Archive | December 22, 2015
Severe flooding hits hard in Cumbria, UK
Homes and businesses in at least two Cumbria villages have been “hammered” by flooding for the second time this month.
Appleby, where Prince Charles met victims of the previous floods yesterday, has been deluged by three to four feet of water after the banks of the River Eden burst just days before Christmas.
Sky’s Mike McCarthy said “many, many properties have been evacuated” and that the town has effectively been “cut in two” after the main bridge was closed as a precaution.
Five people, including a 70-year-old woman, have had to be rescued from properties.
Local journalist Ellis Butcher said: “Appleby and Glenridding have been hammered again.”It is not as bad as it was on 5 December but it’s shredding people’s nerves, their lives and their businesses.
“Just when they were getting back on their feet they’re back to square one.”
But Mr Butcher added: “We’re made of tough stuff up here, the whole community comes together. We can clear this up in a couple of days.”
The Glenridding Hotel, near Ullswater, is under two feet of water following heavy rain – the third time it has been flooded this month.
They said on Facebook that staff were “feeling deflated”.
“The beck is overflowing once again past the bridge and what was Ratchers Bar and the Kitchen is flooding again,” the hotel added.
“Contractors are in trying to save their equipment. Fire brigade are on their way to help pump out the water, we are currently at around 2ft of water.”
The hotel went on: “We just need to smile and carry on.”
Elsewhere in Cumbria, the River Kent in Kendal is threatening to burst its banks and residents have been warned by police to move their vehicles.
There are currently 15 flood alerts in place across Cumbria, 11 of them in Appleby, Carlisle, Kendal and Keswick, with further heavy rain expected this week.
Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: “Continuing wet weather over northern England and Wales could lead to significant rainfall totals on Tuesday resulting in further flooding problems.”
Cumbria police said the rain will be falling on ground that is already saturated and the public should keep away from rivers.
They added the rain is likely to cause surface flooding on roads and warned motorists to be aware of the deteriorating conditions.
Chief Inspector Matt Kennerley said: “It is imperative that motorists react to the weather conditions and adapt their driving style accordingly.
“Please do not in any circumstance ignore road closure signs and continue on your journey.
“Driving through flood water is extremely dangerous as you cannot determine the depth.”
Forecasters say it will be largely dry with sunny periods in the North West on Wednesday but more heavy rain will follow on Christmas Eve.
It has been estimated that 5,200 homes in the region were damaged by flooding after Storm Desmond struck.
On Friday, the Association of British Insurers said they expected the storm and flooding recovery to cost about £520m in insurance payouts.
Courtesy of Sky News
MEGA DIP SPIKES ON THE WEAK MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 11:00, 20:30 HRS UTC
**VERY URGENT**
MEGA DIP SPIKES ON THE WEAK MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 11:00, 20:30 HRS UTC. FURTHER EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANO ACTIVITY & ADVERSE WEATHER PATTERNS WILL BE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE COSMIC RAYS STRIKING THE EARTH’S CORE
***BE ALERT***
MAGNITUDE 5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100048sl#general_summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 178km (111mi) NE of Raoul Island, New Zealand
804km (500mi) S of Nuku`alofa, Tonga
1198km (744mi) NE of Whangarei, New Zealand
1233km (766mi) NNE of Whakatane, New Zealand
1241km (771mi) SSE of Suva, Fiji
YELLOWSTONE REGION MAGNITUDE 2.4 WESTERN MONTANA, USA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=478065
Subject To Change
Depth: 4 km
Distances: 688 km S of Calgary, Canada / pop: 1,019,942 / local time: 19:44:32.6 2015-12-21
173 km S of Helena, United States / pop: 28,190 / local time: 19:44:32.6 2015-12-21
64 km E of Dillon, United States / pop: 4,134 / local time: 19:44:32.6 2015-12-21
47 km SW of Big Sky, United States / pop: 2,308 / local time: 19:44:32.6 2015-12-21
YELLOWSTONE REGION MAGNITUDE 3.3 WESTERN MONTANA, USA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=478062
Subject To Change
Depth: 5 km
Distances: 688 km S of Calgary, Canada / pop: 1,019,942 / local time: 18:07:29.0 2015-12-21
173 km S of Helena, United States / pop: 28,190 / local time: 18:07:29.0 2015-12-21
64 km E of Dillon, United States / pop: 4,134 / local time: 18:07:29.0 2015-12-21
47 km SW of Big Sky, United States / pop: 2,308 / local time: 18:07:29.0 2015-12-21
Large fish kill underway in Mobile Bay, Gulf of Mexico, USA
A widespread fish kill is underway across Mobile Bay. It appears to be affecting primarily filter-feeding fish such as menhaden, sardines, alewives and shad.
