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

[Dan T.]

 

[China]

A Giant Blob of Seaweed Is Heading to Florida

 

For much of the year, an enormous brown blob floats, relatively harmlessly, across the Atlantic Ocean. Its tendrils provide shelter and breeding grounds for fish, crabs and sea turtles. Spanning thousands of miles, it is so large that it can be seen from outer space.

 

But scientists say that in the coming months, the blob — a tangled, buoyant, mass of a type of seaweed called sargassum — is expected to come ashore in Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf of Mexico. No longer will the blob be gentle; scientists say it will then begin to rot, emitting toxic fumes and fouling the region’s beaches over the busiest summer months.

 

The seaweed, which can also cause pollution and threaten human health as it decays, has already begun to creep onto the shores of Key West, Fla.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Rare tick-borne babesiosis disease on the rise in northeastern US, says CDC: Here's why

 

Lyme disease may hold the distinction of being the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the U.S. — but it’s not the only one. 

 

Babesiosis, a rare tick-borne parasitic disease, is spiking in some states.

 

The CDC reported on Friday that cases of babesiosis saw a significant uptick between 2011 and 2019 in some northeastern states. 

 

In that time frame, a total of 16,456 cases were reported in 37 states. Eight U.S. states saw notable increases. 

 

Babesiosis is a disease that occurs when a microscopic parasite, babesia, infects red blood cells. 

 

Transmitted by black-legged ticks or deer ticks, babesiosis is most prevalent in some northeast and upper Midwest states, primarily during the warmer seasons, per the CDC’s website.

 

Some of the most common symptoms of babesiosis mimic those of the cold and flu, which can mean many cases are going undiagnosed. 

 

People who are infected may experience fever, chills, sweats, fatigue, headache, cough, muscle aches and sore throat.

 

In more extreme cases, Dr. Déry said patients may have an enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice or visual changes.

 

Very rarely, higher-risk patients may suffer from respiratory distress, heart failure, kidney failure or multi-organ failure.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

2 Florida Hikers Found Dead, 1 Survives, After Flash Flood in Popular Utah Slot Canyon

 

A pair of hikers died near the Utah-Arizona border after they were caught in a flash flood over the weekend.

 

Jeffrey Watson, and William Romaniello were on a multi-day hike from Wire Pass to Lees Ferry through Buckskin Gulch — "the longest slot canyon in North America, and a very popular hike," according to the Kane County Sheriff's Office — when the flood hit Saturday morning, authorities said in a statement. The two men, who were found dead, set off on the trek with Ed Smith, who survived.

 

All three were experienced hikers who worked together at Tampa Bay's Orthopaedic Medical Group, according to The New York Times.

 

The group was reported missing on Monday, the day after the trip was supposed to end, after having "no contact with their families" during the hike, according to the sheriff's office.

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[China]

Deadly fungal infection spreading at an alarming rate, CDC says

 

A drug-resistant and potentially deadly fungus has been spreading rapidly through U.S. health care facilities, a new government study finds.

 

The fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris, or C. auris, can cause severe illness in people with weakened immune systems. The number of people diagnosed with infections — as well as the number of those who were found through screening to be carrying C. auris — has been rising at an alarming rate since it was first reported in the U.S., researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.

 

The increases, “especially in the most recent years, are really concerning to us,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Meghan Lyman, chief medical officer in the CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch, said in an interview. “We’ve seen increases not just in areas of ongoing transmission, but also in new areas.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[skinsmarydu]

Fabulous.  Just what we need. 

[China]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:32 PM, China said:

A Giant Blob of Seaweed Is Heading to Florida

 

For much of the year, an enormous brown blob floats, relatively harmlessly, across the Atlantic Ocean. Its tendrils provide shelter and breeding grounds for fish, crabs and sea turtles. Spanning thousands of miles, it is so large that it can be seen from outer space.

 

But scientists say that in the coming months, the blob — a tangled, buoyant, mass of a type of seaweed called sargassum — is expected to come ashore in Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf of Mexico. No longer will the blob be gentle; scientists say it will then begin to rot, emitting toxic fumes and fouling the region’s beaches over the busiest summer months.

 

The seaweed, which can also cause pollution and threaten human health as it decays, has already begun to creep onto the shores of Key West, Fla.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:32 PM, China said:

A Giant Blob of Seaweed Is Heading to Florida

 

For much of the year, an enormous brown blob floats, relatively harmlessly, across the Atlantic Ocean. Its tendrils provide shelter and breeding grounds for fish, crabs and sea turtles. Spanning thousands of miles, it is so large that it can be seen from outer space.

