Related: Rooftop Rescue in Flooded Philippines
My prayers are with you all.
"Typhoon that lashed Manila kills dozens more in Vietnam; Winds, flooding also cut power, force evacuations" by Bloomberg News | September 30, 2009
HANOI - Typhoon Ketsana hit central Vietnam with winds of 104 miles per hour, killing at least 34 people in the country after leaving more than 240 people dead in the Philippines....
More than 170,000 people in the region were evacuated before the storm hit, Nguyen Xuan Dieu, head of the National Committee for Flood and Storm Control, said. Residents were earlier advised to stockpile food, water, and medicines....
Ketsana crossed Luzon in the Philippines as a tropical storm on Saturday, causing floods in the capital, Manila, and surrounding areas after dumping a month’s worth of rain in a six-hour period.You know, one time they report six hours, then 12 hours, now six again.
So which is it, MSM? WTF, man?
More than 1.8 million people in the country were affected by the floods and 374,800 people are in evacuation centers, the Philippines disaster council said. Thirty-seven people are missing....
Central Vietnam was hit by rains last week that left 23 people dead or missing, according to a statement on the government’s website. More than 9,600 houses were damaged.
Residents huddled at a collapsed bridge yesterday in Kon Tum, in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Authorities evacuated more than 170,000 people as Typhoon Ketsana approached. (Doan Huu Trung/Vietnam News Agency via Associated Press)
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Oh, before the paper forgets the Philippines don't forget the terrorists:
"Islamist group suspected as 2 US soldiers are killed by land mine in Philippines" by New York Times | September 30, 2009
MANILA - A land mine possibly planted by Islamist insurgents blew up a vehicle carrying two American soldiers and a Filipino marine in the southern Philippines yesterday, killing them and wounding two other Filipino marines, the army said. It was the first time in seven years that US military personnel have been killed in this country.
Or possibly a military land mine leftover from years gone by?
Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, an army spokesman, said the Americans were Army noncombatants helping supervise a school-building project.
Yeah, sure they were: CIA Assassination Teams Based in Philippines
And those hired guns of Blackwater were just cooks looking for work in Fallujah.
Washington began sending elite counterinsurgency troops in 2002, largely to Mindanao, the main region in the southern Philippines, to assist the Philippine military in its fight against the Islamist terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Although Brawner said the investigation was continuing, suspicions fell on Abu Sayyaf, which is active in the region.
Seeing as the paper immediately brought up the "elite counterinsurgency troops," I don't believe they were noncombatants at all. Wow, that cover story slid off quick.
Under an agreement between Manila and Washington, American soldiers are prohibited from engaging in combat. Government critics and nationalists, however, contend that providing intelligence support is tantamount to combat. The presence of American forces in the country has long been a hot political issue - about 600 American troops are currently stationed here - and some Filipino senators have recently urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to abrogate the agreement. The deaths of the American soldiers seemed certain to inflame the debate.
I would prefer we closed down that outpost of empire that was illegally seized way back in 1898.
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Maybe the storm killed some "terrorists," huh, 'murka? Not all bad then, huh?
Let's follow the storm for now....
"Weakened typhoon lashes Laos after leaving more than 300 dead" by Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press | October 1, 2009
Residents waded through flood waters in Taytay Rizal, east of Manila, after Typhoon Ketsana pummeled the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The Philippines death toll was 246. (Romeo Ranoco/ Reuters)
MANILA - One of the most destructive storms in years extended its deadly path across Southeast Asia, blowing down wooden villages in Cambodia and crushing Vietnamese houses under mudslides after submerging much of the Philippine capital.
The death toll yesterday climbed to 331 and was still rising. “We’re used to storms that sweep away one or two houses, but I’ve never seen a storm this strong,’’ said Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia’s Kampong Thom Province. The immediate threat eased yesterday. Typhoon Ketsana was downgraded to a tropical depression as it crossed into a fourth nation, Laos, but its powerful winds and pummeling rain left a snaking trail of destruction.
Yeah, sometimes the power of Mother Nature reminds us how inconsequential we are.
