Thousands flee Philippine floods

31 December 2010 Last updated at 06:20 GMT Thousands of people are on the move across Albay province, on the eastern coast of the Philippines Heavy rains and flooding in the Philippines have killed two people and displaced many thousands more.

The eastern province of Albay has been designated a state of calamity as thousands of people have moved to evacuation centres.

Landslides and floods have blocked roads and destroyed power lines.

The Philippines often takes the brunt of Pacific weather systems and poor infrastructure worsens its impact on the densely populated countryside.

An 80-year old woman, Lolita Dapdap, and her 50-year old son, Antonio, died after they tried to cross a flooded area in Manito township, east of Legazpi City in Albay province, on Wednesday.

"We evacuated them early in the morning but apparently the old woman and her son returned home to get some personal belongings.

"Before twilight, they were returning to the evacuation centre and got stuck on the spillway," said Albay province Governor Joey Salceda.

Villagers on the slopes of the live volcano, Mount Mayon, have also been moved because of flooding.

More rain

Mr Salceda said that heavy rain continued to fall on Albay and other parts of Bicol region for the sixth straight day.

This increased the danger of landslides and floods and forced more people to be moved out of their homes, he said.

The risk of flash floods was high, and rescue officials were racing to get people out of the way in time.

Evacuations began on 24 December but have accelerated as flood waters have risen.

Almost a week of heavy rains have flooded towns in the east of the Philippines

The governor said new year parties were being organised for the evacuees to try to keep them in the evacuation centres.

The problem was that people often wanted to go home to protect their belongings, he said.

The Associated Press said the number of people displaced had reached 33,000.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said more rain was expected due to the prevailing northeast monsoon.

Domestic flights between the Philippine capital, Manila, and Legazpi City, have been affected.

Australians leave flood-hit homes

31 December 2010 Last updated at 11:31 GMT There are major concerns for the town of Emerald, now largely cut off by water Thousands more people are preparing to evacuate their homes as one of Australia's worst floods continues to inundate the state of Queensland.

Forced evacuations are being planned in Rockhampton as rising floodwaters threaten the town of 77,000.

Australian PM Julia Gillard has visited flooded Bundaberg, and flew over Emerald as evacuations there continued.

The floods have affected about 200,000 people over an area larger than France and Germany, Queensland's premier says.

An estimated 22 towns have been left isolated or inundated by the rising waters, with fears that damage could cost billions of Australian dollars to repair.

The situation in Emerald - a town of some 11,000 people - was particularly bad, Premier Anna Bligh told reporters.

There was also major concern for Rockhampton, where residents are said to be attempting to stockpile bread and fresh fruit and vegetables.

"We've seen lots of panic buying of food. Shelves in shopping centres are empty," Rockhampton resident Petros Khalesirad told the BBC.

"But I think people have been over-reacting. We have groceries arriving today and in the worst case scenario, the military will be involved in helping."

Continue reading the main story North-eastern Australian stateLargely tropical climateArea: 1.73 million sq km (668,000 sq mile)Coastal regions, including Great Barrier Reef, designated World Heritage SiteMining and cattle ranching important inlandOfficials in Rockhampton - where the floods peak could be up to 48 hours away - said a shift was under way from voluntary evacuations to compulsory relocation.

"Police will order people in affected areas to leave their homes," Mayor Brad Carter said.

Elderly people and other at-risk groups would be the first moved out of their properties, officials said.

Speaking as she toured affected areas with the prime minister, Ms Bligh described the flooding as "a long way from over".

"Authorities think there will be a very large group of people who will be homeless in the next 24 hours.

"We now have three major river systems in flood; we have 17 evacuation centres active; we have more than 1,000 people in those evacuation centres and many more thousands staying with relatives and friends."

Helicopter evacuations

Officials said the situation in Emerald remained uncertain and could yet get worse if floodwaters continue to rise.

The Nogoa River was due to peak on Friday afternoon, and 1,200 residents had already registered as evacuees before the waters hit their peak.

Helicopters including army Black Hawks have been ferrying residents to safer locations.

More than half of Queensland is now a disaster zone

Julia Gillard and Anna Bligh were due to visit Emerald on Friday but were unable to land, instead flying over the area to get an aerial view of the devastation.

Ms Gillard's first stop on land was in Bundaberg, which has seen its worst flooding for four decades and has been split in two by the swollen Burnett River. Waters there are now receding.

She spoke to evacuees and volunteers, and was briefed on the rescue and recovery effort.

"As devastating as these floods are, we are seeing a magnificent response by all levels of government and by emergency personnel," Ms Gillard said.

Two smaller towns, Theodore and Condamine, have been completely evacuated. In Condamine some residents had been refusing to leave their houses.

