NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS

[nancyk58]

VOLCANO ERUPTING IN INDONESIA

 

Friday, The Indonesian volcano LOKON on the island of SULAWESI spewed ash and lava. Thousands fled according to the authorities.

 

The eruption triggered / started a forest fire around the crater of the 1,600m high volcano.

 

The first big eruption occurred immediately before midnight Thursday and woke up the inhabitants who fled in panic.

 

The authorities plan to evacuate 28,000 people living within 3,5 km of the crater.

 

 

ENORMOUS OIL SPILL OFF CHINA'S EAST COAST

 

A gigantic oil spill off China's East coast has polluted an area 6 times the size of Singapore - according to the state-run media in China.

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 16 JULY 2011

 

 

FIRE IN CROATIAN HOLIDAY ISLAND BRAC FOR THE 3RD CONSECUTIVE DAY

 

Firefighters are trying to extinguish the forest fire. 230 people have been evacuated from the area.

 

The fire started in connection with a grill party held by tourists. The fire has killed many sheep and has destroyed a forest.

 

Swedish text-TV / SVT Text

 

 

 

AT LEAST 13 KILLED AND HUNDREDS TRAPPED IN CARS AFTER MUDSLIDES TRIGGERED BY CLOUDBURSTS IN CHINA

 

In the GANSU province in central China, a bus was trapped in a mudslide. 5 died immediately, whereas 8 later died from their injuries. So news agency New China reported.

 

On the motorway in YUNNAN province in the south, more than 300 vehicles and more than 800 people were trapped. Mud and rocks block the motorway.

 

Swedish text-TV / SVT Text

 

 

 

SOMALIA SUFFERS FROM GIGANTIC HUNGER DISASTER

 

The FAMINE in SOUTH SOMALIA is described as the worst disaster in the world right now.

 

Ten thousands of Somali have moved to KENYA, but many cannot make a several-week-long walk.

 

- "They are already starving when they start the long walk", says Sofia Malmqvist who works for the Swedish Church in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya.

 

In all of EAST AFRICA, MORE THAN 11 MILLION PEOPLE NEED HELP to overcome the consequences of the grave / serious drought.

 

The UN warns that one of 3 Somali need humanitarian assistance.

 

For a long time, al-Shaabab - the leading group in the worst-hit area - forbade all aid from the outside world, but a little more than a week ago they started to ask for help.

 

The UN's World Food Programme, WFP, considers resuming the activities.

 

The UN has asked the outside world for the equivalent of about 10.5 billion Swedish kroner, and so far the UN has got half the requested amount.

 

- We must make the big countries such as JAPAN and the USA contribute. If we succeed in doing that, we should be able to handle this", says the Swedish minister for Development (and Aid) Gunilla Carlsson.

 

The Dadaab camp - built for 90,000 people - currently houses 400,000 people. Every day 1,300 refugees come to the camp in the hope of being allowed to enter the camp.

 

Swedish text-TV / SVT Text + Danish TV2 News

 

 

Danish TV2 News: FEARS OF OUTBREAK OF CHOLERA AND MEASLES.

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 17.7.11

 

 

ABOUT 460 DEAD IN BAD WEATHER IN CHINA

 

About 460 people have died or are missing in CHIHA where extreme summer weather has caused FLOODS and LANDSLIDES.

 

MASSIVE CLOUDBURST in large areas since the beginning of June 2011 have caused devastation in some areas that have experienced MUDSLIDES and bloated rivers.

 

Last summer 4,300 people died in the worst floods for a decade.

 

Text-TV on Swedish SVT

 

 

NEW VOLCANO ERUPTION IN INDONESIA

 

The Indonesian volcano LOKON on the island of SULAWESI has had its biggest eruption for several weeks according to the authorities. Enormous amounts of ash have been spewed over 3.5 km up into the air.

 

- "The volcano remains in its eruption phase. We cannot foresee if its activity will ease off or if there will be more eruptions", says a government volcanologist.

 

More than 3,200 have been evacuated since an eruption on Thursday. Some of them were about to return when the volcano erupted again.

 

Text-TV on Swedish SVT plus Danish TV2 News live

 

 

UNICEF: 500,000 CHILDREN IN EAST AFRICA AT RISK OF STARVING TO DEATH

 

UNICEF wants extended assistance & aid in the region in the Horn of Africa.

 

AS MANY AS 2 MILLION CHILDREN NEED FOOD AID.

 

The crisis is not restricted to the thousands of refugees from SOMALIA who are seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries. Affected are also millions of peasants in KENYA and ETHIOPIA. It is the worst drought for 60 years.

 

Text-TV on German ZDF

 

 

THE UN: MILLIONS AFFECTED BY DROUGHT DISASTER IN EAST AFRICA

 

"It will take another 4-5 months before a harvest can take place", said Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "We have a huge task before us".

 

"In many regions, people are already too weak or too poor to look for help. Several factors have triggered the crisis", Mr Lake said. "The conflict in SOMALIA, the increase in petrol/gas prices as well as the increase in food prices and the fact that the rain did not come".

 

Text-TV on German ZDF

[nancyk58]

DEAD ZONES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO (from text-TV on Swedish SVT)

 

The dead zone after BP's extensive / widespread oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico covers today almost 5,300 square kilometres.

 

But American marin researchers fear that the dead area after the oil spill will grow considerably.

 

Oil and gas exploration and other human activities in the Gulf of Mexico over the past 5 years have resulted in dead areas covering more than 9,000 square kilometres. Before the end of 2011, it may be more than 15,000 square kilometres according to Louisiana State University.

[nancyk58]

NEWS in relation to NATURAL DISASTERS

 

 

13 DEAD AND 80-86 INJURED IN MAGNITUDE 6.1-62 EARTHQUAKE IN UZBEKISTAN

 

 

A magnitude 6.1 to 6.2 earthquake shook Central Asia's Ferghana Valley near the Kyrgyzstan border. It is the most densely populated area in Central Asia. The earthquake occurred in a depth of 9.2 km and had its epicentre 30 km south - southeast of the town Ferghana in the eastern part of Uzbekistan. Tremors could be felt in large parts of the mountainous area. There are no reports of casualties or any damage.