Landslides triggered by the storm slammed into houses in central Vietnam on Tuesday, burying people including five members of the same family, the government said. The country’s toll rose to 74 as officials recovered more bodies from the muck and swollen rivers, with 179 injured and a dozen missing, the government said late yesterday.
It said the storm destroyed or damaged nearly 180,000 homes, inundated 150,000 more, and flattened crops across central Vietnam. More than 350,000 people were evacuated from the typhoon’s path, posing a logistical headache to shelter and feed them.
“The scale of the devastation is stretching all of us,’’ said Minnie Portales, a World Vision aid agency official in the Philippines. The agency said it was scrambling to assess the needs of victims in four countries, including the possibility that Laos would have damage.
Parts of two Vietnamese provinces remained cut off by flood waters and downed trees and power lines on roads, officials said. In neighboring Cambodia, at least 11 people were killed and 29 injured Tuesday as the storm toppled dozens of rickety houses and swept away residents in the two provinces north of the capital that were hit.
Oh, the HORROR!!!!!!!
About 100 houses were destroyed and 400 others damaged, said Ly Thuch of the country’s disaster management committee. Five members of the same family died when their house collapsed as they ate dinner, said Neth Sophana of the Red Cross.
Authorities were searching for more victims and rushing food, medical supplies, and plastic sheeting for temporary tents to storm-hit areas. Light rain fell over some parts of the disaster zone yesterday, but most rivers had peaked and were starting to slowly recede, Vietnam’s National Weather Forecast Center said.
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May God grant quick relief to all the victims in all the countries hit by this typhoon.
Now on to the tsunami!
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa --A powerful Pacific Ocean earthquake spawned towering tsunami waves that swept ashore on Samoa and American Samoa, flooding and flattening villages, killing dozens of people and leaving several workers missing at devastated National Park Service facilities.
Cars and people were swept out to sea by the fast-churning water as survivors fled to higher ground, where they remained huddled hours after the quake struck early Tuesday. Signs of immense devastation were everywhere, with a giant boat getting washed ashore and coming to rest on the edge of a highway and floodwaters swallowing up cars and homes.
The quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn about 20 miles below the ocean floor, 120 miles (190 kilometers) from American Samoa....
Residents in both Samoa and American Samoa reported being shaken awake by the quake, which lasted two to three minutes. It was followed by at least three large aftershocks of at least 5.6 magnitude....
As if their nerves were not frayed enough.
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials hours later struggled to get a handle on the damage and casualties. At least 39 people were killed -- 20 on Samoa and 19 on American Samoa -- but officials acknowledged the death toll seemed sure to rise....
The ramifications of the tsunami could be felt thousands of miles away, with federal officials saying strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington state....
That is where my printed paper cut it.
Some web add-ons:
The dominant industry in American Samoa -- tuna canneries -- was also affected. Chicken of the Sea's tuna packing plant in American Samoa was forced to close although the facility wasn't damaged, the San Diego-based company said....
You know, you have to keep things in perspective. Some things are really important.
--more--"Updates pulled down because I had to search the Globe for my piece.
"At least 82 dead as tsunami hits Samoan islands; Four waves, 15-20 feet, strike shore" by Fili Sagapolutele, Associated Press | September 30, 2009
APIA, Samoa - A powerful Pacific Ocean earthquake spawned towering tsunami waves that swept ashore on Samoa and American Samoa, flooding and flattening villages, killing at least 82 people and leaving dozens missing....
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"Quake triggers tsunami in the Samoas, killing 99" by Keni Lesa and Fili Sagapolutele, Associated Press Writers | September 30, 2009
APIA, Samoa --A powerful earthquake in the South Pacific hurled a massive tsunami at the shores of Samoa and American Samoa, flattening villages and sweeping cars and people out to sea, leaving at least 99 dead and dozens missing....
