Archive | October 30, 2015
CODE RED ISSUED due to an explosion killing dozens at a nightclub in Bucharest
An explosion at a nightclub in the centre of Bucharest on Friday night has left at least 26 dead and 88 wounded, with some Romanian media reporting that the death toll could be as high as 40. At the time of the explosion there were 300 to 400 people in Colectiv Club. Some remain unaccounted for.
According to one witness speaking to Romanian media, a pyrotechnic display around the stage set light to nearby objects. The witness said that less than five minutes after the explosion, firefighters were on the scene.
People are still being treated on the streets outside, and Romania’s interior minister, Gabriel Oprea, is at the scene, along with emergency services.
Romanian media are reporting that a code red warning has been issued, with off-duty doctors and nurses at nearby hospitals being called in to help deal with the emergency.
Many of the victims didn’t have ID on them, so the government has set up a hotline for those who believe that their loved ones may have been at the club.
Courtesy of theguardian.com
Tornadoes and torrential rains causes complete mayhem in Texas, USA
At least two people were killed when a storm with high winds and heavy rains pelted central Texas on Friday, flooding highways, causing evacuations after rivers overflowed and spawning tornadoes that ripped through buildings outside San Antonio.
The body of one man swept away by raging waters when his vehicle was caught southeast of Austin has been recovered, a Travis County emergency official said, adding one elderly woman was still missing.
Near San Antonio, U.S. Army officials said the body of an individual, who was washed downstream when a vehicle was picked up by fast moving flood waters, was found on Friday afternoon on Camp Bullis. The names of both victims have not been released.
There were more than 40 high-water rescues in the area with about 13 inches (33 cm) of rain falling within a few hours in parts of the region south of the state capital of Austin, officials said.
Some area rivers hit record flood peaks, the U.S. Geological Survey said, adding the levels began to drop from Friday afternoon.
More than 200 low-water crossings were closed due to the storm, which hit in the same area where flooding in late May caused more than 20 deaths.
The Austin Fire Department responded to about 500 calls for help while some residents in the nearby city of San Marcos were told to boil water for safety.
A car washed up against a tree in Cyprus Creek, a tributary of the Blanco River, in Wimberley, Hays County, Texas – REUTERS/ILANA PANICH-LINSMAN
Hays County issued evacuation orders and set up shelters for hundreds along the Blanco and San Marcos rivers, two waterways hard hit by the May floods.
In Floresville, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of San Antonio, a high school wall was ripped apart by high winds that also tossed a recreational vehicle trailer onto the roof of a hotel, TV video from the area showed.
“I am seeing the tires from the trailer on the roof of the Holiday Inn Express,” Floresville resident Donna Rudolph-Miller told reporters.
In Seguin, east of San Antonio, about 20 structures were damaged and five homes destroyed, city officials said.
The storm caused operations to halt for several hours at Austin’s main airport. The ground floor of the Austin Air Traffic Control Tower and Terminal Radar Approach Control facility was flooded by approximately six inches (15 cm) of water during the storm, airport officials said.
Suzzy Hald of Wimberley surveys the damage after rain on the Blanco River in Wimberley, Hays County, Texas – REUTERS/ILANA PANICH-LINSMAN
Courtesy of reuters.com
Rare And Destructive Cyclone Chapala Rapidly Intensifies To A Category 4 Storm In Arabian Sea
Cyclone Chapala could become the strongest on record in the Arabian Sea and may make an unprecedented landfall at hurricane strength along the coast of Yemen or southwest Oman in the days ahead.
Chapala rapidly intensified and is estimated to have winds of Category 4 hurricane intensity. Some fluctuations in intensity are expected over the next day or so.
While direct measurements from reconnaissance aircraft are not available over the Arabian Sea, Chapala’s rate of intensification from a high-end tropical storm to a high-end Category 4 storm in 24 hours ending 2 a.m. EDT Friday morning was quite impressive for this part of the world.
Tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean basin, which includes the Arabian Sea, are simply known in English as “cyclones” or “cyclonic storms” regardless of strength. There are no special terms such as “hurricane” or “typhoon” applied based on reaching a certain intensity, but the India Meteorological Department does apply various adjectives such as “severe” or “very severe” to describe different intensity levels.
Some continued intensification can’t yet be ruled out, due not only to warmer-than-average Arabian Sea water along its path, but also due to an impressive upper-atmospheric outflow channel stretching hundreds of miles to the east-northeast of Chapala from an upper-atmospheric low-pressure area over northern India.
