2024 Wheel of Horrors Thread (Earthquakes, Train Crashes and more...)

[China]

 

[China]

Meanwhile in Sicily...

 

 

[China]

 

[China]

In photos: St. Vincent water supply running low as volcano eruptions continue

 

There are "chronic water shortages" in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as La Soufrière volcano continues to explode, government spokesperson Sehon Marshall told a local radio station Tuesday.

 

The big picture: Up to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the Caribbean island's northern region since the volcano began erupting there last Friday, per AP. Over 3,000 evacuees are staying in more than 80 government shelters.

 

 

Click on the link for more

[China]

Families frustrated by 'wall of silence' on N.B.'s mystery brain disease

 

Krista Brown was looking forward to moving to her recently purchased New Brunswick retreat near the Acadian Peninsula.

 

That is until one month ago, when news of a cluster of more than 40 cases of a mystery neurological disease so far found only in New Brunswick — in the Acadian Peninsula and Moncton areas — was made public via a leaked Public Health memo.

 

Now Brown, a former Miramichi resident who currently lives in Ontario, says she's having second thoughts.

 

"The government has provided no answers" to her requests for more information, including about where, specifically, the cases are, she said.

 

"All of my money is tied up in a house that I'm afraid to move to," Brown said.  

 

Brown is one of a number of people growing increasingly upset with the government's silence on the mystery disease cluster first reported one month ago, when Radio-Canada obtained a memo from Public Health to medical professionals.

 

The March 5 memo noted that 43 cases of the disease had been identified so far, and that five people had died. The case count has since risen to 44 and the death toll to six. 

 

Tests done on the patients have so far ruled out Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion diseases, and scientists are looking into the possibility that this is an entirely new disease, possibly caused by an environmental toxin.  

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[China]

DRC orders evacuation of Goma after Nyiragongo volcano erupts

 

A river of flaming lava that poured out of the erupting Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached the suburbs of Goma, an eastern city of nearly 2 million people.

 

 

Officials said on Sunday that the molten stream had reached the airport on the outskirts of the city, but witnesses said the flow appeared to have halted later in the morning.

 

The government activated an evacuation plan for Goma on Saturday night, as Nyiragongo erupted for the first time since 2002, an event that killed hundreds of people and left 120,000 homeless.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

DR Congo: More than 170 children feared missing following volcanic eruption in Goma

 

 

[China]

Significant earthquake of magnitude 5.9 just reported 86 miles west of Gold Beach, Oregon, United States

 

A shallow magnitude 5.9 earthquake was reported after midnight near Gold Beach, Curry County, Oregon, USA.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit on Friday 4 June 2021 at 12:17 am local time at a shallow depth of 6.8 miles. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.

A second report was later issued by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), which listed it as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.3, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.3.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[The Sisko]

On 5/21/2021 at 4:15 PM, China said:

 

OT, but what the hell. The cop at the beginning of this story reminded me of an incident years ago. My Great Aunt Helen had a tumultuous marriage with my Uncle Hank and by tumultuous, I mean he was a real ass to her. We liked him because he was funny and a really nice guy to everyone else, but he really treated her like crap so the rest of the family kept him at a distance. So in her later years, Aunt Helen ended up having serious mental health issues. Another Great Aunt went by to check on her one Sunday after church and she and Aunt Helen sat and talked for about 30-45 mins. So the other Aunt asks Helen where Hank was since it was past time for him to be back from work. In a voice no different than if she was reporting that she'd had a ham sammich for lunch she replied "Oh, he's in the back room. He's been dead for a few days." Sure enough, he was back there deader than hell. They slept in separate beds but still pretty creepy to sleep and go about one's normal business with a dead guy in the house.

 

OK, back to your regularly scheduled disaster programming.😬

[Jabbyrwock]

9 minutes ago, The Sisko said:

OT, but what the hell. The cop at the beginning of this story reminded me of an incident years ago. My Great Aunt Helen had a tumultuous marriage with my Uncle Hank and by tumultuous, I mean he was a real ass to her. We liked him because he was funny and a really nice guy to everyone else, but he really treated her like crap so the rest of the family kept him at a distance. So in her later years, Aunt Helen ended up having serious mental health issues. Another Great Aunt went by to check on her one Sunday after church and she and Aunt Helen sat and talked for about 30-45 mins. So the other Aunt asks Helen where Hank was since it was past time for him to be back from work. In a voice no different than if she was reporting that she'd had a ham sammich for lunch she replied "Oh, he's in the back room. He's been dead for a few days." Sure enough, he was back there deader than hell. They slept in separate beds but still pretty creepy to sleep and go about one's normal business with a dead guy in the house.