Dead fish are present in the shallows and on beaches on both sides of the bay, from Point Clear to Daphne on the eastern shore and from Arlington Point south to Fowl River on the western shore. Dead and dying fish also dot the surface of the bay, from one side to the other.
The kill does not appear to be related to a red tide bloom occurring in the Gulf of Mexico and around Dauphin Island. Instead, the bloom in the upper bay appears to be another species of algae with a similar neurotoxic effect on fish.
Fish affected by the algae swim in a markedly erratic fashion, zipping straight ahead for a time, then falling into lazy circles, often swimming on their side or even upside down.
AL.com collected samples of sick fish and the water where they were found during trips across the bay, from Fairhope to the mouth of Fowl River, on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Those fish were provided to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab for analysis. In addition, AL.com measured oxygen levels and salinity where the samples were collected using a YSI meter, a standard tool for environmental sampling.
“There does not appear to be a correlation with oxygen or salinity,” said Andy Depaola, a microbiologist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lab on Dauphin Island. Depaola participated in the AL.com sampling trip. “Those oxygen levels were not low enough to kill fish.”
Alison Robertson, who specializes in harmful algal blooms with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said she had ruled out red tide, which is caused by an organism called Karenia brevis, in the bay. The red tide algae prefers the high salinity found in the Gulf of Mexico. It does not do well in lower salinity, particularly the low levels of salt measured in the AL.com sampling.
Courtesy of al.com
Dozens of peacocks found dead in a forest, raising concern in Khordha district, India
On Tuesday morning, as many as 25 peacocks and several other birds were found dead in the forest of Madhupur village in Odisha’s Khurda district by the villagers.
Meanwhile, the forest officials have issued an alert to Chilika and nearby forests fearing bird flu. After finding the birds, the villagers immediately informed the Forest officials of Khurda and Chandaka divisions, who recovered the dead birds in the area. “An expert team from OUAT will also visit the site for ground examinations”, Chandaka DFO Akshay Patnaik said. The reason for so many mysterious deaths in large numbers within short time span is unknown yet, and officials are waiting for the autopsy report to know the exact cause of death.
Rout said they recovered 20 carcasses from the forest at a distance of seven to eight feet.
The peacocks were the resident birds with the community tolerant to their presence since years.
“Though we found no source of poisoning, water and soil samples were collected to find any possible toxic source”, said head of pathology of Veterinary College S K Panda.
No signs of external poisoning were found in the bird, also cutting of paddy crop has been completed in the surround regions that also rules out any unintentional poisoning of birds, said Akshaya Patnaik, Divisional Forest Officer for Khurda Forest Division. A number of samples were sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal to ascertain if avian influenza was the cause of the deaths. He said that they would take necessary steps according to the report from OUAT.
Courtesy of telegraphvoice.com
23 dolphins stranded, 16 dead in Baja California, Mexico
16 dolphins were killed and other 7 were rescued after Monday remain stranded on the beach San Lázaro, municipality of Comondú, Baja California Sur, reported the Federal Attorney for the environment (Profepa) protection.
The Agency reported that rescued mammals were brought to deep waters and that not being evidence that the fact has its origin in the fishing, are still investigating the causes that led to land animals.
Therefore, reported the Profepa, Dolphin corpses were transferred to the Department academic of animal husbandry of the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS), in the city of La Paz, where specialists will practice the corresponding autopsy.
The species that were found by members of the Committee on participatory environmental monitoring and fishermen were 21 pieces of rough-toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) and 2 of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), both listed in the standard officer Mexicana NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, in the category of subject to special protection (Pr), said the reliance on a statement.
Rescue maneuvers are hindered since the animals were found more than a thousand 200 meters from Beach, coupled with the adverse weather such as high waves, wind and strong currents. In addition, the poor state in which the specimens, they were with weakness and disorientation, caused these to return to shore when they tried to take them offshore, said the Attorney.
Dead dolphins will be buried as established in the attention Protocol for marine mammal strandings, published in the official journal of the Federation on June 17, 2014.
Courtesy of beta.noroeste.com.mx
Please Donate To Support My Work
Earth Extremities 
Comments