EARTH CHANGES: DELUGE - Flash Floods Hit Western Singapore!

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the highest rainfall recorded as at 5.30 pm was 91.4 mm at Kent Ridge in the West Coast area of Singapore.

The afternoon heavy downpour caused a canal at Block 611 in Clementi West to overflow. One resident at the area said he's never seen anything like this in all his 10 years living there. "When I saw it, I find it very dangerous, because the volume of water was huge; it carried a mass of water, and the current was moving very fast and splashed very strong waves on to the bridge here," said Mr Lim, a Clementi West resident.

Mr Lim said the flood lasted for about 45 minutes. He said: "All the small drains are all submerged and the water splashed into the HDB block, and all the trees, plants are all half submerged." National water agency PUB said the flash floods were due to the intense rainfall and high tide of about 3 metres on Saturday afternoon. And this was what caused the Sungei Pandan Kechil canal to overflow. Flash floods also occurred along the AYE towards ECP and at Neo Pee Teck Lane, but they subsided within 20 minutes.

The flash floods along the AYE towards ECP caused two lanes to be affected while one lane remained passable. PUB said the length of the affected section was about 100m and water depth was about 15cm. At Neo Pee Teck Lane, two lanes were affected. The length of the affected section was about 90m and water depth was about 30cm. Water from the road went into the porch of two houses there. The area is a flood-prone area and PUB has already scheduled drainage improvement works there. The works will start in the first quarter of 2012. PUB said Saturday's downpour peaked at 1.20pm - 1.50pm during which 52.6mm of rain fell. The rate of rainfall peak intensity during this period was about 105.2mm/hr. - Channel News Asia.

RATTLE & HUM: Mysterious Noise Phenomena - Unexplained Forceful Shaking and Loud Booms Felt & Heard in Hampton Roads, Virginia?!

It seems that the series of phenomena, involving a persistent and invasive vibration or noise, continues pervasively. Just what is it? Planetary tremors? Geological upheavals? Precursor to an imminent disaster? Motions and waves suggesting an imminent pole shift? Supernatural occurrences?  The latest case comes out of  Hampton Roads in Virginia, where residents have been left puzzled by the mysterious explosion-like shaking.

Some area residents reported significant shaking around 9pm on Wednesday night. Virginia Beach 911 dispatch received calls from the Shadowlawn section of Virginia Beach about a loud boom followed by shaking of homes.  Police responded to the area but could not find a source for the noise. NAS Oceana Public Affairs Officer, Kelly Stirling, indicated that the shaking was not the result of any operations at the naval air station.  A spokesperson for Langley Air Force Base said there were not flying Wednesday night and there weren't any other planes training that could have made such a noise.


The U.S. Geological Survey that monitors earthquakes around the world from its headquarters in Colorado had not registered an earthquake in the Hampton Roads area. As of 11pm Wednesday night there had been 195 postings to WVEC's Facebook page regarding the mysterious shaking. Michelle Balfe of Hampton was in bed watching the Country Music Awards when she heard the windows rattling. "At first I thought it was an earthquake, because I had been through several," Balfe said.  The one here in August and the couple when I lived on the west coast, so I really did think it was an earthquake, the way everything shook." - WVEC.

WATCH: Shaking in Hampton Roads remains a mystery.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Oklahoma Struck By The Biggest November Tornado On Record - Huge And Unusual Supercell Storm System!

"We've had some biggies come through from time to time, but never an EF-4 in November."

Oklahoma earlier this week became witness to the state's biggest November tornado since reliable records began in 1950.

The tornado touched down in Tipton, Okla., earlier this week and was upgraded yesterday (Nov. 10) to an EF-4, the second-highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Tornado damage scale, after a storm survey team analyzed its destruction. "We've had some biggies come through from time to time, but never an EF-4 in November," said Gary McManus, of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, which operates the Mesonet weather data collection towers across the state. One of the 30-foot-tall (10 meters) weather collection towers was toppled by the EF-4 tornado. The massive fall twister demolished an Oklahoma State University extension office, according to the storm survey report from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Norman, Okla. The tornado had estimated winds between 166 and 200 mph (267 kph to 322 kph), significantly stronger than its EF-2 preliminary rating.