These outflow channels essentially pull air laterally away from the top of the cyclone’s intense thunderstorms. To compensate, air flow near the surface needs to rush toward the center of circulation faster. When this happens, it gives a boost to the cyclone’s thunderstorms, which lowers the surface pressure and so on.
Steered by subtropical high pressure, Chapala is expected to track west or west-northwest over the next several days, making landfall along the coast of eastern Yemen or southwest Oman Monday.
Courtesy of wunderground.com
Major hailstorm severely damages a hospital in Chinchilla, Australia
Staff at Chinchilla Hospital are picking up the pieces after hail stones smashed windows and damaged a roof at the facility on Wednesday.
At the height of the severe hailstorm an urgent message was relayed to The Chronicle that the hospital had been damaged, but that emergency and maternity services were still operational.
Now that the worst is over staff have rallied at to ensure patients have been well cared for after the storm caused considerable infrastructure damage at the facility late Wednesday afternoon.
Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service Executive Director Workforce and Infrastructure Mick Metcalfe praised local teams who maintained the operation of the facility despite the trying conditions.
“In the interests of patient comfort and in support of the recovery arrangement, six inpatients were transferred to Dalby Hospital and will be returned to Chinchilla Hospital or discharged as soon as tomorrow,” he said.
“Many of the hospital’s windows were smashed and the roof damaged which saw significant water inundation throughout the facility.”
Mr Metcalfe said emergency department and maternity services remained operational at Chinchilla Hospital after the damage occurred, with full hospital services expected to resume tomorrow.
“Earlier today we completed a comprehensive review of the facility and discussed with staff the plan to get all services up and running again.
“Numerous contractors have been onsite today checking electrical systems, replacing and securing windows and glass, clearing hail and water from roof areas and checking and replacing ICT equipment, amongst things.”
He said it was likely to be several weeks until the full extent of the damage to Chinchilla Hospital was known as water had entered the roof and wall spaces in many sections of the facility.
Phone lines, computer servers and electricity were all restored to normal operation yesterday.
Courtesy of thechronicle.com.au
MAGNITUDE 3.0 FRANCE
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=467369
Subject To Change
Depth: 2 km
Distances: 224 km SW of Paris, France / pop: 2,138,551 / local time: 17:48:47.9 2015-10-30
75 km NE of Poitiers, France / pop: 85,960 / local time: 17:48:47.9 2015-10-30
49 km SE of Tours, France / pop: 141,621 / local time: 17:48:47.9 2015-10-30
9 km SE of Perrusson, France / pop: 1,511 / local time: 17:48:47.9 2015-10-30
MAGNITUDE 5.1 YUNNAN, CHINA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=467329
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 205 km S of Dayan, China / pop: 1,137,600 / local time: 19:26:41.0 2015-10-30
89 km SW of Dali, China / pop: 134,040 / local time: 19:26:41.0 2015-10-30
MAGNITUDE 5.1 BANDA SEA
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us200040pb#general_summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 150 km
Distances: 241km (150mi) NW of Saumlaki, Indonesia
310km (193mi) WSW of Tual, Indonesia
340km (211mi) SSE of Amahai, Indonesia
343km (213mi) SE of Ambon, Indonesia
553km (344mi) ENE of Dili, East Timor
MAGNITUDE 3.3 FRANCE
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=467309
Subject To Change
Depth: 15 km
Distances: 184 km SW of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey / pop: 16,488 / local time: 08:55:15.4 2015-10-30
34 km NW of Quimper, France / pop: 63,849 / local time: 09:55:15.4 2015-10-30
5 km S of Logonna-Daoulas, France / pop: 1,659 / local time: 09:55:15.4 2015-10-30
MAGNITUDE 5.0 SCOTIA SEA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=467294
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 2931 km S of Montevideo, Uruguay / pop: 1,270,737 / local time: 05:18:21.5 2015-10-30
2979 km S of Buenos Aires, Argentina / pop: 13,076,300 / local time: 04:18:21.5 2015-10-30
3373 km S of Santiago, Chile / pop: 4,837,295 / local time: 04:18:21.5 2015-10-30
MAGNITUDE 5.0 SAMAR, PHILIPPINES
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=467291
Subject To Change
Depth: 60 km
Distances: 572 km SE of Manila, Philippines / pop: 10,444,527 / local time: 14:58:56.4 2015-10-30
236 km E of Legaspi, Philippines / pop: 179,481 / local time: 14:58:56.4 2015-10-30
48 km NE of Alugan, Philippines / pop: 2,131 / local time: 14:58:56.4 2015-10-30
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