Strong strombolian explosion / lava fountain at Fuego volcano. (Photo: Edgar Barrios)
February 10, 2016 - GUATEMALA - A new paroxysm (the 3rd this year) is occurring at the volcano.
Over the past days, strombolian and effusive activity had gradually
increased into now pulsating lava fountains and well-alimented lava
flows.
The latter are mostly traveling down the southeastern flank into the
large Las Lajas canyon where they have reached approx. 2 km length.
Another flow seems to be active on the southern slope towards the
Trinidad drainage.
Most likely this activity will result in pyroclastic flows, as parts of the lava flows on the steep slope tend to collapse.
Volcanologist Edgar Barrios from INSIVUMEH's volcano observatory (OVF)
kindly sent us these photos of the ongoing activity of Fuego volcano.
The images, taken early morning of February 10, show very strong
strombolian explosions, at the point to merge into pulsating lava
fountains.
Surge: Video was captured by a man on the bridge of the ship stranded in the North Sea during Storm Gertrude
February 10, 2016 - BRITAIN - This dramatic footage captures exactly what it was like to be on board a ship being battered by strong waves as Storm Gertrude caused chaos across Britain last month.
The intense video was filmed by a man standing on the bridge of the ship stranded in the North Sea around 100 miles from land on January 29.
The clip shows powerful waves - some estimated to be around 100-foot high - crashing against the vessel, brutally rocking it from side to side and soaking the entire deck.
WATCH: Terrifying footage shows on-board ship in North Sea storm.
Worryingly the ship can even be heard creaking under the sheer weight of the devastating storm.
Video from inside the large vessel creates more sea-sickening viewing as the waves throw it around and encapsulate it in water.
With no sign of the storm calming, the footage concludes with a shot of the choppy sea.
The footage was captured on an ERRV (Emergency Response & rescue Vessel).
The job of the workers on board is to look after the oil platforms and the people who work on them.
Storm Gertrude caused much chaos in the UK in January, bringing winds of 144mph, blowing down trees, knocking over vehicles and even hurtling a pet rabbit onto a roof.
Choppy: Powerful surges of water crash against the vessel, rocking it from side to side and soaking the deck
Rocking: Worryingly the ship can even be heard creaking under the sheer weight of the devastating storm
Frightening: The footage was captured by workers on an ERRV (Emergency Response & rescue Vessel)
Submerged: Storm Gertrude caused chaos across Britain at the end of January, bringing winds of 144mph
Elsewhere the DFDS 'King Seaways' battled strong gale force winds after crossing the North Sea (file photo)
The Met Office issued a red weather warning for Orkney and Shetland, while strong winds and heavy rain battered Scotland and Northern England.
Ferry and train services north of the border were severely reduced and some routes were withdrawn - while the Forth, Tay and Kessock bridges were closed.
The Pride of Hull - one of the world's largest ferries - was unable to berth on the morning of the 29th due to the extreme weather conditions and docked at a later time instead.
WATCH: Satellite view of areas affected by Storm Gertrude.
Giant waves measuring 30 feet were also recorded at the Outer Hebrides - an island off the coast of Scotland.
And a landslip on the A82 at Letter Finlay in the Highlands caused an enormous 150-mile diversion for journeys between Fort William and Inverness.
Fortunately however, in Omagh, Northern Ireland, firefighters were able to rescue the bunny, formerly known as Bumper, that ended up being dumped on top of a roof by the wind.
It appeared that the pet's terrifying experience was due to the owner not battening down the hutches outside the property.
The lucky bunny was later renamed Gertrude in homage to its bizarre experience in the storm. - Daily Mail.
According to an official, the female elephant
appeared to be a loner without a herd and was likely searching for food. Reuters
February 10, 2016 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of animal attacks on humans.
Elephant rampage causes panic in West Bengal, India
A wild elephant went on an hours-long rampage in India's West Bengal state, sending residents fleeing in panic.
Officials fired tranquillizer darts to control the animal after it damaged dozens of homes, cars and motorbikes.
People threw stones to try to drive away the elephant. Reuters
The animal damaged dozens of cars and motorbikes. Reuters
Authorities shot the elephant three times with a tranquilizer gun. Reuters
Officials used a crane to lift the animal into a truck once it had calmed down. Reuters
Local forestry authorities said no-one was hurt in the incident, in the town of Siliguri.
The animal was taken to a park where domesticated elephants are kept and officials have said they hope to return it to the wild.
WATCH: Elephant creates ruckus at Siligur in West Bengal.
Eyewitnesses said the animal had strayed into the town from a nearby forest and seemed frightened and confused. - BBC.
Pregnant gray nurse shark attacks diver in S. African aquarium, shredding arm (VERY GRAPHIC)
Watch a diver attacked by a pregnant shark as he was doing a routine checkup on it in a South African aquarium.
The procedure is carried out across the globe very often, and is usually successful, but this time things turned violent.
The video, said to be shot in 2012 and released only now, shows how the diver assists the pregnant gray nurse shark to an isolated tank in a South African aquarium – but all of a sudden, the shark turns and attacks him.
