Archive | January 6, 2015
Apocalyptic flooding displaces 1000’s with 8 killed in Zimbabwe, Africa
The Zimbabwean Red Cross says about 800 families have been evacuated from northern parts of the country, after they were marooned by heavy flooding over the weekend.
Zimbabwe has witnessed incessant rains during the past week, resulting in floods in some parts of the country.
On Sunday, police said a family of eight drowned after a car they were traveling in was swept away as they tried to cross a flooded river about 100 kilometers southwest of Harare.
In the north, the Zambezi River bordering Zambia overflowed, forcing thousands of people to run to higher ground. They were rescued by government officials driving all-terrain vehicles, and sheltered in tents provided by the Red Cross.
Red Cross spokesman Takesure Mazuruse said the organization is still determining the level of help needed for those displaced by the floods.
He says the Red Cross has launched an international appeal to ensure that the flood victims have shelter and food.
“In such situations we apply for disaster relief funds and we are in process of engaging with our international partners,” he said. “At national scale we are appealing to individuals, corporates and maybe the church to come and support our efforts.”
Given Zimbabwe’s ailing economy, help is likely to come mainly from the international community, as most companies and individuals are struggling with day-to-day needs.
Last year, floods displaced thousands of Zimbabweans who were living downstream of one of the country’s major dams, about 400 kilometers south of Harare.
In that case, the Air Force of neighboring Namibia helped with rescue efforts.
Courtesy of VOA News
Severe Hail Storm Warning Issued For Chiang Rai Province, Thailand
Thailand’s Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda has instructed Chiang Rai’s Governor and 12 other Governors in other Northern Provinces to be ready for hail storms, predicted for the end of this week.
Following the latest weather forecast, Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda said another cold front from China is expected to move toward the northern region.
Provinces in the North have also been warned by the by the Department of Disaster Prevention to brace for the high pressure system combined with the western wind.
Last year hailstorms struck the Province of Chiang Rai two times, damaging signs and causing huge tree branches to fall on private property.
The road in front of the Chiang Rai Municipality was filled with hailstones the size of a lime, while a local community fair regularly held for visitors and tourists to shop for gifts and souvenirs was also affected by the storm.
Provincial governors of the other Northern Provinces, Pitsnulok, Petchabun, Sukhothai, Tak, Uttaradit, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hongsorn, Chiang Mai, Payao, Prae and Nan provinces have been ordered to be prepared for emergency situations.
The Governors have been urged to follow the safety procedure set by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Northern residents have also been told to maintain the conditions of their homes and refrain from using a mobile phone outdoors.
Courtesy of Chiangrai Times
MAGNITUDE 3.5 WESTERN TEXAS, USA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=418139
Subject To Change
Depth: 4 km
Distances: 379 km W of Dallas, United States / pop: 1,197,816 / local time: 15:55:19.1 2015-01-06
23 km N of Snyder, United States / pop: 11,202 / local time: 15:55:19.1 2015-01-06
MAGNITUDE 5.4 OFF EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=418141
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 2080 km NE of Sapporo-shi, Japan / pop: 1,883,027 / local time: 07:09:13.4 2015-01-07
388 km NE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia / pop: 187,282 / local time: 10:09:13.4 2015-01-07
302 km E of Esso, Russia / pop: 1,965 / local time: 10:09:13.4 2015-01-07
Emergency Declaration initiated as a severe snow storm is due to strike Jordan
The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and put its crews on maximum alert as a severe snow storm will hit the Kingdom tonight and continue throughout the weekend, according to forecast.
Municipal officials said all precautions necessary to counter the weather conditions had been taken and maintenance of infrastructure intensified, including repairs of bridges, tunnels and rain water drains and to ensure that crews and machinery are on the ready to deal with any emergencies.
“The work plan prepared to face emergencies will be enforced by splitting crews into two work shifts, each for 12 hours and fully backed by all necessary human resources and machinery,” said GAM spokesman Bakr Abbadi.
He said the municipality had assigned task forces at intersections, key roads, tunnels and bridges in the capital to deal with the aftermath of the deep depression that is edging closer, according to weather forecasts coming in at the GAM main emergency room.
