Plants & Animals dying en masse; Natural & man-made disasters; Strange events ~ Signs of the End?

Dead sea lions washing on shore in California appear to have died from radiation poisoning

"(NaturalNews) An unusual surge of stranded dying and dead sea lions (seals) have littered Southern California beaches from Santa Barbara to San Diego since earlier this year. Most of the area newspapers and media outlets have been alarmingly reporting this unusual phenomenon.

It's unusual because this is the season when sea lion pups flourish. Instead they're struggling ashore in starved, emaciated conditions, if they've managed to stay alive. Scientists say almost half the sea lions born this past winter have died..."

[link to www.naturalnews.com]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Starving sea lion pups are washing up on Southern California beaches at a rate more than five times higher than usual, and scientists are scrambling to figure out why, officials said Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the year, 1,293 emaciated sea lions found stranded on beaches from San Diego to Santa Barbara have been treated at seven facilities in the state, Sarah Wilkin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said during a conference call with reporters.

Last month, the agency declared an "unusual mortality event" that allowed more scientists to help search for the cause.

A leading hypothesis is lack of available food. Researchers were also doing tests to see if pollution, disease outbreak or algae bloom are to blame.

Most of the pups being treated weighed between 20 and 30 pounds when they were found, with some as small as 18 pounds. The animals should weigh about 65 pounds by now, she said.

As many as 25 percent of the seals have died after being brought in for treatment.


[link to news.yahoo.com]

Cause unknown.

Thread: Starving sea lion pups fill Calif. rescue centers

Another Sinkhole Opens in Town Where Florida Man was Swallowed in His Sleep
"Another sinkhole has opened up in the Florida town that saw a man swallowed by a similar pit just weeks earlier. Sinkholes can open up at any time, claiming entire houses, cars or pieces of road.

Yet another sinkhole has opened up in the Florida town that saw a man swallowed by a similar pit just weeks earlier. The sinkhole, which opened up between two homes, prompted the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue to hurry to the scene to check the stability of the ground..."

[link to www.scienceworldreport.com]

Collapsing Earth: landslide forces the evacuation of 300 in Malaysia, man swallowed by sinkhole in China

"March 28, 2013 – MALAYSIA – Apartment residents claim slow pace of repairs led to second incident. About residents of Pangsapuri Beringin in Puchong, here had to vacate their apartment units yesterday when a nearby hill slope collapsed for the second time this year. The first incident occurred on Feb 19 and residents claimed that repairs were completed late, which resulted in the second landslide about 4.30pm yesterday..."

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]

Unexplained ground cracks, tear earth in Arizona

"March 25, 2013 –LUEPP, ARIZONA – It’s not something you see every day on the Navajo Nation, but a crack in the earth has been forming for a long time now and no one seems to have a clear answer..."

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]

Giant sinkhole splits ground in central region of Portugal

"April 11, 2013 – PORTUGAL - Excess water in the soil may be the cause of geological phenomenon occurred in Marvão in Alto Alentejo, which resulted in the opening of a crater about 100 meters deep and 17 meters in diameter. The geologist Victor Lambert explained this Tuesday that this is “a typical phenomenon” of areas where there is limestone and soil conditions exist, though in Portugal nothing has appeared of this size.” The geologist, who develops work for research institutions and ornamental rocks, reported in the local area that has Marvão caves and type of existing rock (limestone) tends to ‘dissolve,’ forming caves. “Here in Marvão, we had lots of rain a year. The water in these structures infiltrates, circulating inside, and in lime, circulates at high speeds, ie, the impact may cause is greater,” explained. However, the geologist pointed out that the crater in Marvão is interesting, because of the size and depth and’ three small holes,” but was keen to stress that this case is not an incident of aliens...

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]

Russian city being ‘eaten alive’ by epidemic of sinkholes

"April 10, 2013 – RUSSIA – They may look like stills from an apocalyptic horror film, but these images have become a daily reality for residents in a Russian city. Citizens of Samara, in south east Russia, live in fear of the ground literally disappearing beneath them after huge sinkholes have started to appear all over their city, leaving devastation in their wake. The yawning underground caverns are all believed to have sprung up in recent weeks swallowing cars, buses and claiming at least one life. The sinkholes, some large enough to swallow an entire truck, are believed to have been caused by ground subsidence. It is thought the holes have been caused as ice thaws and melts into the ground, with the excess water causing soil decay underneath Samara’s roads. The massive craters have appeared in car parks, busy intersections, by the sides of roads, and on major and minor thoroughfares. It is believed at least one person has lost their life as a result of one of the crashes caused by the sinkholes..."

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]

Sinkhole swallows 3 cars on Southeast Side: 'I am lucky'

"One person was hospitalized after a sinkhole swallowed three cars in the South Deering neighborhood on the Southeast Side this morning.

The person was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Witnesses said the hole opened up around 5 a.m. at 9600 South Houston Avenue, quickly growing from about 20 feet to about 40 feet. First two cars slid in, then a third as the hole widened, witnesses said. A fourth vehicle was towed from the edge as it was about to fall inside, witnesses said..."

[link to www.chicagotribune.com]

Massive geyser erupts in Russian parking lot

"Cameras in Russia seem to capture everything from fiery meteors to crazy crashes. The latest video comes from a camera mounted high above the main square in Smolensk, overlooking a busy parking lot on what appears to be a nice sunny day.

It takes but seconds for a small cloud of steam, appearing harmless at first, to erupt into a hot water geyser rivaling Old Faithful. What you don't see from the video are the brick-sized chunks of pavement and rocks that were launched into the air..."

[link to www.autoblog.com]
Thread: Massive geyser erupts in Russian parking lot

Curious vortex whirlpool found in Latvia River

'April 25, 2013 – LATVIA – In 1841, Edgar Allen Poe referred to a maelstrom, or powerful whirlpool in the ocean, as a “whole sea … lashed into ungovernable fury.” Now 172 years later, a YouTube video titled “Amazing monstrous whirlpool” gives gravity to Poe’s words, though (likely) on a slightly smaller scale. Set in Dviete, Latvia, near the banks of the Daugava River, the video depicts a mysterious whirlpool churning — and destroying — all that enters. Huge chunks of ice? Gone. Floating islands of debris? Annihilated. “Swallowing everything dragged towards its direction,” reads the description by Jānis Astičs, “this monstrous whirlpool looks as if a plug has been pulled from the ground beneath.” Astičs isn’t too far off in his analysis, actually...'

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]

H7N9 is a virus worth worrying about

'Once again an animal influenza A virus has crossed the species barrier to cause an appreciable number of human cases. Now, two months after the first known human infections with the H7N9 virus, the question is: which of the paths set by previous emerging influenza viruses will it follow?

One predecessor, H5N1, generated alarm owing to its high pathogenicity in humans. It has proved to be a tenacious adversary, remaining endemic in poultry across large parts of Asia, but thankfully it has not adapted to humans and person-to-person transmission remains rare. A second, H7N7, caused a number of mostly mild human infections in the Netherlands in 2003, with some evidence of limited person-to-person spread, but extensive poultry culling controlled it. A third, the H1N1 swine influenza virus that emerged in 2009, successfully adapted to humans and caused a pandemic...'

[link to www.nature.com]