2010 Disaster Calendar [April]

2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters

• FEWW Amendment to Murphy’s Law: If more things can go wrong they will go wrong about now!

• In the next few years, YOU or someone close to you will likely have experienced a man-made, or human-enhanced ‘natural disaster.’

• “About 99.98 percent of human effort goes to debilitate the ecosystems. In other words, for every single step taken to restore the natural life support services, humans take 6,400 steps in the opposite direction, destroying the planet’s ability to maintain life.” —EDRO

Cost of Disaster in 2009

Catastrophes cost insurers $26b in 2009, Swiss Re [re-insurers] reported, while estimating the wider economic losses at $62 billion, which means more than a half of all damage caused by catastrophes  in 2009 was uninsured (hint!)

2010 Disaster Calendar

Click links for previous entries:  January 2010 |February 2010 | March 2010

[Note: This listing is by no means exhaustive.]

April 2010

• Day Ninety-one [April 1, 2010]
  • Washington, DC, USA. President B.O. unveiled plans for expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling. The impacts of his plans will prove disastrous for the U.S. and rest of the world.
    
  • West Sumatra, Indonesia. “A landslide in Anai Valley severely damaged a bridge connecting the West Sumatra capital of Padang and neighboring Bukittinggi on Tuesday,” said a report.
  • Another Coalmine, China. As yet another coalmine explodes in Yochuan Count, Central China, killing at least 19 miners and trapping 25 others, the rescue teams lose hope for the 153 trapped miners in Wangjialing Coal Mine, in north China’s Shanxi Province, said a report.
  • See also:  A gas explosion at a coalmine in central China kills at least 12 miners and traps 32.
• Day Ninety-two [April 2, 2010]
  • Delaware, USA. President B.O. has declared the state of Delaware a major disaster area in response to a severe winter storms and snowstorms that struck between  February 5 and February 11, a report said.  “According to a release from Markell’s office, a preliminary tally of costs to state and local governments for the February storms found at least $8.8 million in costs, with $6.7 million for snow removal alone.”
  • Nebraska, USA. “The Presidential Disaster Declaration of Feb. 25 has been amended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to include Platte, Boone, Colfax, Merrick and Polk counties. ” A reports said. The declaration was in response to “the severe winter storms that paralyzed the region from Dec. 22 through Jan. 8. Butler and Nance counties were included in the original disaster declaration.”
  • Pakistan. At least 18 more people, said to be “militants,” were killed in Pakistan’s Orakzai region, a report said.
• Day Ninety-three [April 3, 2010]
  • Rhode Island, USA. A joint request by Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri and the the state’s Emergency Management Agency to amend a federal major disaster declaration has been approved by the President, declaring the entire state a disaster area.
  • West Virginia, USA.  Gov. Don Manchin has included Hardy County in the disaster declaration request concerning the February 5 winter storm that brought record snowfall has now been approved. “This storm caused significant damage to much of our state. West Virginians have experienced a tough winter this year, and this storm made daily routines difficult for many of our citizens for several days. We are working our congressional delegation to ensure a quick response and I thank them for their support and efforts.” Manchin said. The disaster list includes Berkeley, Brooke, Doddridge, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Jefferson, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Ohio, Pocahontas, Preston, Ritchie, Tucker, Tyler and Wetzel counties. Source.
  • Northeastern Peru. A giant avalanche of mud and rocks buried a village in NE Peru, killing at least 30 people, injuring 54 and leaving 25 others missing.
  • Baghdad, Iraq. Gunmen stormed three houses in a village in southern Baghdad killing at least 24 people including women and children, Iraqi authorities reportedly said.
• Day Ninety-four [April 4, 2010]
  • New Jersey, USA. President B.O. has declared New Jersey a Major disaster area, in response widespread flooding from storms on March 12, 2010. The declaration covers  residents and business owners in Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union Counties., a report said.
  • Pakistan border with Afghanistan. A total of about 50 people, including soldiers and ‘militants” have been killed in Orakzai tribal region near the Afghan border, according to various reports.
  • Chicago, IL, USA. 41 people were shot and 4 killed in 26 hours, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said.
  • China. “About 1,000 tonnes of oil sludge has contaminated farmland and the Luohe River in northern Shaanxi province after a recycling pool at a sewage treatment plant collapsed last Sunday, the China Daily said,” AFP reported.
  • Iraq. At least 50 people were killed and more than 200 others injured after three massive explosions rocked Baghdad Sunday morning, police said.
  • India. “At least ten jawans of the anti-Maoist Special Operations Group (SOG) were killed and several other injured when Maoists blew up the bus they were traveling in Orissa’s Koratpur district on Sunday.” A report said.
  • Pakistan. “Eleven people, including three policemen, were killed in a clash with criminals in village Sheikhan at the boundary between the provincial capital and Khyber Agency on Saturday.”
• Day Ninety-five [April 5, 2010]
  • Peshawar, Pakistan. At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in bomb blasts in Pakistan’s Peshawar and Lower Dir on Monday, said a report. 7 others including 3 foreigners were killed during bomb attacks on  the US consulate in Pakistan’s Peshawar, another report said.
  • Afghanistan. NATO said their soldiers killed 10 “militants” near the Pakistani border Monday, AP reported.  Meanwhile, NATO admitted that its troops were responsible for killing five civilians, including three pregnant women women, in February.
    Also, Germany’s Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg admitted  that German troops had mistakenly killed six Afghan soldiers at the weekend.
  • Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua. Central America. About 300 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in Central America during Easter Season, a report said.
  • Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD, Australia. Residents in the Gulf of Carpentaria are being evacuated from areas as major flooding. About 450 millimeters of rain fell overnight and the State Emergency Service has already rescued dozens of people from rising floodwaters, a report said.
  • Peru. The government of Peru has declared a state of emergency in the landslide-affected province of Huanuco, according to an official communique.
  • The Aral Sea. Recent space images show the Aral Sea has shrunk to a small fraction of its former size, and is rapidly dying.
  • Mexico-US border region. A powerful earthquake measuring up to 7.3Mw struck south of Mexicali killing at least 2 people and inuring 100 others. The quake caused damage to buildings, roads and other infrastructure both sides of the border.
• Day Ninety-six [April 6, 2010]
  • Raleigh County, W.V, USA. 25 Miners Killed, 4 unaccounted for after coal mine explosion in Montcoal, West Virginia. “Federal mine safety and health officials have repeatedly cited Massey, one of the nation’s largest coal producers, and the mine’s operator for potentially dangerous conditions, including venting of combustible methane gas. Violations in recent weeks include cracking and collapsing of mine walls on Feb. 21; ventilation problems on March 17, March 23 and March 30; drill dust on March 25; and inadequate air quality on March 23; according to U.S. records,  said a report.
  • Baghdad, Iraq. Five large explosions shook Baghdad killing at least 10 people and wounding 35 others, according to an Iraqi official, AFP reported.
  • India. Seventy-two police officers were killed in an attack by suspected Maoists in eastern India this morning, authorities said.
  • Northern Pakistan. At least 46 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in two terror attacks in the north western Pakistan,  a report said.
  • Mexico. Two children, 5- and 8-year-old brothers, were killed as weekend Mexican death toll reached 17.  “Two children died during a deadly weekend firefight between suspected drug cartel operatives and the Mexican military outside of Ciudad Mier, the Tamaulipas state government confirmed Monday.”
• Day Ninety-seven [April 7, 2010]
  