 

Reported on text-TV in Denmark (TV2 News / DR1), Sweden (SVT) and Germany (ZDF text)

 

 

 

CHINA: A 300 M WIDE OIL SPILL can be traced back to an oil field exploited by Chinese CNOOC and US ConocoPhilips. Oil is washed ashore in the Hebei province, and vast sea areas are covered with oil according to the Chinese news agency, New China.

 

Text-TV on Swedish SVT

 

 

 

UN: FAMINE IN SOMALIA

 

Several periods of drought in the Horn of Africa has led to FAMINE in 2 regions in South Somalia - namely in the Bakool province and in areas around the lower part of the Shabelle river. So United Nations' office for coordination of humanitarian aid in Nairobi reported Wednesday before noon.

 

About 3.7 million people are in URGENT NEED of help corresponding to almost half of Somalia's population.

 

Conflicts / Civil wars have made humanitarian aid difficult.

 

During the last few weeks, more and more alarm reports on the widespread and grave hunger have reached the outside world.

 

The UN has not formally called the disaster a FAMINE, because several criteria have to be met to describe a disaster as a famine.

 

One criteria for describing a disaster as a famine is that more than 30% of all children are malnourished and 4 out of 10,000 die every day.

 

Today, Swedish Red Cross decided to send the equivalent of 7 million Swedish kroner in aid to SOMALIA.

 

According to OXFAM, 1 billion US dollar (or 700 million Euro) is needed in aid. According to the UN, the pledges so far from the international community are not sufficient.

 

Reported on text-TV in Denmark (TV2 News / DR1), Sweden (SVT) and Germany (ZDF text)

[nancyk58]

http://www.care2.com/causes/un-declares-famine-in-somalia-why-isnt-the-us-helping.html

 

UN Declares Famine in Somalia: Why Isn’t the US Helping?

 

by Amelia T. July 20, 2011 9:52 am

 

For the first time in 19 years, the UN declared that a famine has engulfed several regions of Somalia, the drought-stricken country from which hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing.

 

An estimated 11 million people are in desperate need of food assistance.

 

In southern Somalia, according to the UN, over 300,000 people are suffering from acute malnutrition.

 

But cumbersome legislative hurdles, created in response to Somalia’s turbulent political situation, are making it difficult for the United States to offer aid.

 

The last time the UN declared a famine in the region was in 1984-85, when 1 million people died in Ethiopia.

 

According to the Guardian, a famine is technically defined as:

“A mortality rate of more than two people per 10,000 per day;

acute malnutrition reaching more than 30%;

water consumption becoming less than four litres a day;

and intake of kilocalories of 1,500 a day compared with the recommended 2,100 a day.”

 

The refugees who are fleeing to camps in Kenya and Ethiopia are arriving with malnutrition, which is proving especially deadly for small children.

 

The camps are ill-equipped to handle the volume of people who need their help, in part because aid has been slow in coming.

 

In parts of Somalia, 1 in 10 children are at risk of starving to death.

 

Oxfam has accused several European countries (France, Italy and Denmark) of “willful neglect” with regard to the crisis.

 

If we don’t act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks,” said Mark Bowden, the humanitarian coordinator for Somalia.

 

”We still do not have all the resources for food, clean water, shelter and health services to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis in desperate need.”

 

The United States has legislative and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome before aid can be sent. In 2009, Somalia’s militant Islamic governing group, al-Shabaab, banned foreign aid groups from the country. Now they have reversed the ban, showing just how severe the crisis is.

Many US-funded groups are eager to return to Somalia, but they are still blocked by legal restrictions against aid to the country.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she would “test” whether al-Shabaab is ready to receive help for its citizens, but with famine conditions, assistance can’t come quickly enough. A humanitarian crisis is clearly looming, and Somalia, as well as its neighboring countries, need all the help they can get.

 

Don’t delay! Sign the Care2 petition, telling President Obama and his administration to make aid to Somalia a priority.

 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/34/president-obama-help-get-more-aid-to-somalia/

 

 

Related Stories:

 

Actress Kristin Davis Breaks Down Over Conditions in Somalia

 

Thousands of Children Die as They Flee Somalia’s Drought

 

Somali Refugee Camps “Barely Fit For Humans”

 

 

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/un-declares-famine-in-somalia-why-isnt-the-us-helping.html#ixzz1SkOpiKxF

 

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14222584

 

20 July 2011 Last updated at 20:35 GMT

 

US 'to aid Islamist areas of famine-hit Somalia'

 

The US has said it will send aid to famine-hit areas of Somalia controlled by the Islamist group al-Shabab.

 

But US aid officials say assurances must be given that the insurgents will not interfere with its distribution.

 

The US considers al-Shabab a terrorist group and last year stopped aid to the large area of Somalia it controls.

 

The UN has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as the region experiences the worst drought in more than half a century.

 

Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group which controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009, but has recently allowed limited access.

 

The deputy administrator of the US Agency for International Development, Donald Steinberg, said the aid must not benefit al-Shabab.

 

"What we need is assurances from the World Food Programme and from other agencies, the United Nations or other agencies, both public and in the non-governmental sector, who are willing to go into Somalia who will tell us affirmatively that they are not being taxed by al-Shabab, they are not being subjected to bribes from al-Shabab, that they can operate unfettered," Mr Steinberg told the BBC.

 

He said the goal was to save lives, "not to play a game of 'gotcha' with a UN agency or any other group that is brave enough to go in and provide that assistance".

 

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says this marks a considerable change in policy from Washington.

 

In April 2010 US President Barack Obama issued an executive order naming al-Shabab a terrorist organisation, meaning no US aid could go to areas under its control, our analyst adds.

 

'Dangerously inadequate'

 

An estimated 10 million people have been affected in East Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. More than 166,000 desperate Somalis are estimated to have fled their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia.

 

The UN said the humanitarian situation in Somalia's southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle districts had deteriorated rapidly and declared them to be suffering a famine.

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said new funds to help the country were desperately needed.

 

"The overall requirement is $1.6bn (£990m) for Somalia, roughly $300m is needed in the next two months to provide an adequate response to famine-affected areas. Children and adults are dying at an appalling rate," Mr Ban said.

 

Nearly half the Somali population - 3.7 million people - were in crisis, he said, with most of them in the south.

 

The BBC's Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says the emotive word "famine" is used rarely and carefully by humanitarian organisations, and it is the first time since 1992 that the word has been applied to a situation in Somalia.

 

The UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, said the response by many European and developed countries to the crisis in the Horn of Africa had been "derisory and dangerously inadequate".