 

OK, back to your regularly scheduled disaster programming.😬

 

I'm not sure that the idea of a dead guy stored in a bedroom and your aunt reporting she had a ham sammich in the same sentence inspires the visual of Aunt Helen you were going for.

[China]

 

Bald eagles swoop down on Idaho farm, kill 54 lambs

 

An Idaho farmer has reportedly lost dozens of lambs in a series of bald eagle attacks beginning in April. 

 

Rocky Mathews told The Times-News that eagles have nested on his farm near Murtaugh Lake for decades but that they never harmed his flock. Before witnessing an attack, Matthews assumed his lambs were victims of pellet gun shots, he told the outlet. 

 

“They’ve never crossed paths till this year,” Matthews said. “The damage under the hide is a hundredfold from what you see on the exterior.” 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

 

[China]

Dayton, Ohio, restaurant tests out pizza topped with cicadas

 

 

[China]

 

Huge Crocodile Rumoured To Have Eaten 300 People Is Still On The Loose

 

A giant crocodile, which is rumoured to have killed up to 300 people, is still potentially on the loose.

 

Nicknamed Gustave, the large Nile crocodile is said to be from Burundi, in Africa, and is infamous for being a man-eater, responsible for the deaths of locals.

 

The truth behind the semi-mythical animal is nigh-on impossible to verify, but locals still fear the creature, who has attained his own degree of mystery.

 

The killer croc is said to weigh over a ton and is said to be about six metres long. Even hunters are scared of him, and when spotted, a number of deaths seem to be reported.

 

Gustave has been studied for years, with some suggesting he could be about 100 years old, while others have said it's more likely to be around 60 due to his dental arch being intact.

 

Legend has it that he was even shot three times, and has scars as a result of hunters trying to kill it.

 

What a crocodile may look like

 

Click on the link for the full story

[China]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:39 AM, China said:

 

 

 

Update:

 

Global Concerns And Questions Grow As China Admits Fuel Rods At Nuclear Plant Are Damaged

 

lobal concerns of a possible ecological and geopolitical disaster loom large as China has finally admitted that some of the nuclear fuel rods in its Taishan Nuclear Power Plant are damaged and that radioactive gases are building up inside one of its reactors. The Chinese government announced this week that no abnormal radiation has been detected outside of the plant, however, while a French company that helps operate and jointly owns the facility has claimed the radiation presents an "imminent radiological threat." 

 

The security and health concerns stem from a build up of radioactive gasses in the water and steam surrounding the fuel rods in one of the plant’s reactors. According to reports, China has admitted that "about five" of the fuel rods in the reactor are damaged, but the plant is said to be capable of operating safely with up to one quarter of its 600 fuel rods damaged. French nuclear energy company Framatome, owned by Electricity of France (EDF), which controls a stake in the plant and helps operate it, has meanwhile stated the situation is caused by a degradation of the fuel rods' housings within the reactor. "The presence of certain noble gases in the primary circuit is a known phenomenon, studied and provided for in the reactor operating procedures," reads an EDF statement. However, The New York Times reports that experts say such build-ups of radioactive gasses are often caused by “poor design, manufacturing, or management.” Based on somewhat conflicting statements, it's unclear how dangerous the situation may currently be in Taishan.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Las Cruces murder suspect confesses to gruesome killing

 

Warning, this news article contains disturbing content about the alleged murder that happened on Sunday at park in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

 

The man accused in Las Cruces' latest murder allegedly decapitated the victim, according to court documents.

 

Joel Arciniega-Saenz was arrested Monday for the death of James Garcia, 51.

 

The gruesome crime happened at Apodaca Park.

 

Police were called to the park after reports of a body in the roadway.

 

When they arrived they learned Garcia had been decapitated and stabbed multiple times, the documents allege.

 

Arciniega-Saenz was found at the park with dried blood on his hands and a bloody knife along his side.

 

While police investigators were reviewing the crime scene they also found Garcia's middle finger.

 

During the confrontation, Arciniega-Saenz took a knife from Garcia and stabbed him several times and cut his head off.

 

He then told investigators that he dragged Garcia's body to the street and played soccer with Garcia's head.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Taal volcano: Thousands evacuated and alert raised after Philippines volcano spews smoke and ash

 

Thousands of people have been evacuated and authorities in the Philippines have raised the danger level of the Taal volcano after it spurted a huge plume of gases and steam into the air.

