being bitten!' " she said. " A very nice fisherman was talking to me and motioning me to come over, and then it turned around and attacked me again and latched onto my hand. Then it came around a third time and latched onto my other hand."
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Attention

Dangerous plant: Giant Hogweed - here's what you need to know

Mike Brown
Gazette Live
Tue, 12 Jul 2016 15:08 UTC
giant Hogweed
© Dept of Environmental Conservation
Giant Hogweed Giant hogweed can grow to 14 feet or more
River Tees Trust warns of 'very serious consequences' if children come into contact with it

The battle against the dangerous Giant Hogweed plant on Teesside continues. As these pictures show, the plant, which can cause serious burns and blisters to the skin, is still rife across the area.
giant hogweed burns

An example of the burns to the skin that Giant Hogweed can cause
Around 11 hectares of the plant have been treated in the Roundhill area of Ingleby Barwick , close to thousands of residential homes.

Giant Hogweed does not originate from Britain - but has spread like wildfire since its accidental introduction in the 19th Century.
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Cloud Precipitation

3 inch wide hailstones pound Killdeer, North Dakota

Sydney Mook
Grand Forks Herald
Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:20 UTC
Hailstones
Eric Fleming was hoping to spend his birthday having fun and enjoying the sights and sounds of the Medora Musical on Sunday night. Instead, he spent the evening boarding up windows and cleaning up glass after a thunderstorm that produced high winds and golf-ball-sized hail tore through his hometown of Killdeer.

"It just kind of looks like a bomb went off," Fleming said. "I've worked outside all my life, I've seen a lot of storms. But this one -- just seeing it on the radar I knew it was going to be really bad one."

Fleming said he and his fiancee, Ann McKinney, were about two-thirds of the way to Medora when Ann's mother called her and told her that hail was coming into the house and hitting the bathtub in their home. He said they quickly turned around and came back to Killdeer, only to find most of their back windows blown out and the backyard torn apart with dead birds lying in what little was left of his garden. The hail came in at such high speeds that it pelted the ground, leaving divots that were up to 2 inches deep.



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Cloud Precipitation

Damaging floods hit Estevan, Saskatchewan; over 5 inches of rain in 3 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 12 Jul 2016 13:06 UTC
Downtown Estevan
© Daphne Lavina
Downtown Estevan
The city of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, declared a state of emergency on 11 July 2016 after a 3 hour torrential downpour caused damaging floods.

In a statement, Mayor Roy Ludwig, said that Estevan experienced over 5 inches (127 mm) of rain in a very short time frame on during the afternoon.

Areas of the city of around 11,000 inhabitants have been closed and the public warned to stay away. The flooding caused power outages at the local water treatment plant.



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