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Japan rattled
A powerful earthquake rattled parts of northern Japan early Thursday, injuring more than 100 people, triggering landslides and cutting power to thousands of people, officials said.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the temblor, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8. It struck shortly after midnight about 65 miles underground and centered just off the coast of Iwate, 280 miles northeast of Tokyo.
At least 109 people were injured, including 16 seriously, according to the National Police Agency. Japan's Kyodo News agency said 131 people were injured, citing its own tally.
The earthquake caused strong shaking of up to 40 seconds in large parts of northern Japan, official said. A powerful earthquake rattled parts of northern Japan early Thursday, injuring more than 100 people, triggering landslides and cutting... more -
Powerful quake hits north Japan
Dozens of people have been injured as a powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 hit Japan's northern island of Honshu.
The quake's epicentre was very deep, but it still caused damage to buildings and left thousands without power.
A number of cars were buried in a landslide, local television said, and reports suggested as many as 56 people were injured.
The tremor also caused traffic disruption, with motorways closed and train services cancelled.
Hundreds of people were trapped in stranded trains, reports said.
The earthquake, which struck at 0030 local time (1530GMT) on Thursday, was centred 120km (75 miles) underground, in the Iwate prefecture near Morioka, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
The agency said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which was felt as far away as Tokyo, some 500km (310 miles) to the south.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called on officials to "do their best" to rescue anyone trapped by the earthquake.
Emergency officials were deployed to the area as military planes flew over the worst-hit region in an attempt to assess the extent of the damage.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries and experiences thousands of tremors each year. Dozens of people have been injured as a powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 hit Japan's northern island of Honshu. ... more -
Uncommon Heroes of the California Wildfires
We've all heard about the firefighters who have come from all over to help fight the California wildfires that have been raging for over a month, but there are a large group of firefighters that we haven't heard much about, and they are the main ones fighting the fires.
Prison inmates have been taught firefighting skills and are working in great numbers to contain all of these fires that are breaking out. These low-security inmates are getting obvious confidence and joy from being given a chance to contribute positively to the community. We've all heard about the firefighters who have come from all over to help fight the California wildfires that have been raging for ov... more -
Cali On Fire
The fires in Northern California continue to burn, leaving many officials and citizens searching for answers. Hear Gov. Schwarzenegger's and Secretary Kempthorne's take on the situation in this pod. The fires in Northern California continue to burn, leaving many officials and citizens searching for answers. Hear Gov. Schwarzenegger... more
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Typhoon Fengshen Hits Hong Kong
Hong Kong's stock exchange, schools and public transport were suspended Wednesday morning after severe tropical storm Fengshen brought heavy wind and rainfall to the city.
Hong Kong's observatory issued the first typhoon signal number eight of the year, the third highest of a four-stage storm warning system indicating gales or storm-force winds were expected, on Tuesday night.
But the warning was lowered to strong wind signal number three at 11.15 am (0315 GMT), as wind speeds dropped to 41-62 kilometres per hour.
"The public should remain on the alert as occasional gales continue to affect the western part of the territory and over offshore waters," said a spokesman for the observatory.
Fengshen, literally meaning the God of Wind, has killed more than 1,000 people in the Philippines and took a surprise turn towards the southern Chinese city Tuesday night.
The storm had initially been expected to swing into the South China Sea from the Philippines and track northwards to Taiwan but instead veered northwest, the observatory said.
The storm, at about 60 kilometres northeast of Hong Kong on Wednesday, is forecast to weaken and move north or north-northwest at about 14 kilometres an hour further into China's Guangdong province.
The observatory said it was heading towards Shenzhen, just over the border from Hong Kong, but had not caused any major damage.
Tourists were stranded in Macau last night after ferry services between Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen were halted.
Some taxi drivers in Hong Kong took the opportunity to raise fees as people began the after-storm scramble to work.
Hong Kong's stock market was due to reopen at 2.30 pm (0630 GMT).
Hong Kong's stock exchange, schools and public transport were suspended Wednesday morning after severe tropical storm Fengshen brought... more -
AP headline: "Everything seemingly is spinning out of control"
Great headline, and the article explains why the mood of misery abouds in America today
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Typhoon Fengshen batters Philippines
"At least 59 people have been killed in flashflooding caused by Typhoon Fengshen. 17 people are confirmed dead in the wake of the storm. In the central Philippines, rescue crews are battling to reach a capsized ferry with more than 700 people on board. Al Jazeera's Hannah Belcher reports."
Source: Al Jazeera English
"At least 59 people have been killed in flashflooding caused by Typhoon Fengshen. 17 people are confirmed dead in the wake of the stor... more -
Philippine ferry sinks; 700-plus passengers missing | Reuters
A Philippine passenger ferry capsized during a typhoon with more than 700 people on board, triggering a frantic search on Sunday for survivors.