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Today's printed report:
"Tsunami toll mounts in the Samoas; Over 100 dead as aid is rushed to archipelago" by Keni Lesa and Fili Sagapolutele, Associated Press | October 1, 2009
A church lay in ruins yesterday after a series of tsunami waves struck American Samoa, reaching up to a mile inland. (Raj Borsellino/ Reuters)
APIA, Samoa - Disaster officials rushed food, medicine, and a temporary morgue to the Samoas yesterday after a powerful earthquake unleashed a tsunami that flattened villages and swept cars and people out to sea. At least 119 people were killed.
Survivors fled the waves for higher ground on the South Pacific islands after the magnitude-8.0 quake struck at 6:48 a.m. local time Tuesday. Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet high roared ashore on American Samoa about 15 minutes after the quake, reaching up to a mile inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman.
Military transports carrying medical personnel, food, water, medicines, and other supplies were headed to the stricken islands. “Right now, we’re focused on bringing in the assistance for people that have been injured, and for the immediate needs of the tens of thousands of survivors down there,’’ Craig Fugate, a Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, said.
A Coast Guard C-130 plane loaded with aid and carrying FEMA officials was headed from Hawaii to American Samoa’s capital of Pago Pago, where debris had been cleared from runways to allow for emergency planes to land....
Just sitting here wondering why Burma (or China, in the case of earthquake) is the only nation to receive criticism for their responses to disasters like this.
Remember Cyclone Nargis?
Related: Burmese Contradictions
I mean, you know the answer, right?
New Zealand’s acting Prime Minister, Bill English, said tents, stretchers, the temporary morgue facilities, and a body identification team were sent to Samoa after a request from local officials, who he said are concerned about the growing death toll.
The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which has a population of 220,000, and American Samoa, a US territory of 65,000. The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, sirens rang out with another tsunami alert, and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, although there was no indication of a new quake.
Keep reading because I was stunned when I heard the news from Indonesia yesterday. They normally don't piggy-back on each other.
In Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars, and several boats as a massive cleanup effort stretched into the night. Several buildings in the city, which is just a few feet above sea level, were flattened. Power was expected to be out in some areas for up to a month.
President Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa. Obama said in a statement early yesterday that he and his wife, Michelle, “will keep those who have lost so much in our thoughts and prayers.’’
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials in the South Pacific islands struggled to determine damage and casualties. Water service has been restored to many villages, but power is still out in most areas. More than 1,000 people spent the night in 15 emergency shelters....
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You know, the news will move on but peoples' lives have been shattered and their souls traumatized here -- something you don't just recover from because the news has moved on.Heck, Americans, New Orleans hasn't been rebuilt and that was four years ago.
And this next report STUNNED ME!
I myself can not ever remember two whopper earthquakes coming so close together. What is going on way down under those oceans anyway?
"Indonesia quake traps thousands under ruins; Landslides trigger panic; Grim death toll expected" by Anthony Deutsch, Associated Press | October 1, 2009
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian city of Padang on Sumatra island yesterday, killing at least 200 people. (Muhammad Fitrah/ Reuters)
PADANG, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake that struck western Indonesia Wednesday trapped thousands of people under collapsed buildings, including hospitals, a hotel, and a classroom, officials said. At least 200 bodies were found in one coastal city, and the toll was expected to be far higher.
I can't even imagine it. You are sitting there and down comes the roof!
The temblor started fires, severed roads, and cut off power and communications to Padang, a coastal city of 900,000 on Sumatra island. Thousands fled in panic, fearing a tsunami. The undersea quake of 7.6 magnitude was followed by a powerful, shallow inland earthquake yesterday morning with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8, the US Geological Survey said. It hit about 150 miles south of Padang at a depth of 24 kilometers.
Yeah, just in case your nerves were not jangled enough.
Shallow inland earthquakes generally are more destructive, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injures from yesterday’s quake. On Wednesday, buildings swayed hundreds of miles away in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. In Padang, the capital of West Sumatra Province, the shaking was so intense that people crouched or sat on the street to avoid falling. Children screamed as an exodus of thousands tried to get away from the coast in cars and motorbikes.