 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Washington would provide an extra $28m in emergency aid to counter the famine.

 

She said the US had already provided $431m this year in emergency aid to the Horn of Africa, but that was "not enough".

 

Drought, conflict and poverty have now combined to produce the necessary conditions for famine.

 

Those conditions include more than 30% of children being acutely malnourished, and four children out of every 10,000 dying daily.

 

Save the Children's Sonia Zambakides told the BBC the situation in Somalia was shocking.

 

"I was talking to mothers with children, the children looked maybe nine months to one year old - the mothers were telling the children were three and four years old, so they are absolutely tiny."

 

She said some of the mothers had walked up to six days with no food to try to find help.

 

In Somalia's war-ravaged capital, Mogadishu, the BBC's Mohamed Mwalimu says more than 4,000 people are crammed into one camp, called Safety.

 

Families have built their own homes at the camp with tree branches, wood and plastic sheets, he says.

 

Some children look like skeletons while others have swollen legs and hands, he adds.

 

One woman he met arrived after a long trip, much of it on foot, carrying her one-and-a-half-year-old son on her back - only to realise, when she arrived, that he was dead.

 

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Somalia said the ongoing conflict in Somalia had made it extremely difficult for agencies to access communities in the south, which are controlled by al-Shabab.

 

"If we don't act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks," said the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden.

 

He said discussions with al-Shabab about the safe distribution of food aid were taking place at a local level, and that responses were expected to differ depending on the locality.

 

 

 

DEC appeal: East Africa drought

 

The Disasters Emergency Committee is an umbrella organisation in the UK representing a number of aid agencies

 

To make a donation in the UK call 0370 60 60 900 (charged at national rate)

OR visit the website http://www.dec.org.uk

 

Guardian.co.uk

Somalia famine: US pledges a further $28m in aid

1 hr ago

 

Reuters UK

U.N. calls emergency meeting on east Africa famine

3 hrs ago

 

Mirror.co.uk

Somalia famine: Urgent call for action as Horn of Africa suffers

4 hrs ago

 

Channel 4

A new generation dying in Somalia's famine

7 hrs ago

 

New Scientist

Somalia: How the UN defines a famine

19 hrs ago

 

 

10.7 MILLION PEOPLE IN NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

 

25% OF SOMALIA's 7.5 MILLION PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED

 

 

 

FOOD INSECURE POPULATIONS:

 

ETHIOPIA - 4.56 MILLION

 

SOMALIA - 2.85 MILLION

 

KENYA - 2.4 MILLION

 

SOURCE: OCHA (The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Fews net

 

 

 

Definition of Famine

 

- More than 30% of children must be suffering from acute malnutrition

 

- Two adults or four children must be dying of hunger each day for every group of 10,000 people

 

- The population must have access to far below 2,100 kilocalories of food per day

 

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/uk-somalia-famine-fao-idUKTRE76K2B820110721

 

U.N. calls emergency meeting on east Africa famine

 

(Reuters) - The United Nations has called an emergency meeting on July 25 to discuss mobilising aid for drought-stricken east Africa, where famine has been declared in parts of Somalia.

 

A wide swathe of east Africa, including Kenya and Ethiopia, has been hit by years of severe drought and the United Nations says two regions of southern Somalia are suffering the worst famine for 20 years, with 3.7 million people facing starvation.

 

United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation announced an emergency meeting at its Rome headquarters on Monday to be attended by ministers and senior representatives from its 191 member countries, other U.N. bodies, NGOs and regional development banks.

 

The meeting was called at the request of France, current president of the Group of 20 leading economies.

 

British charity Oxfam accused several European governments Wednesday of wilful neglect in reacting to the crisis, with an $800 million (494 million pounds) aid shortfall slowing the international response.

 

Years of anarchic conflict in southern Somalia have exacerbated the emergency, preventing aid agencies from helping communities in the area. Nearly 135,000 Somalis have fled since January, mainly to neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, with many small children dying during the journey.

 

Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda, who control much of southern and central Somalia, imposed a ban on food aid in 2010, but lifted it earlier this month as the crisis worsened.

 

(editing by Elizabeth Piper)

 

 

Text-TV on Swedish SVT: UN CALLS EMERGENCY MEETING (ON 25.7) ON EAST AFRICA FAMINE

 

The purpose is to mobilise aid for drought-stricken East Africa.

 

ALMOST 12 MILLION PEOPLE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE OF WHICH 3.7 MILLION ARE IN SOMALIA.

 

 

Text-TV on German ZDF: UN AIRLIFT FOR CHILDREN IN MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

 

The organization WFP - World Food Program - will carry out an airlift in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. So far World Food Program provides 1.5 million Somalis with food. The goal is to reach additional 2.2 million in the inaccessible South.

 

 

Text-TV on Swedish SVT: FLOOD IN NORTH KOREA

 

Torrential rain led to floods in particular the Hamheung province. 1,000 communities are destroyed or damaged by the water masses.

 

 

Text-TV on Danish DR1: HEATWAVE IN THE USA

 

Several US states are affected by a dangerous heatwave with temperatures up to 46 degrees Celsius. The heatwave is most likely also the cause of at least 22 deaths.

 

High air humidity has driven temperatures upwards to between 40.6 and 46 degrees Celsius according to the US national weather service.

 

The heat ravaages central USA from Texas to South Dakota and towards the east through the Ohio valley and the southern states / the South and northwards towards tNew Englan.d

 

Almost 141m people corresponding to half of all Americans are affected by the heatwave.

[nancyk58]

As to news in relation to the situation in EAST AFRICA, I refer you to the relevant thread. Link: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77973

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14252768

 

23 July 2011 Last updated at 03:11 GMT

 

Heatwave breaks records in parts of US and Canada

 

A heatwave has baked eastern parts of the US and Canada, as temperatures surged to record-breaking highs in some parts.

 

The mercury in Newark, New Jersey, reached 108F (42C) on Friday, the highest ever recorded in the city.

 

In Canada, an extreme heat alert remained in effect, a day after two dozen cities and towns broke their previous single-day heat records.

 

At least 22 deaths have been blamed on the heat.

 

Across the US alone, where nearly half of the population was under a heat advisory, more than 220 heat records have tumbled.

 

Sewage spillage

Many regions in the central US and parts of the eastern seaboard have seen heat indexes - a combination of temperature and humidity - topping 43C.