Most of the 626 passengers and 121 crew are missing and the vessel's owner, Sulpicio Lines, said it had lost contact with the ferry, which was en route to Cebu from Manila, at around 12.30 p.m. (0430 GMT) on Saturday.
(End of excerpt)
Full story at link by Manny Mogato// Reuters
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Image by Wikipedia user LordAntagonist
Licensed under GNU Free Documentation License
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Docu...
A Philippine passenger ferry capsized during a typhoon with more than 700 people on board, triggering a frantic search on Sunday for s... more -
Chinese Olympics struck by curse?
Floods sweeping southern China seem to have fulfilled the final stanza of an Internet curse involving Beijing's Olympic mascots, but censors have been quick to remove postings that might fuel the superstition.
After a devastating earthquake struck Sichuan province last month, Internet users tied four of the five "Fuwa" mascots to the calamities that have struck China in the run-up to the Games, which begin in August. One Fuwa is a panda, the totem of Sichuan.
The others resemble a torch, reminding netizens of the protests against the international Olympic torch rally; a Tibetan antelope tied to widespead demonstrations in Tibetan areas; and a swallow that looks like a kite, linked to a deadly train crash in Shandong province.
The final Fuwa, sporting a fish, was left unexplained in the original superstition as a curse yet to come.
Unexplained, that is, until widespread flooding in southern and central China claimed dozens of lives in June.
"I am in Shenzhen. There is heavy rain for two days and no sign that it will stop... now the curse of the last "fish" has proven correct. What shall we do?" said a post by yellow_hades on Tianya, a popular online forum.
That and similar posts have disappeared quickly this week. China's censors monitor the Internet carefully and remove any posts deemed inflammatory or not in line with government policy.
Major calamities, earthquakes in particular, were viewed in imperial China as a sign that a dynasty had lost the mandate of Heaven.
Although the Communist Party has tried to stamp out "feudal superstition" since it took power in 1949, the Beijing Games will start on the auspicious moment of 8:08 pm, on August 8 2008. Eight is a lucky number in Chinese.
Floods sweeping southern China seem to have fulfilled the final stanza of an Internet curse involving Beijing's Olympic mascots, but c... more -
Flood After Flood
The levees have been breached by the overwhelming floods in Iowa and Missouri. Both states have experienced severe storms and are scrambling to get ample resources to prevent further damages. The levees have been breached by the overwhelming floods in Iowa and Missouri. Both states have experienced severe storms and are scra... more
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Mississippi levee buckles under rising waters
Rising waters burst through an overtaxed levee on the Mississippi River Tuesday, sending gushing torrents into an Illinois town as the sodden US midwest reels from days of epic flooding.
The levee break left Highway 34 at Gulfport, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, under water prompting officials to close a bridge to the neighboring town of Burlington and creating havoc for commuters.
News reports said a flash flood warning was in effect Tuesday in Henderson County, Illinois as a result of surging waters from the levee break.
More than 1,000 Illinois National Guard troops were working alongside hundreds of inmates from the state's prisons to shore up levees throughout the state, a spokeswoman with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency told CNN.
"We were very, very disappointed that this levee broke today," said emergency official Patti Thompson, adding the imposing Mississippi, "is a very powerful river and it can be hard to harness" even in drier times, let alone during record flooding.
Officials had anticipated that the levees could be a weak point and had sought to shore them up with sand bags, she said, adding: "We have been focusing quite a bit on all of these levees."
President George W. Bush vowed Tuesday to help flood-ravaged states get back on their feet, and was due to tour neighboring devastated Iowa on Thursday.
"I fully understand people are upset when they lose their home. A person's home is their most valued possession," Bush said, adding he had been briefed by administration officials on the disaster.
"We want to work with state and local folks to have a clear strategy to help people find -- get back into a place that -- where they can live," the president said, adding that housing and fresh water were the top priorities.
Bush, who was sharply criticized for the administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, is to visit Iowa with a federal disaster response team.
"I'm going to take our team down to meet with the folks in Iowa," he said, adding, "unfortunately I've been to too many disasters as president."
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This is definitely something we need to watch as the Mississippi River contiues to crest. The billions of dollars in damage to crops and land will now only make food prices rise even more than they already are. And while no one has yet mentioned this as a repercussion of global warming, this is exactly what scientists predicted for this region in regards to climate change. However, this government doesn't want to do anything about that or anything to spend our money to shore up infrastructure here.They are too busy waging oil wars in the Middle East and looking for more ways to satisfy their oil addiction while the heartland of this country is under water with much of the rest of it thirsting for it.
Rising waters burst through an overtaxed levee on the Mississippi River Tuesday, sending gushing torrents into an Illinois town as the... more -
China flooding leaves 1 million homeless, 57 dead
As if freakish blizzards and earthquakes killing 70,000+ weren't already enough to bear this year, China has been hit with yet another natural disaster as floods have inundated Guangdong province, killing 57 people so far and leaving more than 1.27 million homeless. As if freakish blizzards and earthquakes killing 70,000+ weren't already enough to bear this year, China has been hit with yet another... more
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Aftershocks, Search for Missing People, and Nuclear Water after Japan quake
Rescue squads in northern Japan have resumed their search for people missing after Saturday's earthquake which struck with a force of 7.2.
