Hailstorm Causes A Serious Crash On The M62 Between Warrington and Widnes, UK
The M62 is closed eastbound from junctions seven to eight between Warrington and Widnes due to a serious accident involving several vehicles.
North West Motorway Police have confirmed the eastbound carriageway near Widnes/Warrington will remain closed for some time following the incident which occurred during a heavy hailstorm.
Paramedics and Highways Agency officers are currently at the scene.
One driver stuck on the motorway said motorists were being redirected down the hard shoulder in the opposite directions police.
Another added: “Cars are turning back up the slip road at junction 7, it’s chaos. I just hope everyone involved is okay.”
The M56 westbound exit slip road is also closed due to a separate accident at J10 by the A49 at Stretton.
Plane Carrying Marijuana Crashes Near San Diego, USA
Authorities say an ultralight aircraft carrying about 250 pounds of marijuana has crashed in the mountains east of San Diego, but there’s no sign of the pilot.
The downed plane was discovered Friday morning by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during a routine air patrol.
A team of federal agents picking through the wreckage in the remote Laguna Mountains found a helmet, gloves and other gear. There was also a pair of footprints leading away from the crash site.
Because there was no sign of blood, authorities believe the pilot walked away unscathed.
The marijuana was removed from the craft.
Mike Carney of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says agents are pursuing all leads related to the drug-smuggling incident.
MAGNITUDE 5.1 – OFF COAST OF TARAPACA, CHILE
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 108km (67mi) WNW of Iquique, Chile
156km (97mi) SSW of Arica, Chile
205km (127mi) SSW of Tacna, Peru
231km (144mi) S of Ilo, Peru
467km (290mi) SW of La Paz, Bolivia
Deadly Ebola Disease Kills 59 People In Guinea
Guinea’s government raised the death toll in the Ebola epidemic raging through its southern forests to 59.
The health ministry told the AFP news agency workers battling to contain the outbreak in the border region had added a further 25 deaths to the toll of 34 given earlier on Saturday, with a total of 80 cases registered.
“The Ebola fever epidemic raging in southern Guinea, including the prefectures of Gueckedou and Macenta, since February 9 has left at least 59 dead out of 80 cases identified by our services on the ground,” said Sakoba Keita, the ministry’s chief disease prevention officer.
“We are overwhelmed in the field, we are fighting against this epidemic with all the means we have at our disposal with the help of our partners but it is difficult. But we will get there,” he told AFP.
No vaccine
To date, no treatment or vaccine is available for Ebola, which kills between 25 and 90 percent of those who fall sick, depending on the strain of the virus, according to the World Health Organisation.
The disease is transmitted by direct contact with blood, faeces or sweat, or by sexual contact or unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.
Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement it would strengthen its team of 24 doctors, nurses, logisticians and experts in hygiene and sanitation already in Guinea.
The organisation has set up isolation units for suspected cases in the southern region of Nzerekore and is looking for people who may have had contact with the infected.
‘Highly contagious’
“These structures are essential to prevent the spread of the disease, which is highly contagious,” said MSF tropical medicine adviser Esther Sterk said.
“Specialised staff are providing care to patients showing signs of infection.”
MSF said it was sending around 33 tonnes of medicines and isolation, sanitation and protective equipment in two planes leaving from Belgium and France.
Ebola, one of the world’s most virulent diseases, was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1976 and the country has had eight outbreaks.
The most recent epidemic, in the DRC, infected 62 people and left 34 dead between May and November 2012, according to the country’s health ministry.
There are fears it could be used in a biological weapons attack.
According to researchers, the virus multiplies quickly, overwhelming the immune system’s ability to fight the infection.
A medic in Monrovia told AFP on condition of anonymity that Liberia was at considerable risk from the disease.
“We have a 90 percent chance of having cases in Monrovia because about 80 percent of goods on the Liberian market come from Guinea,” he said.
Landslide Kills 8 People In Eastern Guinea
The collapse happened on Friday near the town of Mandiana, near Guinea’s border with Mali, a member of the security forces told AFP.
“Eight deaths have been recorded since yesterday in the collapse in the mine,” he said.
“We got three bodies out yesterday and three more this morning. They were buried in the mud, suffocated and then died.”
Sarata Sangare, the sister of one of the dead, said 10 rescued miners made arduous journeys to hospital in the Malian capital Bamako.
“Some were placed in wheelbarrows to travel several kilometres before finding a vehicle to take them to the centre of Mandiana and then on to Mali,” says Sangare.
The security source said it was not known how many bodies were still to be discovered in the deeper shafts.
Guinea sits atop huge deposits of gold, bauxite and diamond but the majority of its people live in poverty.
It was the fifth such disaster in a fortnight in the area, with the previous landslides killing four people, including three women, according to locals.
Around 20 miners were killed in a landslide at a goldmine in the northeastern city of Siguiri in November last year.
MAGNITUDE 5.3 – KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
Subject To Change
Depth: 46 km
Distances: 227km (141mi) NNW of Tobelo, Indonesia
306km (190mi) SSE of Caburan, Philippines
307km (191mi) N of Ternate, Indonesia
308km (191mi) N of Kota Ternate, Indonesia
918km (570mi) WSW of Koror Town, Palau
MAGNITUDE 5.1 – OFFSHORE NAYARIT, MEXICO
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 293 km W of Guadalajara, Mexico / pop: 1,640,589 / local time: 13:49:16.8 2014-03-22
78 km W of San Blas / pop: 9,016 / local time: 12:49:00.0 2014-03-22
Landslide Smashes Into A House In Snohomish County, Washington, USA
The Washington State Patrol says a house with people inside was carried across a road in rural Snohomish County just before 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Washington Department of Transportation says mud, trees and building materials are blocking both directions of State Route 530 near the town of Oso.
Search and rescue operations are underway by Snohomish County crews and the Washington State Patrol.
Spokesman Bart Treece of the Washington State Department of Transportation says he doesn’t know how long the two-lane rural road will be closed. He says drivers are advised to find another way to get between Darrington and Arlington.
“We’re standing by ready to help out where we can,” Treece said.
Freak Hailstorm Leads To Multiple Car Crashes On “Treacherous” M8, Cork/Dublin Road, Ireland
A FREAK HAILSTORM led to a number of car crashes along a stretch of the M8 today.
The M8 Cork/Dublin road southbound was closed off between junction 9 Cashel South and junction 10 Cahir North due to the collisions.
One of the people involved in the incident told The Journal.ie that there were multiple car crashes caused by a flash, freak hailstorm that rendered the road icy and “treacherous”.
He and his wife saw five cars spinning on the ice, but he said there were no major injuries. Some cars were damaged in the crashes.
AA Roadwatch said that the road has now reopened following the freak incident.
Even more Global Weirding in 1876- Australian Drought
We keep hearing the drought in Australia as ‘proof’ of Climate Change which it is as climate is not static. What it is not is proof of man made climate change.
In March 1876, as with 2014, Australia was suffering a drought.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_River
this drought has hit hardest in northern NSW and Queensland, where cattle farmers…are bearing the brunt.
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