The twister touched down on Nov. 7, one of six confirmed tornadoes spawned by a huge supercell storm across Texas and Oklahoma. The storm system initially produced many thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and flash flooding over parts of south central Oklahoma during the late evening of Nov. 6 and early morning of Nov. 7. Rainfall totals up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) were reported across parts of two counties. The rain did alleviate the extreme drought conditions in some parts of the state, according to The Weather Channel. The system then generated severe weather, including tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds and flooding from the early afternoon of Nov. 7 through the early morning of Nov. 8.

Strength ratings for the other tornadoes have not been determined in part because they did not cause substantial damage, which is what researchers use to rate a tornado's strength, said Marc Austin of the NWS office in Norman. That's good news for people and property, but it shows one of the challenges in building accurate storm records. The main tornado season runs from spring to early summer, but tornadoes can form under a variety of conditions and strike during fall and winter. Tornadoes have killed 548 people so far in 2011, according to the Storm Prediction Center, making this one of the most active tornado years in U.S. history. A massive outbreak in April killed nearly 250 people in Alabama alone. One month later, another massive twister killed more than 150 in Joplin, Mo. - Our Amazing Planet.

MONUMENTAL EARTH CHANGES: Southeast Asia Floods – 9 Millions Affected, More Than Thousand Dead in the Unprecedented Deluge!

At least one thousand people have died in massive floods across Southeast Asia in recent months, according to an AFP tally on Thursday, and millions of homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.

The death toll in Thailand -- grappling with its worst floods in half a century -- has reached 533, the government said, and the slowly advancing waters are now threatening the heart of Bangkok, a city of 12 million people. In neighbouring Cambodia, the most severe floods in over a decade have killed 248 people, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest flood report. Vietnam's government has reported at least 100 deaths, including many children, in southern and central parts of the country.

At least 106 people died in flash floods caused by heavy storms in central Myanmar in late October, a government official in the military-dominated country told AFP at the time, on condition of anonymity. In the tiny nation of Laos, 30 people lost their lives in the floods, according to OCHA. The UN body, which does not include Myanmar in its flood updates, also reported 98 deaths in the Philippines. Vast swathes of rice paddy fields have been damaged or destroyed in Southeast Asia as a result of the inundations triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains that began some three months ago. "To date, nearly nine million people have been affected by torrential rains and overflowing rivers," OCHA said in the statement. "Flooding in many parts of Southeast Asia remains dire after months of being inundated, and more rains are expected in north and northeast Thailand." - Terra Daily.

WATCH: Slideshow of the floods in Thailand.

ICE AGE NOW: Russian Scientist Predicts 100 Years of Cooling!

In a study of cyclic behavior of the Sun, Russian scientists now predict 100 years of cooling.

These are not just any scientists. This forecast comes from astrophysicist Dr Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the Russian segment of the International Space Station, and head of Space Research of the Sun Sector at the Pulkovo Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Russian scientists began by looking at a paper published by J. A. Eddy* in 1976 that documented the correlation between sunspot activity and corresponding large – and disruptive – climate changes on Earth.  Disruptive because the changes frequently lead to economic and demographic crises that affected the existence of entire nations. Conducting research similar to Eddy’s, Russia’s Eugene Borisenkov discovered a quasi 200- year cycle of global cooling during the past 7,500 years that correlates to times of sunspot minima similar to the Maunder minimum. (These were also times when any industrial influence was non-existent, Abdussamatov points out.)

Our planet warms and cools in predictable 200-year cycles corresponding to 200-year variations in the size and luminosity of the Sun, the scientists found. Previous global warmings – of which there have been many – have always been followed by deep cooling. The 200-year variations in sunspot activity and total solar irradiance (TSI) are the dominating reason for climate change, says Abdussamatov. “In whole, the solar cycles are a key to our understanding of different cyclic variations in the nature and society.” Existence of the 11-year and 200-year solar cycles of identical and synchronized variations of luminosity, sunspot activity and diameter of the Sun is one of the most reliably ascertained facts in solar physics, says Abdussamatov.

