Million People Affected after Earthquakes Hit NE China

45,000 People lose their homes after a swarm of earthquakes strikes China

The quakes have affected more than 260,000 families, or at least one million people, in 125 villages across two counties in NE China’s Jilin Province, leaving more than 45,000 people displaced, and causing direct economic losses of 2 billion yuan ($328 million), said Xinhua.

A significant quake measuring 5.8Mw, centered at 44.6ºN, 124.1ºE, struck at a depth of about 9km at 6:04am Beijing Time, said China Earthquake Networks Center.

A significant aftershock measuring 5.0Mw struck close to the epicenter at a depth of about 8km some 28 minutes later. The quakes were followed by a swarm of at least 280 smaller aftershocks.

There were no reports of casualties available, as of posting (November 23, 2013 at 14:50UTC).

“All schools and kindergartens in Songyuan City have been suspended due to the quakes. Education authorities in Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County have asked schools in the region to close for the following one to two weeks,” reported Xinhua.

The latest shocks followed another shallow quake measuring 5.3Mw, centered at 44.7ºN, 124.1ºE,  which struck at a depth of about 8km, shaking the city of Songyuan in northeast China’s Jilin Province on Friday at 4:18 p.m. , the EQ Center said.

Earthquake Location Map (44.7ºN, 124.1ºE). Source: GEOFON Extended Virtual Network (GEVN)

“The earthquake lasted for about 3 seconds. I felt it was more severe than the last time, and my house was partly damaged,” a resident in Yingtu Village of Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, told Xinhua.

ORIGINAL CAPTION: A house is damaged at quake-hit Yingtu Village of the Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, Songyuan City, northeast China’s Jilin Province, Nov. 23, 2013. From Friday afternoon to Saturday morning, three earthquakes measuring above 5 magnitude were reported in the Qian Gorlos or the border area between Qian Gorlos and Qian’an county in Songyuan City. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan). More images…

More updates to follow…

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Nov. 23, 2013

4.24 Million Displaced in Super Typhoon HAIYAN

Super Typhoon HAIYAN left 6,848 dead or missing, and affected up to 13.5 million [U.N. estimate] others, while destroying or damaging 1,112,731 houses, and leaving more than 4.24 million Filipinos homeless.

See today’s full entry at 4.24 Million Displaced in Super Typhoon HAIYAN.

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Death Toll Rises in Latvia Store Collapse

Death toll has climbed to at least 51 in Latvia store collapse, said to be the country’s deadliest disaster since its  independence in 1991.

More than 500 square meters of the roof collapsed at the ‘Maxima’ building in Riga in two separate stages, with the second collapse killing several rescue workers, according to reports.

• Officials insists the soil from a garden being built on the roof of the shop was too heavy.
• At least 40 others were injured including 33 who were hospitalized.
• The government has declared three days of mourning, starting Saturday.

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Death toll from China’s oil pipeline blast rises to 47

Death toll in a Sinopec oil pipeline double explosion in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao has climbed to at least 48, said Xinhua.

• At least 138 other people have been injured in the explosions according to other news sources.
• More than 18,000 people have been evacuated from the district where the explosion

“The leaking pipeline, which has been in use since July 1986, measures 711 mm in diameter and runs 248.52 km, with an annual oil transfer capacity of 10 million tonnes, the company said,” according to the report .

Original caption: Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the site of a pipeline explosion in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, Nov. 22, 2013. A fire broke out and the blast occurred around 10 a.m. in the Huangdao District when workers were repairing a petroleum pipeline which broke and resulted in an oil leakage around 3 a.m. Casualties remained unknown. (Xinhua)

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Criminal Imbeciles Desperate to Keep Their Dirty Secrets Hidden

UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Frank La Rue  has expressed concern over a Japanese government-sponsored bill to protect state secrets.

In a statement released on Friday, La Rue asserted the proposed legislation would threat transparency, which is a core requirement for democratic governance, said reports.

La Rue is concerned that the proposed bill’s definition for protect information is “very broad” and “vague” and that it poses a threat to whistle-blowers and journalists reporting on the secrets.

Meantime, ARTICLE 19, a London-based organization concerned with freedom of expression, has also urged the Japanese National Diet (Japanese Parliament) to reject the pending Special Secret Protection Bill.

“The bill violates international standards on freedom of expression and the right to information. The definition of protected information is overly vague. It is being applied to anything relating to defense, diplomacy, ‘harmful activities’ and ‘terrorism’ and would allow the authorities to hide information about environmental hazards, human rights abuses, corruption and other areas protected by international law.” said the organization.

“Information could be classified as a ‘special secret’ indefinitely by allowing it to be repeatedly classified every five years. Whistleblowers face up to ten years imprisonment with no possibility of any public interest defense. Journalists can be prosecuted for revealing classified information even if they demonstrate that it is in the public interest.”

The bill was passed by the crooked cabinet in October and is currently being heard by the Diet.

Cold War Couldn’t Have Bloomed With Kennedy in Office

JFK Assassination:  A shot in the arm for the Industrial-Military Complex

Assassination of JFK was one of the most defining milestones for the Military-Industrial Complex.

The President’s assassination also facilitated the onset of one the most politically divisive and financially lucrative periods for the complex.

The 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination was commemorated at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, November 22, 2013. The former president was fatally shot while riding in an open car in a motorcade during a political trip to Texas at 12:30 pm Central Standard Time on Friday November 22, 1963. (Image Credit: Xinhua/Song Qiong)

4.24 Million Displaced in Super Typhoon HAIYAN

Super Typhoon HAIYAN left 6,848 dead or missing, destroyed or damaged 1,112,731 houses

The official death and damage toll in the aftermath of Super Typhoon HAIYAN continues rising.

Source: SitRep No. 36 released by Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRMC)  November 23, 2013. [$1 = 43.8 Philippine pesos – FIRE-EARTH Blog]

[Note: Official estimates  for the total cost of damage has been amended to PhP22.34billion] which is more realistic than their previous estimates.]

Super Typhoon HAIYAN: Chronology of Disaster

Super Typhoon HAIYAN (locally known as YOLANDA) made its first landfall in the early morning of 8 November in Guiuan, Eastern Samar province. HAIYAN made subsequent landfalls in Tolosa south of Tacloban City, Leyte province, Daanbantayan and Bantayan Island, Cebu province, Conception, Iloilo province and Busuanga, Palawan province.

FIRE-EARTH Disaster Models

On November 9, 2013, FIRE-EARTH Models estimated the impact of Super Typhoon HAIYAN in the Philippines as a magnitude 6.2 catastrophe on the FEWW Disaster Scale, indicating large-scale regional destruction with up to 40,000 casualties.

• FIRE-EARTH Disaster Models estimate the total cost of damage at more than $5billion.

FIRE-EARTH and MSRB  2004 Forecast

In 2004,  our team forecast an 80-90 percent increase in the total power dissipated annually by tropical cyclones  in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by 2015.

• Storms will continue to get stronger (develop greater average intensities) and survive at high intensity for longer (take more time to dissipate peak energy) resulting in substantial increases in storm-related losses in the near future.

Related Links

• Super Typhoon HAIYAN: WE TOLD YOU SO! November 20, 2013
• Super Typhoon HAIYAN Disaster: 4 Pct of Philippine Population Displaced November 17, 2013
• Global Disasters/ Significant Events – November 18, 2013 November 18, 2013