 

Airports near Washington and Baltimore hit 40.5C (105F); Boston 39.5C (103F); Portland, Maine, and Concord, New Hampshire, 38.5C (101F); and Providence, Rhode Island, 38C (100F).

 

Philadelphia - where bathers at public swimming pools were asked to leave every half hour to allow a new crowd to enjoy a cooling dip - saw temperatures of 40C (104F).

 

New York City also hit 40C, just a degree short of its all-time high, although with the oppressive humidity, it felt like 45C (113F).

 

As New Yorkers roasted in the heat, health officials warned them to stay out of the water at four beaches on New York Harbor after a sewage treatment plant damaged by fire began pumping raw waste into the Hudson River.

 

Several hundred homes and businesses in New York were hit with temporary blackouts.

 

Voltage was reduced in several neighbourhoods in the city and suburbs to keep underground cables from overheating.

 

Teenager dies

 

On Friday, the medical examiner's office in Chicago listed heat stress or heat stroke as the cause of death for seven people.

 

An 18-year-old landscape gardener who died on Thursday night in Louisville, Kentucky, had a temperature of 43C (110F), a coroner said.

 

In Canada, temperature records were broken in two dozen cities across Ontario and Quebec on Thursday, including the hottest ever July temperature in Toronto, at 37.9C (100.2F).

 

Asphalt and concrete pavements and buildings in cities were "re-radiating" the heat, forecasters said.

 

Eli Jacks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the BBC: "This is an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure that really has an exceptional scope and duration."

 

The combination of high heat and humidity make it hard for the human body to cool itself - because sweat does not evaporate efficiently, he added.

 

Officials in the central state of Missouri say 13 people have died, and there have also been fatalities in neighbouring Oklahoma, including a three-year-old boy.

 

In the south, more than three-quarters of Texas is suffering from drought amid the worst dry spell in the state for decades.

 

 

High temperatures - the number one weather-related killer in the US - claim 162 lives on average in the country each year.

 

The most severe heatwave in modern North American history took place during the Great Depression in 1936. The heat that summer was blamed for more than 5,000 deaths in the US and Canada.

 

 

Stay-cool tips from an Arkansas farmer

 

Douglas Holmstrom, a 67-year-old businessman and cattle farmer in Lonoke County, tells the BBC:

 

When doing outdoor construction work, keep the tools in the shade so they don't burn your hands

 

Start work early in the day

 

Wear a wet rag around your neck

 

"I wear a straw hat, I take plenty of breaks, and I make sure to work with somebody most of the time. You have to watch out for one another"

 

Don't get too used to the air conditioning: "The kids these days are so tuned to TV and to doing their games, they can't deal with the heat. If you stay outside and you're used to it, you can deal with it"

 

Eat fresh vegetables and fruits - stay away from greasy food

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 23 JULY 2011

 

 

NORTHERN PART OF JAPAN HIT BY A MAGNITUDE 6.4 EARTHQUAKE

 

The earthquake struck off the Pacific coast off the prefecture Miyagi - according to US Geological Survey (USGS).

 

The epicentre was 125 km north-east of Sendai - the capital city of Miyagi.

 

The region was severely hit by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake on 11 March and the ensuing tsunami.

 

There are no reports of casualties or any damage after the earthquake which occurred in the night between Friday and Saturday.

 

Source: Text-TV from German TV channel 2 / ZDF Text

[nancyk58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14293229

 

26 July 2011 Last updated at 14:21 GMT

 

Tropical storm Nock-ten lashes Philippines

 

A powerful storm has hit the Philippines, killing at least nine people and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

 

Tropical storm Nock-ten unleashed floods and landslides along eastern areas of Luzon island.

 

Evacuations are continuing as floods are reported to have deluged the houses of about 500,000 people.

 

The storm hit Camarines Norte province earlier with gusts of 56mph (90 km/h) and is moving north-westwards.

 

A regional disaster-response official described it as the province's worst flooding in five years.

 

Army troops and coast guard personnel were being deployed to rescue people stranded on rooftops, said Bernardo Alejandro, adding that a main road was blocked by floodwaters and mudflows.

 

In Albay province, Governor Joey Salceda said fatalities there included three children killed in a landslide in a mountainside village, while two men were struck by a falling tree.

 

As the rains started overnight, many people tried to reach safer areas, including churches and village halls, he said.

 

"Many of our towns seemed like islands. They were isolated from each other," Mr Salceda was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

 

Mr Salceda earlier put the number of evacuees in his province at 70,000.

 

The storm is expected to hit eastern Quezon province early on Wednesday then pass through the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga just north of the Philippine capital.

 

Schools have been closed in Manila and nearby provinces, and about 20 local flights have been cancelled.

[nancyk58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14304096

 

27 July 2011 Last updated at 06:51 GMT

 

South Korea hit by fatal landslides

 

At least 17 people have been killed in landslides in South Korea, as heavy rain deluged homes and caused chaos across northern areas of the country.

 

Emergency crews said 12 people were killed when a landslide buried a hotel at a mountain resort east of Seoul.

 

Hundreds of rescuers were still digging in a bid to find survivors at the resort, in Chuncheon.

 

Another five people were killed in a district of Seoul. Forecasters say more heavy rain is expected.

 

Disaster officials said most of the victims in Chuncheon were university students who had been doing volunteer work in the area.

 

Hotels, restaurants and coffee shops were wrecked when the landslide occurred just after midnight (1500 GMT Tuesday).

 

One student who survived the landslide told South Korea's Yonhap news agency: "I was sleeping on the second floor of the pension when I heard the thundering sound of a landslide. The stairs collapsed, and I was buried under mud."

 

Officials said two people were still not accounted for at the resort.

 

Hundreds of homes have been flooded in Seoul.

 

The torrential rain has also knocked out mobile phone signals and forced the closure of dozens of roads.

 

 

Hot weather in Russia has triggered forest fires - some of the fires triggered bombs from World War II. So far no one injured.

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 28.7.11

 

 

SOUTH KOREA: DEATH TOLL RISEN TO 44

 

After MASSIVE LANDSLIDES and FLOODS in South Korea, the death toll has risen to AT LEAST 44. Thousand rescuers are in action in an attempt to find any survivors. 5 are still missing.

 

South Korea has experienced heavy cloudbursts since the beginning of the week called "Rains of the Century".

