Earthquake

We’re headed to the Middle East. There’s a large desert there, and it’s completely dark. Except for one spot — a big circle that glows with a bright orange light — the Darvaza Crater. And it’s basically just a giant gas burner. Years ago, geologists found gas here, and they started mining for it. But when they excavated, they came across a void underground. The void collapsed, and it formed a crater. This crater is as wide as half a soccer field and as deep as a five-story building. Gas began to come out of the cracks in the crater and since animals were often grazing in this area, the geologists decided to set these gas streams on fire to exhaust the source. Geologists thought the fire would be over in a day or two. But if you come here now, you’ll see this gateway to the underworld is still burning. And it’s been going on for almost 50 years.

It all started with a minor change on our planet. At first, people noticed the Moon had become brighter and a little bigger. But nobody paid attention to this. The Moon affected tides all over the world. The water flooded the beaches, but it wasn’t a tragedy. A lot of fish came close to the shores. People found giant squid, anglerfish, and other creatures next to the coast, although they usually live in the dark depths. New, stranger things happen every day. Birds no longer fly to the south in winter. They gather in huge groups flying around cities with no purpose. The Moon used to help them navigate in nature, so they can’t figure out which way to fly anymore.

Big herds of dinosaurs run through the forest. The temperature rises rapidly, and everything behind them begins to ignite. Some dinosaurs get stuck in swamps and can’t get out. Pterodactyls fly over their heads as they try to avoid the blast wave that will soon cover the Earth. This event happened about 66 million years ago. It wiped out almost every living thing on Earth. Birds and flying dinosaurs were just about the only ones who could survive the most massive extinction event ever. Hey don’t blame me. I wasn’t around then.

The year is 2160. The place? The Pacific Ocean. Off the coast of Japan. The ocean seems calm. At least the surface does... The ocean floor is cracking right now. Boom! The Earth opens up, magma shoots out. The crack in the ocean floor triggers an earthquake and a massive amount of energy shoots into the ocean.

From where we stand, the Sun seems so calm and peaceful. But like humans — and basically the whole living world — the Sun has its own phases when it’s more or less active. It’s just that the consequences are way bigger and more chaotic when the Sun becomes hyperactive!Let’s zoom in to see what’s happening up there. So, one of the ways we measure the activity of our star is by counting sunspots on its surface. Sunspots are dark patches that form when the Sun’s magnetic field gets all tangled up. It’s simple — the more sunspots, the more active our Sun is.

You’re walking along a hot desert under the scorching sun. You run out of supplies, there is no more water. You dream about rain, but there are no clouds in the sky. With each step, you lose more and more strength and... fall. You notice a small pond nearby. Is it real water or just a mirage? You can’t get to your feet, so you crawl there. The water is getting closer by the minute, but not because you’re moving towards it. It’s the water approaching you. In a few minutes, the pond area increases. Here, you’re already in it. A small lake has formed, 60 feet deep, at the place where the piece of the desert was.

When it comes to emergencies, it’s essential to be prepared for anything that comes your way. While schools often teach basic emergency preparedness, there are many situations that traditional school curriculums don’t cover. In this article, we’ll cover 12 unique emergency situations and survival tips that can help you stay safe.

They used to call this island the Paris of the East. Mostly because it had beautiful buildings with large gardens and impressive stone archways. But now it’s nothing like it used to be, with all the architecture almost entirely covered in tree roots and vines. Ross Island is a small territory [0.12 sq miles] in the Indian Ocean. It’s located East of the Indian city of Port Blair. Though initially thought of as a jail, Ross Island eventually became a luxurious resort for the local administrators. They called this island a real treat for its more privileged residents. It boasted opulent bungalows, stained-glass window panels brought all the way from Italy, neatly kept gardens, tennis courts, and even swimming pools. Soon after the complex was closed in 1937, a powerful earthquake hit the island. It caused a lot of damage, making it even more uninhabitable. The island is now in the administration of India and has become a tourist attraction for people interested in abandoned towns.

Imagine that it’s the year 2025, and our planet has completely changed. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, and the ocean becoming more and more acidic are just some of the problems people have been dealing with for years. But in one of the world’s largest coastal cities, the situation has become too serious. It was a sunny day in June when a massive earthquake shook the city to its core. The ground beneath people’s feet heaved and shook, and buildings swayed dangerously.

How come the world is still talking about a statue that only existed for a mere 54 years, over 2,000 years ago? What made this impressive ancient construction so unique that we are still discussing it? I’m talking about the Colossus of Rhodes, of course. It is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, along with the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Gardens of Babylon.

