Dozens Dead, Hundreds Injured, Thousands Homeless after Italy Quakes

Tow significant quakes and dozens of aftershocks leave Italy’s Emilia Romagna region in ruins

At least two dozen people have been killed, hundreds more injured and more than 14,000 others left homeless following two quakes which struck near Bologna in N. Italy’s Emilia Romagna region on May 20 and 29 respectively.

The toll as it now stands

• At least 24 people dead
• More than 400 injured
• More than 14,000 people left homeless
• Thousands of building damaged or destroyed
• At least 2,000 businesses lost
• Cost of damage estimated at $650 million
• See also: Italy Declares State of Emergency in EQ Zone Posted on May 23, 2012
• And Shallow earthquake measuring 5.8Mw strikes Emilia Romagna region  Posted on May 29, 2012

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Florida, USA. Nassau County has declared a state of emergency following the damage caused by tropical storm BERYL.

• NY, USA.   Seneca County has declared a state of emergency after extensive damage caused by a line of storms which produced 70MPH winds, heavy rain and large hail.
  • The worst-hit areas are the towns of Seneca Falls, Fayette and Waterloo, reports said.
  • The mayor of the village of Cayuga has also declared a state of emergency to “let people know there’s a lot of damage, and to be safe when they’re traveling through the village.”

• Peru. The Peruvian government has  declared a 30-day state of emergency in the SE province of Espinar after more than a week of protests over a proposed $1.5-billion expansion of the massive Tintaya copper mine left at least two people dead and hundreds of others injured.

• Central and Southern Plains, USA. The NWS storm prediction center has forecast “the development of large, destructive hail, a few tornadoes, and potentially widespread damaging winds over parts of the central and southern Plains later today and tonight.” Southern Kansas, western and central Oklahoma and northern Texas could most likely experience the activity. “Elsewhere, severe storms are also possible from the central high Plains into the Ozark Plateau and northern Texas.”

• Guizhou Province, China. At least 5.5 million people in SW China’s Guizhou province have been affected by droughts, rainstorms and hailstorms so far this year, said the authorities.

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An outbreak of ovine rinderpest (PPR) in DRC, believed to be the worst outbreak of a livestock disease in the country in recent years, is killing thousands of goats and sheep.
  • In one area alone, Massima Nimba in Bandundu province,  about 25,000 goats have died of the disease and 5,000 from infected herds have been culled since January, the authorities said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

States of Emergency Declared in Flooded Ontario Towns

Extensive flooding due to torrential rain prompts Ontario towns to declare states of emergency

The City of Thunder Bay, Conmee Township and the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge in northwestern Ontario, Canada have declared states of emergency following severe flooding due to extreme rain events.

Flooding has forced the authorities to close down dozens of schools in Thunder Bay area, reports said.

Up to 108mm of rain have been recorded by the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority over the last 24 to 36 hours, with the  highest amounts logged in Thunder Bay and Oliver Paipoonge.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• New Zealand.  It’s been revealed that kiwifruit growers in New Zealand illegally inject their crops with the powerful antibiotic streptomycin to stop the spread of PSA bacteria.
  • The illegal use of streptomycin can create antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to toxicology experts.
  • Streptomycin is a bactericidal antibiotic and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis (TB).
  • In 2009, New Zealand researchers revealed that cases of necrotizing fasciitis in“flesh-eating” disease had surged by 300 percent since 1990.
  • Since about 1999, another serious form of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis,  the methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterium has struck with increasing frequency.
  • See also: Superbugs Invasion Has Begun

• Cyber world. Massive cyber-attack discovered

• Qatar. A large fire at a shopping mall in Doha, capital of the Saudi satellite state of Qatar, has killed at least 19 people, including 13 toddlers, and left more than 17 others injured, including 4 children.
  • The victims included Spanish, French, Filipino and two-year-old New Zealand triplets.

• North Korea. A severe drought is threatening food shortages in North Korea, which has received little rain since late April.