 

More than 4,900 are now homeless.

 

In the capital Seoul, many roods are flooded - and the metro stations and tunnels have also been affected by the rain.

 

Source: Text-TV on German TV station 2 - ZDF Text

 

 

 

PHILIPPINES: AT LEAST 31 DEAD DUE TO THE TROPICAL STORM NAMED "NOCK-TEN"

 

At least 31 died due to the tropical storm "Nock-Ten" on the Phillippines. According to information given by the government, 27 people are still missing today / Thursday. 36 are injured in several provinces in storm-related accidents.

 

Vast areas are flooded, towns are under water and numerous roads were buried as a consequence of the landslides.

 

More than 600,000 fled out of their houses.

 

The bad weather started at the beginning of the week with heavy rains on the East coast.

 

Source: Text-TV on German TV station 2 - ZDF Text

[nancyk58]

NEWS ON 30 JULY 2011 IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS

 

1 JAPANESE WOMAN KILLED AND 4 OR 5 JAPANESE MISSING AFTER CLOUDBURSTS IN 2 PREFECTURES

 

A 67-year-old Japanese woman died and 4 or 5 Japanese are missing after heavy rains in north-easter Japan.

 

Record-high amounts of rain in some places triggered bloated rivers and landslides.

 

News Agency KYODO reported that last night the authorities asked between 300,000 and 400,000 people to leave their homes in the Niigata and Fukushima prefectures out of fear of additional landslides and floods.

 

500mm of rain fell in 24 hours in areas of the Niigata prefecture, and even more rain fell in Fukushima.

 

(Source: German Text-TV on ZDF (ZDF Text) plus Danish Text-TV (DR1 and TV2 News)

 

 

MASSIVE FIRES ONGOING IN THE GREEK ISLANDS OF KORFU AND CRETE

 

Hundreds of people have had to leave their houses on the Greek holiday islands of Korfu and Crete due to massive fires. The fire broke out Thursday. Strong winds hampered the attempts to extinguish the fire.

 

Saturday morning, a forest fire broke out on Korfu, and dozens of helpers are trying to bring that fire under control.

 

In recent years, Greece has endured hot summers and massive forest fires that burned down a lot of land and forests.

 

Text-TV on German ZDF-TV

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS

 

 

NORTH-EAST JAPAN HIT BY A NEW POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE - MAGNITUDE 6.4 ON THE RICHTER SCALE - 7 INJURED

 

The quake occurred early Sunday local time - at 3:54am - in the north-east Japan, and it could be felt in Tokyo.

 

Initially, there were no reports of casualties, but Swedish SVT Text later reported that 7 were injured.

 

No tsunami alerts were issued.

 

The Fukushima Daiichi power plant is located near the area hit by today's quake, but Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported that no unnormal measurements had been recorded around the crippled nuclear power station.

 

Text-TV on Swedish SVT (SVT Text) and Danish TV2 News

 

 

News in relation to the DROUGHT in EAST AFRICA can be read in the relevant thread "Drought in East Africa affecting 12 million people".

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS on 1 AUGUST 2011

 

 

Text-TV on German TV channel 2 / ZDF Text: UN: SITUATION IN SOMALIA GETS WORSE AND WORSE

 

The situation in the hunger-stricken areas in East Africa worsens day by day according to the United Nations.

 

 

MORE THAN 12 MILLION PEOPLE - AROUND 12.4 - IN SOMALIA, KENYA, ETHIOPIA AND DJIBOUTI NEED HELP URGENTLY.

 

The number increases day by day, says Valerie Amos, coordinator of UNs emergency aid.

 

TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE DIED, and HUNDRED THOUSANDS ARE AT RISK OF STARVING TO DEATH.

 

Despite aid - by truck and air - with food and water, vast areas in South Somalia are completely cut off (from receiving help).

 

It has started to RAIN in Somalia.

 

The Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya now houses 400,000 people, and each day sees the arrival of 1,300 to 1,400 new refugees.

 

 

 

TV 2 News: A HURRICANE KILLS ONE PERSON IN RUSSIA IN A CITY WITH 250,000 PEOPLE NEAR THE CHINA BORDER.

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 3 AUGUST 2011

 

 

UNICEF ASKS AIRLINES FOR HELP

 

- "Quick help is double help", says Steen Andersen, who is the secretary-general in Unicef, Denmark.

 

Unicef asks the airlines for assistance with transporting the emergency aid to the drought-stricken and totally crisis-stricken East Africa.

 

Without prompt assistance, 700,000 children in the Horn of Africa are at risk of starving to death within the next couple of weeks.

 

Lufthansa, British Airways and Virgin are already assisting Unicef after having received the untraditional appeal.

 

We have no pledges from Danish airlines - yet", says Steen Andersen.

 

(Text-TV on Danish DR1)

 

 

 

HAITI REMAINS WITHOUT PRIME MINISTER

 

Haiti's President, Michel Martelly, has not yet succeeded in electing a Prime Minister (PM). Martelly has now made two attempts, but a majority in the Haitian Parliament has rejected his candidates.

 

Michel Martelly was elected president 3 months ago.

 

Martelly's latest PM candidate was Haiti's former minister of Justice, Bernard Gousse.

 

16 out of the senate's 30 member voted NO. And the rest abstained from voting!!

 

Bernard Gousse has been under suspicion of pursuing political opponents.

 

(Text-TV on Danish DR1 and Swedish SVT)

 

 

 

TROPICAL STORM "EMILY" THREATENS THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND HAITI

 

 

The tropical storm "Emily" moves toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti. There 630,000 remains homeless after the devastating earthquake in 2010.

 

The storm with torrential rain and very strong winds is - according to calculations made by meteorologists - expected to reach the island of Hispaniola - on which the Dominican Republic and Haiti are located - later Wednesday.

 

Experts are in particular warning against MASSIVE FLOODS.

 

In the Dominican Republic, security forces have begun evacuations of people in regions threatened by the tropical storm.

 

(Text-TV on German ZDF / ZDF Text)

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 4 AUGUST 2011

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14398659

 

4 August 2011 Last updated at 19:30 GMT

 

Nigeria Ogoniland oil clean-up 'could take 30 years'

 

Nigeria's Ogoniland region could take 30 years to recover fully from the damage caused by years of oil spills, a long-awated United Nations report says.