  • Baghdad, Iraq. Seven successive bomb blasts destroyed residential buildings across Baghdad, killing 35 people and injuring 140, a report said. Two days earlier  three “suicide bombers” targeting foreign embassies, killed at least 30 people and wounded 224 others.
  • Afghanistan. Several firefights and a NATO airstrike killed five civilians, including two women and two children, and 27 “suspected Taliban fighters,” officials were reported as saying.
  • Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The most torrential rain in Rio’s history triggered flash floods which unleashed torrents of mudslide burying many homes and damaging many others in the Morro dos Prazeres area of the Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. The floods throughout the city prompted the officials to declare a state of emergency. At least 100 people were killed, many others were injured with reports of people unaccounted for.
  • Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, USA. A Chevron pipeline leaked at least 18,000 gallons (68,100 liters) of crude oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard said, Reuters reported.
  • At least 62 people were injured after a magnitude a strong quake struck near Simeulue in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Some 45 of the injured were said to be in serious condition.

• Day Ninety-Eight [April 8, 2010]
  • Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Instead of abating, as forecasters had expected, the rain in Rio intensified overnight. More flooding caused up to a total of about 200 landslides throughout the state, raising the death toll to at least 140 people, with hundreds of others injured and at least 6o more missing.
  • Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. At least 75 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured in clashes between the police and protesters in the capital Bishkek, and other cities across the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the health ministry was reported as saying.  Mass protests against government corruption and poverty let to a bloody uprising.  The opposition in Kyrgyzstan has  now assumed power, dissolved the parliament and forced the corrupt president forced the corrupt president Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital. [The disaster aspect of this event was the large numbers of deaths and injuries.]
  • Brown County, South Dakota, USA. “Brown County officials have declared a disaster as flood problems persist in northeastern South Dakota.” Said a report. “The flooding may not have been as bad as expected in other parts of South Dakota, but the northeastern part of our state has seen significant damage,” said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., after a helicopter tour of the area.
  • Philippines. Cost of the “El Niño-related drought” in the Philippians has risen  to P10.4-billion [~ USD232million.] About 734,000 metric tons of agricultural produce corresponding to an estimated area of 769,000 hectares of cropland have been destroyed, affecting 112,000 farmers, a report said.
  • Bangladesh. “Thousands of Cyclone Aila survivors hit by the May 2009 storm in southwestern Bangladesh have been hit again – this time by flooding and swollen rivers after embankments were breached by high tides. Repair work on the life-saving embankments or polders – comprised of sandbags and bamboo – had only just been completed. Over 45,000 people are marooned in the two adjacent sub-districts of Dacope (Khulna District) and Shyamnagar (Satkhira District), areas which were also among the worst hit by Aila, local officials told IRIN. From 27 to 31 March, 28 villages were inundated in the area when parts of the embankments protecting them were washed away.” UN OCHA said.
• Day Ninety-nine [April 9, 2010]
  • North Carolina, USA. Gov. Bev Perdue has declared a state disaster for tornado-stricken Davidson and Guilford counties, in response to the March28 storm, a report said.
  • Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The latest significant mudslide swept away at least 50 houses in the Bumba Hill slum,  in the city of Niteroi, across a bay from Rio de Janeiro, a report said. As many as 5,000 homes/shacks mostly in Rio’s slum areas may have been destroyed, and about 200 people are reported dead, with hundreds more are injured and as many as 200 buried under mountains of mud. About 25,000 people are left without shelter, while more than 10,000 structures are at risk of collapse.
  • Pakistan. At least 18 people were killed, and four others arrested after a gun battle on Friday in the northwest of Pakistan, a report cited official sources.
  • Afghanistan. Today’s ration of disaster in Afghanistan was another 10 or so people killed including members of the occupying troops.
  • China. “Forty children in China died from the highly contagious hand, foot and mouth disease in March, almost doubling the death toll in the previous two months, state media reported.” AFP said. “The disease, which is especially harmful to young children, also infected over 77,750 people last month, prompting calls to boost efforts to control the spread of the illness in China, the official Xinhua news agency said.”

