Nocere – Earth Disasters

Residents of Bangkok Leaving Flooded Homes

In Thailand, the worst flooding in a half century has sent residents leaving their homes taking with them all their possessions they could. Floods have now taken the lives of 320 people and there are close to 9 million affected by it. The water continues to flow and with it comes the destruction of homes, stores, other buildings and possessions. People were out walking in the water that was as high as their waiste with plastic bags containing belongings perched on their heads. Many also holding on their pets for lack of a boat.

The opening of the floodgates took away any possible relief the area was hoping to have. They are hoping that opening the gates will take some of the pressure off the dams and levees possibly sending it out to sea. They are hoping the water will remain in the canals and not spill out into the streets of the capital city area. The army has brought in 100 boats to assist people trapped in homes.

As Many as 60 Die in Heavy Rainfall in Central America

The rain continues to pelt down on Central America, already taken at least 60 lives, it is showing no sign of letting up any time soon. El Salvador has been the hardest hit so far by the rainfall. There have been as many as 32 people that died there which included many children. As residents tried to cross the flooded rivers, many would get swept down river. Others died when their homes fell in around them.

Guatemala is also being heavily affected by the rains. At this time, there have been 28 people die in the flooding. There are another 110.000 that have been affected by the heavy rain that doesn’t seem to have an end.

In Honduras, the situation is much the same. Most of the countries departments have been put on alert and at this time 13,000 people have been affected.

Ever since Jova hit Central America’s shores last week, the country has been being blasted with heavy rainfall. It hit as a category 2 hurricane, but then settled down into more of a tropical storm and later a tropical depression as it crossed the western parts of Mexico. All the while another tropical depression, 12-E dropped heavy rainfall to El Salvador and the neighboring areas.

It continues to rain and no relief is on the way yet.

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Thailand is experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years.

283 people have so far died in the flood waters in Thailand and there are two people they are still searching for. Across the county, 61 of the 76 provinces have felt the affects of the flooding. This has caused havoc to over 8 million people.

Water is being let out of the Bhumibol Dam daily which is located in the northern part of Thailand. People are moving as fast as they can to get barriers set up. The flooding waters are moving towards the south, heading towards Bangkok on Friday. People living in the area are being instructed to be ready for the worst as the spring high tide and the large amount of water draining down the Chao Phraya River join together over the next few days.

Huge Oil Spill in New Zealand

In New Zealand, a massive oil spill from Rena, a Liberian-flagged vessel that ran into the Astrolabe Reef, which is close to 12 nautical miles off the coast of Tauranga is causing many problems. The vessel was carrying 450,000 gallons of fuel spilling around 300 tonnes of it. At this time 95.45 tonnes of the solid waste and 6 tonnes of the liquid that has been cleaned up. There is s till more out there.

Beaches in many of the areas are closed to visitors due to health concerns. There is close to 60 kilometers of beachfront area along the town of Maketu to the town of Mount Maunganui that is contaminated from the oil spill.

The environment is suffering from  the spill. So far 500 birds have been found dead in the area. 51 animals are being treated for the exposure to the oil at a center in Tauranga.

Oil spills at sea are such an impact on the enviroment. This spill,  along with affecting people and business’s in the area, is also affecting, birds, the blue whales, and the dolphins are all at risk.

23 Die in Clashes in Egypt

Clashes between Coptic Christians and soldiers in Cairo end up in bloodshed, injuries and 23 deaths. Of the dead, 17 are civilians. Late on Sunday, Oct 9th, it was told that there were 180 people wounded. There were 12 military members killed and 50 were wounded.

The protest followed the burning of a Coptic Church a week earlier in the southern parts of Egypt. The protestors were asking for equality and for the protections of Coptic churches or places they worship in.

The protest started off peacefully. As they were heading in the direction of the Egyptian state TV building, they were attacked by people bearing swords and clubs according to a protestor.

Car Bombs in Iraq Take 28 Lives

There were 2 cars filled with explosives that were set off only minutes apart on Oct 12th in Baghdad. 22 people died in the bombings set off by suicide bombers in the north west Hurriya area and in the central al-Wiya area. There were 6 other people that died in other bombings.

There were over 50 others wounded in the attacks.

There has been a revival of suicide bombings in Baghdad. It is a concern as the US is finalizing it’s withdrawing of their troops that is suppose to be completed by the end of the year.

