| AROUND THE WORLD: 1st - 15th OCTOBER, 2009
MARCH 08 APRIL 08 MAY 1st - 20th, 08 MAY 21st - 31st, 08 JUNE 1st - 15th, 08 JUNE 16th - 30th, 08 JULY 1st - 19th, 08 JULY 20th - 31st, 08 AUG 1st - 12th, 08 AUG 13th - 22nd, 08 AUG 23rd- 31st, 08 SEPT 1st - 12th, 08 SEPT 13th - 26th, 08 SEPT 27th - 30th, 08 OCT 1st - 18th, 08 OCT 19th - 31st, 08 NOV 1st - 17th, 08 NOV 18th - 30th, 08 DEC 1st - 21st, 08 DEC 22nd - 24th, 08 JAN 6th - 31st, 2009 FEB 1st - 28th, 09 MAR 1st - 22nd, 09 APRIL 1st - 30th, 09 MAY 1st - 31st 09 JUNE 1st - 30th 09 JULY 1st - 31st 09 AUG 1st - 31st 09 SEPT 1st - 30th 09 Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 15th October 2009 CZECH REPUBLIC: A snow calamity at night and a strong wind have caused problems in road and railway traffic in the Czech Republic, with snow and falling trees stopping tens of trains mainly in mountainous areas in north Bohemia and east Moravia. In east Bohemia, hundreds of households have been left without electricity since the morning. In the east Moravian area of Vsetin, at the Beskydy mountains foothills, roads are covered with a 30-cm layer of snow and blocked by fallen trees. TURKEY: A bout of wintry weather slammed the Marmara region on Tuesday night, with high winds uprooting trees and rain inundating some roads as temperatures fell across the nation. On Wednesday, meteorologists were forecasting a drop in temperatures of up to 10 degrees Celsius in western Turkey for today, with a new host of rain coming in from the Balkans and the Mediterranean Sea. Showers and thunderstorms are expected in Kırklareli and Tekirdağ this evening, with strong rains expected to prevail in İzmir, Muğla, Aydın and Manisa through tonight and tomorrow morning. AUSTRALIA: A bushfire emergency has been declared by the Rural Fire Service in northern New South Wales as high temperatures and strong winds fuel fires on three fronts. The western side of the town of Brooms Head, east of Grafton, is under direct threat. Brooms Head caravan park manager says the flames came within 300 metres of the caravan park and right up to a shop. INDONESIA: Ground continues to rumble with 5.8 and 6.0 shakes registered today. Subject: Around the World Today: Wednesday 14th October 2009 ASIA: Eighteen countries in the Indian Ocean are taking part in an exercise to evaluate the response of the region's tsunami early warning systems. The test will simulate the earthquake that struck off the northwest coast of Sumatra in 2004. That killed a quarter of a million people, over half of them in the Indonesian province of Aceh. AUSTRALIA: A second attempt to stop oil pouring into Australian waters after a rig accident in the Timor Sea has failed. It is almost two months since oil began flowing from the West Atlas drilling platform that lies about 200km (125 miles) off the West Australian coast. USA: California - Tropical Storm Patricia advanced toward Mexico's Baja California Peninsula with landfall possible late Tuesday or early Wednesday, weather forecasters said. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said a tropical storm warning was in effect along the southern area of Baja California from the town of Buena Vista to Agua Blanca, an area that includes the popular Cabo San Lucas tourist resort. INDONESIA: Indonesian authorities declared as mass graves Tuesday seven villages destroyed by earthquake-triggered landslides, as they called off the search for over 200 people believed buried. UKRAINE: A power outage in western Ukraine has halted supplies of Russian oil to Europe via the southern spur of the Druzhba pipeline, officials from both countries said on Wednesday. Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said the outage could affect crude supplies to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic but that it hoped flows would resume within a day. POLAND: Strong winds and heavy snowfall have left around 50,000 homes without power throughout Poland. A number of uprooted trees caused damages to cars in a number of cities. A wagon carrying polystyrene overturned on the Gdańsk – Warsaw road. Strong winds of up to 130 km/h caused flooding on in some coastal towns and cities, as well as further inland through rising river levels. VIETNAM: Vietnam evacuated some 30,000 people along its northern coast as Tropical Storm Parma approached after leaving more than 300 people dead in the Philippines and China. The government's National Weather Forecast Center says the storm was expected to be downgraded to a tropical depression as it moves along the coastline of northern provinces Wednesday evening. Rains have been reported in the region, but it's unlikely to unleash major flooding. Subject: Around the World Today: Tuesday 13th October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 12th October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 11th October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 10th October 2009 NIGERIA: Between 70 and 80 people were killed when a fuel tanker truck exploded after hitting a pothole on a road in southern Nigeria, several newspapers said on Saturday. The truck overturned and exploded after hitting a pothole on Friday on the road between Onitsha and Enugu, witnesses and police told the papers, torching vehicles including five packed minibuses. Anambra state road safety director Ben Ekenna admitted local roads were in a bad state and was quoted as saying that "if something isn't done quickly, tragedies like this will happen again." BRAZIL: Four people were killed when a landslide caused by heavy rains destroyed a home on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Local media reported two children were among the dead and two other children were injured. The slide took place early yesterday in the Rio suburb of Petropolis. Brazilian meteorologists said the city may be hit with more rain later. INDIA: At least five labourers were killed and 15 others feared dead after torrential rains caused a dam to burst at a power project in northeastern India, officials said on Friday. Rescuers recovered five bodies and were trying to save workers who became trapped. MONSERRAT: Rock falls