 

But scientists say that in the coming months, the blob — a tangled, buoyant, mass of a type of seaweed called sargassum — is expected to come ashore in Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf of Mexico. No longer will the blob be gentle; scientists say it will then begin to rot, emitting toxic fumes and fouling the region’s beaches over the busiest summer months.

 

The seaweed, which can also cause pollution and threaten human health as it decays, has already begun to creep onto the shores of Key West, Fla.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Massive seaweed belt still on track to hit US: When will it arrive?

 

A giant seaweed belt twice the width of the United States has its sights set on Florida, where it could wreak havoc as it washes ashore.

 

The 5,000-mile-wide bloom is a belt of sargassum, a floating brown algae that usually floats in the Atlantic. The problems start when it comes on land and starts to rot. As it decays, sargassum lets off hydrogen sulfide and smells like rotten eggs, explains the Florida Department of Health. It can irritate people’s eyes, nose and throat, and trigger breathing issues for people with asthma.

 

Some sargassum has already started washing up in Florida, the health department said Friday, but the worst is unfortunately still to come. Scientists are closely monitoring satellite imagery to identify areas where beaching may occur.

 

Brian Lapointe, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, told CNN he believes the activity will peak in July.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

'It’s expanding': Deadly flesh-eating bacteria thrive on East Coast as climate warms, research shows

 

A flesh-eating bacteria that kills roughly 20% of its victims and lives in coastal waters is expanding far beyond its original Gulf Coast home, working its way up the East Coast at about 30 miles per year.

 

While still rare, infections from Vibrio vulnificus have increased eight-fold between 1988 and 2018, as climate change has warmed the brackish coastal waters where the bacteria live, a paper published Thursday found. 

 

The bacterial infection, which eats away at the flesh and sometimes requires amputation to stop it, used to occur mostly in brackish waters along shores and inlets from Texas to Florida. Now cases are showing up as far north as Massachusetts. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[China]

I think we found the actual wheel of horror:

 

 

[China]

Radioactive water leaks at Minn. nuclear plant for 2nd time

 

Water containing a radioactive material has leaked for a second time from a nuclear plant near Minneapolis and the plant will be shut down, but there is no danger to the public, the plant’s owner said Thursday.

 

A leak of what was believed to be hundreds of gallons of water containing tritium was discovered this week from a temporary fix at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, where 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water with tritium leaked in November, Xcel Energy said in a statement Thursday.

 

The plant about 38 miles (61 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis is scheduled to power down Friday so permanent repairs can begin, the company said.

 

There was a monthslong delay in announcing the initial leak that raised questions about public safety and transparency, but industry experts said there was never a public health threat.

 

The new leak, announced a day after Xcel Energy says it was discovered, was found to be coming from a temporary fix to the original leak, the company said in a statement. This time, the leak is anticipated to be in the hundreds of gallons.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Blue-ringed octopus, one of the most toxic animals on Earth, bites woman multiple times

 

A woman in Australia was recently bitten multiple times by a blue-ringed octopus — one of the world's most toxic animals — and lived to tell the tale.

 

 

Blue-ringed octopuses are a group comprising four species: the greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), the southern blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa), the blue-lined octopus (Hapalochlaena fasciata) and the common blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena nierstraszi). These octopuses are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and are covered in tiny rings that flash with an iridescent blue when the animals are threatened. Blue-ringed octopuses also contain tetrodotoxin, a powerful neurotoxin that can paralyze and kill humans even in small doses.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[China]

Son kept mum's mummified corpse on his sofa for 13 years after digging up her grave

 

A grief-stricken son is facing jail after it was discovered he had dug up his late mother's body and kept her on his sofa.

 

Police found the woman's "mummified" remains inside the home of the man named only as Marian L in Radlin, Poland, after his estranged brother-in-law raised concerns about his health.

 

A search of the 76-year-old's home found the remains of his mother propped up on a sofa atop a pile of newspapers dating from 2009.

 

The elderly woman had passed away and was buried more than 13 years ago, prosecutors said.

 

Małgorzata Koniarska, a spokeswoman for local police, said: "We received a report in connection with the disclosure of the body from a family member of the owner of the apartment.

 

"The policemen went to Ul. Rogozina in Radlin. In the part of the house belonging to an elderly man, a mummified corpse was discovered."

 

Click on the link for the full article

Unavailable for comment

[Captain Wiggles]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/04/03/montana-train-derailment-coors-light-blue-moon-beer/11591531002/

 

Quote

A freight train carrying beer derailed in Montana, officials said, the latest of a string of rail accidents in the United States.

 

Somewhere a Supreme Court Justice is shedding a tear. 😢

 

[China]

Speaking of derailments…

 

Train Derailment in Minnesota Heightens Concerns Over Railroad Safety

 

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused a train to derail Thursday in Minnesota, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate. Crews have started removing contaminated soil and damaged rail cars in the wake of the fiery derailment. No injuries have been reported.

 

Around 1 a.m. Thursday, 22 cars of a freight train derailed in the Midwest U.S. state of Minnesota near the town of Raymond. Ten of the tanker cars contained ethanol, a chemical that can be harmful to people. Four damaged cars containing ethanol erupted in flames and burned for several hours after the derailment. Environmental Protection Agency officials arrived at the scene by 6:30 a.m. and started monitoring the air for toxic chemicals.

 

The entire town of Raymond was evacuated in the night by first responders. Many residents were sent to a school and church in nearby Prinsburg. The evacuation order was lifted around noon.

 

Click on the link for the full article 

[China]

Deadliest volcano in Western Hemisphere shows signs of increased activity

 

Experts say a volcano responsible for causing one of the largest disasters in the Western Hemisphere is showing signs of increased activity, which has forced the Colombian government to issue evacuations in the potential impact zone.

 

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano sits about 80 miles west of Bogotá, and according to Colombia’s Geological Survey, an earthquake swarm has increased to levels not seen since a disastrous eruption in the 1980s killed at least 25,000 people.

 

Authorities have raised the alert level to orange – the second-highest on a four-stage scale.

 

A recent update posted by the Global Volcanism Program said on March 30 some 11,600 earthquakes were detected, and the movement of underground fluid was likely responsible for increased ash emissions.

An estimated 57,000 people live in municipalities close to the volcano, and the population has only increased since the Armero tragedy caught thousands off guard on November 13, 1985.

 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the last major eruption occurred during a time of major political discourse, and the nighttime event was obscured by a significant storm.

 

“Within minutes, 23,000 people – most of the town’s inhabitants – were killed, entombed within a concrete-like mixture of mud, vegetation, buildings, and everything else swept away by the lahars. Sadly, the lahars reached Armero approximately two hours after the eruption – plenty of time for the people to have evacuated to higher ground, had they been notified more quickly,” the USGS recounted.

 

 

Click on the link for more

[China]

 

[China]

Texas dairy explosion leaves at least 18,000 cattle dead, 1 person critically injured

 

Approximately 18,000 cows were killed, and one person was critically injured, in an explosion at a dairy farm in the Texas Panhandle on Monday. 

 

The Castro County Sheriff’s Office confirmed with Fox News Digital that the cows were in a holding area before being brought in for milking when the blast occurred at the Southfork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt.

 

Very few cows in the holding area survived, officials told local outlet KFDA. 

 

"Your count probably is close to that. There’s some that survived, there’s some that are probably injured to the point where they’ll have to be destroyed," Castro County Sherif Sal Rivera told KFDA. 

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

Rat Horror Stories the New N.Y.C. Rat Czar Needs to Hear

 

New York City has a new rat czar, and it is impossible to overstate the urgency of her mission. The rats are everywhere.

 

Everyone who lives in New York has rat tales to tell. For most of us, encounters with rats are persistent, but fleeting. A jump scare in the night, from rodents skittering across the sidewalk. The sound of track rats scrambling, deftly avoiding the third rail, in the subway station during the commute home. A rat-clogged car engine.

 

But some New Yorkers have been part of real-life rat horror stories: events both personal and life-changing. They have locked eyes with the enemy — and even made contact.

 

Mayor Eric Adams has put his faith in Kathleen Corradi, New York City’s new director of rodent mitigation, to oversee rat reduction efforts — and not a moment too soon. We are experiencing record numbers of rat sightings with no indication that the trend will reverse.

 

Ask New Yorkers for their most unnerving tales, and the scope of Ms. Corradi’s mission becomes uncomfortably clear.

 

One mother on the Upper West Side reports that her daughter “rolled over a mostly-dead rat with her rolling backpack on way to school.”

 

In a second floor apartment on Pacific Street in Brooklyn, a graphic designer lifted her kitchen garbage bag when, she said, a rat leaped out, “parkoured off my leg” and disappeared behind the oven.

 

A woman who now happens to work as a public health analyst was living on 112th Street in Manhattan when she witnessed a rat “flip itself over while stuck to a glue trap, pry itself off, and run away.”

 

And, of course, every New Yorker’s worst nightmare: the man who fell into a rat-filled sinkhole. (“He didn’t want to yell because he was afraid there were going to be rats inside his mouth,” his brother said.)

There’s so much more.

 

Click on the link for more

[China]

Train carrying hazardous materials derails in Maine

 

A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire Saturday morning near Rockwood, Maine, officials said. However, none of the hazardous materials aboard caught fire, according to railroad officials and state authorities.  

 

A spokesperson for Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC) told CBS News in a statement that the train derailed at about 8:30 a.m. Eastern time due to a "track washout" in a rural wooded area about 15 miles east of the town of Jackman. A "track washout" often happens after heavy rain and washes away ballast and roadway under the track. 

 

A "build-up of melting ice and debris" may have caused the washout, the Maine Forest Service (MFS) said in a news release.

 

The derailment sparked a small forest fire that was "contained," MFS said, adding that three rail employees were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

School bus driver who slammed on brakes to ‘teach kids a lesson’ facing 30 child abuse charges

 

A Colorado school bus driver faces 30 child abuse charges after intentionally slamming on the brakes to “teach the kids a lesson.”

 

Video from inside the bus, obtained by ABC affiliate KRDO, shows at least 30 Castle Rock Elementary students’ faces hitting the seats in front of them from the brake check.

 

The incident occurred on March 1, 2023, when the Castle Rock Elementary School students were riding the bus home.

 

According to the report, the bus driver, 61-year-old Brian Fitzgerald, told Douglas County School District officials he was sorry for his actions. However, he did defend his actions. He claimed he was trying to “educate” and “control the students” riding the bus.

 

The students, ranging from kindergarten to 6th grade, were confused and startled by the jolt. This led to one of the students calling her parents and reporting the incident.

 

“Um, the bus driver hit the brakes, and somebody got hurt so badly and is like bleeding on the cheek. We tell the bus driver, but he no care,” she told her parents.

 

When Fitzgerald dropped her off at the stop, she started crying. The driver closed the door and started to pull away before opening it back up to speak with the adult that picked the little girl up.

 

During the driver’s explanation, some of the students sitting in the back of the bus began disagreeing with what Fitzgerald was telling the parent about their behavior on the bus.

 

“I said they need to be in their seat,” the driver explained to the parent. “I was coming to a stop and I hit the brakes hard because they weren’t. They were not listening. So, I’m sorry if she got hurt.”

 

That little girl was not the only Castle Rock Elementary Student who told their parents they were hurt in the brake check incident.

 

“My son came tearing the through the door that afternoon,” Lauren Thomason said. “He sprinted all the way home. He was out of breath and red-faced and absolutely sobbing and shaking. He was terrified.”

 

When Lauren helped her fourth-grade son calm down, he told her what happened on the bus that afternoon. She immediately called the Douglas County School District Transportation Department asking officials to pull the video.

 

“He had slammed his head into the seat back in front of him. Another buddy had slammed his head into the window. So his neck and his head were hurting,” said Thomason.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Can someone explain to me why school buses don't have seat belts?

Edited April 21, 2023 by China

[Xameil]

23 minutes ago, China said:

School bus driver who slammed on brakes to ‘teach kids a lesson’ facing 30 child abuse charges

 

 

 

Can someone explain to me why school buses don't have seat belts?

Up here they do.

[China]

French skier’s terrifying fall into Swiss Alps ice chute captured by GoPro

 

 

[China]

Woman has bullet removed from clitoris in ‘first’ injury of its kind

 

A woman in Somalia had to undergo emergency surgery after getting shot accidentally in the clitoris while relaxing at home.

 

A report detailing her accidental piercing was published recently in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

 

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first wayward bullet injury penetrating the vulvar area [the outer part of the female genitals] with a retained bullet in the clitoris,” study authors wrote.

 

According to the study, the 24-year-old unnamed patient had been relaxing at home, when all of a sudden, a stray bullet came through her ceiling and struck her in the nether regions.

 

The alarmed woman reported to the Erdoğan Hospital in Mogadishu, where a CT scan revealed that the errant lead pellet had lodged itself inside her clitoris. As far as the study authors knew, this was the first case of its kind.

 

“We thought it to be rare and interesting,” they wrote of the unfortunate body shot, which thankfully struck her at a low velocity or her health could’ve been in jeopardy.

 

Surgeons placed the patient under local anesthesia and removed the projectile from her private parts.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

So did the doctors need the X-ray because they were men and would have otherwise not been able to find the ****?

[CousinsCowgirl84]

On 4/12/2023 at 9:00 PM, China said:

Texas dairy explosion leaves at least 18,000 cattle dead, 1 person critically injured

 

Approximately 18,000 cows were killed, and one person was critically injured, in an explosion at a dairy farm in the Texas Panhandle on Monday. 

 

The Castro County Sheriff’s Office confirmed with Fox News Digital that the cows were in a holding area before being brought in for milking when the blast occurred at the Southfork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt.

 

Very few cows in the holding area survived, officials told local outlet KFDA. 

 

"Your count probably is close to that. There’s some that survived, there’s some that are probably injured to the point where they’ll have to be destroyed," Castro County Sherif Sal Rivera told KFDA. 

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

I wonder if it smelled like steak on the grill there…