Tag: disaster

Like Fukushima just in the US! Radioactive water from Pilgrim nuclear plant to be dumped into Cape Cod Bay

Strange Sounds – December 6, 2021

The company decommissioning Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it plans to start discharging radioactive water from the plant into Cape Cod Bay within the first three months of 2022.

U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., shared an email with the Cape Cod Times that his staff received from the the commission Wednesday that confirmed Holtec International had informed the agency of its plan to release radioactive water into the bay.

A week earlier, Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien told a Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel in Plymouth there were other options, including evaporating the million gallons of water from the spent fuel pool and the reactor vessel and other plant components or trucking it to a facility in Idaho.

Keating said that not disclosing their plans at a public forum violated promises of transparency.

“It’s troubling that within a couple of days it turned into a sure thing,” Keating said Friday.

“If Holtec had true concern for public health and the environment and worked with transparency as they promised, Holtec would halt any dumping until a viable solution is found acceptable,” said Diane Turco, director of Cape Downwinders, a citizen watchdog group. “Dumping into Cape Cod Bay just highlights the fact that the NRC and Holtec don’t have a solution for what to do with nuclear waste. Contaminating our environment is part of the nuclear nightmare process and that is immoral.”

Of more concern to Keating than the lack of transparency was what he said was a decision motivated by cost and not by necessity.

https://strangesounds.org

Oregon’s most active fault continues to “build up” with earthquake swarm continuing

Ricky Scaparo – December 12, 2021

Upwards of 60 earthquakes have been recorded off the Oregon coast – starting Tuesday and continuing through Wednesday. The quakes occurred along the Blanco Fault Zone –Oregon’s most active fault according to KOIN.

The biggest reached a magnitude of 5.8. Despite the number of quakes, experts say there’s no cause for concern as it’s commonplace for earthquake swarms to occur in this zone, KOIN 6 News Chief Meteorologist Natasha Stenbock said.

KIRO7 states that nearly 250 miles west of Newport, Oregon, a place called the Blanco Fracture Zone has produced more than 60 earthquakes in 36 hours. “About 20 of them, oh, we just had another one just now, about 21 of them are over magnitude 4.7,” said Chris Goldfinger of Oregon State University.

Goldfinger said offshore swarms of earthquakes happen around once a year. “They’re called strike-slip earthquakes where the two blocks move side by side, so because there’s not a lot of vertical motion, they don’t generate tsunamis,” he said.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

China Creating ‘Humanized Pigs’ with Gene Editing Then Infecting Them with Coronavirus

Frances Martel – December 9, 2021

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper celebrated on Thursday the alleged discovery of a scientific process to create a “humanized pig” more susceptible to severe Chinese coronavirus cases, which scientists could infect and use for research.

The propaganda outlet attributed the scientific achievement to the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS). The CAS, a research institution, is the world’s largest organization of its kind and a formal arm of the Chinese government. The Times published an illustrative figure on the development of “humanized” pigs that appears to have first surfaced in a study published in August that promoted the use of genetically modified pigs for Chinese coronavirus research based on how rapidly scientists could generate them and their heightened similarities with the human body.

The August study – published in Cell Discovery, a journal sponsored by the CAS, revealed that Chinese scientists had attempted to use CRISPR gene-editing technology to remove the genetic protective shields that make Chinese coronavirus not a significant threat to most pigs. CRISPR technology became the source of global controversy in 2018 after a Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, claimed to have used the method to genetically modify unborn baby twins to make them immune to HIV. The Communist Party sentenced He to three years in prison for conducting the human experiment without the full approval of the Party.

https://www.breitbart.com

Powerful M7.5 earthquake hits northern Peru

– November 28, 2021

A major earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.5 hit a very sparsely populated region of northern Peru at 10:52 UTC on November 28, 2021. The agency is reporting a depth of 112.5 km (69.9 miles). EMSC is reporting M7.5 at a depth of 110 km (68.3 miles).

The epicenter was located 43 km (27 miles) NNW of Barranca (population 5 779), and 173 km (107 miles) N of Moyobamba (population 44 276), Peru.

27 000 people are estimated to have felt severe shaking, 127 000 very strong, 1 090 000 strong, and 4 343 000 moderate.

The USGS issued a Yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. Some casualties and damage are possible and the impact should be relatively localized. Past yellow alerts have required a local or regional level response.

Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of Peru.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are mud wall and reinforced/confined masonry construction.