Recovery work following the floods is expected to cost billions of dollars, with officials warning of severe damage to homes, crops and livestock.

Sewerage systems have also been affected, raising public health concerns.

Petros Khalesirad told the BBC that Rockhampton was well-prepared but the effect on Queensland as a whole would be significant.

"These floods are going to affect the state, the whole nation. It's going to have a huge impact on mining commodities - several coal mines are under water and some won't be operational for months."

Revealed: Rescue tug crashed into stranded submarine HMS Astute causing millions of pounds of damage

THE tug sent to rescue the Navy's grounded showpiece submarine crashed into her and tore off one of her fins, the Record can reveal.

And insiders fear the damage from the collision will cost millions to fix.

We have learned that HMS Astute got away with relatively minor dents when she got stuck on a shingle bank off Skye two weeks ago.

But when Coastguard tug Anglian Prince tried to pull the £1billion nuclear-powered sub free, the two vessels collided.

The impact ripped off Astute's starboard foreplane, one of her navigation fins.

A source said last night: "The damage from the grounding was minor. Astute just had some denting to her casing, which is nothing massively serious for a ship of her size.

"But the damage done by the tug could result in a multi-million pound repair bill. It's ironic."

It's understood the Anglian Prince ran into Astute after her crew attached a tow rope to the sub.

We have been told the rope got snagged in the tug's propellers and the two vessels were pulled together.

The repairs to Astute, described as the world's most modern submarine, are expected to take weeks. Sources say she's not likely to be able to resume her sea trials before March next year.

Astute got stuck near the Skye Bridge on the morning of October 22 as her crew practised transferring personnel from shore to the sub during the trials.

The 100-metre long vessel was stranded for 10 hours as bemused locals gathered on the shore to take photos.

The Anglian Prince was sent from her base in Stornoway to rescue her and the Astute was dragged free at about 6pm.

Divers checked her hull for damage before she headed back to her base at Faslane on the Clyde under her own power.

She was hauled from the water last Thursday so experts could examine her hull and rudder.

A Navy spokesman confirmed last night: "There was a collision between Astute and a tug, which resulted in damage to the submarine's starboard foreplane.

"This will be repaired at Faslane and trials will resume in due course.

"The inquiry into the damage sustained by Astute is now complete, although the findings have still to be released to naval officers."

The Navy has also launched an inquiry into why the sub ran aground.

Reports at the time said she was outside a safe sea lane, clearly marked on Admiralty charts, at the time. A Navy spokesman said last month: "One of the things being looked at is if the charts were up to date with recent seabed changes in the area. The seabed can change quickly."

The probe will look at possible negligence by the crew. The Navy have refused to speculate on whether the Astute's commander, Andy Coles, could face a court martial.

Astute, the first in a class of six new submarines, was launched in 2007 and formally commissioned into the Navy this August.

She weighs 7800 tons - as much as nearly 1000 double-decker buses.

Her nuclear reactor means she will never have to be refuelled and she makes her own air and water supplies. She can sail around the world without having to surface.

She doesn't carry nuclear weapons but is armed with Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles which can hit targets 1200 miles away.

The sub has 39,000 acoustic panels on her surface which mask her sonar signature and allow her to sneak up on enemy ships.

The Coastguard tug fleet was set up in 1994 after the Braer oil spill off Shetland. It is on standby 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is kept at 30 minutes "readiness to sail".

But days before the Anglian Prince rescued Astute, the Con-Dems announced that the tugs were being axed to save money.

The SNP MP for the Western Isles, Angus MacNeil, said: "The most expensive and advanced submarine in the world has had to be pulled to safety by the tugboat which the Westminster government wants to scrap.

"The Anglian Prince is a vital service. It is regrettable that it is to be removed."

Scots passenger tells of mid-air drama after Qantas A380 superjumbo suffers engine explosion

Nov 4 2010

Qantas A380 engine exposed after mid-air explosion

AN engine on a giant "superjumbo" with 459 people on board exploded in flames today, sending chunks of debris slicing through the wing.

Horrified families on the Qantas flight from Heathrow to Sydney watched the blaze from their windows and wondered if they were about to die.

But the huge Airbus A380 landed safely despite the damage to its No2 engine.

And passenger Lars Sandberg, a world-famous DJ from Glasgow, said: "I'm just happy to be alive."

Qantas grounded all six of their A380s for safety checks after the scare.

The double-decker jet suffered a "catastrophic", "uncontained" engine failure at about 2am UK time, 15 minutes after taking off from a stop in Singapore.

Flames spewed from the massive Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine and pieces of debris as big as doors pierced the wing.

Experts said wreckage could easily have torn a hole in the jet's cabin or hit one of its fuel tanks.