 

The study says complete restoration could entail the world's "most wide-ranging and long-term oil clean-up".

 

Communities faced a severe health risk, with some families drinking water with high levels of carcinogens, it said.

 

Oil giant Shell has accepted liability for two spills and said all oil spills were bad for Nigeria and the company.

 

"We will continue working with our partners in Nigeria, including the government, to solve these problems and on the next steps to help clean up Ogoniland," Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), said in a statement.

 

The Bodo fishing community has said it will seek hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

 

Nigeria is one of the world's major oil producers.

 

'900 times recommended levels'

 

The UN assessment of Ogoniland, which lies in the Niger Delta, said 50 years of oil operations in the region had "penetrated further and deeper than many had supposed".

 

"In at least 10 Ogoni communities where drinking water is contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons, public health is seriously threatened," the UN Environmental Programme (Unep) said in a statement.

 

Some areas which appeared unaffected were actually "severely contaminated" underground, Unep said.

 

In one community, the report says, families were drinking from wells which were contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at 900 times recommended levels.

 

It said scientists at the site, which lay close to a Nigerian National Petroleum Company pipeline, found oil slicks eight centimetres thick floating on the water.

 

This was reportedly due to an oil spill more than six years ago, it said.

 

The report, based on examinations of some 200 locations over 14 months, said Shell had created public health and safety issues by failing to apply its own procedures in the control and maintenance of oilfield infrastructure.

 

But it also said local people were sabotaging pipelines in order to steal oil.

 

The report says that restoring the region could cost $1bn (£613m) and take 25-30 years to complete.

 

"The environmental restoration of Ogoniland could prove to be the world's most wide-ranging and long term oil clean-up exercise ever undertaken if contaminated drinking water, land, creeks and important ecosystems such as mangroves are to be brought back to full, productive health," Unep said.

 

'Not attributing blame'

 

The report, which is regarded as the most detailed study on any area in the oil-rich Niger Delta, was paid for in part by Shell after a request by the Nigerian government.

 

Amnesty International, which has campaigned on the issue, said the report proved Shell was responsible for the pollution.

 

"This report proves Shell has had a terrible impact in Nigeria, but has got away with denying it for decades, falsely claiming they work to best international standards," said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty's global issues director, said.

 

But earlier, Unep spokesman Nick Nuttal told the BBC's Network Africa that the study was not intended to "blame any particular stakeholder operating in Ogoniland".

 

He also stressed that Shell's admission of liability for two spills had nothing to do with the Unep report.

 

Shell said on Wednesday that it took responsibility for the spills, which took place in 2008 and 2009, and would settle the case under Nigerian law. The Bodo fishing community had alleged that the leaks had ruined their environment and livelihoods.

 

In response to Thursday's report, Mr Sunmonu said it made a "contribution towards improving understanding of the issue of oil spills in Ogoniland".

 

"All oil spills are bad - bad for local communities, bad for the environment, bad for Nigeria and bad for SPDC," he said.

 

"We clean up all spills from our facilities, whatever the cause, and restore the land to its original state," he said.

 

The SPDC managing director also urged the authorities to do all they could do curb illegal refining and the sabotaging of pipelines.

 

Ogoni communities have long complained about the damage to their communities, but they say they have mostly been ignored.

 

The issue was highlighted by the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed in 1995 by Nigeria's military government, sparking international condemnation.

 

The campaign forced Shell to stop pumping oil out of Ogoniland but it continues to operate pipelines in the region and spills have continued.

 

 

Analysis

 

Peter Okwoche

 

BBC News

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

During a visit to a village in Ogoniland in 2007, I went to a small stream that gave people water for all their daily needs. The effects of oil spillage were clear. On the surface of the water there was a thin film of oil. Villages moved it with their hands before scooping water.

 

Villagers told me no fish had been seen in the stream for more than five years. They told me people had been killed by oil pipes exploding and others had developed health problems after inhaling fumes from burning oil well heads.

 

When I visited the village again in 2011, oil spillage had worsened. Villagers no longer drank water from the stream. They walked for up to four hours to get water.

 

Over the past two decades, successive Nigerian governments have failed the people of Ogoniland. I doubt this report will change anything. In the meantime, the voices of secession in Ogoniland will grow louder.

 

 

Oil in Ogoniland: Troubled History

 

1958: Oil struck in Ogoniland

1990: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) formed, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa

1993: 300,000 Ogonis protest at neglect by government and Shell

1993: Shell pulls out of Ogoniland after employee is beaten

1994: Four community leaders killed by mob of youths. Mosop leaders, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, arrested

1995: Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight others tried and executed; widespread condemnation of government

2003-2008: International attention switches to armed conflict started by other communities in Niger Delta

2011: Shell accepts liability for two Ogoniland spills

 

 

From other news sites

 

CNBC: U.N. slams Shell as Nigeria needs biggest ever oil clean-up

27 mins ago

 

MSNBC: UN: $1 billion cleanup tab in Nigeria oil mess

49 mins ago

 

Telegraph: UN criticises Shell over oil spills in Nigeria

51 mins ago

 

The Independent: UN: Widespread oil damage found in Nigeria delta new

1 hr ago

 

Guardian.co.uk: Shell has admitted liability but has a long way to go to make amends | Patrick Naagbanton

1 hr ago

 

 

CHINA: The enormous oil spill off China's east coast is worse than supposed, said US oil company Conoco Philips. During the clean-up operation the company has found enormous amounts of oil-based clay - that was unexpected.

 

(Source: Swedish text-tv / SVT Text)

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 5 AUGUST 2011

 

http://www.care2.com/causes/un-1-billion-to-clean-oil-polluted-niger-delta.html

 

UN: $1 Billion to Clean Oil-Polluted Niger Delta

 

by Nancy R. August 4, 2011 11:48 pm

 

The United Nations has released a report saying that cleaning up the oil-polluted Ogoniland area of Nigeria would cost $1 billion and take over 30 years – the most wide-ranging and costly cleanup of oil pollution clean-up ever.

 

The damage was caused by the operations of oil companies in the area over the past 50 years.

 

The Niger Delta, the world’s third largest wetland, was once rich with biodiversity but is now one of the most oil-polluted areas on earth.

 

The report (and the cost estimate) cover only one small area of the vast Niger Delta; the $1 billion would cover the first five years of cleanup.

 

Among the findings:

 

Public health is seriously threatened in at least ten communities where drinking water is contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons.