At least 500 buildings in Padang collapsed or were badly damaged, and 200 bodies had been pulled from the rubble there, said Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Agency. The extent of damage in surrounding areas was still unclear due to poor communications, Kardono said....
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Indonesian broadcaster TVOne showed footage of heavy equipment breaking through a flattened three-story cement building, where dozens or children had been taking classes. It said more than 30 children were missing and feared dead but gave no source for the information.
The initial quake struck just off the coast of Padang, the US Geological Survey reported. It occurred a day after a tsunami hit islands in the South Pacific. A tsunami warning was issued yesterday for countries along the Indian Ocean but was lifted after about an hour. There were no reports of giant waves. The shaking in Padang felled trees and crushed cars. A foot could be seen sticking out from one pile of rubble. At daybreak, residents used their bare hands to search for survivors, pulling at the wreckage and tossing it away piece by piece....
As you would, American, as you would!
YOUR LOVED ONES would be in there!
Indonesia’s government announced $10 million in emergency response aid and medical teams, and military planes were being dispatched to set up field hospitals and distribute tents, medicine and food rations. Members of the Cabinet were preparing for the possibility of thousands of deaths.
Please, no.
Local television reported more than two dozen landslides in the province.
That isn't going to help!
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I'm just wondering why my printed article was altered for the web -- like most of them are now (?) -- to delete this information:
"The [earthquake] was along the same fault line that caused the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 11 nations....
Geologists said the seismic events were not related.
How could they not be?
One side goes poing, and you expect there not to be a reaction? What I am worried about now is the western U.S. and the San Andreas area.
Both Indonesia's Aceh Province, which was devastated in the 2004 tsunami with 130,000 dead, and Padang lie along the same fault.
Related: Indonesia Cleared of "Al-CIA-Duh"
It runs along the west coast of Sumatra and is the meeting point of the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates, which have been pushing against each other for millions of years, causing huge stress to build up."
I only mention it because that is one area where college helped; the geology course means I understand what they are talking about there.
And you know who lives near Sumatra, right, readers?
And the only thing worse than the disaster is SOME AGENDA-PUSHING FART-MISTER trying to take ADVANTAGE OF IT!!
See: Fart-Misters Dilemma
I guess the SCARE TACTICS are the OPTION HERE, huh?
"Time is running out for climate deal, UN warns world leaders; Talks in Thailand long deadlocked" by Michael Casey, Associated Press | September 29, 2009
BANGKOK - The United Nations warned world leaders yesterday they have only 70 days to reach a new deal to limit global warming, while environmentalists pointed to the deadly floods in the Philippines to illustrate the already devastating impact of climate change....
“Time is not just pressing. It has almost run out,’’ UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said....
After a while you stop listening, don't you? I'm sorry, guys, but I'M EXHAUSTED with the CRISES!! Every time you turn around, someone else has a crisis that is the most serious ever.
How about ENDING the MASS-MURDERING WARS and OCCUPATIONS!!!?
That's FIRST in the CRISIS LINE, 'kay?
Some environmentalists tried to raise the sense of urgency by pointing to the weekend tropical storm that set off the region’s worst flooding in more than 40 years in the Philippines and left 140 dead. It offered, they said, a glimpse into the kind of turbulent weather that could be unleashed by warming temperatures....
Not trying to be a dink, but the science says no:
Slow Saturday Special: A Cool, Cool Summer
Please STOP LYING TO US about the WEATHER!!!!!!
Especially when "Leaves do seem to be turning about a week earlier than usual"
Which means it is COLDER than "normal," pukes!
The need for a deal was also driven home by a UN report last week that showed climate-related events such as the melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets and the increasing acidification of the oceans were happening much faster than scientists had predicted even two years ago.
I covered that in the link above. I'm sick of the lies.
Also see: One Last Dip in the Ocean
The two weeks of UN climate talks in the Thai capital, the second to last meeting before Copenhagen, have drawn some 1,500 delegates from 180 countries who are tasked with boiling down an unwieldy, 200-page draft agreement to around 30 pages that will be presented to ministers in Denmark....
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