• Day 100 [April 10, 2010]  – Some of the following reports are ongoing disasters
  • Namibia. New floods in northern Namibia including the Caprivi region have displaced an estimated 9,000 people, UN OCHA reported the Red Cross as saying.
  • Angola. In addition to Cunene Province, four other provinces in Angola have been affected by flooding, UN OCHA reported.
  • Lusaka, Zambia. Flooding  in the city of Lusaka has abated. “More than 600 households are still being housed at the Independence Stadium in Lusaka, after being relocated by the Government from flood affected areas in the city. These families have been given until 30 June 2010 to move to a new site, which is still to be identified by Government.
    “Nationally, flooding has been reported in 23 districts. It is not yet clear how many people have been affected or what the impact of these floods will be on food security.
    “Luapula and Northern, with 5,198 cumulative cases and 87 deaths recorded as of 8 April 2010. Lusaka district appears to have been disproportionately affected, due to the flooding it experienced over the past few months, with a total of 4,421 cases and 72 deaths (CFR 1.6%).” UN OCHA reported.
  • Zimbabwe. Humanitarian needs remain in the aftermath of earlier  floods that affected hundreds of people. “Affected households still require food assistance and non-food items (NFIs) like pots and blankets. IOM in particular recently assisted 60 households with NFIs, but they report that the needs are greater than they initially anticipated. Although late in the rainfall season, further flooding remains a possibility, and partners are requested to remain on alert.” UN OCHA said.
  • Malawi. “Since the start of the rainy season, an estimated 4,258 households (about 21,290 people) in 19 districts have reported some flood and storm –related damage to their houses, and about 440 hectares of croplands have been damaged.” UN OCHA said.
  • Mozambique. “Since the downgrading of the national flood alert from red to orange on 23 March 2010, the flood situation has stabilized and no new cases of flooding have been reported. According to Government, a total of 7,523 people (1,654 families) have moved from the low-lying areas to villages in the districts of Chemba, Mopeia, Chinde, Mutarara, Nhamatanda and Buzi. The Zambezi River basin remains on alert at Caia and Marromeu, with a trend towards decreasing at Caia and towards stabilization at Marromeu. ” UN OCHA reported.
  • Smolensk, Russia. All 133 96 people onboard a Polish government plane were killed in a crash near a military airport in Smolensk, western Russia. The Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were among the dead.  The plane, an aging Tupolev 154, flying from Moscow to Smolensk hit treetops, fell to the ground and disintegrated, Smolensk regional governor Sergei Antufiev told Russian TV.
  • West Virginia, USA. The rescue/recovery workers found the bodies of four miners missing nearly a week ago after  an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine. The death toll is now 29, making the incident the worst case of corporate criminal negligence in  US mining in 40 years.
  • Redwood Falls, Minnesota, USA.Recent flooding in Redwood County has resulted in significant damage to roadways and other structures, such as bridges. Jim Sandgren, Redwood County emergency management director, has requested that the county board ask the president for a disaster declaration, a report said. “Statewide, a disaster declaration is made when the state as a whole exceeds $6.3 million in damage, and Sandgren said the last he heard the state’s estimate already had exceeded $14 million.”
• Day 101 [April 11, 2010]
  • Bangkok, Thailand. At least 18 people have been killed and more than 800 injured, many of them critically, in the clashes so far as security forces fired tear gas, water cannons, rubber bluets and live rounds on demonstrators.
    The army had earlier said they would not intervene in the demonstrations, but the King of Thailand decided to unleash his troops against the so called red-shirt protesters who have been campaigning against poverty, corrupt politics and injustice in Thailand since March 12.
  • Kinshasa, DRC. “About 530,000 children younger than five and more than a million women need urgent nutritional support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says the Ministry of Health.” UN OCHA reported. “At least 700 children under-five die each day in the five provinces where only 20 percent of children have a varied diet,” Victor Makwenge, the Minister of Health, said.
  • Pakistan. Sixty-seven people were killed in separate airstrikes in two areas of Pakistan’s tribal region,  a report quoted officials as saying.
  • US Wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 2 dozen people were killed, including 3 schoolchildren in Iraq’s Diyala, another child, 3 policemen and two soldiers near Mosul … Also killed in Iraq were 2 Fort Stewart soldiers, three Iraqis from US-allied militia, and a father-to-be soldier from Petal. At least two dozen others were wounded in various attacks across Iraq.
    Meanwhile, in Afghanistan,  Five people were killed and 13 other wounded in Kandahar city, when a roadside bomb exploded near their bus. “The bus belonging to the Demining Agency for Afghanistan was struck early Sunday as it traveled through Kandahar province’s Daman district, according to Mohammed Ibrahim, chief of medicine at Kandahar Hospital.” AP reported.
    “Meanwhile, NATO reported a member of the international security force was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. No other details were given in keeping with standard procedure.”
    A report by RAWA News  on March 10 said that the civilian casualty rate in Afghanistan was the highest ever since the war started. About 90 civilians are directly killed each month by the occupation forces, the report said.
• Day 102 [April 12, 2010]
  • Zimbabwe. “An assessment by at the beginning of April indicated that crops had failed in all seven districts of Matabeleland South, and an estimated 9,000 tons of maize would be required each month to mitigate the effects of the expected food shortages.” UN OCHA reported.
    “A similar situation is unfolding in Midlands Province, where the harvest is projected to fail in most parts, with the districts of Mberengwa, Zvishavane, Shurugwi, Gweru and Mvuma hardest hit.”
    About 2.4 million people received food assistance in the first quarter of 2010 and a recent UNICEF report noted that “approximately 78 percent of the population of Zimbabwe is absolutely poor, and 55 percent live below the food poverty line.”
    “People living below the food poverty line cannot meet any of their basic needs and suffer chronic hunger. The report said an estimated 6.6 million people, including 3.5 million children, were suffering this extreme form of deprivation.”
  • North Dakota, USA. Gov. John Hoeven has requested a federal disaster declaration for damage caused by spring snowstorm, estimated at more than $33 million, a report said. “The swath of damage involved 12 North Dakota counties and the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.”
  • Connecticut, USA. Gov. M. Jodi Rell has asked President B.O. to  declare southwestern and southeastern Connecticut major disaster areas after floods that caused at least $11million in damages last month, a report said.
  • Merano, Northern Italy. A landslide derailed a train in Castebello, north Italy, killing at least 12 people and injuring 25 more. At least 4 of the injured were reported to be in a critical condition. The death toll is expected to rise, official warned.
  • Honduras. Rival street gangs battling for control of the drug trade killed about a dozen people in Honduras, an official said, AP reported. “An estimated 20,590 people died violently here in the last five years, according to the Madrid-based nonprofit Observers of Violence.”