Large shards of metal fell on the island of Batam, just south of Singapore, narrowly missing at least one person and crashing through the roof of a school.

Qantas Flight QF32 was carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew. The Foreign Office said a number of Britons were on the flight.

Tyler Wooster, 16, was sitting near a window with his family when he saw the engine blow.

He said: "My whole body went to jelly. I really thought, 'We could go down right now.'

"There was a massive, really loud bang. It was like a shotgun."

Tyler's mum, Sue, added: "We thought, 'What's going to happen? Is it going to crash?'"

Lars, whose stage name is Funk D'Void, was also sitting close to the engine. He said: "There was a sharp bang, the carriage started to vibrate and there was a bit of a smoke. People around me were visibly shaken."

The pilot told passengers: "We're having a technical issue with our number two engine. The aircraft is secure at this stage."

He added that the crew would dump fuel to "lighten our load" before returning to Singapore.

German passenger Ulf Waschbusch said there was an "eerie calm" on board.

Lars added: "The captain kept reassuring us, almost every couple of minutes, that things were OK."

The passengers burst into applause after the emergency landing at Changi Airport, where six fire engines were waiting.

"When we got off and saw the back casing burnt off the engine, that was pretty scary," Lars said.

"It was a nerve-wracking experience and I feel a little bit shaken up. I'm just happy to be alive and safe in the terminal building."

People in Batam told how falling debris from the jet narrowly missed their homes.

A woman called Yanestri was heading back inside after hanging out her washing when a piece of the plane crashed down on the spot where she had just been standing. She said: "I was three seconds from death."

Locals said another piece of debris went through the roof of an empty school.

Crash investigators were dwarfed by the huge size of the engine as they began the task of working out why it blew up.

Experts said uncontained engine failures - where debris breaks through the engine casing - were incredibly rare and extremely dangerous.

One pilot wrote on an internet forum: "If a piece of hot turbine had gone through the wing fuel tank, it would have made the Air France Concorde disaster look like a fairly small accident."

French investigators are probing the fire because Airbus are based in Toulouse. A spokeswoman said: "It's a fault on the rear part of the jet motor."

Rolls-Royce build the Trent 900 engines at their factory in Derby. Shares in the company fell five per cent in London after the fire.

There are 37 A380s in service worldwide. As well as the six Qantas jets, Singapore Airlines have 11, Emirates 13, Air France four and Lufthansa three.

Only the Qantas, Singapore and Lufthansa jets have Trent 900s. Singapore Airlines halted A380 flights for checks but the Lufthansa jets continued to fly.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have both placed orders for A380s. Neither Qantas nor the A380 have ever been involved in a fatal accident.

Death toll climbs to almost 100 after fresh eruption of volcano Mount Merapi in Indonesia

Nov 5 2010

BLISTERING gas from Indonesia's most volatile volcano spewed farther than expected today, incinerating houses at the edge of the danger zone, triggering chaotic evacuations and pushing the death toll in more than a week to nearly 100.

Soldiers joined rescue operations in Bronggang, nine miles from the mouth of the crater, pulling charred corpses from smouldering homes and then lifting them into the backs of trucks caked in grey dust.

Dozens of injured, most with severe burns, were carried away on stretchers.

"We're totally overwhelmed here!" said Heru Nogroho, a spokesman at the Sardjito hospital, as the number of bodies dropped off at their mortuary climbed to 54 - the deadliest day Mount Merapi has seen in 80 years.

More than 70 others were injured, many critically, with severe burns.

Merapi's booming explosion just after midnight triggered a panicked evacuation.

Men with ash-covered faces streamed down the scorched slopes on motorcycles, followed by truckloads of women and children, many crying.

Officials barked out orders on bullhorns as rocks and debris rained from the sky.

Up until today the village of Bronggang, home to around 80 families, was considered to be within the safety zone.

Mount Merapi, which means Fire Mountain, has erupted many times in the last century, often with deadly results.

In 1994, over a period of several days, 60 people were killed, while in 1930, more than a dozen villages were torched, leaving up to 1,300 dead.

The greatest danger is always pyroclastic flows, like those that roared down the southern slopes today.

Cities and towns more than 100 miles away were dusted.

Activity at the mountain forced an airport in nearby Yogyakarta to close today because runways were covered in heavy white ash. It was not clear when it would reopen, said Agus Andriyanto, who oversees operations.

Subandrio, a state volcanologist, meanwhile, said Mount Merapi's "danger zone" was extended by three miles to 12 miles from the crater's smouldering mouth after the new eruption.

Even scientists from Merapi's monitoring station were told they had to pack up and move down the mountain.

