Earth ChangesS


Attention

Killer whales bang into 50-foot yacht off Morocco, forcing 2 on board to abandon ship before it sinks

David Propper
New York Post
Tue, 14 May 2024 11:24 UTC
White Gladis (left) and Black Gladis (right) have been implicated - along with Grey Gladis - in many of the attacks on vessels on the Portuguese and Spanish coast (file image of the orcas from 2020)
White Gladis (left) and Black Gladis (right) have been implicated - along with Grey Gladis - in many of the attacks on vessels on the Portuguese and Spanish coast (file image of the orcas from 2020)
A pack of killer whales sank a 50-foot yacht in Moroccan waters Sunday when the massive sea mammals slammed into the vessel and forced two sailors aboard to flee, officials said.

Spanish authorities said the crew members were rescued by a passing oil tanker that was alerted to the desperate situation after the boat sprang a leak during the orca encounter in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The two people were customers, and the vessel belonged to Spanish company Alboran Charter, according to the Washington Post.

The yacht, which was 14 miles from the Cape Spartel coast, later sunk to the bottom of the ocean in the latest orca attack that has prompted experts to warn other sailors of danger in the area.

Last October, a Polish tour agency's yacht was relentlessly hit by a herd of orcas for 45 minutes that led to "major damage and leakage," the agency said. The boat ended up sinking.
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Volcano

Bozdag-Guzdek mud volcano erupts in Azerbaijan

Marc Szeglat
Vulkane.net
Wed, 15 May 2024 10:58 UTC
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In Azerbaijan, the Bozdag-Guzdek mud volcano has erupted for the first time in 15 years. The mud eruption lasted nine minutes and produced seismic signals that were detected by the country's Republican Seismic Survey Center. The eruption occurred on May 13 at 2:13 a.m. local time.

The mud volcano has a vent 3.5 kilometers deep and is located near the Sangachal oil field. It is one of the largest oil and gas producing areas in Azerbaijan and is located near the city of Baku on the Absheron Peninsula. Consequently, the mud volcano has nothing to do with real volcanism or magmatism: its eruptions are linked to methane gas, of which there is more than enough in the area. This is also reflected in the high number of mud volcanoes, which promote organic compounds. There are over 700 known mud volcanoes in the world, half of which are in Azerbaijan.

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Snowflake

Cyclone from Russia brought snow to Turkey - European Russia has coldest early May on record

Natalya Chudesatova
Runews24.ru
Tue, 14 May 2024 15:24 UTC
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Several villages in Turkey were covered with a five-centimeter layer of snow

Temperatures plummeted in many parts of the country and heavy rains poured down.

A cyclone from the European part of Russia reached Turkey on Monday, May 13, causing a sharp drop in temperature, strong winds and heavy rains in some areas by evening.

Toward nightfall, snow began to fall in the west of the country in Kocaeli province's Kartepe district. In the mountains of Bolu province, the snowfall was more powerful and about ten villages were covered with a five-centimeter layer of snow. Snow continued to fall on Tuesday night in Kastamonu province.

The General Department of Meteorology of Turkey has declared a "yellow" level of weather danger in six provinces due to the threat of heavy precipitation.

The first ten days of May in the European part of Russia became the coldest in the history of meteorological observations. The temperature was below the climatic norm by 8-10 degrees Celsius. The prolonged abnormal cold weather may affect plants.

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Arrow Down

Three children killed in Vietnam landslide after heavy rain


spacedaily.com
Mon, 13 May 2024 14:19 UTC
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Three young children were killed in a landslide in Hanoi, state media and a local resident said Monday, after soil and rocks fell from a hill onto a play centre after heavy rain.

Vietnam's capital city experienced heavy rain, lightning and thunder for more than an hour on Sunday evening, flooding streets and disrupting traffic.

The rain caused the sudden landslide in Bai Trai commune, in the suburbs of Hanoi.

"The kids were playing there when the accident happened," a local resident told AFP.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2 soldiers in the Philippines

Artemio A. Dumlao
Business World
Tue, 14 May 2024 14:12 UTC
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Two soldiers hunting down communist guerrillas along the border of Pasil and Lubuagan towns in Kalinga were killed by a lightning strike on Sunday.

"My heart bleeds for them," Major General Audrey Pasia, commander of the Philippine Army's 5th Infantry Division (ID), said of fatalities Corporal Andrew Monterubio of Gamu, Isabela, and Private 1st Class Inmongog Aronchay of Sadanga, Mountain Province.

The two were traveling on foot with other members of their when lightning struck their path.