  • US Wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. NATO acknowledged its troops had targeted a passenger bus, killing at least four civilians in Kandahar city and wounding more than 18 people, a report said.  “The incident was the second in a week in which foreign troops killed civilians.” Meanwhile three “suicide bombers” who attempted to seize the main intelligence building in the center of Kandahar were killed and at least a dozen people including civilians were injured. In another attack, a Canadian soldier was killed.
    As of 12:00 UTC, at least 4 people, including two US soldiers, were killed and 37 others wounded in two separate attacks in Iraq.
  • Pakistan. Some 41 “militants,” and two soldiers killed in Orakzai, Pakistan, a report said.
  • Meanwhile, more than six people were killed and at least 100 others injured in bloody violence in Abbotabad, as protesters turned violent  over a Pakistan’s National Assembly decision  to introduce “a set of constitutional reforms that include changing the name of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to ‘Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa’ to reflect the ethnic Pashtun group which dominates the region.”
• Day 103 [April 13, 2010]
  • Mogadishu, Somalia. At least 21 people have been killed when Somali government forces fought ” insurgents” in the Somali capital, according to medical workers and witnesses, AP reported.
  • Mexicalli, Mexico. The Mexican Interior Ministry has declared Mexicali and Tecate cities in Baja California as natural disaster areas due to the damages caused by the 7.3-magnitude earthquake on April 4, a report said. At least two people were killed by the quake and up to 250 others injured. The quake caused damage to buildings, roads and other infrastructure both sides of the border.
  • Carhuaz, Peru. A massive chunk of ice measuring about 500m by 200m (1,640 feet by 656 feet) broke off from Hualcan glacier tumbling down into a lake in the Andes mountain range near the town of Carhuaz, about 320km (200 miles) north of the capital, Lima. According to a late report, at least 5o others were injured as a result of the mountain lake tsunami.
  • Pakistan. The daily killings in Pakistan have now climbed out of the disaster phases taking on a surreal form. “At least 73 civilians were killed when an army jet bombed a remote village in Pakistan’s tribal region of Khyber,” a local official was reported as saying.”
  • Somalia. “At least 31 people mostly civilians were killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu during heavy armed clashes and bombings on Tuesday [April 13,]” Radio Garowe reported.
  • US Wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The incredible US Wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed their daily rations and some.
  • Orissa, India. The death from a heatwave in the eastern state of Orissa reached 47  today. The heatwave  has also severely affected 9 of India’s 29 states with temperatures in excess of 40ºC.
  • Isabela city, Philippines. Several explosions in  southern Philippines’ Isabela City killed 15 dead, and injured 13 civilians, according to police and military, a report said.
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The death toll from last week’s flooding and mudslides rose to 246, with 161 people reported missing, according to a statement released by the Rio de Janeiro state civil defense authorities, media reported.
• Day 104 [April 14, 2010]
  • Yushu County, China. A powerful earthquake struck Yushu County in the mountainous Tibetan area of western China, killing at least 400, injuring thousands with many more still buried under the ruble.
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The death toll in the Rio state flooding reached 250 with another 200 people reported as missing.
  • Mexico City, Mexico. At least 22,700 people have been killed in Mexico’s drug war since 206,  a government report said, AP reported. “The report said 2009 was the deadliest year in the drug war, with 9,635 people killed in violence tied to organized crime. That compares to 2,837 in 2007, the first year of President Felipe Calderon’s military-led offensive.” At least 3,365 people have been killed in drug-related gang violence between January and March 2010. US Wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The incredible US Wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed their daily rations and some. At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 28 more were wounded in the latest round of violence, a report said.
  • Bangladesh and India. Powerful tropical storm pummeled coasts of India’s West Bengal and Bangladesh, killing at least 100 people and destroying tens of thousands of homes. Hundreds of people were left injured, many seriously.
  • Jakarta, Indonesia. Three people were killed and about 160 injured as “protesters wielding machetes, sticks and petrol bombs clashed with city security officers and riot police in running battles near the port outside the city center in Jakarta’s worst civil unrest in years. Police used tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and batons to beat back the demonstrators. ” AP reported.
• Day 105 [April 15, 2010]
  • Egypt. Egyptian officials said 25 people had been killed in two road crashes in Sohas and Aswan, southern Egypt. A report said.
  • Iceland. New volcanic eruption at Eyjafjallajökull melted Gígjökull  glacial tongue, causing extensive flooding in Markarfljót river, south of Iceland. Up to 800 people have either fled their properties in the sparsely populated area, or been evacuated by the authorities. A massive plume of ash from the eruption has  forced air control authorities to ground  all flights from northern Europe. Flights to N. European destinations have been diverted to avoid engine damage from the impact of volcanic ash.
  • India-Bangladesh border area. The death toll from the deadly Indian storm has now reached at least 120. “Over 100,000 houses have been partially damaged or completely destroyed, hundreds of hectares of crops such as rice, maize, mangoes and bananas have also been destroyed and livestock deaths are in their hundreds, said officials and aid workers.”  A report said.
  • China. The death toll from yesterday’s powerful earthquake in Yushu County, China, has climbed to 617, with another 10,000 injured, and many more left homeless. A secondary disaster may be looming as Xinhua reported cracks appearing in a dam near Gyegu, which could burst and inundate the town.
  • NSW, Australia. Locusts have caused substantial crop damage in the NSW Central West with about 10,000 hectares of barley and wheat destroyed near Forbes, a report said.  Insect numbers are expected to worsen later in the year.
• Day 106 [April 16, 2010]
  • Quetta, Pakistan. At least 10 people were killed and 35 others injured in a bomb attack at a hospital in the south-west Pakistani city of Quetta, police was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, 4 people were killed in a US drone strike in NW Pakistan.
  • Yangon, Myanmar. As many as 24 people were killed and more than 150 injured in three explosions at a festival in a park in Myanmar’s commercial hub Yangon, a military official was quoted as saying.
  • Kandahar and Baghlan, Afghanistan. About two dozen more people were killed in President Obama’s Death Factory No 1 (Afghanistan), and dozens of others injured, some critically.
  • China. The death toll from powerful earthquake in Yushu County, China, has climbed to 791 with another 294  missing. It Has been revealed that at least 103 teachers and 12 students were among the dead.  Also 684 teachers and students were reported as injured in Qinghai province, thirty-five were still buried, and 38 reported as missing, a report said.
  • Iraq. Meanwhile, the human disaster in Iraq continues, with more reported killing and injuries.
• Day 107 [April 17, 2010]
  • China. The death toll from the powerful earthquake in China’s Qinghai province rises to 1,144 [1,339 UPI report,] with another 417 missing. About 11,744 have been injured [1,297 severely–UPI,]  Xinhua news agency reported rescue team officials as saying.  An estimated 15,000 homes have been destroyed in Yushu county, leaving  100,000 people homeless, many of them having to sleep in the open in sub-zero temperatures, in the remote high altitude region, which lies at about 4,000m (13,000ft).
