Nocere – Earth Disasters

There have been at least 13 people reported to have died and another 72 that developed sickness from the contaminated cantaloupes. The fruit was grown in the state of Colorado.

It is possible that 3 more people died from  eating the cantaloupe. There have been 18 states that have reported finds of one of the 4 types of listeria found in the cantaloupes.  13 people that have been reported to have died, of those 13, there were 4 in New Mexico, 2 in Colorado, 2 in Texas and one in each of the following states, Kansas,Nebraska, Maryland, Missouri and Oklahoma.

There have been reports of listeria infections in many locations and from California to Virginia.

It is possible that more infections will show up as it can take four or more weeks for symptoms to show up. There can be a long incubation time which is a problem. If someone ate the contaminated melons 1 to 2 weeks ago, they could still not show symptoms for a while yet.

Pregnant women and the elderly are most vulnerable to suffering more from the infection if they get it. They have a weaker immune system which will not fight off the infections as good as others.

If you suspect you have any of the contaminated melons, it is advised that you dispose of them quickly. Any place they may have touched needs to be cleaned and sanitized completely.

Popularity: 3% [?]

On Sunday, a 6.9 earthquake rattled the areas of India, Nepal and Tibet sending people running out into the streets. The area hit the hardest has been Sikkim. 18 are known to have perished there at this time. People are frightened. Buildings have fallen and many are without any electrical power. Numbers of people are staying out side in the pouring rain, still too terrified to enter the dry interiors of their dwellings. The rain has hampered rescue efforts. Reports of mudslides, and having little or no communication with areas is making it difficult. The rain has been pouring down on Sikkim for  4 days. Even the helicopters are unable to take off to help with relief efforts. Once rescue efforts do get going, there is fear that the number of deaths will be increased. Thousands of military soldiers are there trying to help out, but may not be able to get to many of the areas cut off by mudslides in the mountains until Tuesday.

There was one person who was killed as people were running in a panic in Bihar. There are other accounts of people loosing their lives close to Darjeeling which is in West Bengal. In Nepal, there have been 8 people reported as perished while there are over a 100 that have been hurt. There has also been much damage to homes and buildings in the eastern parts of the country. There were 3 people that perished in Kathmandu when a wall at the British embassy fell down. Parliament had to close down temporarily due to a wall shaking.

On the border of Tibet’s Yadong County, there are many mudslides preventing relief efforts. According to authorities in China, rescue provisions have been sent to the effected area. Now they need to find ways to get into the injured and people waiting for help.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The ferry left Tanzania’s city of Dar es Salaam in route to Unguja where it took on even more passengers before going on to Pemba. Some passengers in Unguja felt the boat tilting and tried to get off. Some did before the crew pulled up the ladder.

While on the way to Pemba, something went wrong. The engine may have stalled out and the over loaded boat began drifting in the Indian Ocean. One passenger described it as zigzagging or dizziness.

The ship was very overloaded with both passengers and cargo. Built to carry 600 people, there were approximately 800 on board. There were also a lot of children.

The ferry went bottom up between the islands of Unguja and Pemba. There have been close to 200 bodies retrieved from the ocean. They are being wrapped in blankets and placed on a football field for relatives to identify. The bodies are being separated into separate rows for the men and women. They are laying their clothing next to the body to help identify them.

The accident happened early in the day on Saturday. By that night, there were 600 people that had been saved.

It is possible that the numbers of dead could go. There could be more bodies trapped inside the ferry.

Popularity: 2% [?]

On Friday, the Casa-212 turboprop plane had tried to land two different times without success at the island airport. After becoming lost in the foul weather, The plane ended up plunging into the Pacific Ocean. It is speculated that all 21 on board the plane died instantly. At this time, only 4 bodies have been found.

Some of the people on board the aircraft included one of Chile’s leading TV personalities, Felipe Camiroaga. Also on board was the defense minister’s brother-in-law, Felipe Cubillos.

At this time, the bodies retrieved from the wreckage have not been identified.

Popularity: 4% [?]