Tag: nature

Tiny killer threatens giant clam, aquatic emblem of the Med

by Claudine RENAUD Agence France-Presse Villefranche-sur-Mer, France (AFP) — With wing-shaped shells lined with iridescent mother-of-pearl and producing the fibers of rare and delicate sea silk, the noble pen shell clam is one of the most emblematic species in the Mediterranean and a bellwether for marine environmental health. But the giant mollusk, the world’s second biggest, is under mortal threat from a parasite that has ravaged populations since it was identified along Spanish coasts in 2016. Scientists […]

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Spider swarm cloaks Greek lake in 1,000-meter web

  THESSALONIKI, Greece (AFP) — Lake Vistonida in northern Greece has become an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare after it was cloaked recently by massive webs spun by hundreds of thousands of small spiders. Biologists say the recent phenomenon, though rare, is not unheard of and is caused by unseasonally warm weather prompting an increase in the local population of mosquitoes and gnats. “It’s caused by an overpopulation of spiders…there is an abundance of food available,” local […]

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Better late than never: Mexico turtle declared new species

  PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AFP) — Slow and steady wins the race, the saying goes — and it seems to have worked for a small type of turtle native to western Mexico that has been declared a new species. For 20 years, residents of the area around Puerto Vallarta, a Pacific coast resort town, had been telling scientists about the little turtles native to their area. But it was only in May that zoologists were […]

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China plans panda park that will dwarf Yellowstone

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — China will create a bastion of giant pandas three times the size of Yellowstone National Park to link up and encourage breeding among existing wild populations of the notoriously slow-reproducing animal, state media reported Thursday. At least 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) has been secured over the next five years for construction of the Giant Panda National Park in mountainous southwestern China for the nation’s favorite creature, the China Daily reported. […]

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Hurricane Irma death toll rises to 72 in Florida

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Hurricane Irma killed 72 people in Florida when it battered the southern state on September 10, according to an updated death toll that includes figures from individual counties. Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) spokesman Alberto Moscoso confirmed an official toll of 54 to AFP Tuesday. But this figure does not include eight known victims in the Florida Keys, or 10 elderly victims who died in a nursing home north […]

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Quake kills 17 in Mexico’s Jojutla, turns houses into rubble

JOJUTLA MUNICIPALITY, Mexico (CCTV) — Tuesday’s 7.1-magnitude quake left at least 17 dead in Mexico’s Jojutla Town, while knocked down 185 houses to debris, damaging 360 more and bringing down 60 walls. Since the bridge connecting Jojutla to the outside world was equally damaged, carrying out rescue efforts posed a huge challenge and relief supplies were being transferred through a detour. Jojutla, one of worst hit towns in Mexico, suffered power and internet outage too […]

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83 survivors rescued from collapsed buildings after earthquake hits Mexico

MEXICO CITY (CCTV) — Emergency personnel and volunteers have rescued 83 people from collapsed buildings after a powerful earthquake hit Mexico on Tuesday, according to data released by the Mexican government on Wednesday afternoon. The 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City and the surrounding states of Puebla, Mexico and Morelos on Tuesday, killing at least 225 people and causing severe damage to buildings in the area. Search and rescue missions have been carried out in an […]

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Malacañang condoles with victims of 7.1-magnitude quake in Mexico

QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Malacañang on Wednesday expressed its sympathies to  the people of Mexico after it was hit by a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Mexico, especially the bereaved families, who were hit and affected…,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said. According to  Abella, although the Philippine embassy in Mexico was damaged, all the “embassy officials and staff are safe, according to the Department of Foreign […]

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Irma kills 10 in Cuba as authorities weigh up extent of damage

HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) — Ten people were killed in Cuba by Hurricane Irma, according to the country’s authorities, who have begun to assess the full extent of the damage in the aftermath of the devastating storm. Seven of the dead were from the capital Havana, while fatalities were also reported in Matanzas, and in the regions of Ciego de Avila and Camaguey farther east. Most of deaths were either caused by collapsing buildings or electric […]

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Water rises in South Carolina as Hurricane Irma moves north

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) — Residents of Charleston, South Carolina, shared their videos of Hurricane Irma barreling into their city on Monday (September 11) and Sunday (September 10). One video posted to Twitter shows abnormally high water levels at Charleston harbor, while another shows sheets of rain falling in a park in downtown Charleston. A third video shows flooded streets with a car partially submerged in water. Some areas in South Carolina were already flooded […]

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Wind, rain in northern Haiti as Hurricane Irma lashes Hispaniola

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (Reuters) — Haitians in the northern part of the country dealt with wind and rain on Thursday (September 7) as Hurricane Irma lashed the island of Hispaniola. In the city of Cap-Haitien, many people were on the street and in markets making final preparations as the rain began to fall and wind picked up. Fishermen tried to organize their boats and equipment but one fisherman, Rochenel, said they were not prepared for Irma’s […]

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