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Locals despair as ‘The Hum’ makes life a living hell

By John O’Mahony

IT’S there. All day, every day; all night, every night.

But nobody has even the remotest idea of what it is or what could possibly be causing it.

It has become known simply as The Hum, which is the only description despairing locals can find to adequately describe a constant, pulsating, low-frequency noise, the source of which cannot be traced, despite best efforts.

When frustrated residents in the tranquil Kerry parish of Beaufort went public to tell how their lives have been made a living hell by the mystery noise — which is ringing in their ears all day and disrupting their sleep by night — little did they know the impact it would have.

Fascinated audiologists with sophisticated detection equipment made a beeline for the remote townland of Glencuttane, 15km from tourist hotspot Killarney, at the foot of Carrauntoohil mountain.

Excitable, self-described ghosthunters weren’t far behind and much to the annoyance of residents, some media rather impishly devised conspiracy theories that ranged from mildly amusing to ridiculous.

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/locals-despair-as-the-hum-makes-life-a-living-hell-189224.html?fb_ref=.T4JqhyjgVtk.like&fb_source=home_multiline#ixzz1rYsMfsC5

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Coast Guard cannon fire sinks Japanese ghost ship

(AP) OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA - The long, lonely voyage of the Japanese ghost ship is over.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter unleashed cannon fire on the abandoned 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru on Thursday, ending a journey that began when last year's tsunami dislodged it and set it adrift across the Pacific Ocean.

It sank into waters more than 1,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Alaska, more than 150 miles from land.

The crew pummeled the ghost ship with high explosive ammunition and, soon after, the Ryou-Un Maru burst into flames, began to take on water and list, officials said.

A huge column of smoke could be seen over the gulf.

The Coast Guard warned mariners to stay away, and aviation authorities did the same for pilots. A Coast Guard C-130 plane crew monitored the operation.

In about four hours, the ship vanished into the water, said Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow in Juneau.

Officials decided to sink the ship, rather than risk the chance of it running aground or endangering other vessels in the busy shipping lanes between North America and Asia.

The ship had no lights or communications system and its tank was able to carry more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Officials, however, didn't know how much fuel, if any, was aboard.

"It's less risky than it would be running into shore or running into (maritime) traffic," Webb said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency studied the problem and decided it is safer to sink the ship and let the fuel evaporate in the open water.

The ship was at Hokkaido, Japan, and destined for scrapping when a magnitude-9.0 earthquake that struck the country in March 2011 triggered a tsunami.

The waves dislodged the vessel and set it adrift. In total, about 5 million tons of debris were swept out to sea.

Continue reading: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57409873/japanese-ghost-ship-sinks/