Revealed: Building one new aircraft carrier would have cost £300m MORE than building two

THE controversial "two for one" deal that locked the government into building two supercarriers at Rosyth and the Clyde was finally revealed yesterday.

The figures show that it would have cost £300million more to build just one Navy supercarrier instead of two.

The details are in the contract struck between military contractor BAE Systems and the government.

Chancellor George Osborne released a confidential letter from BAE Systems boss Ian King to the Prime Minister yesterday showing that building both carriers will cost £5.25billion.

Cancelling one, would cost - with penalties - £5.49billion.

If one carrier was scrapped the programme would still cost £4.8billion. But the letter stressed that there would be a further £690million of "rationalisation" costs which would make it cheaper to keep both ships.

The government have decided to go ahead with two carriers, securing thousands of jobs.

But the MoD are so cash-strapped that one of the new carriers will be mothballed and the other, which will put to sea in 2016, will have no jets to fly off its decks until 2020.

It will then enter a "timeshare" deal with the French navy to provide carrier cover for both countries.

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury select committee, said that BAE had effectively held a "gun to the head of the government" over the "deeply flawed" contracts.

BAE Systems totally denied that they had snookered the government into going ahead. A spokesman said: "We pointed out the implications of taking certain decisions."

The letter from King also emphasised the human and economic cost of not going ahead with the second carrier.

BAE yards across the country would close in 2013 with the loss of more than 5000 jobs and many more in downstream industries.

The move would also spell the end to the UK's capacity to build complex warships.

Giving evidence to the Treasury select committee, Osborne stopped short of directly accusing former PM Gordon Brown of putting the interest of the Roysth yard, next to his own Kirkcaldy constituency, ahead of that of the wider public.

He told MPs: "I will leave this committee and the public to draw their own conclusions about the last point."

Earlier this week, Brown gave his first speech in the Commons since the election, arguing that maintenance of the two new carriers should be carried out at Rosyth rather than in France.

On Wednesday, Lib Dem Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said there should be an audit office investigation into how the deal was struck with BAE Systems.

Death toll following earthquake & tsunami in Indonesia rises to 272

Oct 27 2010

mount merapi volcano destruction indonesia

A house lies ruined surrounded by burnt trees following the volcanic eruption

THE death toll from an earthquake and killer tsunami in Indonesia climbed to 272 today as helicopters with rescuers and emergency supplies finally reached the remote islands.

The estimated number of casualties rose to 272 dead and 412 missing, up from 154 earlier in the day, said disaster official Ade Edward.

The first aerial surveys of the region revealed huge swathes of land underwater and the crumbled rubble of homes torn apart by the wave.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono cut short a state visit to Vietnam to travel to the site.

Meanwhile rescuers scoured the slopes of Indonesia's most volatile volcano for survivors today after it was rocked by an eruption which killed at least 30 people, including an old man who refused to abandon his ceremonial post as caretaker of the mountain's spirits.

Authorities warned the thousands who fled Mount Merapi's wrath not to return during today's lull in volcanic activity, but some villagers were desperate to check on crops and possessions left behind.

Two days after a powerful earthquake triggered the wave, the casualty count was still rising as rescuers and disaster officials finally reached the Mentawai island chain, which was closest to the epicentre and the worst hit. Bad weather had kept them away.

It was the second major disaster to strike Indonesia in less than 24 hours. The country's most volatile volcano, Mount Merapi, 800 miles to the east, erupted at dusk on Tuesday, sending up searing ash clouds.

Both events fell along Indonesia's portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of fault lines that are prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Disaster officials were still trying to reach more than a dozen villages on the Mentawais - a popular surfer's destination that is usually reachable only by a 12-hour boat ride.

The 7.7-magnitude quake that struck late on Monday just 13 miles (20 kilometres) beneath the ocean floor was followed by at least 14 aftershocks, the largest measuring 6.2.

The latest blast from the volcano last night eased pressure that had been building up behind a lava dome perched on the crater. But experts warned the dome could still collapse, causing an avalanche of the blistering gas and debris trapped beneath it.

"It's a little calmer today," said Surono, the chief of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation. "No hot clouds, no rumbling. But a lot of energy is pent up back there. There's no telling what's next."

Mount Merapi, which translates as "Fire Mountain," has erupted many times over the last 200 years. In 1994, 60 people were killed.

More than 11,000 people live on its fertile slopes.

A doctor at a local hospital said the death toll climbed to 30 and 17 had been taken to hospital, mostly with burns, respiratory problems and other injuries.

Among the dead was Maridjan, an 83-year-old man who had been entrusted by a highly respected late king to watch over the volcano's spirits.

"We found his body," said Suseno, a rescue worker, amid reports that the old man was found in the position of praying, kneeling face-down on the floor.

