Nocere – Earth Disasters

 

Eighteen children died along with two adults. The bus and a coal truck hit head on in the Yulinzi township located in Zhengning county. It was in the area of Qingyang city. There were 20 casualties on the bus as children were on their way to school on Wednesday morning.

 

The bus that was built to hold only 9 passengers was found to be carrying 65 people including the driver. The driver of the bus was one of the casualties. The driver and five of the children perished at the scene of the accident. The other adult and 13 other children were said to have died at a later time.

There were 45 others passengers, almost all were children, that were hurt in the accident and were taken to the hospital where they are receiving treatment.

Most of the children were only kindergarteners.

Gas Leak in China Mine Kills 21 Miners

The urgency remains, time is critical for rescuing the trapped miners still in the mine in the south western Yunnan province. The rescue operation continues to try and find the miners that are trapped inside the mine by a gas leak. The mine, an illegal mine, had lost is mining license a year ago. It is being questioned as to was the accident an explosion or was it a gas leak? The Sizhuang mine is located in the Yunnan province’s Qujing city.

 

21 of the miners were killed on Thursday, November 10th, at the time of the accident. Another 22 are presumed trapped inside the mine. A day passed with no reports of any survivors being found. There is much emotion at the mine as family of miners have gathered searching for answers. Wanting news that their loved one has survived.

China’s mines are very dangerous. Just last year 2,600 miners died in mining accidents. Their safety record is much worse than any other country.  They also have the biggest mining industry which makes the accidents appear to be more. When taking into account how many mines there are in China, it may not appear to be as bad. Still the country produces about 40% of the worlds coal supply but they also are accountable for 80% of the yearly mining deaths. A miner in China has 100 times more of a possibility of dieing on the job than a miner in the US.

Just last week, there were 45 miners trapped in a mine for 36 hours in the Qianqiu colliery located in the city of Sanmenxia in the Henan province. There were 8 miners rescued from the mine on Friday and 14 of the miners were able to get out right after the accident on Thursday.

The 45 miners were rescued on Saturday. Images of miners being taken from the mine with their eyes covered to protect them from the brightness of the sun after being in the dark for so long.

 

As 75 miners had been working late on Thursday, a rock burst happened. That is an explosion that is a result of a sudden release of built up pressure. Prior to the rock burst, there had been an earthquake with a scale rating of 2..9. A new tunnel had to be dug to allow access to the trapped miners.

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It was 108 hours after the earth quake hit Turkey that Ferhat Tokay, a 13 year old boy, was pulled out of the rubble that had held him captive since the building in Ercis, Van Turkey fell on him. It was in the early hours on Friday that workers using flood lights to enable them to see rescued him. He had been helped to stay alive by drinking rain water that had oozed in through openings in the rubble surrounding him. On Saturday, the official death toll from the earthquake rose to 582. Ferhat is one of the lucky ones to be found in time.

 

The earthquake that hit eastern Turkey last Sunday was a 7.2. The number of people injured is 4,152. 582 have died and 455 of the deaths happened in Ercis where 13 year old Ferhat was rescued. The good news is that there have been 231 people found alive and have been rescued..

There have been 1,309 after shocks since the main quake on Sunday. The US and China are sending people in to help out people who survived the quake.

 

 

 

Georgia Swamp Fires Continue to Burn

In Savannah Georgia, a fire that has burned since last spring continues to spread slowly through the Okefenokee Swamp. It is burning beneath the ground being fueled by dead plants. The fire has at this time cost $52.7 million and as it continues to burn, the costs will rise.

 

The fire was started during a storm by lightning on April 28th. It hit the Honey Prairie area in the Okefenokee Swamp near the Florida-Georgia border. The fire at this time spurts up unannounced from areas on the surface of the swamp. There is concern that the fire could return to its fury it showed back in the spring. 14,000 acres of private land has burned, 309,199 total acres or 14 square miles. The cost to taxpayers per day is between $30,000 and $40,000 per day.

 

 

 

17 Killed by Suicide Bomber in Afghanistan

As a bus transporting the International Security Assistance Force was traveling in the Afghan capital, a car loaded with explosives crashed into the bus. 17 people on board died. There were 8 civilians and 5 soldiers killed. They were all Americans. One Canadian solder, three Afghan civilians and a police officer were also killed. It is being labeled as one of the worst ground attacks against foreign troops since 2001.

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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.

 

 

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There were two earthquakes that hit the southern parts of Spain on Wednesday. They caused buildings to fall, roadways to crack, a tunnel fell in. Many people have died. The earth quakes ranged in the 4.4 and 5.3 scale of magnitudes.

There are possibly more than 10 people that died as a result of the quakes. Dozens more people were wounded in the town of Lorea. About 91,000 people live in Lorea. It is located in the municipality of Murcia.

A lady passed away when a newly built 3 story building fell in on her. She had a child with her, it was found alive. It is possible that many others are still trapped by debris.

Three others died when parts of buildings came down upon them as they were outside. One of the dead was a young teenage boy who was taking his dog for a walk when the earth quake happened.

The center of the quakes was in the Sierra de Tercia area located northeastern of Lorea. They were felt with pretty much force in many villages in the area.