“The study of physical processes on the Sun not only gives us an understanding of a large number of astrophysical questions, but also of the questions of geophysics, meteorology, biology and medicine. All energy sources used by humanity are linked to the Sun. The heat and light of the Sun ensured the development of life on the Earth, formed the deposits of coal, oil, gas etc. All life on the Earth and its future conditions directly and almost in whole depend on the total solar irradiance (TSI).” - Ice Age Now.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR: Mass Whales Stranding on Tasmanian Beach?!

There has been a mass stranding of 20 sperm whales on Tasmania's west coast, with only four whales stuck in shallow water believed to still be alive.

The pod was discovered on Ocean Beach near Strahan early Saturday morning, but authorities say conditions in the water are too dangerous for rescuers to intervene. Nearby, rescuers were making progress in freeing another eight sperm whales stranded on a sand bar in Macquarie Harbour, about four kilometres south of the beach. Chris Arthur from the Parks and Wildlife Service says four of them were swimming freely, with a fifth joining them later in the afternoon.

With the help of fish farmers and jet boats, authorities managed to free the whales, but he says getting them to open ocean from the harbour entrance proved difficult. "The weather conditions won't allow us to get them out so it's a matter of just managing them at the moment," he said. Rescuers will resume their bid to save the whales at first light, but say it could take several days to free the ocean giants. Authorities are urging people to stay clear of the channel between Hells Gate and Table Head. - ABC.

WATCH: Whales stranded on Tasmanian beach.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Geophysicist John Cassidy - Canada West Coast "Could Expect" Massive Mega-Earthquake At Any Time Soon!

Canada could expect a major earthquake at any time and a top geophysicist says it should prepare itself if it is to avoid the kind of disasters that befell Japan, Italy and China in recent years.

John Cassidy, head of earthquake seismology at the Geological Survey of Canada, says large earthquakes have hit parts of Canada numerous times - and will again. "Certainly we could expect an earthquake at any time and should be prepared for a large earthquake at any time in Canada," Cassidy said in an interview prior to delivering a lecture at Carleton University. "We've seen many over the years, going back in time." He says the most vulnerable region is the West Coast, which has been hit with giant, magnitude-9.0 quakes 13 times in the last 6,000 years, the last of them 311 years ago. B.C. is in the window in which a massive earthquake is more likely to occur, he says, but he acknowledges that window spans 200 to 850 years. Predicting earthquakes with any degree of consistency, Cassidy says, remains next to impossible. "Unfortunately, we cannot predict earthquakes, either here or anywhere," he said. "There's no consistent, successful way to predict exactly when earthquakes will occur and how large." The only thing people can do is be prepared, he says.

Canada is identifying vulnerable areas, estimating potential magnitude, frequency and type of quakes. Using that information, planners can draft appropriate building codes and construct quake-resistant infrastructure to minimize the damage. "Our real protection from earthquakes are earthquake-hazard maps that are improving over time as we learn more about earthquakes, where they occur and how large they can be." Training is also important, he stresses. Fatalities from the magnitude-8.8 quake in Chile were kept to a minimum in February 2010 because people knew what to do, he said. It may seem like there have been more major quakes worldwide in recent years, but Cassidy says that's more perception than reality. It's true that there have been three 8.8-magnitude quakes in seven years - in Sumatra, Chile and Japan - the biggest tremors since the 1960s. But he says the perception is also due to the fact that some other quakes, like those which struck Christchurch, New Zealand last year and L'Aquila, Italy in 2009, hit close to major centres, maximizing damage. Besides the West Coast, other seismic hotspots in Canada include the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys, the North Atlantic off Cape Breton and the Arctic off Baffin Island. The quietest seismic region incorporates Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario. - Yahoo Canada.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Tehran's Early Winter Snow Surprizes Citizens!

It finally arrived. Tehran's winter snow started to fall on the capital but much sooner than expected.