Maridjan, who for years led ceremonies in which rice and flowers were thrown into the crater to appease spirits, has angered officials in the past by refusing to evacuate even during eruptions.

They accused him of setting a wrong example, stopping other villagers from leaving, but Maridjan always said he would only go if he got a sign from the long-dead king who appointed him.

THE death toll from a tsunami and a volcano rose to more than 300 today as more victims of Indonesia's double disasters were found.Read

AIRLINE chiefs have told ministers to scrap "redundant" airport security checks - and stop "kowtowing" to America. Read

HUNDREDS of Manchester City fans paid their respects to Malcolm Allison today when the legendary manager's funeral cortege passed by the club's home stadium.Read

Tsunami triggered by powerful earthquake leaves at least 23 dead in Indonesia

Oct 26 2010

A POWERFUL earthquake has triggered a tsunami that pounded villages on remote islands off western Indonesia, killing at least 23 people and leaving more than 160 others missing.

The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude quake, which struck 13 miles beneath the ocean floor yesterday, was expected to climb with reports about damage and injuries just starting to trickle in the next day.

Mujiharto, who heads the Health Ministry's crisis centre, said a 10ft wave washed away hundreds of houses on Pagai and Silabu, part of the remote and sparsely populated Mentawai island chain.

"We have 200 body bags on the way, just in case," he said.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire.

The fault, which runs the length of the west coast of Sumatra island, also caused the 9.1-magnitude quake that unleashed a monster tsunami around the Indian Ocean in 2004, killing 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Getting to the Mentawais, a popular surfing spot 175 miles from the Sumatra coast takes 12 hours and the islands are reachable only by boat.

A group of Australians said they were hanging out on the back deck of their chartered surfing vessel, anchored in a nearby bay, when the quake hit.

It generated a wave that caused them to smash into a neighboring boat, and before they knew it, a fire was ripping through their cabin.

"We threw whatever we could that floated — surfboards, fenders — then we jumped into the water," Rick Hallet told Australia's Nine Network. "Fortunately, most of us had something to hold on to ... and we just washed in the wetlands, and scrambled up the highest trees that we could possibly find and sat up there for an hour and a half."

By daytime today, the toll from the quake and tsunami was rising.

Ade Edward, a disaster management agency official, said 23 bodies were found in coastal villages — mostly on the hardest hit island of Pagai — and another 167 people were missing.

Water in some places reached roof tops, and in Muntei Baru, a village on Silabu, 80 percent of the houses were damaged.

Some 3000 people were seeking shelter Tuesday in emergency camps, Edward said, and the crews from several ships were still unaccounted for in the Indian Ocean.

The quake also jolted towns along Sumatra's western coast — including Padang, which last year was hit by a deadly 7.6-magnitude tremor that killed more than 700. Mosques blared tsunami warnings over their loudspeakers.

"Everyone was running out of their houses," said Sofyan Alawi, adding that the roads leading to surrounding hills were quickly jammed with thousands of cars and motorcycles.

"We kept looking back to see if a wave was coming," said 28-year-old resident Ade Syahputra.

Indonesia earthquake death toll rises to at least 311 as officials admit tsunami warning system was broken

Oct 28 2010

THE death toll from a tsunami and a volcano rose to more than 300 today as more victims of Indonesia's double disasters were found.

Meanwhile an official said a warning system installed after the deadly ocean wave in 2004 had broken from a lack of maintenance.

Hundreds were still missing after Monday's tsunami struck the remote Mentawi islands off western Sumatra, where officials were only beginning to chart the scope of the devastation.

At least 311 people died as the huge wave, triggered by an undersea earthquake, washed away wooden and bamboo homes, displacing more than 20,000 people.

About 800 miles to the east in central Java, the Mount Merapi volcano was mostly quiet but still a threat after Tuesday's eruption that sent searing ash clouds into the air, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17.

Among the dead was a revered elder who had refused to leave his ceremonial post as caretaker of the mountain's spirits.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rushed home from a state visit to Vietnam to deal with the catastrophes, which struck within 24 hours along different points of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a series of fault lines prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

The first cargo plane loaded with tents, medicine, food and clothes landed yesterday in the tsunami-hit area, said disaster official Ade Edward.

Huge swathes of land were underwater and homes were torn apart by the 10ft wave that hit Pagai Utara island in the Indian Ocean south of Sumatra.

Hundreds of homes were washed away in about 20 villages, displacing more than 20,000 people, Mr Edward said. Many were seeking shelter in makeshift emergency camps or with family and friends.

The charity SurfAid International was getting "grim news" from village contacts, said Andrew Judge, head of the group founded by surfers who have been helping deliver aid.

He said he was hearing of "more death, large numbers of deaths in some villages".