  • Kohat, Pakistan. “At least [38] people were killed and dozens of others injured in two back to back explosions near an Internally Displaced Persons’s (IDP) camp in northwest Pakistan ‘s Kohat on Saturday, police sources said.”
  • New York City, USA. President B.O. has signed a disaster declaration for New York, in response to the devastating storms in the last 4 months,  a report said.
  • Ganghwa Island, South Korea. Quarantine officials have nearly completed culling all livestock in areas affected by recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease on Ganghwa Island … Over 95 percent or some 27,300 animals at 211 farms around the affected areas on the island, located off the west coast, have been culled and buried … The animals include over 21,000 pigs, about 38 percent of all hogs on the island, according to the officials,” Yonhap reported.
  • China. The death toll from hand-foot-mouth disease in China reached 94, so far this year. “There were 353 deaths from the disease in 2009, according to Health Ministry figures. ” Reports said.  “The Ministry of Health reported 77,756 cases of the disease in March. The number of deaths increased sharply, up from 10 in February. The virus is unrelated to the foot and mouth disease that affects livestock.”
• Day 108 [April 18, 2010]
  • Baghlan, Afghanistan. Afghan soldiers and NATO forces in the Obama-endorsed war killed 20 people and wounded at least 12 others described as “Taliban militants” in northern Afghan province of Baghlan, a regional police spokesman said, according to a report.
  • Afghanistan. The Obama-led human disaster in Afghanistan continues.  Two Dutch soldiers were reportedly killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, bringing the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 164.
  • Afghanistan. Another report said: “NATO air strikes bombarded insurgent positions, killing 29 and wounding 52, said Zemeri Bashary, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which oversees the Afghan police force.”  Adding: “At least three Afghan police and four German soldiers have been killed in the fighting.” Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier was killed and three others were injured when their helicopter crashed in northern Iraq  Saturday evening,  military sources said.
  • Mogadishu, Somalia. 14 people were killed and dozens more injured in Somali violence, according to various reports.
  • Orakzai, Pakistan. At least thirteen people described as militants were killed together with one security forces personnel during clashes with troops in the Sangra area of Orakzai.
  • China. The death toll from devastating earthquake in northwest China’s Qinghai Province has risen to 1,706, with 256 people still missing.  The powerful  quake, which struck the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu on Wednesday, has also left 12,128 injured, about 1,424 of them are in critical condition, the rescue headquarters said, media reported.
  • New York, USA. President B.O. has declared the counties of Nassau, Orange, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester as major disaster areas in response to severe storms and flooding during March 13 -15, 2010, a report said.
  • Maharashtra, India. “In the last three years, Maharashtra has registered the largest number of new AIDS cases in India. The 98,578 fresh cases registered in the state since 2007 make up 23%—almost a quarter—of the 4,19,982 AIDS patients registered across the country.” A report said.
• Day 109 [April 19, 2010]
  • Eastern China. The death toll from bus collision in China reached 10 today with 15 others injured, a report said.
  • Eyjafjallajökull Glacier, Iceland. Eyjafjallajökull eruption has caused significant hardship for Farmers south of Iceland. “There are great quantities of volcanic material in the atmosphere and ash deposits on the ground. There is also a risk of lowland flooding due the volcanic activity being under the glacier.” The Farmers Association of Iceland said.” The area affected by the eruption is an important agricultural area, containing 15% of all cattle, 6% of all sheep and 17% of all horses in Iceland. 12% of all dairy production in Iceland also comes from the close vicinity of the eruption. Fortunately, the eruption has occurred during a time in which most livestock are still kept indoors.
  • Reno, Nevada, USA. “Activists say stress and trauma are to blame for most of the 86 wild horses who died in a government roundup of mustangs north of Reno,” a report said.
  • Kabale District, Uganda. Twenty-four more people have died in the past week bringing the number of deaths thought to be caused by contaminated waragi in Kabale District to 65. Over 100 people have been admitted at various health centres and hospitals in the district–although authorities say consumption of the deadly alcohol is still high.
  • PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A police official says the death toll in a bombing close to a police station in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar has risen to 21.
  • Afghanistan. A quake struck Afghanistan early Monday, killing about a dozen people and injuring more than 30 others.  The quake also damaged “scores of homes.
  • Sichuan Province, China. “Thirteen bodies have been recovered as of Monday from the debris of a landslide that buried 14 workers at a stone pit in southwest China’s Sichuan Province earlier this month,” a report said.
• Day 110 [April 20, 2010]
  • Minnesota, USA. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced President B.O. has approved a major disaster declaration for the state of Minnesota. “A preliminary estimate for Minnesota listed approximately $14.8 million in damages,” a report said.
  • Peshawar, Pakistan. at least 25 people were killed and 40 others wounded when a bomb went off in the middle of a crowded market in Peshawar northwest of Pakistan. “This incident was the second on Monday and the fifth in 3 days in that region. Police said the explosion could be a suicide bombing. In fact, an improvised explosive device blasted on Monday morning in front of a primary school ran by police, an eight years old little boy was killed in the incident,” a report said.
  • Obama’s Waristans [Afghanistan and Iraq.] At least two dozen people were killed and dozens of others wounded in various attacks throughout the two Waristans. The casualty list included women and at least 3 children in Afghanista, as well as NATO occupation troops and “militants,” according to various reports.
  • Gimpo, South Korea. “A sixth outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed at a dairy farm in Gimpo, about 50 kilometers west of Seoul, raising concerns that the contagious disease might spread further inland, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday.” The Korea Times reported.
  • Namibia. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has reported an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the  North Eastern Caprivi region, a report said.
  • Punjab, India. Punjab has lost 23% loss of its wheat production due to intense heat wave, a report said.
• Day 111 [April 21, 2010]
  • South Darfur, Sudan. At least 52 civilians have been killed and 55 others wounded in renewed tribal clashes in Sudan’s South Darfur State, according to media reports from Khartoum.  Violent clashes reportedly broke out between Rizeigat and al-Sada tribes in several areas, about 61km north of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State, Khartoum’s Al Ahdath daily was reported as saying.
  • Obama’s Waristans. At least a dozen people were killed and several dozen others wounded in various attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, news sources said.
  • Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana’s coast, USA. Oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana’s coast exploded injuring at least 7 people, 3 of them critically, and leaving up to 15 others missing. The explosion occurred on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore oil-drilling platform 66km (41 miles) southeast of Venice, Louisiana, at about 10 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, Coast Guard said.