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On March 11th, 2011 Japan suffered a disastrous earthquake which then caused a 30 foot high Tsunami. The earthquake was an 8.9 on the scale. It is the biggest earthquake that has ever touched Japans eastern coastline. It killed hundreds of people. Tossed around boats, cars, houses and people as it swept across Japan. People were left with no where to go home to. Many mourning the loss of family members. Some have yet to be found. The weather was cold and snow fell upon the people huddled together for warmth. One very aged couple slept in a car at night. The nuclear plants have been causing trouble forcing people to leave their homes. Now it’s if you live within a 12 mile radius, you must leave. Animals are now being rescued by a group that were left behind by their owners a month ago planning to return. Some are in very bad shape . The food having run out. This isn’t going to be a quick fix. It will take time to pull the country back together. This video shows a lot of what happened to Japan. It shows the destruction the the tsunami did to anything in it’s path. It’s a tribute video to Japan. We Are The Children. Please pray for Japan as they continue to try and move on even though they have lost much.

We Are the Children

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An earthquake rippled through the northeastern part of Burma on Thursday killing possibly more then 75 individuals.

The quake hit in the area close to Lao and the Thai borders. It registered 6.8 in magnitude. The shaking of the earth was felt as far away as the capital of Thai, Bangkok.

The area that seems to have received the worst of the earthquake is the town of Tachileik and some villages that are close to it. Tachileik is located in the state of Shan.

At this time as rescue attempts are being made, there is concern that there could be more dead that haven’t yet been found.

Burma isn’t set up to withstand this type of a disaster. There are poorly build dwellings and at this time the military government is ruling until the new government run by people is operating. Communication is not good and information is hard to get to the right people.

There were many building that fell on the north side of Tachileik. It happened in the mountain areas near the border of Thailand.

There are reports of 60 individuals dieing in the villages of Tarlay and Mong Lin. Transportation is hindered as roads and bridges have been damaged by the quake.

Many roads are unable to be used to get access to the backwoods areas where people could be trapped and dieing. People in much need of help.

The quake occurred on Thursday at 1355 GMT. It wasn’t a deep quake, only about 6.2 miles deep. The epicenter of it was about 70 miles out from Thai city that is on the northern side of Chiang Rai.

Even Thailand felt the rippling of the quake.

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On Wednesday, flames were found in the north western corner of the No.4 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

This was the latest of the troubles that are plaguing Japan as it is doing it’s best to recover from the disaster brought on last week by the earthquake/tsunami.

There were approximately 3,676 individuals that died. An additional 7,558 people have still not been located and 1,990 were wounded.

Many that survived are living in overflowing shelters. They are mourning for the people they lost and concerned about others that have yet to be found.

The Prime Minister has referred to the disaster as the “worst crisis since World War ll.

The fire being discovered on Wednesday was found only a day later then yet another fire along with an explosion had occurred  in the No. 2 reactor.

The degree of radiation jumped at the entrance to the building as the first blaze was burning. The levels dropped back down once the fire was put out. According to the Chief Cabinet Secretary the level of radiation was once again at a reading that would not make humans ill.

The degree of radiation in Tokyo on Wednesday was two times the level of Tuesday, but were said not to be a threat to humans.

At this time, the Japanese officials are concerned about the possibility of a melt down.

They continue to pour sea water into the reactors to try and keep them from getting any worse but the fear continues. It’s not a secure condition.

To protect as many of the workers as possible, the owners had all but 50 of the plant employees leave the plant. They also advised that anyone closer then 18.6 miles of the plant to stay inside. The authorities have also enforced a no fly zone in the area due to a detection of radiation after the explosions at the plant.

As of now, the wind has been blowing towards the north to northeast. That is good for Tokyo is there is a lot of radiation released into the air. Tokyo would be kept safe from a lot of it.

The search for survivors does continue. There are rescue teams searching through the piles of debris.

Along with the lack of shelter is the cold weather that the people are having to deal with. Some have been out in the cold for days.

Snow has been falling in areas of north eastern Japan.

There are still after shocks rocking the area hindering rescue efforts.

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The armed forces along with many volunteers are searching for survivors of the earthquake /tsunami. They are also bringing fresh water and food to hundreds of thousands of individuals .

It has been 3 days since the huge earthquake accompanied by a tsunami  wounded the country so badly that the prime minister depicted it as Japan’s worst crisis since World War 2.

It is estimated that the number of individuals who died on Friday could pass 10,000. There were entire villages and towns completely destroyed by the massive wall of water racing through them. What it left was devastation and death.

A concern of explosions happening at a nuclear plant. Workers worked as quickly as they could to try and cool the reactors. There were two that were wrecked when workers started pouring in sea water to try keep them cool. There was a warning issued of possibly another explosion, but there was no concern of it being a health concern.

The survivors were now with out homes to return to and facing freezing temperatures.

The tsunami hit the northeastern coastline with a powerful vehemence. Hundreds of miles along the coast was beaten up and destroyed by the tsunami. Rescue teams removed many individuals that had died from mud covered shambles of homes. There were automobiles, uprooted trees tore out of the ground and batches of entangled electrical wires all mixed in the mud.

One of the three areas hit the worst was Miyagi. There it was reported by the police chief that over 10,000 individuals had died.The numbers was an estimate as the number confirmed dead at this time is 400. Miyagi has 2.3 million people living there.

Authorities have stated that over 1800 individuals have been confirmed to have died. 200 of those individuals were found lying along the coast on Sunday. There are still over 1400 people that haven’t been located and another 1900 that were wounded.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who survived gathered in emergency areas. They are hungry, have no electrical power, no help and no water.

Over 1.4 million homes are without water and 1.9 million have had no power since the quake.

The government has sent in twice the number of service members to help in aiding 100,000 survivors. They have sent in 120,000 blankets, 120,000 containers of  bottled water and 29,000 gallons of gasoline. They have also sent food to the victims.

As electricity is restored, it will be rationed out to areas at different times. There will continue to be blackouts as other areas are receiving power.

“This is Japan’s most severe crisis since the war ended 65 years ago,” said Prime Minister Naoto Kan .

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