from a spewing volcano stirred up more volcanic ash Friday on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, which lost half its population after a devastating eruption last decade. Dozens of small earthquakes accompanied ash plumes that have billowed up 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) this week, prompting officials to distribute masks to residents, said James White Jr., acting director of the Disaster Management Coordination Agency. USA: NC - A leak of commercial-grade ammonia at PCS Phosphate sent 17 workers to area hospitals Friday. The incident happened shortly after 2 p.m. at the Aurora mining operation, according to a brief statement from the company. A railcar used to transport anhydrous ammonia was being unloaded at the Beaufort County plant when a leak was discovered, according to the company. Subject: Around the World Today: Friday 9th October 2009 CHINA: Chinese state media say 26 workers have been killed in an accident at a tin mine in central China's Hunan Province. 19 workers at the mine in Lengshuijiang City died instantly when two elevators plunged Thursday due to a brake failure. It says seven other workers died later despite getting emergency treatment. Five others were injured. CHINA: China has detected deadly nerve gas at its border with North Korea and suspects an accidental release inside the secretive state, a Japanese news report said Friday. The Chinese military is strengthening its surveillance activities after detecting the highly virulent sarin gas in November last year and in February in Liaoning province, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported, citing anonymous sources from the Chinese military. PHILLIPINES: More than 90 people were killed in a series of landslides brought about by heavy rains in mountainous provinces of the northern Philippines, local officials said on Friday. Sixty-nine people died in Benguet province as landslides struck on Thursday night and Friday morning in five different towns, provincial governor Nestor Fongwan said. In the mountain resort city of Baguio, 17 people were killed as landslides buried whole houses in different parts of the city, said city administrator and civil defence official Peter Fianza. BANGLADESH: At least 112 people were injured and over 500 houses damaged in tornadoes that swept over Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Rangpur districts yesterday. In Gaibandha, a tornado lashed Gopalcharan village in Sundarganj upazila in the morning, leaving 12 people injured and over 100 thatched houses damaged. JAPAN: A powerful typhoon slammed into Japan's main island on Thursday, leaving two dead and a dozen injured as strong winds ripped off roofs, uprooted trees and prompted fears of landslides. Typhoon Melor, packing gusts of up to 162 kilometres (100 miles) an hour, cut a swathe across densely populated central Japan, causing travel chaos and power blackouts for hundreds of thousands of homes. SOUTH PACIFIC: Two powerful earthquakes triggered a tsunami alert over a huge swathe of the South Pacific Thursday, sending residents fleeing to higher ground, just days after giant waves killed 177 in the region. Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu and New Caledonia sounded sirens and evacuated coastal areas after a 7.8 quake struck off Vanuatu at 9:03 am (2203 GMT), followed by a 7.1 tremor 10 minutes later. Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 8th October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Wednesday 7th October 2009 FIJI: Fiji was put on tsunami alert Thursday with many areas close to the sea being evacuated following a major earthquake near Vanuatu, officials said. Many offices and schools near the coast have been closed and Fiji's disaster management office advised hotels to take tourists to higher ground. JAPAN: A powerful typhoon made landfall in central Japan early Thursday, damaging houses, paralysing transport and leaving at least 18 people injured, officials and news reports said. Typhoon Melor came ashore in Aichi prefecture on the main island of Honshu shortly after 5:00 am (2000 GMT Wednesday), the meteorological agency said, becoming the first typhoon to make landfall in Japan since 2007. FIJI: A major 7.3 earthquake struck off Vanuatu just minutes after a 7.8 quake nearby triggered a tsunami warning for large parts of the South Pacific, the US Geological Survey said Thursday. The earthquake struck 330 kilometres (205 miles) from Luganville on Vanuatu's Espiritu Santo island at 9:18 am (2218 GMT), just 15 minutes after the earlier tremor. INDIA: Aid workers used helicopters and boats to try to reach survivors of massive floods in southern India that have killed at least 280 people, officials said Tuesday. Days of heavy rain and flash floods in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have forced close to 1.5 million people to take refuge in relief camps. TUNISIA: Tunisia on Tuesday announced the suspension of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca because of the risk of the spread of swine flu and the impossibility of vaccinating candidates by mid-November. Minister of Religious Affairs Boubaker Akhzouri announced that the hajj had been postponed in order "to preserve human life." Vaccines ordered by Tunisia will not arrive until the end of October. PHILIPPINES: The national authority is still trying to cover the needs of the affected population. Food, water, sanitation and hygiene remain highest priorities. Schools have however reopened although many are still homeless; more than 300,000 people remained in evacuation centres. INDONESIA: According to the latest figures, the number of deaths has risen to 704 and the number of missing to 295. A rapid needs assessment is being completed and it has become clear that needs regarding medical care, water and sanitation as well as shelter are met by the local capacities and the international assistance present on site. Considering the situation, the team of Mechanism experts is returning to Europe on Saturday. SAMOA: According to the latest figures, the number of deaths amounts to 137 and the number of