Four other soldiers identified by Mr. Pasia as Sergeant Dennis Bananao of Tanudan, Kalinga; PFC Melvin Danggalan of Paracelis, Mountain Province; PFC Abegil Awingan of Pinukpuk, Kalinga; and PFC Riel Angya of Pasil, Kalinga were also injured from the incident.
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Solar Flares

Yucatan Peninsula gets rare glimpse of Northern Lights during largest solar storm in decades


Riviera Maya News
Sat, 11 May 2024 18:27 UTC
northern lights
Residents in the state of Campeche also captured a rare glimpse of the northern lights
Northern lights were seen across part of the Yucatan Peninsula Friday night as the result of a solar storm. The rare display of pinks and purples dazzled the sky for viewers in northern areas of Yucatan and Quintana Roo.

The solar flares, which have been referred to as the biggest geomagnetic storm in two decades by the Space Weather Prediction Center of the NOAA, were seen across many parts of Latin America, including many areas of Mexico.

According to Protección Civil Baja California (Baja California Civil Protection), the northern lights were expected to be viewable along the northern horizon on the night of May 10 and into the early morning of May 11.
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Attention

Rising elephant attacks in Thailand - 150 human fatalities in 6 years


Aseannow.com
Wed, 08 May 2024 11:23 UTC
mmmm
Open the trunk.
Thailand faces an alarming increase in wild elephant attacks, resulting in at least 150 deaths and over 133 injuries since 2018, according to a report by the country's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. Many victims have been tourists in southern Thailand.

The Humane Society attributes these attacks to tourists provoking the elephants.

The report reveals these massive animals have been venturing into populated areas, causing havoc on roads and even entering homes, making Thailand a global hotspot for elephant-related incidents.

In a notable event, a herd of 50 elephants crossing a highway in Chachoengsao halted traffic.

However, the situation escalated when a seven-ton bull elephant named Duea sat in a motorist's car in Khao Yai National Park.

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Seismograph

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake wakes people on the Mexico-Guatemala border


AP
Sun, 12 May 2024 10:12 UTC
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A strong earthquake shook the border of Mexico and Guatemala early Sunday, driving frightened residents into the streets.

The temblor struck just before 6 a.m. near the Mexican border town of Suchiate, where a river by the same name divides the two countries. The epicenter was just off the Pacific coast, 10 miles (16 kilometers) west-southwest of Brisas Barra de Suchiate, where the river empties into the sea.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and a depth of 47 miles (75 kilometers).

In Mexico, there were no immediate reports of damage, but more mountainous, remote parts of the border are prone to landslides.

Across the border Guatemala's national disaster prevention agency shared photos of small landslides onto highways in the Quetzaltenango region and large cracks in walls in a hospital in San Marcos on its social media accounts, but there were no reports of deaths.

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Volcano

Mount Ibu volcano erupts for 2nd time in 5 days in Indonesia, sends ash cloud 5 km into the sky (UPDATE)


NDTV
Wed, 08 May 2024 13:25 UTC
Mount Ibu is located on theMount Ibu is located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province island of Halmahera in North Maluku province
Mount Ibu is located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province
A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on Wednesday and spewed an ash tower almost a mile into the sky, prompting officials to raise an alert level to the second-highest and warn people to keep away.

Mount Ibu, located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, erupted at 11:11 am local time (0211 GMT) and sent a thick column of dark smoke and ash above the peak.

The volcano spewed an ash tower 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles) above the peak, Indonesia's volcanology agency (PVMBG) said.

"Based on the results of visual and instrumental monitoring... Mount Ibu's activity level has been raised from level two to level three" of a four-tiered system, said PVMBG chief Hendra Gunawan in a statement Wednesday.

Authorities formed an exclusion zone between three and five kilometres around the volcano's crater.


Comment: Update May 13

Indiatvnews.com reports:
Indonesia's Ibu volcano erupted on Monday morning, spewing thick columns of grey ash several kilometres into the sky, the country's volcanology agency said. The volcano on the remote island of Halmahera erupted at 9.12 am for about five minutes, projecting ash into the sky as high as 5 km (3.1 miles), officials said, after a smaller eruption was recorded as Friday.

The alert status of the volcano remains at the second-highest level, according to Hendra Gunawan, head of Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre. All activities within a five-kilometre radius of the volcano were prohibited, he added. "If it starts to rain ash, we recommend people who are near the volcano to wear a mask and glasses," Hendra said.

Footage of the eruption shared by the centre showed clouds of grey ash billowing from the crater. The official said a booming noise was also heard. No evacuation of residents has been reported so far.



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Doberman

Kids injured in dog attack, mother found dead in Quitman, Georgia

Brittanye Blake
walb.com
Fri, 10 May 2024 09:48 UTC
dog attack
Two kids were injured after a pack of dogs attacked them in Quitman on Thursday evening. Their mother was also found dead at the scene, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The incident happened on Thursday, May 9 on Webster Street at a bus stop behind the Brooks County Middle School. The juveniles were taken to a hospital after the reported dog attacks.

Courtney Williams, 35, was found dead in the yard of the residence according to a GBI report.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the death investigation.

The GBI said in a statement:
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