The diver’s colleagues attempt to come to the rescue as he is tossed by the shark, and pull him to the surface.
As he emerges, you can see a horrific impact to the shark’s left: the water is red with blood, and the diver’s left arm has been mauled.
WATCH: Shark attacks scuba diver in aquarium.
Colleagues carry out first aid, bandaging the hand. The diver had to undergo serious treatment on his arm and luckily has since made a full recovery, according to local media.
Gray nurse sharks are commonly the most frequent shark species found in aquariums across the globe: they are known to be relatively docile, and when showing signs of aggression, generally attack other objects in the tank rather than humans.
The video appeared just a few days after striking statistics were released: In 2015, there were 98 shark attacks across the globe, beating the previous world record of 88, set in 2000.The majority of the attacks occurred in the US, with Australia and South Africa in second and third place, with 18 and eight attacks, respectively.
- RT.
Number of unprovoked shark attacks reached record high in 2015
The number of unprovoked shark attacks reached a record high of 98 in
2015 - a massive jump of 26 from 2014, beating the previous record of
88 from back in 2000.
The US led the way with 59 unprovoked attacks, surpassing its previous
high of 53 in 2012 and 2000, according to the International Shark Attack
File, which began compiling data 57 years ago.
While the number of attacks increased, the number of fatalities remained on par with previous years,
with six fatalities recorded across the globe - two on Reunion Island
and single incidents in Australia, New Caledonia, Egypt, and Hawaii.
Florida's inviting coastlines attracted the most shark attacks
in the US, as usual, with 30 unprovoked attacks recorded. That's greater
than last year's total of 23, but still far off the record high of 37
seen in 2000.
Hawaii experienced seven attacks, while the rest were spread across
California, Texas, Mississippi, and New York.Australia followed the US
with 18 attacks, while South Africa recorded eight.
The curator of the file, George H. Burgess, suggested that an increase
in the human population could be behind the upsurge in attacks.
"Sharks plus humans equals attacks. As our population continues
to rapidly grow and shark populations slowly recover, we're going to
see more interactions," he said in a statement.
"However, year-to-year variability in local meteorological,
oceanographic, and socio-economic conditions also significantly
influences the local abundance of sharks and humans in the water and,
therefore, the odds of encountering one another," he added.
It should be noted that he also said "the ISAF's efficiency in
discovering and investigating attacks has improved greatly over past
three decades, leading to further increases in the number of recorded
interactions."
The International Shark Attack File, housed in the Florida Museum of
Natural History at the University of Florida, investigated 164 incidents
worldwide in 2015, but found 36 of those cases to be provoked attacks.
Map of Florida's confirmed unprovoked shark attacks 1882-Present
Map of US confirmed unprovoked shark attacks 1837-Present
An unprovoked attack is defined as "incidents where an attack on a live
human occurs in the shark's natural habitat with no human provocation of
the shark."
Sharks, however, have much more to fear from humans, who are responsible
for around 100 million shark deaths per annum, according to research
published in the journal Marine Policy.
The report adds that this is a conservative estimate, and the figure could be as high as 273 million. Sharks are fished for their meat, liver oil, cartilage, and valuable fins.
They are also economically valuable, with the value of global shark
catches estimated to be around $630 million per year. This figure is
steadily declining, however, according to IFL Science. - RT.
February 10, 2016 - NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES - Down the shore it wasn't snow that people had to worry about - it was flooding.
Roads in Ocean City were flooded Tuesday. Many streets were impassable, but that's not a surprise to locals.
We found Bud Arcaini on 13th Street right on the bay checking on some houses to make sure they didn't get water inside.
Arcaini tells us, "New moon, high tide and the way the wind was blowing
keeping everything in the bay. Water can't leave the bay with that wind
coming out of the north, so this is what you get."
Lauren Perkins says, "This is higher than we get normally because
there's a push from the northeast, but it's not uncommon to see this."
Not uncommon, but residents and business people say it's getting old.
Phyllis Casper says, "It's unsettling because you can't leave
your house. So that's why I'm out early this morning so I can move my
car and go back this afternoon."
"Obviously, there's no place to park and it cuts down on the customers,"
says Bob Farnsworth, who runs the Tuckahoe bike shop on West Avenue.
Part of Farnsworth's shop was flooded Tuesday. He's been repairing bicycles that got wet in the last storm.
He says, "Basically, saltwater and bikes don't mix very well. It gets into bearings, it gets into the spokes."
The flooding situation was much the same in North Wildwood. The area
around Chestnut and Delaware was submerged. Back bay flooding created a
watery mess in a town still recovering from the storm that caused
serious flooding two weeks ago.
WATCH: New Jersey street flooding.
Mark Reimet of Ocean City says, "It seems to be flooding in areas that
didn't flood before. I don't know what's going on, whether there's been
some sort type of change, but it's definitely deepened the normal areas
but more so in areas that typically hadn't flooded."
The good news is, by Tuesday evening much of the flooding had receded
and snow is not expected along the coast, so there won't be that added
element to deal with. - 6ABC.