With the arrival of help, Mr Edward said officials "finally ... have a chance now to look for more than 400 still missing".

Officials prepared for the worst, sending hundreds of body bags, said Mujiharto, head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre.

The islands lie close to the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck late on Monday beneath the ocean floor. The fault line on Sumatra island's coast is the same one that caused the 2004 quake and tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries around the Indian Ocean.

After that monster wave, many countries set up early warning systems in their waters hoping to give people time to flee to higher ground before a tsunami - which can travel hundreds of miles - crashed ashore.

Indonesia's version, completed in 2008 with German aid, has since fallen into such disrepair that it effectively stopped working about a month ago, according to the head of the Meteorology and Geophysic Agency.

The system, which uses buoys to electronically detect sudden changes in water level, worked when it was completed, but by 2009 routine tests of it were showing problems, said the agency chief, who uses the single name Fauzi.

By last month, he said, the entire system was broken because of inexperienced operators.

"We do not have the expertise to monitor the buoys to function as intended," he said.

As a result, he said, not a single siren sounded after Monday's quake. But it was unclear if any sirens could have made a difference, since the islands worst affected were so close to the epicentre that the tsunami would have reached them within minutes.

On the ash-covered slopes of Mount Merapi, authorities continued a search for more victims. Dr Teguh Dwi Santosa, who works at a local hospital, said the death toll had climbed to 30.

The eruption sent thousands streaming into makeshift emergency shelters, although the ash did not disrupt flights over Indonesia. About 36,000 people have been evacuated, according to the Indonesian Red Cross.

Some defied authorities and returned home to check on crops and possessions left behind. More than 11,000 people live on Merapi's fertile slopes.

Tuesday's blast eased pressure that had been building behind a lava dome on the crater. Experts warned that the dome could still collapse, causing an avalanche of the blistering gas and debris trapped beneath it.

"It's a little calmer today," said Surono, head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation. "But a lot of energy is pent up back there. There's no telling what's next."

The volcano, whose name means "Fire Mountain", has erupted many times in the last 200 years. In 1994, 60 people were killed, while in 1930 more than a dozen villages were incinerated, leaving up to 1300 dead.

THE death toll from a tsunami and a volcano rose to more than 300 today as more victims of Indonesia's double disasters were found.

Tsunamis leave ionosphere all wobble up

rss Acehtsunami Sep 17, 2010 I Earthquake Facts Info, Uncategorized. The signals of GPS satellites could be used to monitor tsunamis as they brush away the ocean. In the most detailed study to date of the effect, scientists have shown that even though open ocean tsunami waves are only a few centimetres high, they are great enough to create atmospheric vibrations extending all the way to the ionosphere, 300 kilometres up in the atmosphere. The finding, the researchers hope, could hugely improve tsunami early-warning systems.

Earthquake at Samoa

rss Acehtsunami Aug 02, 2010 I Uncategorized. The U.S. Geological Survey reports an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 has struck the South Pacific off the coasts of Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa. Yet there have been no reports of damage and no tsunami was triggered.

Eathquake at Papua New Guinea

rss Acehtsunami Aug 09, 2010 I Uncategorized. A magnitude 7 earthquake shook Papua New Guinea on Thursday, U.S. Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of fatalities or damage and no threat of a significant tsunami in the South Pacific’s most populous island nation. The agency said in a statement that the quake struck near the island region of New Britain 352 miles (566 kilometers) northeast of the national capital Port Moresby.

Vanuatu-rattled by a major earthquake

rss Acehtsunami Aug 11, 2010 I Uncategorized.

Vanuatu was rattled by a major earthquake Tuesday afternoon sparking a tsunami warning in the region. The warning was down-ranged after a small wave reached Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila measuring only 23 centimeters high.

The United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program said that the earthquake as a magnitude 7.3 quake, striking at 04:23:46 PM (Vanuatu time) at epicenter, with a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles), and 35 km (20 miles) West Nor West of Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Fears that a tsunami may pursue the quake caused locals to head for high ground. The tsunami threat has been reduced, although warning is advised as aftershocks measuring around 5 magnitudes are currently occurring in the region. At the time of writing there were no reports of injuries, however light damage was reported about Port Vila’s central business district.

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Volcanic explosion causes Tsunami

rss Acehtsunami Aug 30, 2010 I Uncategorized.

Although relatively uncommon, violent volcanic eruptions represent also impulsive disturbances, which can displace a great volume of water and generate extremely destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source area. Volcanic disturbances can produce waves by the sudden displacement of water caused by a volcanic explosion, by a volcano’s slope failure, or more likely by a phreatomagmatic explosion and collapse and/or engulfment of the volcanic magmatic chambers.