Abbadi said municipal crews will set off from four designated points in the capital to deal with snow in addition to the main operations room in order to open roads, while giving priority to routes leading to hospitals and clinics.
The GAM has posted emergency numbers in the media, and urged the public to call its emergency rooms located across the capital for help and weather warnings or to inquire about the condition of roads.
Meteorologists said the polar weather system will cross the country this evening with rainfall expected in most areas and snowfall on highlands on Wednesday and Thursday as temperatures will dip below the freezing point.
Other state agencies have put in place contingency plans as the government declared Wednesday a holiday and universities and banks will also take the day off due to the bad weather.
Courtesy of Petra News
Two trains collide injuring 140; Many rushed to hospital in Brazil
Transport authorities in Rio de Janeiro have promised to investigate a late night train crash.
Two trains smashed into one another late Monday night outside the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, though no serious injuries have been reported.
At least 140 people were injured, with 129 being rushed to hospital, according to Brazilian media reports.
However, Brazil’s O’Globo newspaper has reported all but 22 of the injured are expected to leave hospital soon. At the time of writing, emergency workers were still at the scene of the crash – a train station in the Mesquita municipality.
The accident reportedly took place after one train crashed into another that had stopped at the station.
Rio de Janeiro state transport head Carlos Roberto Osorio has urged the public to await the results of an investigation into the incident before drawing conclusions.
According to RT, he stated the situation at the station was “normal” until the crash. “The preliminary reports I have say the train that crashed was not new, but was still in service and was not going to be replaced,” he stated.
Courtesy of Telesurtv
Potentially dangerous asteroid to fly by Earth on 26th January 2015
A potentially hazardous asteroid, at least 20 times the size of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, will approach the Earth on January 26. The rock is expected to fly by at a distance of 1.2 million kilometers.
The asteroid, named 2004 BL86 by scientists, is estimated to be between 440-1,000 meters in diameter. 1.2 million kilometers is approximately three times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
According to astronomers, there is no threat of the object colliding with our planet. The Goldstone Observatory, located in California’s Mojave Desert, will observe the asteroid during its approach.
2004 BL86 was discovered on January 30, 2004, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR), responsible for the majority of asteroid discoveries from 1998 until 2005, when it was overtaken by the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS). As of mid-September 2011, LINEAR had detected some 231,082 new objects, of which at least 2,423 were near-Earth asteroids and 279 comets.
A space object is considered potentially dangerous if it crosses the Earth’s orbit at a distance of less than 0.05 AU (approximately 19.5 distances from the Earth to the Moon), and if its diameter exceeds 100-150 meters. Objects of this size are large enough to cause unprecedented destruction, or generate a mammoth tsunami in case they fall into the ocean.
When a meteorite burst above the city of Chelyabinsk in February 2013, the impact was estimated to be equivalent to 440-500 kilotons of TNT. But the Chelyabinsk meteorite was relatively small, about 17 meters in diameter. It disintegrated with a blast at an altitude of over 20 kilometers.
Courtesy of RT
MAGNITUDE 3.5 NORTHERN TEXAS, USA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=418132
Subject To Change
Depth: 5 km
Distances: 11 km NW of Dallas, United States / pop: 1,197,816 / local time: 15:10:31.4 2015-01-06
5 km NE of Irving, United States / pop: 216,290 / local time: 15:10:31.4 2015-01-06
MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 16:45 hrs UTC
**VERY URGENT**
MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 16:45 hrs UTC. FURTHER EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANO ACTIVITY & ADVERSE WEATHER PATTERNS WILL BE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE COSMIC RAYS STRIKING THE EARTH’S CORE
***BE ALERT***
MAGNITUDE 3.1 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=416486
Subject To Change
Depth: 0 km
Distances: 3806 km NE of Majuro, Marshall Islands / pop: 25,400 / local time: 20:08:49.1 2015-01-06
330 km SE of Honolulu, United States / pop: 371,657 / local time: 22:08:49.1 2015-01-05
86 km SW of Hilo, United States / pop: 43,263 / local time: 22:08:49.1 2015-01-05
16 km NE of Hawaiian Ocean View, United States / pop: 4,437 / local time: 22:08:49.1 2015-01-05
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