Latest news with #PeterAdams
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Incredible moment dust-devil sends paddleboard and towels flying high into the air as it hits UK beach
British beachgoers watched in awe as a "mini tornado" sent a paddleboard and towels flying into the air at a packed seaside resort. Day-trippers scrambled to save their belongings amid shouts of 'what on earth' and 'woah' while the twister whirled across the sand in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire. Shocking footage shows people's personal items drift away as if by magic, to both gasps and laughs of disbelief. One beachgoer, commenting on a lost item that has been flung far afield, observed: 'That's like gone gone'. Despite being a fairly rare occurrence, the dust-devil - small but 'vigorous' whirlwind - came almost exactly a year after a pub was struck just two miles away. Locals at the Begelly Arms, outside the town of Saundersfoot, were forced to run for cover when the tiny tornado swept through the car park on May 20th, last year. Speaking at the time, landlord Peter Adams said: 'We saw this thing heading towards us. We thought it was the start of a tornado. You see these things start on television all the time. We did panic a bit and think "what can we do?"' A dust devil, also known as a "willy willy" is described by the Met Office as 'upward spiralling, dust filled vortex of air that may vary in height from a few feet to over 1,000ft'. One beachgoer can be heard commenting on a lost item that has been flung so far afield: 'That's like gone gone' WHAT'S A DUST-DEVIL Dust devils are small 'but vigorous' whirlwinds, usually noticeable by the dust, sand and debris it picks up from the ground. They range from 3 - 30 meters in diameter, with an average high of 200 meters. Some have reached up to a kilometer. They form when hot air rises quickly through the cooler air above it. If conditions are right this can cause a spinning effect as the air rises. The dust whirls are normally found in arid conditions when sunlight is particularly strong. Source: American Meteorological Society It adds: 'They are usually several metres in diameter at the base, then narrowing for a short distance before expanding again. 'They mainly occur in desert and semi-arid areas, where the ground is dry and high surface temperatures produce strong updrafts.' Unlike tornados, dust devils grow upwards from the ground, rather than from clouds. Earlier this month, bystanders down Great Ancoats street in Manchester gawked at a 30-metre high swirling column of dust as it ripped through a road packed with cars. The towering dust devil briefly brought traffic to a standstill with its tornado-like appearance as it enveloped a large tree. A bewildered onlooker exclaimed: 'What the...? What the hell? There is a tornado in the middle of Manchester... that's crazy.' Another said: 'I looked out and there's there's this towering cloud of dust. I jumped up and thought "it's a tornado or something". 'It was really interesting. I've lived here eight years and I've never seen that. It was pretty wild.' Despite the amazement of those around, the 'tornado' quickly dissipated after a few seconds.
Finextra
14-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
ING Belgium launches 'check the call' fraud feature
Following success in the Netherlands, ING is rolling out its 'check the call' fraud feature to customers in Belgium. 0 'Check the call' allows customers to instantly verify whether someone claiming to be an ING employee is legitimate. It is designed to combat the growing threat of bank helpdesk fraud, in which scammers impersonate bank representatives over the phone to deceive victims. Launched in the Netherlands last year, over 10,00 customers use it each month, helping to cut helpdesk fraud by 43% in 2024. Peter Adams, Belgium CEO, ING, says: Sadly, an increasing number of Belgians are being targeted by criminals pretending to be bank employees. I'm proud that with check the call, we can help customers recognise and prevent fraud."
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing market in Virginia is cooling
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — For 11 years, Maureen and Peter Adams have lived in a house on Washington Street in Portsmouth, and in December, they decided to sell, but three months later, their house is still on the market. Peter Adams said they have made some changes to the house. 'We've done some cosmetic changes and we've just made sure the house looks looked really good for for sale,' he said. In the past four months, his agent has held three open houses, advertised in magazines and is putting the word out on social media. There have been interested buyers, but still no sale. But they're being patient amid a slowing market. 'I mean, we understand that it takes time to sell,' he said. But is now the right time to sell? According to the February 2025 Virginia Realtors' Virginia Home Sales Report, now may not be the best time to sell, as it has noted a 9% drop in sales from last February. 'Real estate is like politics — it's all local,' said Jay Mitchell, president of the Hampton Roads Realtors Association. 'So, depending on where you are, you can see that the market is still very strong. This office, for instance, we are ahead of where we were last year.' He said overall, in this market, we are down from last year, but his office is ahead of where they were last year. He thinks weather may have played a role in the decline. 'We had some really, really wild, wacky weather in February,' Mitchell said. 'And so, believe it or not, that causes people to pause sometimes and not move forward on things like a home purchase or a car purchase or any of those things. So, we see it every now and then. When we have weather, it can affect what happens.' Moving into the spring, Mitchell is expecting home sales to ramp up quickly. And if you are looking to move, listings will increase over the next few weeks. 'Right now, location, location, location is still important, but everything is selling quickly,' Mitchell said. 'Now, if it's in good condition and it's priced right, it'll sell almost instantly.' Back on Washington Street, the Adams' who are looking to downsize, are waiting to sell their house before purchasing their next property. 'Our game plan is to continue to work with our agent and to be patient and wait for the right buyer to come through,' Peter Adams said. If you're buying or selling a home and you're looking for the best deal, Mitchell recommends reaching out to a licensed realtor to help guide you through that process. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