Those missing include seven people feared buried by a mudslide at a hot spring hotel in mountains outside the town of Kurihara, Miyagi region.
With major roads buckled and unusable, search teams hiked through mountain trails to reach isolated towns.
Six people are known to have been killed and more than 200 injured.
There have been more than 200 aftershocks.
Helicopters
The quake was centred on Iwate, a rural mountainous region on Japan's main island, Honshu.
Military helicopters have been taking in supplies and flying the injured to hospitals.
A small amount of radioactive water was leaked at a nuclear power station.
But officials said there was no danger to the public from the minor spillage at the facility in Fukushima.
Seismologists issued a warning of the earthquake moments before it struck around 0845 (2343 GMT) on Friday
Footage from NHK television showed surveillance cameras in the city of Sendai being shaken violently for about 30 seconds.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries and experiences thousands of minor tremors each year.
An earthquake last year caused a small radioactive leak from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant.
Rescue squads in northern Japan have resumed their search for people missing after Saturday's earthquake which struck with a force of ... more -
Search Continues Day After For Missing Japanese Quake victims
Rescue workers dug out three bodies from under mud and rock Sunday, bringing the death toll from Japan's 7.2 magnitude earthquake to nine.
Police also raised the number of missing to 12, after family members of six people said they have not been back home since the quake Friday morning.
Another 167 were injured, police said Sunday Rescue workers dug out three bodies from under mud and rock Sunday, bringing the death toll from Japan's 7.2 magnitude earthquake to n... more -
Weeks after Earthquakes, 1 million flee as China floods
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Flooding has killed 55 people and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes across a stretch of southwestern China, including the earthquake-ravaged Sichuan province, state media reported Sunday.
Authorities said that torrential rains were expected to pound the region for another 10 days raising water levels further, according to the news agency Xinhua.
The flood has hit nine provinces the hardest -- including Sichuan, which is still reeling from a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck southwestern China on May 12.
The coastal manufacturing-heavy province of Guangdong was one of the areas expected to be hit by the heavy rain. Seven people were missing from the floods, The Associated Press reported.
By Saturday afternoon, the official death toll from the quake had risen to 69,170, Xinhua said. Another 374,159 people were injured and 17,428 are still missing
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Flooding has killed 55 people and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes across a stretch of southwest... more -
One million flee Chinese floods
Flooding in China has already left 55 people dead and has forced one million people to flee their homes. The flooding has caused damage across nine provinces, including Sichuan which is still recovering from last months earthquake which claimed at least 70,000 lives. Flooding in China has already left 55 people dead and has forced one million people to flee their homes. The flooding has caused damag... more
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3 dead, 84 injured as 7.0 earthquake rattles Japan
"Three people were killed and at least 84 were injured Saturday morning when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northeastern Japan, Japanese officials said. The quake struck at about 8:43 a.m. north of Sendai, Japan. Another five people were missing, national police said.
Officials said the earthquake led to the buckling of highways and caused some bridges to collapse. Bullet trains were also stopped in the affected areas. Two nuclear power plants in the region were not affected, officials said.
Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said one man was killed when he was buried in a landslide in Fukushima Prefecture and the other was struck by a truck as he rushed out of his house in Iwate Prefecture. Officials have not yet released details of the third death. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda sent priority orders for rescue operations, Machimura said.
The quake, which struck at about 8:43 a.m. (11:43 p.m. GMT Friday), was centered 100 km (60 miles) north of Sendai in southern Iwate prefecture. The Japanese Meteorological Agency said several strong aftershocks followed the initial quake.
The Iwate government office said it had received reports that eight children and a teacher were injured by breaking windows at a preschool and that the earthquake produced landslides in some areas. The Miyagi fire department said there had been some injuries caused by falling furniture, and some bus passengers were injured when the vehicle bounced on a bridge. Two houses collapsed, the fire department said.
East Japan Railway suspended Shinkansen bullet trains in the Tohoku region, and many other train lines in the region suspended operation as well. Expressways in Miyagi were also closed.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that operations at nuclear power plants in Fukushima prefecture were not affected, Kyodo said.
There were no tsunami warnings issued after the quake.
Local governments, fire departments and police were working to gather damage reports."
By Junko Ogura and Yoko Wakatsuki "Three people were killed and at least 84 were injured Saturday morning when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northeastern Japan, Jap... more -
A day after Cedar Rapids sinks, Des Moines evacuated
On Friday downtown Des Moines, IA was issued voluntary evacuation due to flooding, as the midwest continues to get pummeled.
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Cedar Rapids is underwater
The Cedar River poured over its banks, forcing the evacuation of nearly 4,000 homes, leaving cars underwater on downtown streets.
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