After days of continuous raining Tehran was suddenly clad in white. With temperatures falling to nearly zero degrees Celsius, life in Iran's most populous city suddenly changed. This year the real winter which many expected in January has knocked on Tehran's door about two months earlier. Meteorologists say they did expect the arrival of a cold weather mass but also admit that Iran's capital has not seen such a phenomenon in a decade. As wash wipers failed to clear the windshields looming traffic prompts some people to look for better means of transportation.


In a city where the days with clean air are outnumbered precipitation is blessing. This is what Tehran used to look like a week before the downpours started. Experts say that despite heavy droughts in some parts of the country in the previous summer a number of cities in Iran have experienced record numbers of down pour with the arrival of fall. This also includes Tehran. While traffic jams and flooded streets make life difficult for the residents in some parts of Iran's capital, people still prefer to see rain clouds in the sky above instead of smog. - Press TV.

WATCH: Early Snow in Tehran.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Large Numbers Along Hamriya Port, Dubai!

A large number of dead fish of different varieties have washed ashore along the Al Hamriya Port in Dubai of late.

The locally known varieties like Al Qarfa, Al Dardaman and Al Jad washed ashore were spotted by inspectors of the Marine Environment and Wildlife Section, Environment Department of the Dubai Municipality, during a routine inspection visit they conducted on the coastal activities and facilities in the emirate. The municipality warned fishermen and others against practices which are in conflict with the Federal Law No. 23 of 1999 regarding the exploitation, protection and development of live fauna in the UAE waters.

Such practices squander the fish stock and pose threat to food security, and are also regarded as an infringement on the rights of the other fishermen and the community, the municipality said. The malpractices also cause the pollution of the environment and spread foul smell as a result of decomposed fish. The municipality called on the fishermen to abide by the rules and instructions which are laid down to protect and serve the interest of the society, and preserve the environment, fisheries and the fishermen’s rights. - Khaleej Times.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Montana Quake Felt Hundreds of Miles Away!

Friday morning's magnitude 3.3 earthquake that struck western Montana has a lot of people talking.

We've received several emails and folks also commented about the small trembler on our Facebook page talking about the relatively unusual event. The quake hit at 10:51 a.m., 13 miles southeast of Clinton, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The size of the quake is considered small and the U.S.G.S. says these types of earth movements are "often felt, but rarely causes damage."  Nonetheless, the U.S.G.S. website is reporting that the quake was felt nearly 200 miles away in Great Falls. It was felt across most of western Montana, from Thompson Falls to Corvallis.

An email we received just after the trembler from Phyllis Ruana in Corvallis said that "the items on my dresser and my bed started to shake. Everything was quivering." Some folks reported feeling the ground shake for a few seconds and seeing windows rattle in Missoula. So far, there have not been any reports of damage. KPAX in Missoula received reports from people in Arlee, Butte, East Missoula, Philipsburg and Polson who felt the ground move. This is the second earthquake to rattle the Upper Clark Fork Valley in recent months. A magnitude 2.8 quake hit between Bonner and Clinton in August. - KXFL.

Meanwhile, according to the USGS, the earthquake that rumbled across western Montana on Friday morning is bigger than first thought.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported that the quake that hit 13 miles southeast of Clinton at 10:51 a.m. was a 3.3. quake, but now report on their website that it was actually a magnitude 4.2 quake.

The shaking was felt nearly 200 miles away in Great Falls and Montana's News Station has received reports of people feeling the quake all across western Montana. Some reported seeing windows shake and floors vibrating for a few seconds during the quake.

Mike Stickney with the Earthquake Studies Office at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in Butte tells us that the quake was felt from Helena to Thompson Falls and from Polson to Darby. Stickney adds it's similar to a 2000 quake that hit in the same area. There are no reports of injuries or damage at this point. - KRTV.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Mysterious Deaths in Burnley, United Kingdom!

Pollution fears have been raised after more than 50 dead fish were found in a Burnley river.

Dead trout and chub were discovered washed up in the River Brun around the town centre and further upstream in Thompson Park yesterday. Environment Agency officers have launched an investigation but it is unclear what has caused the fish to die. Toxic pollution or even low oxygen levels in the river could be behind the mystery deaths but a full survey is being conducted by experts.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency confirmed that it was investigating several reports from along the River Brun. He said: “An environment officer has found trout and chub in the river that are dead. The officer will conduct a comprehensive walk round to see how many more fish he can find and see if he can discover what has caused them to die. “We will be working to establish what exactly has happened.” - Burnley Express.