  • Kyegudo, China. “The death toll from the devastating, 7.1-magnitude earthquake which hit Gyegu (or Jiegu, Tibetan: Kyegudo or Jeykundo) in Yushu (Tibetan: Yulshul) County of Qinghai Province on Apr 14 at 7:49 AM had climbed to 2,064 as of Apr 20 at 8 AM, with another 175 people still missing, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Apr 20. Besides, 12,135 others were injured, including more than 1,000 of them severely.”
  • GAO’AN, China. “At least five miners died and seven were missing in a coal and gas eruption early Tuesday at a coal mine in east China’s Jiangxi Province, local authorities said.”
  • Pretoria, South Africa. A tourist train has derailed near the South African capital, Pretoria, killing at least two people and injuring at least 25 others, AP reported.
  • China’s quake zone. “Fierce winds and heavy snow hit China’s quake zone on Thursday, state media said, complicating relief work and bringing more misery to survivors camped outside after their homes collapsed.” AFP reported.
• Day 112 [April 22, 2010]
  • Nebraska, USA. President B.O. has declared 35 Nebraska counties affected by spring flooding as major disaster areas, a report said.
  • North Dakota, USA. The White House said President B.O. had signed a disaster declaration for parts of North Dakota that were affected by a snow storm in Easter weekend, media reported.
  • Obama Waristans. NATO admits to killing more civilians in SE Afghanistan.
  • Mogadishu, Somalia. “The beheaded bodies of five builders have been found in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and at least 11 people were killed in fighting in the central region, residents and moderate militia fighters said on Wednesday.” A report said.
  • Obama Waristan. At least 5 more US soldiers and National Guardsman were killed in Obama’s war on Afghanistan. The dead included a  Fall River soldier,  Fort Carson soldier a Mass. National Guard soldier a Michigan soldier and a Kentucky Guard Soldier, media reported.
  • Obama”s Abattoir No3,  Pakistan. Pakistan says its security forces on Thursday killed 19 “militants,” while a soldier was also killed in northwest of the country, a report said.
  • Jiangxi Province, China. Rescuers found two more bodies at a coalmine in Xingfeng Coal Mine, in Jianshan town, Gao’an cityin east China’s Jiangxi Province, bringing the death toll from a gas explosion on Tuesday to seven with five other miners still missing; however, “the rescuers believe their chances of survival are slim as toxic gas concentrations in the shaft are believed to be high.” A report said.
  • China. China’s quake death toll climbed to 2,187, with 80 people still missing. The quake struck in northwest China’s Qinghai Province 8 days ago.
    “As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the 7.1-magnitude quake, which struck the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu April 14, had also left 12,135 injured, of whom 1,434 were in serious condition,” a report said.
• Day 113 [April 23, 2010]
  • Gulf of Mexico, USA. Deepwater Horizon Sank. After burning for 36 hours, Deepwater Horizon, a semisubmersible oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico finally sank, threatening to a major oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. ”It certainly has the potential to be a major spill,” said David Rainey, a vice-president of BP Gulf of Mexico exploration, the company that was leasing the rig.
    There’s no sign of the 11 missing crew members, despite frantic air and sea rescue efforts. An employee of Transocean, the company who owns the rig, said the initial blast may have killed the 11. Four of the 17 crew members who were injured are said to be in critical condition.
  • Massachusetts, USA. President B.O. has amended his earlier disaster declaration for Massachusetts communities affected by last month’s heavy rains, a report said.
  • Nebraska, USA. “York County is among 35 other Nebraska counties included in a disaster declaration signed by President Barack Obama, regarding conditions caused by the spring thaw.” A report said.
  • New York, USA. “President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration to help support state and local recovery efforts in areas struck by severe storms and flooding between March 13 and 15.”  The declaration covers storm damaged counties of Nassau, Orange, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester, a report said.
  • Baghdad, Obama’s Waristan of Iraq. A new wave of bombings in Baghdad, has killed at least 56 people and wounded more than 100, a report said.
  • Jiangxi Province, East China. Death toll from E China coalmine explosion rose to 12. “Rescuers found the body of the last missing miner Friday morning at a coal mine in east China’s Jiangxi Province, bringing the death toll to 12 from the coal and gas eruption on Tuesday.” A report said.
  • Hubei Province, China. Death toll rose to 8 after a ship capsized in central China’s Hubei Province Friday. Six other people were still missing as of 10 a.m. Friday, and are unlikely to be found alive, rescuers said.
  • Kabale/Kamwenge, Uganda. “Fifteen more people have died of contaminated waragi in Kabale since the weekend, bringing the total deaths to 80, local authorities have said. The District Health officer, Dr Patrick Tusiime, told Daily Monitor on Wednesday that tests confirm that the poison in the alcohol is methanol.” A report said
  • Kabul, Obama’s Waristan of Iraq. “The 81 combat-related U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan that occurred during the first quarter of this year more than doubled from the 38 U.S. casualties in Afghanistan during the same period in 2009, which was the deadliest year of the eight-year-long war in that country.” A report said.
  • Orissa,  India. Death toll from heatwave climbed to 67 in Orissa with seven new victims reported today. The temperature in the western parts of the state sizzled above 45 degree Celsius, a report said.
  • Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Landslides  buried the railway track in the border area between Garut and Bandung regency,  Bandung, West Java, a report said. Meanwhile, another landslide buried at least one house in Banyumas, Central Java Province, a report said.
  • Arunachal Pradesh, India. “At least 12 people have died in Arunachal Pradesh due to landslides triggered by heavy rains that have cut off road links among many districts.” A report said. “Landslides and erosion have cut off road links at Lohit, Upper Siang, Dibang Valley, Anjan and East Kameng districts.”
  • Pakistan. At least 7 Pakistani soldiers were killed, and 5 people were found beheaded, a report said.
  • Obama’s Waristan, Afghanistan. At least two dozen or so people were killed or injured in Afghanistan today, including  2 US soldiers.
  • Papua New Guinea (PNG). At least 18 people were killed after a bus crash in tPNG’s highlands, a report said.
  • Kenya. At least 12 people were killed and 45 others seriously injured in road crashes along the Maai-mahiu-Naivasha and Naivasha -Nakuru highways this morning, a report said.
• Day 114 [April 24, 2010]
  • New London County, Connecticut, USA. “President Barack Obama has approved parts of Connecticut’s request for a major disaster declaration because of the March 29-30 flooding, but New London County towns are the only declared recipients in Eastern Connecticut so far.”
  • West Virginia, USA. “President Barack Obama has approved a federal disaster declaration for a major snowstorm in February that buried parts of West Virginia in several feet of snow. “
  • USA. “Surfacing in early 2009, Bieber Fever has now claimed the lives of 202 American women according to a recent statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”
  • Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon and California), USA. The outbreak of a new strain of hypervirulent, deadly Cryptococcus gattii  fungus in the United States has killed six people in Oregon, and seems to be spreading into northern California, possibly farther, a new study says.
  • Japan. Japan confirmed its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease since 2000 at a farm in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki, a report said.
  • South Korea. Foot-and-mouth disease is spreading across South Korea, the government said.
    “The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it confirmed the seventh and eighth cases of the animal disease this month at a pig farm in the country’s interior and at a small cattle and goat farm west of Seoul.”
    The disease is spreading across the country despite frantic  efforts by animal quarantine authorities.
  • Vietnam. “Blue ear disease has hit at least 15,000 pigs  in six northern and central locales since the illness reared its head again early this month.” A report said. “According statements made by the Animal Health Department Friday, nearly half of the sick pigs have died of the disease or been destroyed by local health agencies or farmers in the six provinces and cities.”
• Day 115 [April 25, 2010]
  • Mississippi, USA. A mile-wide tornado ripped through central Mississippi, killing at least 10 people, trapping many more  in their homes, destroying hundreds of buildings and causing “utter obliteration” in parts of Yazoo County. The giant  tornado claimed at least 10 lives, injuring more than 27 people, 5 of them critically.
  • Louisiana Coast, USA.The oil well that was being pumped out by the doomed Deepwater Horizon oil rig is now spewing crude oil at a rate of 1,000 barrels per day (bpd),  the U.S. Coast Guard said.
  • China. The death toll from a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in northwest China’s Qinghai Province on April 24 has climbed to 2,203, the rescue headquarters said late Saturday.
  • Salatiga, Indonesia. The death toll caused by drinking poisonous alcohol in Salatiga rose to 21, a report said.
  • Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. President B.O.  has declared Greenwich a major disaster area  , freeing up federal funding to aid municipalities affected by the severe March weather, including the March 13 nor’easter that damaged Greenwich.
  • Taiwan. A massive landslide buried a 300-meter stretch of the No.3 Freeway in Taiwan between Taipei and Keelung on Sunday. It’s believed that a number of cars  were buried by the avalanche, a report said.
  • Jos, Nigeria. At least a dozen people were reportedly killed and many injured in a new round of sectarian violence in Nigeria’s central city of Jos, reports said.
  • Obama’s Waristan 1,2, and 3. About 50 people were killed and many more injured in multiple bombing and shoot outs across Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to numerous reports.
  • Nee Gronde reservoir, eastern Colorado, USA. “Cold winter temperatures and very low water levels at Nee Gronde reservoir in eastern Colorado have killed off all fish in the water body, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife.” A report said. “There were several weeks of thick ice cover on the lake last winter, said Doug Krieger, a senior aquatic biologist with the agency. “Such ice cover is rare in the southeast quadrant of the state. Capping the nutrient-rich lake under a cover of ice exhausted the oxygen supply.”
  • Eritrea. Anti-government Eritrean group said it has killed 18 government soldiers and injured 20 more in predawn raids in southern Eritrea.
  • Darfur. “At least 55 people were killed and 85 wounded in fighting between the south Sudan army and Arab nomads from the western region of Darfur, a tribal chief said today. “
• Day 116 [April 26, 2010]
  • Gulf of Mexico, USA. The oil slick caused by the leak in BP well in Gulf of Mexico is now covering an estimated area of 3,000 square kilometers (~ 1,160 square miles), and is moving north toward Mississippi and Alabama coastline.
  • Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines. A massive blaze gutted shanty houses in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila. Fueled by scorching heat and fanned by strong winds, the fire destroyed at least 300 houses, leaving about 7,000 people homeless. At least one person was killed and several others injured.
  • Cambodia. At least 13 people have been killed by lightning in Cambodia, a government official was reported as saying on Monday.
  • Orissa, India. “The unrelenting heat in the eastern region claimed 34 more lives in Orissa on Sunday, taking the total toll so far this summer in the country to 106. In the north, temperatures too rose above the 40-degree mark at many places, with Churu in Rajasthan recording a high of 43.3 degrees.”
  • Minnesota, USA. “Ten Minnesotans, including seven teenagers, were killed in three separate crashes this weekend in Cambridge, Winona County and Onamia. In addition, two teenagers remain hospitalized as a result of those crashes, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.”
  • Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan. Up to 50 people killed and many more injured in violent clashes, wars of occupation and by US drones.
  • Chernobyl, Ukraine. According to a new study released today, the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster,  the death toll from the reactor’s core meltdown is much higher than previously reported, probably as many as a million. “In a book published by the New York Academy of Sciences, a Russian author and a Belarusian author say nearly one million people have died from exposure to radiation released by the Chernobyl reactor. According to the book, the disaster’s radioactive emissions may have been 200 times greater than the initial estimate of 50 million curies, and hundreds of times larger than the radioactivity from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The authors based their findings in part on Slavic sources they say have never been available in English.”
• Day 117 [April 27, 2010]
  • Pakistan. Officials in Pakistan said their troops have killed 13 “suspected insurgents” in the Orakzai region near the border with Afghanistan, said a  report.
  • South Africa. “Since 1994 more than 300, 000 people have been murdered (328,244) in South Africa,” FF Plus leader Pieter Mulder said in an excerpt from a speech delivered in Potchefstroom. “That is an average of 60 people a day.” “The world average for murders is five in every 100, 000, but in South Africa it is 38 in every 100, 000. Nearly eight times as many than the world average.” … “Since 1994 more than 3, 000 farmers and farm workers have been murdered in more than 10, 000 farm attacks. That gives a figure of more than 200 in every 100, 000.”
  • Afghanistan.  “At least 13 Americans were killed when a low flying US Apache helicopter was reportedly shot down by Taliban militants while flying over Afghanistan’s Farah province. “
  • Iraq. “Hundreds of civilians are being killed or injured each month in Iraq due to a recent surge in violence,” a charity report says.
  • China. “The death toll from a fierce sandstorm in northwest China over the weekend has climbed to four, the civil affairs authority said Tuesday,” a report said.   “Minqin reported 13 fires caused by the sandstorm, leaving five people injured and 460 others evacuated …  All the fires had been put out and most of the evacuated people had returned home, a spokesman of Gansu civil affairs department said late Tuesday. … Preliminary statistics show that the sandstorm affected 1.32 million people in 19 counties in Gansu Province, and damaged 206,800 hectares of crops, of which 33,900 hectares were totally destroyed. … The sandstorm also flattened 547 houses and damaged 822 others in the province, it said.”
  • Myanmar. “The official death toll from the Yangon water festival bombings has risen to 10 after two men injured in the blast died at Yangon General Hospital, the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council has confirmed.” See also previous entries.