Rotary wants GCSE books for tsunami victims

rss Acehtsunami Sep 01, 2010 I Uncategorized. The organizers of a charity book appeal are inviting teenagers who have completed their exams to donate old GCSE textbooks. The Rotary Club of Stamford is requesting for GCSE course books and children’s books to help victims of the 2004 tsunami, which hit Sri Lanka on Boxing Day.

The books will be issued to children on the island. The club has previously provided desks and other supplies to renovate or rebuild schools there. Rotarian Tony Wakefield, 75, of Little Casterton Road, Stamford, collected some of the books from the offices of the Citizen’s sister paper, the Mercury, in Sheep Market, Stamford, where we are collecting contributions.

The books will be handed first to a rotary club in Sri Lanka before being distributed. Before the end of the school term, some schools in Stamford including Malcolm Sargent Primary and Stamford Queen Eleanor School donated books they no longer wanted. The club has already sent about 10 tons of books following appeals in 2008 and 2009. If schools have lots of GCSE books, the Mercury, can arrange to have them collected.
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Turkey Earthquake

A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people, officials have said.

The 6.0-magnitude quake, centred on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, struck at 0432 (0232 GMT). It has been followed by more than 40 aftershocks.
Officials said the nearby village of Okcular had been almost destroyed and several others badly damaged.
A number of people were trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings, many of which were built of mud-bricks.
"Villages consisting mainly of mud-brick houses have been damaged, but we have minimal damage such as cracks in buildings made of cement or stone," Elazig Governor Muammer Erol told CNN Turk.

At least 17 of the dead came from the hillside village of Okcular, where up to 30 houses collapsed, rescuers said.
"The village is totally flattened," Okcular's administrator, Hasan Demirdag, told NTV.
Television footage from Okcular showed rescue workers and soldiers digging among the rubble of collapsed buildings as villagers looked on.
Ali Riza Ferhat, a resident, said he had been asleep in his home when the earthquake struck.
"I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbours," he told NTV. "We removed six bodies."
The nearby villages of Yukari Kanatli, Kayalik, Gocmezler and Yukari Demirci were also badly damaged and each reported several deaths.
"Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place," Yadin Apaydin, the administrator for Yukari Kanatli, told CNN Turk.

At least 50 people have been taken to hospital, officials say. Some were reportedly hurt during the panic after the first earthquake, when they jumped from windows or balconies.
Residents of the affected villages have been warned not to return to damaged homes while the area continues to be hit by aftershocks, the strongest of which have so far measured 5.1 and 5.5.
The government disaster management centre and Turkish Red Crescent have set up tents to help survivors cope with the harsh winter weather, and are also distributing food and blankets.
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and three other ministers have travelled to the earthquake zone to provide assistance.

In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lamented the lack of earthquake-safe buildings and said he had ordered the start of a reconstruction project in the area.
"Mud-brick construction is undoubtedly a local tradition. But unfortunately, it has proved to have a heavy price," he said.
A BBC News website reader who visited the village of Basyurt after the earthquake said its residents blamed the government for the destruction and loss of life.
"This is a seismic area. We've experienced so many earthquakes in the last 20 years, yet no measures have been taken to strengthen the buildings," Volkan Durkal said.
"Most houses are not made with cement, they are not well-built and the people are not well-educated about what to do and where to take cover during an earthquake."
Turkey is plagued by earthquakes - generally minor - because of its location on the North Anatolian fault line.
A 7.4-magnitude tremor which hit the western city of Izmit in August 1999 killed more than 17,000 people.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says poor quality buildings were also blamed for the high death toll then and there is still concern in Turkey's largest city, where seismologists predict a major earthquake will occur within the next few decades.

Taiwan Earthquake

A heavy earthquake rocked Taiwan today morning with a great force of magnitude 6.4 on the Richter scale. Taiwan earthquake brought a huge damage in the area; Kaohsiung County is much affected region. Sources have been reporting that enormous communication networks damage is there in the affected area. Still no source has provided the information regarding any life-loss until this noon.

We have been reporting too many earthquakes, we reported Chile quake last time before this one in Taiwan. Kuo Kai-wen, who is the representative of Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Center, described the reasons of Taiwan quake. Kuo Kai-wen detailed that Taiwan quake was not associated with the monster Chile quake geologically. Chile quake was a magnitude 8.8 quake which killed more than 800 Chileans and destroyed many homes in Chile.

According to the fresh updates, this quake was centered in Kaohsiung with a depth of around 3.1 miles. Kaohsiung is located around 400 kilometers in the south of Taiwan’s capital Taipei. It is observed that a fire broke out and damaged one of the textile factories in Tainan. Subway service and train service were disrupted in Kaohsiung and affected the public life very much. We have reports which revealed that some domestic buildings were also collapsed in the region.