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Satellite image of Typhoon Nesat.

In the Philippines, just as many were starting pull their lives back together from Typhoon Nesat, a typhoon that had taken the lives of 52 people on Tuesday, Typhoon Nalgae moved in on Saturday morning.

Wind damage in the Philippines

The initial damage started in Dinapigue. Nalgae dropped 0.6- to 1 inches of rainfall per hour as it traveled through the Philippines area. The two typhoons together have changed the lives of for nearly 3 million Filipinos. Landslides, flooding, closure of roads and bridges are also hampering getting people out or relief in. Many of the ports had to be closed temporarily but were to be reopened on Sunday.

People were being evacuated from Santa Barbara, Calasiao, and Dagupan which is located on Luzon island. On Sunday flood gates had to be opened to release pressure of water being they had reached their top levels. While there were people receiving help with recovery from Nesat, the first typhoon, it had to be stalled while the second typhoon made it’s way across the area. Many people are unable to cook food or have fresh water to drink. There is a great need for ready to eat food and drinking water. There are no supplies in the area for survivors to purchase, even though they have the funds needed.

Flooding in Thailand

As the Philippines are cleaning up from the typhoons, in Thailand, four long months of ravaging floods have taken the lives of 237 people. They are gearing up for the typhoon Nalgae which has lost some of it’s power after hitting the Philippines and is now a tropical depression. The country is already water soaked and more rainfall will only result in more flooding. The flooding has been felt in 28 different provinces and over 2 million people have affected by it.

Many of Thailand’s  historic buildings and tourist sites have been affected by the flood waters.

Typhoon Nesat entering China

Typhoon Nesat in China affected over 2 million people. Of this number, 132,2000 people had to be evacuated out of Nanning which is the capital of the area. Nesat hit China on Friday following it’s ravaging of the Philippines. Flooding of the Qinjiang River, which is amongst 5 rivers that have surged to dangerous levels, has overflowed it’s banks. Flood waters have entered Qinzhou causing roads to close due to being under water. There have been thousands of homes destroyed along with thousands of acres of farmland. As Nalgae entered China last Tuesday, it was now a tropical storm and not nearly as devastating as it had been in the Philippines.

China is still in the stages of cleaning up from Nesat, but will now be faced with days of rainfall from Nalgae.

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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.

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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.

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On July 23rd, as a train was traveling from Hangzhou to Wezhou, it crashed into a standing train located in the eastern province of Zheijang,

The train was traveling at a high speed. At least 35 people died in the accident while another 190 were wounded.

It happened on a bridge close to the city of Wenzhou. Two of the carriage cars went off the side of the bridge to the ground below.

It is also possible that 4 cars from the stalled train also went off the side of the bridge.

The other train was stalled on the tracks due to lightning hitting it. The train behind it is referred to as a high speed bullet train.

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At this time it is not known why a Russian jet started descending too early on Tuesday and exploded into flames. There were 44 that lost their lives and another 8 wounded.

At this time, the crash is being judged possibly pilot error.

The accident is being investigated and recordings from the pilots has been located. These recordings will allow the authorities to listen to the final moments before the crash and maybe give some insight as to what happened.

It is possible that the pilot was trying to find the runway but could not see it.

There were 36 Russians on board that died, 4 that were both US/Russian citizens, a Swede, Dutchman and two from the Ukraine.

Of the 8 injured, there are 5 in serious shape.

The jet had left Moscow Monday evening for Petrozavodsk. Before it crash landed on a highway, it topped a 15 meters high pine tree. This happened not far from the Petrozavodsk airport. The plane did not break apart while flying.

There were many rescuers on the site Tuesday before sunrise. Doctors, police and rescue workers were there to help out.

At this time they have Forensic experts on the scene to identify the bodies.

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At least 12 children, all under the age of 15, died Friday when their bus went off the road and ended up in a canal. They are still searching for two children and the driver of the bus.

The accident happened in Ali Beg town. Accidents are common in Pakistan because the roads are not properly cared for and the buses are not maintained very well.

The bus driver in this case contributed to the accident by traveling too fast. The driver then lost control resulting in the bus running off the road and into the canal.

The children were on their way to school. The driver had picked them up and was suppose to take them to different schools that they attended.

There were two students taken to the hospital where they were admitted.

Popularity: 15% [?]