MONUMENTAL EARTH CHANGES: A Geological Upheaval at the Canary Islands - New Island Emerges as Underwater Volcano Hits the Surface!

It is rare that the birth of an island can be watched by humans in real-time, but that could be what is happening in Spain's Canary Islands.

Residents of La Restinga on the island of El Hierro were recently evacuated after weeks of earthquakes and the growing threat of an erupting underwater volcano that is making its presence known on the surface with an expanding, bubbling patch of dark debris. The seismic activity off the coast alerted scientists to the fact that something interesting was happening under the sea. To get a better look, a team of researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) went out on the water and were able to get a high-resolution picture of the volcano in less than two weeks. The volcanic cone stretches nearly 330 feet (100 meters) above the seafloor, and is 2,300 feet (700 m) wide at its base. Lava is currently oozing out of a crater in the center that is about 390 feet (120 m) wide. "This is the first time we're able to map [a volcano] so early," said Juan Acosta, principal investigator with IEO who oversaw the mapping. "This is important for understanding the volcanic process in the whole Canary Islands."


The researchers used an advanced sensor system on the IEO's ship, the Ramon Margalef, to perform the mapping of the seabed, a process known as bathymetry. The results, which had a resolution of about 16 to 33 feet (5 to 10 m), according to Acosta, were then compared to a bathymetry from 1998 to see how the volcano had changed the topography of the seabed. The ship is also equipped with a robotic vessel that has gone closer to the young volcano, taking pictures and video and also measuring water temperature and gases present in the water. The lava is constant for now, and the activity from the volcano is bringing gases and volcanic ash to the surface, staining the water above the new volcano.


Although this is likely the same process that formed El Hierro and the rest of the Canary Islands, it is impossible to say if this eruption will ultimately create a new landmass, or when. Acosta told OurAmazingPlanet it could continue to erupt for a week, a month or a year — no one knows. For now, the cone is still about 650 feet (200 m) away from breaking through the ocean's surface. Residents in nearby villages are being evacuated for safety due to the constant barrage of small earthquakes and the increasing threat of the volcano. The gases coming from the vent, such as sulfur, are turning the water acidic and small volcanic fragments have been launched into the atmosphere. But researchers are staying as long as they can to collect as much information as possible on the emerging volcano. "It is spectacular to see how what was once an underwater valley is now a volcanic cone," Acosta said. - FOX News.

WATCH: Images of volcanic eruption.

This morning, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck near El Hierro, Canary Islands at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The quake hit at 00:20:14 UTC Friday 11th November 2011. The epicentre was 52 km ( 32.2 miles) south of Fuencaliente de la Palma. According to the Earthquake Report, the 4.6 magnitude earthquake was also felt on the islands of La Palma and Tenerife.

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake happened in the El Golfo bay at 00:20 November 11. The depth was 21 km. This is one of the strongest earthquakes on El Hierro so far. The earthquake was felt as a light to moderate shaking. If confirmed at 4.6 by IGN, the Los Roquillos tunnel maybe closed again. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the coastal El Golfo bay area. Harmonic tremor became somewhat stronger again around noon and stayed like that for the rest of the day. Seismic energy seems to get stronger since the Las Calmas sea activity subsided. A felt earthquake occurred at 18:31 UTC. It had a magnitude of 3.5 at a depth of 21 km. A total of 44 earthquakes occurred today (less than the prior days, but they picked up in the afternoon again). The National Institute of Geography (IGN) scientists have confirmed that an eruption in the El Golfo area is possible and that an eruption on the coast itself cannot be excluded. To make this happen, more powerful earthquakes are needed to allow the magma to the surface. Scientists have also said the the eruption in the La Restinga, Las Calmas sea area is still continuing although almost nothing can be seen on the surface.

WATCH: Underwater volcano errupting of coast Canary Islands emits toxic gases.