A source reported that a woman was taken to the hospital for medical aid after a wall fell on her motor scooter. Military troops have been helping the people and trying hard to avoid maximum damage in the area. Antonio Basilio, who is the representative of The Manila Economic and Cultural Office, said that no Filipino was died in this quake in Taiwan. Facts and figures tell us that there are about 75,000 Filipinos residing in Taiwan.

Latest News About The Haiti Earthquake

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Latest news about the Haiti Earthquake

Haiti Earthquake Appeal

A devastating earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Haiti on 12 January 2010. The Haiti governmtent estimates that one million people have been severely affected by the earthquake and more than 200,000 people have died. Hundreds of thousands are in urgent need of assistance.

The earthquake, which hit the capital Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, is reported to be the worst quake to strike the country in 200 years. The most affected area is Haiti's West Province with an official population of 2.2 million, although thousands more people were living in shanty towns around the city which have completely collapsed.

Funding is urgently needed to provide hospital care, clean water, food, emergency shelter and to help people get back on their feet in the long term.

International relief operations are continuing to scale up their operations. Efforts to assess the extent of this huge disaster are ongoing and no accurate figures of the dead and injured are yet available. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and as such the impact of the earthquake in the longer term will be significant.

So far, thanks to the unprecedented generosity of the public, the Disasters Emergency Committee has raised £70 million. However, the sheer scale of this disaster means more is still needed.

People affected by this disaster are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Please give what you can today.

In the event that we raise more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will be used to help us prepare for and respond to other humanitarian disasters either overseas or here in the UK.

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Clinton visits Latin America on earthquake in Chile

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's weeklong, five-nation tour of Latin America is certain to focus on the earthquake in Chile, even as she tries to build support for fresh penalties against Iran.

Clinton will briefly visit Santiago, Chile's capital, Tuesday morning. "We want to show America's support for the people of Chile while mindful of the realities on the ground," Clinton aide Philippe Reines said Sunday.

The secretary had been scheduled to go to Chile late Monday for talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who takes office March 11. But that meeting has been canceled as Chile struggles to recover from the quake.

Before Clinton left Washington on Sunday evening, she made clear she would show U.S. support for disaster rescue and recovery operations in Chile.

"Our hemisphere comes together in times of crisis, and we will stand side-by-side with the people of Chile in this emergency," Clinton said Saturday after President Barack Obama called Bachelet to offer assistance.

The State Department issued a travel alert Sunday urging U.S. citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Chile.

Clinton starts her tour in Montevideo, Uruguay, at Monday's inauguration of the country's new president, ex-guerrilla Jose Mujica. Mujica's election in November won praise from other left-leaning populist leaders in the region, including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, a perennial thorn in the side of the U.S. who is cultivating closer ties with Iran.

U.S. officials say Clinton will meet with Mujica but has no plans for separate meetings with other inauguration guests — for example, Chavez or other like-minded leaders, such as Ecuador's Rafael Correa or Bolivia's Evo Morales.

The Obama administration has been pleased by Uruguay's contributions to U.N. peacekeeping forces, and Clinton will encourage Mujica continue that policy, U.S. officials said.

Tsunami hits Japan

Japan evacuated more than 320,000 people today as a tsunami triggered by Chile's massive earthquake sent waves up to 1.20 metres high barrelling into its long Pacific coastline.

Seawater swells inundated buildings in several harbours. Authorities warned coastal communities to stay on high alert and keep clear of the shore as more powerful tsunami waves could follow.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage.

Japan's "major tsunami alert" -- warning of the threat of monster waves that could top three metres -- was the country's first in more than 15 years.

The Recent Earthquake

The recent devastating earthquake, thousands of times stronger than the one that hit Haiti, struck central Chile on February 27 2010.

More than two million people have been affected by what international media and records have described as one of the five strongest earthquakes ever on record.

But as the first realisation of destruction passed around the world, through television and the internet, the world subsequently prepared itself for the devastating waves that threatened the entire Pacific Rim. About 50 countries on the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to Russia expected giant waves, in an anticipation of what occurred during the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster which killed more than 220 000 people in December 2004.

But the tsunami waves did not prove to be as high or as destructive as some had expected.

"The power of nature has again struck our country," Chilean president Michelle Bachelet said, cited by international media.

"We are once again put to the test, our ability to deal with adversity and get back on our feet. And we are examining every way to restore all the basic services in the country. But there's still a lot to do" Ms Bachelet said

She said that six of Chile's 15 regions are currently declared "catastrophe zones" in the aftermath of the quake.

The current official death toll stands at about 300 people and it is apparent that Chile is coping considerably better with the disaster than Haiti.