Earth ChangesS


Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2 youths, injures 4 at cricket match in Andhra Pradesh, India

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The group of youth had gathered on Sunday to play cricket in an open field. During play, the weather changed, bringing rain, and light winds

Two youth were killed and four others injured in a lightning strike in in Katriki village, Kowthalam mandal on Sunday. The deceased were identified as 18-year-old Ashok, and 19-year-old Balaiah.

A group of youth had gathered to play cricket in an open field on Sunday. During play, the weather changed, bringing rain, and light winds. The youngsters wrapped up the game and were leaving when lightning struck. Ashok, and Balaiah died on the spot.

The four others who suffered injuries were rushed to the nearby government hospital, doctors informed that the condition of two is critical.

Tsunami

Torrential rains cause flooding in Durban, South Africa

Flooding on North Coast Road and between Mimosa and Nandi Drive on Friday
Flooding on North Coast Road and between Mimosa and Nandi Drive on Friday .
Widespread torrential downpours in Durban have caused flooding of some roads and business premises in the city and surrounding areas.

The localised flooding also led to traffic disruptions in parts of Durban.


Cloud Lightning

Intense rainfall caused floods in Northwestern Bulgaria

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Intense rainfall in Northwestern Bulgaria tonight caused floods, BNT reported.

Serious amounts were reported in the Boychinovo village of Lehchevo - 69 liters per square meter and in the Municipality of Vulchedrum - 56 liters. Two women were evacuated in Lehchevo.

According to the fire department, 40 reports of flooded houses have been filed in the Montana and Vratsa regions.

Teams have been sent to the scene. The rainfall there continues. In Montana, the amount of rain is 80 liters/sq m.

In Lom and Vidin, the rainfall was 29 and 23 liters per square meter, respectively.

The rainfall in Sofia is three times less. As of this time, only one report of a flooded underpass has been filed in the capital, and fire brigade teams are working to drain it.

There was also thunderstorm activity in many regions of the country, especially intense in Northwestern Bulgaria.


Bizarro Earth

Monster tornado on the Sun

Tornado on Sun
© Andrew McCarthy and Jason Guenzel
On Earth, the most dangerous tornadoes are rated F5. On the sun, they can be hundreds of times worse. David Wilson photographed this twister, big enough to swallow our entire planet, from his backyard observatory in Inverness, Scotland:

"I was recording this monster all day on April 24th when I noticed the central stem grow brighter until it let go at about 1300UT," says Wilson. "It looked like a huge swirl of plasma went round the stem and flew into space."

Doberman

Man dies after dog attack in Oroville, Washington

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A local man died April 2 after attempting to break up a dog fight on 14th Avenue. Keith Huckvale, 65, was sitting outside with his dog on his property when another dog— identified as a Picbull-- reportedly attacked his dog Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said Huckvale intervened to stop the fight.

"He's now trying to pull this dog off of his dog and in the process got bit fairly significantly on the forearm, Rodriguez said. "He was not successful in pulling the dog off."

Police were dispatched to the scene and were able to break up the fight. During the response, Huckvale apparently collapsed and became unresponsive, Rodriguez said.

"Officers showed up and used a taser to separate the dogs," Oroville Police Chief Gary Hirst said. "They turned around and noticed he had a heart attack or a stroke.'

Bizarro Earth

Key Atlantic ocean currents are weakening — and it could make the climate in some regions unrecognizable

Gulf Stream AMOC
Atlantic ocean currents regulate the climate, and they may be weakening, emerging research suggests.
A cold blob of water in the North Atlantic is an ominous sign that a system of currents that regulate the planet's climate could be weakening.

A mysterious patch of water in the North Atlantic has baffled scientists for decades. Located to the southeast of Greenland, this blob of seawater was colder between 1901 and 2021 than during the late 1800s, even as the seas around it became ever warmer.

Some scientists linked this "warming hole" to an inflow of frigid Arctic meltwater; others blamed pollution from shipping, which can bounce the sun's rays back into space. But a growing body of evidence suggests the hole has a more sinister origin — one whose impacts, if unleashed, would reach much farther than a small region of the North Atlantic.

The warming hole might be a sign that Atlantic Ocean currents are slowing down. This network of currents regulates Earth's climate, moving heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere. The currents, which include the Gulf Stream, form a huge and seemingly permanent loop known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

Attention

Dead whale found on beach near Cape Disappointment, Washington on April 19

Dead whale found on beach near Cape
Dead whale found on beach near Cape Disappointment
A gray whale was found dead on the beach near Cape Disappointment Saturday.

Cape Disappointment is in Ilwaco on the Long Beach Peninsula on the southwest corner of Washington.

Experts with the Cascadia Research Collective and Portland State University are performing a necropsy, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson, Jennifer Sepulveda, told KOMO News.

WDFW said the whale was the fifth reported dead in Washington so far this year.

Sepulveda said the deaths are fairly common this time of year when gray whales are migrating north past Washington to their summer range and become stranded.


Comment: Also recently, further south along the western seaboard: Dead gray whale washes ashore at Alameda beach, California - 4th in Bay Area so far this year


Wolf

Child dies after attack by pit bull in Mozambique

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© Carta
The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) has confirmed that the three-year-old child attacked by a pit-bull last Wednesday in the Tchumene 2 neighbourhood (Block 25A), in Matola municipality, Maputo province, has died in hospital.

PRM spokesperson Delfina Massingue reported that the 10th Police Station learned of the incident through the block chief and went to the scene immediately.

Upon arrival, the police found the child still alive and arranged for him to be transported to the Matola Provincial Hospital, where he was declared dead a few minutes later.

"The police's own canine unit, which specializes in cases of this type, was also deployed to the scene, together with the Protection Police, and managed to subdue the animal," the spokesperson reported.

Black Cat

Bobcat mauled an 82-year-old man in Alabama

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© Getty Images
Claude Strother wasn't expecting much action when he slipped into the Alabama woods on the afternoon of April 18. The 82-year-old turkey hunter had an hour to spare and figured he'd pass it by working a few calls from his Wilcox County property. What he got instead was the wildest hunt of his life, when a bobcat launched itself at the back of his head.

Strother had been feeling restless because his wife, Bettie, had gone to Birmingham for the day. So he decided to go hunting and planned to sit for about an hour and call every so often to try to strike up a gobbler.

"Instead of sitting by a big tree like I always do, I sat between two little trees about as big as my arm," Strother said in a Facebook reel posted by his daughter, DeAnn McGilberry. "It left my back and head exposed."

He'd only been calling for a few minutes when something hit him hard from behind.

"All of a sudden, I thought someone had hit me with a baseball bat," Strother said. "It hit behind my head. My whole head is sore. His claws hit right above my eyes. Not any real damage, although there was a lot of blood."

Seismograph

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes near coast of Ecuador

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A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck near the coast of Ecuador, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).

The epicentre of the quake - which took place at about 6:45am local time (11:45 GMT) - was near the Pacific coast of the northwestern city of Esmeraldas, at a depth of 30km (18.6 miles), said the EMSC. Tremors were reported in 10 provinces of the country, even as far as the capital, Quito.

Images shared online show buildings visibly damaged in the earthquake. Damaged structures included 30 homes, a health centre and a military building, the facade of which partially collapsed, according to authorities.

Ecuador's daily El Comrecio newspaper reported power outages in Esmeraldas. The state energy company Petroecuador said that it had paused operations at the Esmeraldas refinery and SOTE pipeline as a precautionary measure following the earthquake.

President Daniel Noboa said in a social media post that the government is working to set up shelters and offer humanitarian assistance to residents, promising to help with "everything our people need".