 

Some areas that appear unaffected on the surface are in fact severely contaminated underground, and pose a high and immediate risk to human and environmental well being,

 

Scientists found an eight centimeter (three inch) layer of oil floating on groundwater (which feeds wells) linked to a spill from six years ago.

 

The UN Environmental Program report notes, “When an oil spill occurs on land, fires often break out, killing vegetation and creating a crust over the land, making remediation or revegetation difficult. At some sites, a crust of ash and tar has been in place for several decades.”

 

The report makes multiple recommendations for long term remediation of the land, plant and animal life, and human health, including eight emergency measures around preventing further ingestion of polluted water.

 

The report’s recommended the formation of an “Environmental Restoration Fund for Ogoniland, to be set up with an initial capital injection of US$1 billion contributed by the oil industry and the government, to cover the first five years of the clean-up project.”

 

Oil drilling ceased in the region in the 1990s as Shell was forced out of the area due to community protest over pollution and poverty. Billions of dollars worth of oil was extracted, yet the local inhabitants are worse off than before the oil operations began. Shell blames much of the current problems on illicit oil operations.

 

Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria, said in a statement, “All oil spills are bad – bad for local communities, bad for the environment, bad for Nigeria and bad for SPDC. We clean up all spills from our facilities, whatever the cause, and restore the land to its original state.”

 

Amnesty International Global Issues Director Audrey Gaughran stated, “This report should also be a wake-up call to institutional investors. In the past they’ve allowed Shell’s public relations machine to pull the wool over their eyes, but they will now want to see the company cleaning up its act in the Niger Delta – that means putting real pressure on Shell to avoid spillages, compensate those already affected and disclose more accurate information on their impacts.”

 

UNEP conducted the assessment at the request of the Nigerian government. Some 4,000 samples were taken, and 5,000 medical records were examined; in addition, public meetings and interviews gained input from 23,000 citizens. The report was presented to that country’s president this week. The report was paid for by Shell at the request of the Nigerian government, as part of the “polluter pays” principle.

 

In the case of pollution as in some many others, geography is destiny. The location of a spill (or thousands of spills) makes a difference in the amount of publicity it receives. The Wall Street Journal notes, “After the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, BP PLC says it and the U.S. government marshaled an armada of 6,000 ships and 100 aircraft to battle that oil spill. West Africa’s standing response team consists of a single small plane, based in Ghana, and a few boats.”

 

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/un-1-billion-to-clean-oil-polluted-niger-delta.html#ixzz1UB6qyPdQ

[nancyk58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14420501

 

6 August 2011 Last updated at 02:02 GMT

 

Typhoon Muifa: China's east coast on weather alert

 

China has put parts of its east coast on alert as powerful Typhoon Muifa approaches the country.

 

Muifa battered Japan's southern island of Okinawa late on Friday as it headed towards China's Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, near Shanghai.

 

More than 7,000 fishing boats have been called back to harbour, as winds reached 162km/h (100mph), generating waves of 36ft (11m) out at sea.

 

Air travel faces disruption and coastal areas are preparing for evacuations.

 

China Southern Airlines has cancelled more than 140 flights to eastern China from Saturday afternoon while Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines warned of a "severe impact" on services, reported AFP news agency.

 

An orange alert has been issued to ships and fishing vessels, China's second-highest alert level, the meteorological office said.

 

Typhoon Muifa is expected to make landfall in China on Saturday night or early on Sunday.

 

Rail disruption

 

The last time Shanghai was badly hit was in 2005, when Typhoon Matsa killed seven people.

 

The city's rail authorities are planning inspections of local high-speed rail networks and warned that some services could be halted or delayed depending on the storm's severity.

 

A train crash last month near the city killed 40 people, with weather suspected to have played a part.

 

Muifa was moving west after its heavy rains prompted flight cancellations and blackouts in Okinawa on Friday, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency.

 

The typhoon had already passed north of the Philippines, where combined storms and monsoon rain caused flooding.

 

On Wednesday night, Muifa was downgraded from a super typhoon - measuring 185km/h (114mph) or more - to a severe typhoon, but it is still expected to be one of the most powerful storms to hit China in recent years.

[nancyk58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14420501

 

6 August 2011 Last updated at 20:56 GMT

 

Typhoon Muifa: China evacuates thousands as storm nears

 

Chinese authorities have evacuated more than 200,000 people from its east coast as the region braces itself for its most powerful typhoon in years.

 

More than 7,000 fishing vessels have been called to harbour, with Typhoon Muifa's winds reaching 162km/h (100mph) and generating 36ft (11m) waves at sea.

 

At least 140 flights have been cancelled and rail services disrupted.

 

Muifa is due to brush Shanghai rather than make landfall in Zhejiang province or Shanghai as previously expected.

 

Meteorological officials said Muifa could still make landfall near Qingdao city, in Shandong province, on Sunday.

 

China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre has upgraded its warning to a red alert - the highest possible - for shipping in the East China sea.

 

Muifa has already battered the Philippines - where it caused flooding - Taiwan and Japan's southern island of Okinawa, which was hit by blackouts.

 

The typhoon is being described as the most serious to threaten the region since 2005, when Typhoon Matsa killed 19 people, including seven in Shanghai.

 

'Severe impact'

 

China Southern Airlines has cancelled more than 140 flights to eastern China from Saturday afternoon while Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines warned of a "severe impact" on services, reported AFP news agency.

 

Shanghai's rail authorities are planning inspections of local high-speed rail networks and warned that some services could be halted or delayed depending on the storm's severity.

 

On Wednesday night, Muifa was downgraded from a super typhoon - measuring 185km/h (114mph) or more - to a severe typhoon, but it is still expected to be one of the most powerful storms to hit China in recent years.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14420501

 

 

 

AT LEAST 4 KILLED BY TROPICAL STORM "EMILY" ON THE ISLAND OF HISPANIOLA HOUSING THE TWO STATES - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PLUS HAITI

 

7,000 were evacuated in the Dominican Republic where 3 men were killed. 1 man died in the south-western part of Haiti.

 

"Emily" is continuing towards FLORIDA and is once again developing into a tropical storm according to the US Hurricane Center.