  • South Africa. “The death toll, following this morning’s horrific crash on the R 612 near Park Rynie, south of Durban, has increased from 9 to 16 people,” a report said.
  • Niger. “Drought forces hungry people from homes in Niger. Ten million people are facing hunger in the region which has been hit extremely hard by the drought.  The severe water shortages laid waste to crops last year.  Thousands of people have already left to flock into Maradi, the main city in south central Niger on the southern rim of the Sahara desert.”
• Day 118 [April 28, 2010]
  • Virginia, USA. President B.O. has declared parts of Virginia affected by a February snowstorm, major disaster areas. “The Virginia Department of Transportation spent more than $200 million clearing snow from the state’s highways during several winter storms.” A report said.
  • Kakheti Region, Georgia. “Disaster hits almost all districts of the Kakheti Region after the non-stop rains during the past week. The heavy rain caused a landslide in the Telavi district`s village of Shalaubani. In addition, the flood has damaged the reservoir of the drinking water in the same village, leaving locals without the water supply.” A report said.
  • Afghanistan. “The American military is creating an environmental disaster in Afghanistan. [Their] presence in Afghanistan consists of fleets of aircraft, helicopters, armored vehicles, weapons, equipment, troops and facilities. Since 2001, they have generated millions of kilograms of hazardous, toxic and radioactive wastes. … virtually all of it appears to have been buried, burned or secretly disposed of into the air, soil, groundwater and surface waters of Afghanistan. While the Americans may begin to withdraw next year, the toxic chemicals they leave behind will continue to pollute for centuries. Any abandoned radioactive waste may stain the Afghan countryside for thousands of years.” A report said.
  • Kabul, Afghanistan. A roadside bomb in south-eastern Afghanistan killed at least 12 people believed to have been civilians on Wednesday. Two Afghan soldiers and “10 Taliban militants” were killed, a report said.
  • Afghanistan. UN says four of its staff killed by Afghan police
  • Afghanistan. Soldiers killed by friendly fire due to equipment shortage
  • Afghanistan.   Anchorge police:  Soldier killed wife, baby daughter, then turned gun on himself. “A Fort Richardson soldier recently back from Afghanistan shot and killed his wife and 8-month-old baby before turning the gun on himself in a failed suicide attempt, Anchorage police said Tuesday.”
  • Somalia. “At least 14 civilians were killed and two African Union peacekeepers wounded Tuesday during a battle between government troops and an insurgent group following a separate suicide car bomb attack on an AU camp in Somalia’s capital.” Reports said.
  • Pakistan. Five policemen killed in Pakistan car bomb attack. Also a number of other people including soldiers and a university professor were killed.
  • Iraq. At least 4,400 members of the U.S. military have been killed in the Iraq war since March 2003. The official number of the troops wounded is set at 31,800.
• Day 119 [April 29, 2010]
  • The Gulf of Mexico, USA. The Gulf of Mexico oil leak disaster is developing into a cataclysmic event.  BP told the US Coast Guard that it had discovered a new leak in the offshore well, with the combined leak of 5,000bpd. The Gulf of Mexico nightmare enters a new phase—the first stage in the collapse of the Gulf states may have begun.
  • Orissa, India. Heatwave killed five more persons in Orissa, India, taking the toll in the country to 113, a report said.
  • South Africa. “One more person has died of Rift Valley Fever, driving the overall death toll of the disease in South Africa since Feb. 13 to 12, the country’s authorities announced on Wednesday.” A report said.
  • Global death toll for journalists. The global death toll for journalists who have been killed while on duty stands at 17 news media staff, so far this month, a report said. “So far this year, 42 journalists have died in 22 countries, exceeding the 37 counted for the first four months of 2009. The total death toll for 2009 was 133, the highest since 1990.”
  • China. At least 43 children an d4 adults have been injured in two separate knife attacks in China,  the second and third such attack in a month, a report said.
  • CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico. “Gunmen stormed into a bar, dragged out eight people and killed them in the parking lot, the first of several shootings in this violent border city Wednesday that left 16 dead, including a man in a wheelchair.” AP reported.
  • Meanwhile,  two human rights activists were also killed in a southern Mexico town “as they tried to deliver food and supplies to a town being harassed by armed groups,” officials said.
  • Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan. At least two dozen people were killed today and many more wounded across the three war zones. The dead included women, children, “militants,” soldiers and police officers.
  • Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Japan’s agriculture ministry reported suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease at more locations in Miyazaki Prefecture, including the country’s first suspected cases involving pigs. “The latest findings bring the tally of suspected infections to 10 and will result in the slaughter of about 2,900 cows and pigs in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading, the Miyazaki Prefectural Government said.”
• Day 120 [April 30, 2010]
  • Mississippi, USA. President B.O. has declared five counties in Mississippi as federal disaster areas following the Saturday’s tornado.  Attala, Choctaw, Holmes, Warren and Yazoo counties qualify for federal relief, a report said.
  • Gulf of Mexico. A major disaster is now unfolding on the northern shoreline of Gulf of Mexico as crude oil from the damaged underwater well reaches the coast of Louisiana. Bubbly Jindal, Louisiana Gov. has declared a state of emergency. Fire-Earth Moderators questioned the validity of reports about the oil well being capped on April 24, 2010. The blog said, “… oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire.” The Moderators said: “We thought it was a fairy tale as far as the capping of the well story went …” The Moderators still believe that the extent of the oil leak is heavily underestimated and/or misreported. On April 29, Fire-Earth said:  “The true estimate for the leak may be as much as 8,000 barrels of crude oil per day, or more, which is how much the well was producing before the rig blew up!” Unfortunately, the blog entries in question were  filtered and blocked by Google because they received less than 1 percent of the average hits for the blog posts.
  • Kenya. A landslide triggered by extreme rain killed 10 people in western Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross (KRC)  reported. The latest deaths raised the the number of victims killed by floods and landslides in Keny to 100 since January, KRC said.
  • Colombia. A Landslide triggered by heavy rains destroyed at least a dozen houses, leaving many people trapped under the rubble. A second landslide, which occurred shortly after, trapped soldiers  who had come to the rescue of the first wave of victims.At least 20,000 people have been left homeless Colombia since the country’s rainy season started, with 88 municipalities across 22 departments affected by the extreme weather events. The death toll stands at 8, as of posting.
  • Chad. Chad’s government officials said the army has killed 105 “insurgents” and foiled a new attack at the Sudan border, a report said.
  • Obama Wars: Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan. A total of about 40 people including women and children, as well as other civilians, troops and  “militants” were killed today and many more wounded across the three war zones.
  • Jamaica. At least 11 people have been killed over the past 24 hours, including a 5-year-old and a Deacon, a report said.

Disaster Calendar 2010 is Copyright of Fire-Earth Blog Authors. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.