 

The Taal volcano in Batangas province, south of the capital Manila, caused disruption and concern on Thursday after spewing the 1km (0.62mile) high phreatomagmatic plume.

 

 

Officials cannot say if more eruptions will occur, and Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said: "It's just one explosive event, it's too early to tell."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LD0506]

Double word score for "phreatomagmatic"

[China]

Grasshoppers Are Descending on the West in Swarms

 

If you’ve been disappointed by the recent absence of hordes of cicadas across the United States, don’t worry: Grasshoppers are here to plug that bug-shaped hole in your heart. They’re also here to eat huge swaths of cropland, denude trees and other plant life, and generally wreak havoc on the West and its agriculture.

 

Thanks to extreme drought conditions and last year’s fairly large population of the dry climate–loving insect, concerningly dense swarms of grasshoppers are descending on the Western United States. The outbreak is causing concern amongst farmers across the West, from Utah to Wyoming to Montana, who are worried for their crops and livelihoods: Oregon rancher Richard Nicholson described the insect swarms as “a scourge of the Earth” to the Guardian. At the same time, conservationists warn of adverse impacts from widespread insecticide usage. The swarms are an issue many of us might recognize best from the Little House on the Prairie books (or, perhaps, the Bible), but—other than making our skin crawl—what threat do the giant black clouds of insects really pose, and what’s the best way to deal with them?

 

We’re really not too concerned with grasshopper numbers until they get up to at least 14 per square yard on rangeland. For perspective, 15 adult two-striped grasshoppers per square yard—they’re a large species—equals about 100 pounds of grasshopper per acre. If bunched together, it would be like a small sheep that can eat its bodyweight each day of green forage on each acre of range.

 

This year, we’re talking about, in some places, maybe 50–60 grasshoppers per square yard. In certain areas, they can get up even higher than that.

 

In some cases it’s not even so much that they’re going to eat the leaves off the crop—in this year, in hot, dry conditions, a grasshopper swarm can land in a field of small grain, and they’ll clip the heads off the grain and get some moisture from the stalk. They’re not even really eating the grain, but they’ve made it unavailable for harvest.

 

When you have drought weather, it exacerbates the grasshopper issue. The unprecedented extent of the serious drought in the West, combined with grasshoppers: You’re in bad shape.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Xameil]

We had an onslaught of gypsy moths and ticks in the NE of NY and Vermont since they couldn't spray for them due to the pandemic. 

The gypsy moths did a ton of damage to the trees and it will take about 3 years for them to recover.

[China]

South Africa looting: Government to deploy 25,000 troops after unrest

 

The South African government plans to deploy 25,000 troops after days of widespread looting and violence.

 

The military deployment - to counter riots sparked by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma - would be the biggest since the end of apartheid.

 

At least 117 people have died and more than 2,000 have been arrested in South Africa's worst unrest in years.

 

Hundreds of shops and businesses have been looted and the government says it is acting to prevent food shortages.

 

Citizens are arming themselves and forming vigilante groups to protect their property from the rampage.

 

More than 200 incidents of looting and vandalism were recorded on Wednesday, the government said, as the number of troops deployed doubled to 5,000.

 

But Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said she had submitted a request for the deployment of 25,000 soldiers to the two provinces hit by violence - KwaZulu-Natal, where Durban is located, and Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Electrician who cut off men’s testicles in ‘backyard surgery’ walks free

 

A man who cut off the testicles of two men in a “backyard surgery” designed to make them eunuchs has been released from custody.

 

On Friday, Brisbane’s District Court heard how Ryan Andrew King, 28, cut off the testicles of two men, one in Loganholme in September 2019 and the other in Brisbane in July 2020, after they had contacted him via a website designed for genital mutilation.

 

Prosecutor Edward Coker said King, who was charged with grievous bodily harm, was contacted first by a 65-year-old Victorian man on the website and they arranged to remove one of his testicles and penis, which was done in Victoria.

 

The man again contacted King later in the year and asked to remove his remaining testicle, which occurred in Queensland.

 

Mr Coker said King was also contacted via the website by a 26-year-old Chinese national, who had come to Australia on a working visa and wanted to be a eunuch.

 

A price range of between $500 and $1000 was discussed by King and the Chinese man, but they instead agreed for King to film the surgery and upload it to the website.

 

The court heard King had told the man he had performed the surgery up to 10 times previously.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[CousinsCowgirl84]

A website designed for genital mutilation?

 

 

 

[Simmsy]

13 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

A website designed for genital mutilation?

 

 

 

Have you ever heard of BME?