How Emily May Harper Was Killed in NZ

With Thanks to TEAA whose blog has been hacked

Previously:

American Woman Killed in New Zealand while Swimming with [Agitated] Dolphins

A 27-year-old American woman on an “eco-tour” was killed on October 20,2009 while swimming with a school of dolphins in Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.

Emily May Harper, 27, had a cardiac arrest while swimming with dolphins in Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, October 20, 2009. Matthew Hawkins had proposed to Emily Harper. (Courtesy Matthew Hawkins )

In December last year, Moko, a three-year-old bottlenose dolphin,  who had been swimming off a local beach for more than 18 months, bringing fish and seahorses for people, was reported as being abused.

How Did Emily Harper Die?

There was much speculation about her death. At first the coroner said she had died of “natural death.” Then someone whispered in her ear that healthy 27-year-old women don’t die of natural deaths.

Then, her boyfriend, Matthew Hawkins, 28,  told The Denver Post that the coroner’s preliminary report had indicated that Harper might have been died of a cardiac arrest.

There have been many reports on Moko lately:

• Delinquent dolphin Moko causes terror in the surf Telegraph.co.uk
• Angry Dolphin Bullies Swimmers Off NZ Coast Sky News
• ‘Friendly’ dolphin strikes again New Zealand Herald
• Gisborne dolphin Moko injures two girls Stuff.co.nz
• Warnings as Moko keeps up his fish deliveries Stuff.co.nz
• Party goers warned against dolphin attacks 3News
• Mischievous Moko sparks marine alert Gisborne Herald
• Moko injures lifeguards Newstalk ZB

But the one that really caught our eye was this one researched by our friend TEAA:

• Is Moko the dolphin a danger?

The 8-min video is a must watch; it illustrates how playful dolphins, let alone agitated ones,  could harm humans just doing what dolphins do. Tens of thousands visitors, some extremely ignorant,  drive the dolphins in New Zealand waters to the edge, all year round.

Related Links:

• US Woman killed Swimming with Dolphins in NZ
• Another American Woman Killed in New Zealand
• Sick kiwis harm generous dolphin
• Tourist boats destroying dolphin community in New Zealand

Deadly Winter Storm Paralyzes United States

At least 17 people were killed as heavy snow and fierce winds swept the US

A massive winter storm swept across the United States burying vast swaths of land across the country under deadly snow and ice.

Madison, Wisconsin has experienced the greatest snowfall so far in the Midwest (December 9, 2009), with 19 inches.  Photo: Andy Manis/Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright.

Official reports:

• 7 inches of snow fell in NE Pennsylvania
• 16 inches of snow in Des Moines
• 19 inches south of Madison, Wisconsin
• 50mph gusts  created  15 feet high snow drifts

• The deadly storm has killed at least 17 people, most of them in traffic accidents
• Thousands of flights canceled
• Thousands of residences from Missouri to New York left without power
• Hundreds of schools closed
• Pittsburgh hit by 50-mph winds causing damage to some buildings

A severe winter storm blustered its way across the United States on December 7 and 8, 2009. The storm dumped heavy snow from California to the Great Plains, and fierce winds added to the hazardous conditions. The storm was predicted to continue eastward in midweek, and blizzard warnings were in effect for Great Lakes states as of December 9.

This image shows the blanket of snow laid down by the storm across the West, along with the thick swirl of storm clouds over the Great Plains from North Dakota to Oklahoma. The image is made from a combination of images captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA’s Terra (most of the left side of the image) and Aqua (most of the right side) satellites on December 8. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, based on individual images from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

Related Links:

• Drought and Deluge: Major Mechanisms Of Collapse
• Recent Climate-Related Disasters
• UK Flooding
• Nature’s ‘Deselection’ Engine Revving Up!
• Deadly Weather in Your Area?
• Murphy’s law has no time vector!

VolcanoWatch Weekly [10 Dec 2009]

SI / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
(2 December – 8 December 2009)

New activity/Unrest:

• Llaima, Chile

• Region: Central Chile
• Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
• Last Known Eruption: 2009
• Summit Elevation: 3,125 m  (10,253 feet)
• Latitude: 38.692°S  (38°41’30″S)
• Longitude: 71.729°W (71°43’43″W)

Llaima, one of Chile’s largest and most active volcanoes, has a symmetrical profile when seen from the north. The massive, 3125-m-high, glacier-covered stratovolcano is constructed primarily of accumulated lava flows and has a volume of 400 cu km. Volcán Llaima contains two historically active craters, one at the summit and the other to the SE. More than 40 scoria cones dot the volcano’s flanks. Frequent moderate explosive eruptions, a few of which were accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 17th century. Photo by Norm Banks, 1990 (U.S. Geological Survey). Caption: GVP.

Volcano News (Source: GVP)

KVERT reported that during 27 November-4 December seismic activity from Kliuchevskoi was above background levels and lava continued to flow down the ESE flank. Strombolian activity ejected tephra 300 m above the crater.

Cameras operated by OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN showed steam-and-gas plumes rising from Llaima’s main crater and E flank during 14 November-1 December. Although seismicity generally decreased, a new type of long-period, low-frequency earthquake was detected. (Source: GVP)

Ongoing Activity

Ambrym, Vanuatu (SW Pacific);  Chaitén, Southern Chile; Colima, México;  Dukono, Halmahera; Fuego, Guatemala; Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka;  Kilauea, Hawaii (USA);  Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka (Russia);  Rabaul, New Britain;  Sakura-jima, Kyushu;  San Cristóbal, Nicaragua;  Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia); Soufrière Hills, Montserrat;  Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan).

Related Links:

• Volcanic Explosions Could Split More Than Africa
• Arabia Shakes
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [28 Oct 2009]
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [26 Oct 2009]

More Links:

• Messages From Earth’s Powerhouse
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 19 March 2009

• A New Era of Intense Volcanic Unrest May Have Begun
• Tonga’s Metis Shoal may be erupting
• Rumble III Volcano “blew its top!”
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

FEWW Volcanic Activity Forecast

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts
• Volcano Watch Weekly: 23 April 2009

• Weekly Volcano Watch: 16 April 2009
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 2 April 2009

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

Other Related Links:

• U.S. Volcano Status Map
• Elevated Activity Page
• U.S. Volcano Webcams

Recent Posts on Chaitén:

• Chaitén: A New Phase of Activity?
• Chaitén Still Awake!
• Chaitén: Volcano with a Mission?
• Volcano that Doesn’t Sleep