There are many miles of undiscovered areas beneath the crust we can’t even come close to. Scientists found what appears to be underground mountains buried inside the mantle. Our planet is divided into 3 layers — the crust, the mantle, and the core. The crust is where 8 billion people, trillions of trees, and millions of animals live and thrive. There are also different types of crusts in the land and the ocean. The oceanic crust contains unique rocks and is denser than the land crust. We all see how the Earth is divided and color-coded to show the crust, mantle, and core in textbooks. But there are also special layers in between that not everyone talks about.

Well, it’s time to stretch your legs and take a walk in the park! The sun is shining, and you enjoy the weather and life on the whole. That’s when you spot a rapidly growing vertical cloud.Bright white at first, it’s approaching alarmingly fast, becoming dense and inky. The sky is darkening, and a gust of wind blows the hat off your head.And then, your hair starts to stand on end! That’s your cue to run for your life — you’re about to be hit by lightning! At this very moment, positive charges are rising through your body.

If there were cataclysms on Earth every 5 minutes, living conditions on our planet would be almost the same as 4.5 billion years ago. Back then, seas and oceans boiled, lightning struck everywhere, tectonic plates changed their shape, lava flowed from volcanoes. And worse, no internet! The Earth resembled a vast, boiling cauldron, where life was gradually being created. If it starts to boil again, this cauldron could destroy almost all life on the planet.

The Earth has three main layers. Two parts of the core: the dense, hot inner core and the molten outer core. Then comes the mantle. And then follows the thin crust — the surface that supports life as we know it. At least that’s what we thought because now scientists found a new mysterious layer located deep within the solid inner core. Earth’s inner core is approximately 2/3 the size of the Moon and made of nickel and solid iron. It’s burning hot. The temperature at the center of our planet is the same as at the surface of the Sun. The outer core can reach almost 10,000 F (5,500 C).

Hmm. On the outside, the surface of this lake looks like the aftermath of a disaster. Empty tree trunks spike out of the turquoise waters. The lake is surrounded by mountains, making it a quiet but unsettling place. But those who dare to swim under these dangerous waters will soon discover a whole new world!

Ahh, don’t you just love the smell of fresh air in the morning? Imagine you’ve just woken up and done your little morning stretch. You’re about to open your bedroom window to freshen the room up a bit when you notice your windows are stuck. Sure, if it’s wintertime, they might have got frozen overnight. But it can also mean something way more dangerous. Windows may get stuck before one treacherous natural phenomenon, which happens because of the changes in the soil and rock around your house. I’m talking about landslides.

Hi there! I invite you to look at some of the coolest phenomena mother nature has. I’ll start with the red sky. I admit that this scenery is kinda scary, as if it’s a scene from a movie. How can our blue sky turn red? Zhoushan’s authorities assured people that this abnormality wasn’t related to solar activity. This tint appeared due to the refraction of red lights from fishing boats. That day, the weather was foggy and cloudy. The light got reflected from the low-hanging clouds. When weather conditions are right, aerosol particles and droplets of other liquids in the atmosphere refract and scatter the light. In this case, the light source was on fishing boats.

You’re having breakfast at home and wave at the passengers of a plane passing by your house. Ah, another one. You live on the 739th floor of X-Seed 4000. It’s an entire city contained in one massive skyscraper. It sounds unrealistic right now, but one day it may become a reality. Let’s see what we’d need to make it happen. But first, let’s browse through the list of once tallest constructions on the planet. The Great Pyramid of Giza, originally standing at 481 ft, used to be the tallest structure ever built by humans for over 3,800 years. The Lincoln Cathedral took this title away from the Great Pyramid only in 1311, winning by just one foot [482 ft].

Seas and oceans are so vast that a human brain can hardly imagine what treasures and secrets they hide. Perhaps that’s the reason why this Reddit thread, where experienced sailors were asked to share the weirdest and most supernatural stuff they have witnessed while at sea, became so popular.

Every natural phenomenon has its tell — its signature calling card. It can be an unusual sky color, a weird sound, or even strangely behaving wildlife — something always precedes the event. And, well, it’s easier to deal with something when you know what to expect.

We’ve all been exposed to a dire situation at least once in our lives. Clearly, these times are never expected, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act in a conscious, calculating, smart way. In that case, the best way to face these unfortunate situations is likely to get prepared in advance. In the end, this preparedness could save our lives, so it’s definitely worth doing.

Petra is an ancient city, carved into rocks. It is located in the country of Jordan — most of which is covered in deserts. Getting to this unique object is no easy task — it is only possible to do through a narrow canyon. But this doesn’t stop tourists.

Almost all of us have heard from our parents, “When I was your age...” Often, we didn’t even want to hear the end of this phrase, because, in our opinion, they were going to say something boring. But it turns out that our ancestors could have had just as much fun as we do now.

A former Navy SEAL shared his most important advice if you ever find yourself trapped in a car: “if you panic, you will lose your oxygen,” he says. Staying calm is one of the basic guidelines to survive a disaster in your car. But there are a few other things to know that will provide you with the chance to survive the worst.