displaced people to about 3,500. It is estimated that costs of infrastructure damages (power, roads) amounts to between USD 60 and 70 million. The Samoan Government is handling the emergency well and sufficient assistance is flowing in. The need for relief items is gradually diminishing since the emergency has moved to a recovery phase. Source: MIC ENGLAND: The deadly chemical cyanide and a quantity of raw sewage have leaked into a 30-mile stretch of the River Trent in Staffordshire. Thousands of fish have died and people are being warned to stay away from the river while the incident is controlled. The Environment Agency said pollution in the stretch between Stoke-on-Trent and Yoxall made it a health risk. Farmers, anglers and boaters have been warned that water should not be taken out of the river "for any reason". SUDAN: A mysterious haemorrhagic disease suspected to be Ebola has killed at least 23 people and infected dozens more in Sudan's under-developed south, a southern Sudanese army official said on Wednesday. The World Health Organisation says Ebola, one of the most virulent viral diseases known to mankind, was discovered in south Sudan and the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. Subject: Around the World Today: Tuesday 6rd October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 5th October 2009 NW PACIFIC: Tropical cyclone PARMA-09 is active in the NW Pacific basin having maximum sustained wind speed of 260 km/h (red alert). The storm lashed the North part of Philippines and the coast of central Vietnam with very strong winds and enormous amount of rain and landfall. TAIWAN: Taiwan evacuated more than 6,000 villagers by early Monday as Typhoon Parma lingered in seas near the island, bringing heavy rains and the risk of deadly mudslides. More than 3,000 residents in Pingtung county in south Taiwan and almost 2,000 people in neighboring Kaohsiung county have left their homes, while the rest were evacuated in east Taiwan's Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties. INDONESIA: Rescuers and aid workers were fanning out on Monday into the hills of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, where hundreds of people were buried in landslides triggered by an earthquake that may have killed 3,000. In the shattered city of Padang, which bore the brunt Wednesday's 7.6 magnitude quake, unidentified victims pulled from the rubble were due to be laid to rest. Relief workers said there was little hope of finding anyone else alive in the ruins. INDIA: The number of dead in devastating floods triggered by torrential rains in India has risen to at least 271 and about a million people have fled their homes. At least 192 people have died in the southern state of Karnataka. More than 450,000 people there have been housed in 1,330 relief camps as authorities completed rescue operations in most of the flooded zones in the state. USA: A wildfire powered by erratic winds burned four homes and triggered the evacuation of as many as 8,000 people in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 80 miles (130 km) east of Los Angeles, officials said on Sunday. The fire charred 3,500 acres (1416 hectares), more than doubling in size overnight after breaking out on Saturday afternoon east of Mount Baldy. The fire threatened several canyon communities. Parts of the town of Wrightwood were under mandatory evacuation. SCOTLAND: Severe weather warnings have been issued after forecasts of winds gusting at up to 75mph. Drivers were urged to take caution as the bad weather began to batter parts of northern England and Scotland today. It has already been causing significant disruption throughout the area. Play has been halted at the international Alfred Dunhill Links Championship golf at St Andrews in Scotland. UGANDA: At least six people, five of them children, have been confirmed dead after a landslide hit Kyokyezo village in Rubanda county, Kabale district. According to Rubanda MP Godfrey Ahabwe, four bodies have been recovered. Two children, twins, were still trapped under the mud, Ahabwe added. One of the deceased was identified as 29-year-old Annabel Anyijuka. Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 4th October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 3rd October 2009 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Friday 2nd October 2009 INDONESIA: Indonesia said Thursday it feared thousands had died in a major earthquake as exhausted rescue workers clawed through mountains of rubble with their bare hands in a race to find survivors. The first rescue flights laden with food, medicine and body bags arrived in the devastated region on Sumatra island as another powerful quake struck further south, causing more injuries and sparking panic. PHILLIPINES: Millions of flood-hit survivors of devastating Typhoon Ketsana waited desperately for aid and braced for a new super storm on Thursday as the disaster's death toll climbed to 383. One of the most destructive storms in recent years, Ketsana wreaked havoc in the Philippines at the weekend then strengthened over the South China Sea to batter Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. SAMOA: Rescuers reached scenes of stunning devastation on Wednesday after a killer tsunami obliterated Samoan island villages, killing at least 148 people and leaving scores more missing. As distraught relatives picked through the rubble of homes and tourist resorts destroyed by Tuesday's 8.0-magnitude earthquake that triggered a tsunami, aid workers were left breathless at the catastrophe. ITALY: At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and more are missing after heavy rain triggered mudslides in the Italian city of Messina in northern Sicily. The violent mudslides and flooding destroyed several buildings, swept away cars and blocked road and rail links. TONGA: An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 and depth 2 km struck Tonga at 01:07 UTC today. There are no immediate reports for damages. Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 1st October 2009 No information posted |
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