USGS estimated limited number / and (or) spatial extent of landslides triggered by this earthquake. The number of people living near areas that could have produced landslides in this earthquake is low, but landslide damage or fatalities are still possible in highly susceptible areas.

Liquefaction triggered by this earthquake is estimated to be extensive in severity and (or) spatial extent and the number of people living near areas that could have produced liquefaction in this earthquake is significant.

https://watchers.news

La Palma volcanic eruption update: New vent, new very fast lava flow, 4 new cone collapses, powerful jets and all flights cancelled, yellow warning due to heavy rains

Strange Sounds – November 25, 2021

Today, the eruption is more powerful than the last several days.

The main cone also collapsed at least 4 times between Thursday and early Friday, thus increasing the flow of lava. Moreover, a new vent has opened on the southern part of the main cone of the La Palma volcano early this evening.

As a consequence, a new stream of very liquid and fast moving magma has formed. The new lava flow emerging from the new fissure runs at 600m/hour through new territory in urbanized areas.

The new front has already covered the Las Manchas cemetery (area of ​​more than 1,000 square meters; more than 5,000 niches and the only crematorium on the island).

Meanwhile, State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a weather yellow warning. The authorities of La Palma have announced that this Friday access to the highway to the south of the island will be closed due to the risk of runoff and landslides due to the expected heavy rains.

All flights to and from La Palma have been cancelled.

https://strangesounds.org

Statewide crisis! 19 million people under drought emergency in Southern California – That’s nearly half of all California residents

Strange Sounds – November 12, 2021

Nearly half of all California residents are under a regional drought emergency as record dry conditions continue to exacerbate a statewide crisis.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a wholesaler to 26 local agencies that together supply some 19 million people with water, declared a state of emergency Tuesday in a resolution that calls for increased conservation efforts.

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a statewide drought emergency, which authorizes the state water board to ban wasteful water uses, such as using potable water for washing sidewalks and driveways.

Tuesday’s declaration, which also pertains to businesses, supports Newsom’s proclamation, activates additional conservation efforts and expands water efficiency programs.

“We need immediate action to preserve and stretch our limited State Water Project supplies,” board Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray said in a statement. “Southern California on average gets about one-third of its water from Northern California via the state project. Next year, we’ll be lucky to get a small fraction of that.”

The declarations come as California struggles with unprecedented dry conditions and an ongoing strain on state water resources. California’s last two water years were the driest two-year period on record for precipitation. In August, Lake Oroville — the main reservoir in the State Water Project — reached its lowest point since the 1970s.

https://strangesounds.org

Fresh outbreaks of highly contagious bird flu confirmed in Europe

RT – November 8, 2021

Several outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N1 avian flu have cropped up across Poland’s poultry farms, affecting over half a million birds, animal health officials have said. An outbreak was also confirmed in England on Monday.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) revealed the Polish outbreaks on Monday, saying that five were documented in the eastern part of the country alone. Four of the instances were at turkey-fattening facilities, and one at a chicken broiler farm. Meanwhile in western Poland, another outbreak was discovered at a turkey and geese farm.

Nearly 650,000 fowl at the country’s farms have been contaminated with the highly pathogenic bird flu, the OIE said.

In a statement released by Poland’s Chief Inspectorate Veterinary on Saturday, the body said that it implements disease control measures at farms which suffer bird flu outbreaks. These actions can include killing infected animals, deep cleaning and disinfecting contaminated areas, and establishing designated infectious zones.

Warsaw is not alone in facing a bird flu outbreak. A 3km protection zone, as well as a 10km radius for surveillance purposes, was established on Monday in the UK county of Warwickshire, following an outbreak of the deadly influenza strain at a small poultry unit.

Poultry owners in this zone will be required to record the details of any visitors, to stop the spread of the highly contagious strain. Meanwhile, any owners in the 3km sphere will have to isolate their birds.

H5N1 is estimated to have a mortality rate of around 53% in humans who contract the disease following contact with infected fowl. Between 2003 and October 2021, 863 human infections with H5N1 have been recorded globally, according to World Health Organization data, with 456 of these proving fatal.

https://www.rt.com

Earthquake warning as US and Canada ‘due for major event’: ‘It’s matter of when’

Joel Day – November 5, 2021

It has been centuries since the contiguous US, the entirety of the states, experienced a “Big One” — an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 9.0. The last on record was an earthquake in 1700 with an estimated magnitude of 9.0. This was along the Cascadia subduction zone where the Juan de Fuca plate is diving underneath the North American plate.

Huge earthquakes happen in this region because the plate that’s going down is usually oceanic crust, which is cold and dense, which means it can break in a sharp and sudden manner.

However, the cold dense crust that’s sinking can break for a much longer time and initially result in the seismic shifts and tremors.

The nature of the zone pairs any earthquake with another destructive event: a tsunami.

The earthquake that hit in 1700 sent a tsunami across the Pacific Ocean as far as Japan.

Researchers are now expecting another event at the Cascadia subduction zone, with the chances of it happening in the coming decades explored during NOVA PBS’ short documentary, ‘The Pacific Northwest is due for a Major Earthquake’.

Wendy Bohon, a geologist and senior science communication specialist at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, explained the process behind how a tsunami would result from an earthquake, and said: “You have one plate diving down beneath another, one section gets locked and it pushes another part up.

“When the fault ruptures, when the amount of stress overcomes the friction, it bounces back, which lifts up the water above it and causes that water to flow out in all directions.

“And that water flowing out in all directions in the tsunami.”

Oral histories of the earthquake and tsunami that hit in 1700 suggest many died from the event.

https://www.express.co.uk

France orders lockdown… for domestic fowl over bird-flu threat

RT – November 5, 2021

The French Agriculture Ministry has ordered the country’s poultry farmers to keep their fowl indoors to prevent the potential spread of a highly contagious bird-flu strain via migratory birds.

The ministry published the order in the French official journal on Thursday, citing the “rising infection rate in migratory corridors” as a sufficient reason to consider the potential infection risk “high” across the country.

The measure is aimed at protecting farms, as no cases in humans have been reported so far. The ministry announced the move after a highly contagious H5 strain of bird flu was discovered at a farm in the neighboring Netherlands. The discovery prompted a cull of 36,000 birds as part of the Dutch authorities’ precautionary measures. The Netherlands then also introduced a “lockdown” for poultry on its territory

The UK declared a nationwide Avian Influenza Prevention Zone on Wednesday, demanding farmers toughen their infection prevention measures, but stopping short of ordering them to keep fowl indoors. The move followed the discovery of several bird-flu cases in wild birds in the UK.

“Since the beginning of August, 130 bird-flu cases or clusters have been detected in wild animals or on farms in Europe,” the French ministry said on Thursday, adding that the list included at least three cases among domestic birds in northeastern France. The three bird flu outbreaks detected in France were related to the H5N8 strain.

The avian flu strain, H5N1, is notorious for its high mortality rate of around 60% in humans, and is contracted via contact with the excretions of infected birds. The World Health Organization still considers the risk of its human-to-human transmission to be “low.”

https://www.newsmax.com

Desperate Afghan parents, unable to afford food, are selling their young girls

AFP and TOI staff – November 3, 2021

Nine-year-old Parwana dug her heels into the ground as she tried to resist being taken from her family home after she was sold into marriage with a 55-year-old man in northwest Afghanistan last week.

Village and displaced people’s camp leaders say the numbers of young girls getting betrothed started to rise during a 2018 famine and surged this year when the rains failed once more.

Parwana’s family has lived in poverty for years, but life has gotten harder for them since the Taliban takeover of the country earlier this year and as international aid has dried up.

Abdul Malik, Parwana’s father, told CNN ahead of the sale that he was “broken” with guilt and worry, but had no choice as the family is unable to afford food.

Several months ago he sold Parwana’s 12-year-old sister, and he already knows the money from the sale of Parwana won’t last long.

Ahead of the sale, Parwana said that she was sold because the family doesn’t have money for food.

“He has sold me to an old man,” said the girl, who had dreamed of becoming a teacher.

On October 24, a man named Qorban paid 200,000 Afghanis (approximately $2,200) and was given Parwana in a ceremony in the displacement camp on the outskirts of Qala-e-Naw, in Afghanistan’s Badghis province.

“[Parwana] was cheap, and her father was very poor and he needs money,” Qorban told CNN. “She will be working in my home. I won’t beat her. I will treat her like a family member. I will be kind.”

Child marriage has been practiced in Afghanistan for centuries, but war and climate change-related poverty have driven many families to resort to striking deals earlier and earlier in girls’ lives.

Boys’ parents can drive a harder bargain and secure younger girls, spacing out the repayments.

The World Food Program warned last week that more than half the population of Afghanistan, around 22.8 million people, will face acute food insecurity from this month.

https://www.timesofisrael.com