 

 

 

Text-TV on German ZDF / ZDF Text

 

AL-SHABAAB MILITSIA LEAVING SOMALIA'S CAPITAL MOGADISHU

 

According to Somalia's government, its troops have succeeded in driving the Islamistic movement al-Shabaab out of Somalia's capital Mogadishu so that for the first time in 20 year, the government is controlling all of the capital. Somalia's western-backed government only controls a small part of Somalia.

 

According to al-Shabaab the militsia is leaving Mogadishu "for tactical reasons".

 

News on text-tv in Germany (ZDF Text), Sweden (SVT) and Denmark (DR1 and TV2 News)

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 7.8.11

 

LANDSLIDE AFTER HEAVY RAINS IN THE GERMAN STATE OF RHEINLAND-PFALZ RESULTED IN DERAILMENT OF A TRAIN AND 3 SLIGHTLY INJURED PASSENGERS OUT OF 95.

[nancyk58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14420501

 

7 August 2011 Last updated at 21:38 GMT

 

 

Typhoon Muifa approaches China's Shandong peninsula

 

Authorities in the northern Chinese port city of QINGDAO have shut beaches and piled sandbags along its waterfront in preparation for Typhoon MUIFA.

 

The region's most powerful storm in years is forecast to hit the Shandong peninsula near Qingdao early on Monday.

 

Further south, the financial capital of SHANGHAI avoided a direct hit, though strong winds downed power lines and blew away billboards.

 

More than 300,000 people were evacuated and thousands of ships called ashore.

 

Muifa has already left FOUR people DEAD in the PHILIPPINES and 27 INJURED on the Japanese island of OKINAWA.

 

Power cuts

 

At 2000 (1200 GMT) on Sunday, the category-one typhoon was about 210 miles (340km) south-east of Qingdao and moving north-west at about 15mph (23km/h), the Hong Kong Observatory said. Its winds are gusting at up to 85mph (138 km/h).

 

After hitting Shandong, Muifa is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm.

 

The storm earlier skirted China's eastern coast, causing strong winds and torrential rain. But Shanghai was spared serious damage.

 

"It does not feel like a typhoon at all," Li Hongjun, a visitor from Shaanxi province, told the Reuters news agency. "I would think a typhoon would feel much stronger and there should be no-one walking in the streets."

 

Power cuts were reported damaged in at least two residential areas, said Sang Baoliang, deputy head of Shanghai's flood control headquarters. A 24-year-old man was also reported missing while swimming in heavy surf in the city's Jinshan district, Shanghai Television reported.

 

In addition to evacuating residents and calling ships back to harbour, the authorities cancelled more than 200 flights and closed two bridges to outlying islands. Train and bus services were thrown into disarray.

 

In SOUTH KOREA, the authorities have issued a tidal-wave and flood warning along the country's western and southern coasts. Many domestic flights between Seoul and the island of Jeju have been cancelled.

 

Heavy rain is also forecast for parts of NORTH KOREA, which suffered flooding late last month. About 30 people died, thousands of homes were destroyed and farmland was badly damaged, state media say.

[chuck kottke]

It's just a tropical storm. Get out the windsurf gear and head to Shanghai!! :wacko::escaping3:

[nancyk58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14420501

 

8 August 2011 Last updated at 04:17 GMT

 

Tropical storm Muifa nears Chinese mainland

 

High winds and torrential rain are battering parts of eastern China as the region's most powerful storm in decades approaches land.

 

Muifa was downgraded from a typhoon to a severe tropical storm on Monday but was still causing huge disruption.

 

It is now expected to make landfall somewhere between Zhuanghe in Liaoning province and western North Korea on Monday evening.

 

Qingdao city in Shandong province shut its beaches as the storm swept by.

 

The storm also downed trees and electricity poles in South Korea, leaving thousands of homes without power.

 

More than 300,000 people were evacuated.

 

Muifa has already left four people dead in the Philippines and 27 injured on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

 

Power cuts

 

China's Central Meteorological Station said on Sunday that Muifa was creating sea gusts of up to 63mph (102km/h) and moving at a speed of about 15mph (25km/h).

 

China's official Xinhua news agency said the storm had destroyed nearly 170 homes and caused damage estimated at 1.9bn yuan ($290m; £176m) in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

 

Power cuts have been reported in at least two residential areas of Shanghai. A 24-year-old man was also reported missing while swimming in heavy surf in the city's Jinshan district, local TV reported.

 

Heavy rain is also forecast for parts of North Korea, which suffered flooding late last month.

 

About 30 people died, thousands of homes were destroyed and farmland was badly damaged, state media say.

[nancyk58]

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 8.8.11

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14440292

 

8 August 2011 Last updated at 04:42 GMT

 

India: Sinking ship causes oil slick near Mumbai coast

 

A leaking tank from a sunken ship has caused an oil slick off India's western coast, according to a defence ministry statement.

 

The leak occurred in the merchant ship MV Rak which sank near the Mumbai coast last Thursday, the statement said.

 

Coast guard ships have been deployed to clean up the eight mile-long slick, reports said.

 

The vessel was carrying a cargo of coal and was travelling from Indonesia to the western Indian state of Gujarat.

 

Indian navy and coast guard helicopters rescued the 30 crew members before the ship sank.

 

The MV Rak sank about 23 miles from the Mumbai coast last Thursday.

 

"Since Saturday night, oil has been observed leaking from the sunken vessel at an approximate rate of 1.5 to 2 tonnes per hour. The oil has spread to about seven nautical miles [eight miles] around the vessel," the defence ministry release said.

 

The vessel reportedly contained some 340 tonnes of fuel.

 

Officials have described it as a "minor spill".

 

In January, a leaking oil and gas pipeline caused a mile-long slick off the Mumbai coast.

 

The leak was plugged after two hours and about 25,000 barrels of oil was lost.

 

Last August, a tanker collided with a ship off Mumbai, spilling about 500 tonnes of oil into the Arabian Sea.

 

 

 

CHINA: The tropical storm "Muifa" (downgraded from typhoon to storm) has reached China's port city DALIAN in the north-eastern China after having caused damage in the Korean peninsula.

 

The inhabitants had already been evacuated when the storm arrived.

 

Source: Text-TV on Swedish SVT Text

[nancyk58]

Swedish text-TV / SVT Text:

 

CHINA:

 

TROPICAL STORM MUIFA CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL MATERIAL DAMAGE ON CHINA's EAST COAST.

 

600 COMMUNITIES WERE DESTROYED.

 

1.35 MILLION PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED.