New Asian nature discoveries are nothing to be sneezed at
‘Mind-boggling’ downpour leaves eastern US swamped
A SNEEZING monkey and a walking fish that can survive for days on land are among more than 200 new species discovered in the eastern Himalayas in recent years, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
A report by the charity sets out a host of exciting discoveries made in the region spanning northeast India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and southern Tibet.
It lists 133 new plant species, 39 invertebrates, 26 fish, 10 amphibians, FLASH flooding has intensified in some areas of the eastern United States, as days of torrential rain and high winds blamed for at least five deaths have left motorists and residents stranded and forced rescues in battered South Carolina.
The National Weather Service cited ‘‘historic’’ rainfall in South Carolina, blamed on a lingering low-pressure system in the region and the outer edges of Hurricane Joaquin.
The Category 2 storm swerved north and east, avoiding a direct hit, but fuelled rains and high wind along the coast.
The weather service’s Charleston office reported ‘‘mind-boggling rain amounts so far’’. These included more than 60 centimetres one reptile, one bird and one mammal. The discoveries, made between 2009 and 2014, underscore the region’s position as one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.
Among the most eye-catching finds in the report is the blue dwarf ‘‘walking’’ snakehead fish, which can survive on land for up to four days.
A monkey with an upturned nose that causes it to sneeze every time it rains has been discovered in the jungles of Burma.
It is a variant of other
snubnosed in Boone Hall and 45cm near Kiawah.
‘‘The ground is completely saturated across northeast Georgia and most of South Carolina,’’ the weather service warned.
‘‘Major to localised catastrophic flash flooding, along with possible landslides and mudslides in the higher elevations of South Carolina and Georgia, remain an ongoing concern.’’
Parts of Virginia and North Carolina are also dealing with flash floods while being battered by unrelenting rain and wind gusts.
US President Barack Obama has approved federal disaster aid for South Carolina. Emergency management officials have advised residents across the state to ‘‘remain where you are if you are safely able to do so’’. monkeys found in China and Vietnam, and there are believed to be fewer than 300 of the creatures.
The primates spend rainy days with their heads tucked between their knees to offset their peculiar affliction.
The WWF warned of the devastating impact around the Himalayas of climate change, population growth and rapid industrialisation, all of which have pushed many species in the region to the brink of extinction.
Less than 25 per cent of original
Almost 100 South Carolina roads and bridges were closed because of flooding, officials said. habitats remain intact because of relentless deforestation, mining and mounting pollution. The changes have had a dramatic effect on ecosystems in the eastern Himalayas.
‘‘These new discoveries show that there is still a huge amount to learn about the species that share our world. It is a stark reminder that if we don’t act now to protect these fragile ecosystems untold natural riches could be lost for ever,’’ Heather Sohl, chief adviser on species for WWF in Britain, said.
‘‘We are asking people to avoid the roads,’’ Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said. ‘‘We are being inundated with calls. My message to people is to stay inside.’’
Police shut down traffic in the low-lying area of Charleston between the Ashley and Cooper rivers where the historic downtown area is located.
Abandoned cars dotted many of the roads.
Store owners along King St, a main shopping area in the port city, lined sandbags along the sidewalk as protection from the threat of rising water.
AccuWeather’s Sean Breslin called the storm in South Carolina a ‘‘one-in-500-year rain event’’.
The torrential rain is being generated by an unusual confluence of weather events – a stalled front near the US East Coast, tropical moisture flowing from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and the effects of the outer edge of Hurricane Joaquin.
The National Weather Service has forecast as much as 25cm of rain in those areas, with some isolated cases of 38cm or more.
It said the threat of significant flooding in parts of South Carolina and southeast North Carolina would continue for two or three days.
Elsewhere, coastal flooding remains a threat, particularly in the Virginia Beach area and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The weather service has issued a warning for residents living along the coast to be alert for rising water. It said a combination of high water and high waves could result in beach erosion and damage to docks and piers.
The rain levels had the potential to be ‘‘life threatening and historic,’’ the service said.