• Bologna, Italy.  A shallow earthquake measuring 5.8Mw struck Emilia Romagna region, 40 km (24 miles) NNW of Bologna, northern Italy, killing at least 10 people.
  • [Death toll is expected to rise because an unknown number of people are trapped under the rubble, police said.]
  • The quake was centered at 44.814°N, 11.079°E and struck at a depth of about 9.6 km (6 miles) on May 29, 2012 at 07:00 UTC, USGS/EHP reported.
  • The quake also caused structural damage, toppling a tower in San Felice sul Panaro, Italian media reported.
  • The quake was followed by at least three aftershocks, and the tremors were felt throughout northern Italy, including Milan, the financial capital.
  • The quake was the second significant shock to strike the region since May 20. The 6.0Mw quake earlier this month killed at least 7 people, injured dozens, destroyed hundreds of buildings and left about 5,000 people homeless.
  • See also: Italy Declares State of Emergency in EQ Zone Posted on May 23, 2012

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Italy Declares State of Emergency in EQ Zone

Aftershocks continue to rattle NE Italy; govt declares a 60-day state of emergency

About 5,000 people spent the night outdoors in parked cars or tent cities erected by the authorities, as the Italian government declared a 60-day state of emergency in NE region of the country covering areas around Bologna, Ferrara and Modena, where hundreds of businesses and thousands of workers have been affected.

• The quake killed at least 7 people and left dozens injured.
• At least 5,000 people were made homeless.
• Many homes as well as hundreds of businesses, small factories, warehouses, medieval churches, towers and castles have been damaged or destroyed.
• Many cows and other farm animals were killed in collapsed stables.
• Damage to the agriculture sector is estimated at more than 300 million euros [$380 million.]

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Melbourne, Australia. Warming in Australia worst in 1,000 years.

• Nevada, USA.A fast-moving wildfire which was threatening up to 200 homes in an area near the Nevada-California border has consumed at least a dozen homes.
  • The fire has consumed about 4,000 acres in Douglas County, reports said.
  • Wildfires in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico have  consumed at least 120km² so far this year, and forced the residents of several small towns to evacuate.

• Azerbaijan. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake which struck southwestern Azerbaijan areas of  Zaqatala and Gakh on May 7, 2012, has injured scores of people, damaged or destroyed more than 7,000 building and left about  7,000 families homeless,  reports said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

E Russia Town Declares State of Emergency after Flooding

Worst flooding in living memory forces third of population to evacuate Srednekolymsk town, Sakha Republic, Russia

Floodwater from Kolyma River reached roofs of houses in parts of Srednekolymsk town [population 3,500,] forcing at least 1,000 people to abandon their homes.

Intense flooding like this last hit the area in 1942, the town mayor told Itar-Tass news agency, adding that about 500 houses have been flooded. “In most of them water level is up to windows and in some other ones water level is up to the ceiling.”

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Guizhou Province, SW China. Persistent drought in parts of Guizhou Province has affected a large number of people, destroying their crops.

A villager takes water from a vanishing reservoir in Haila Township of Weining County, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, May 20, 2012. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin).  More images…

• Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy.At least 120 aftershocks have rattled the Emilia-Romagna Region in Italy since the deadly 6.0Mw quake which struck near Bologna on sunday, claiming 7 lives and leaving dozens injured.
  • Thousands of frightened residents  were forced to sleep in cars, tents and temporary shelters, as aftershocks continued to plague the region.
  • The shallow quake destroyed dozens of historic building and famous monuments, and damaged many others in several towns including Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro, Ferrara, Poggio Renatico and Sant’Agostino, reports said.

• B.C., Canada. An outbreak of  infectious hematopoietic necrosis at an Atlantic salmon farm in Dixon Bay, north of Tofino, B.C., has led to a site quarantine and the cull of more than half a million fish, a report said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Flash Flood Kills Many in Afghanistan

80 people killed or missing after flash flood destroys 1,000 homes in N Afghanistan

Flash flooding caused by torrential rains and melting snow hit the N Afghanistan town of Sar-e-Pul, the capital of a province with the same name, destroying at least 1,000 homes and leaving more than 80 people dead or missing, authorities said.

Flooding also killed about 3,000 farm animals, and destroyed more than 1,000 hectares of crops  in the provincial capital of Taloqan and six other municipalities, where 2,000 homes were  severely damaged or destroyed, officials added.

Flooding in the two provinces has left about 20,000 people homeless.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Italy.  At least four people have been killed and more than 50 injured after a strong earthquake measuring 6.9Mw struck 36 km (22 miles) NNW of Bologna, northern Italy early on Sunday, destroying a dozen historic buildings.
  • The quake was epicentered at 44.800°N, 11.192°E, striking at a depth of 5.1 km (3.2 miles), USGS/EHP reported.
• Guatemala. Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted, ejecting lava and black ash into the air.
  • A column of ash reached a height of about 5,500m above the crater, with lava fountains reaching heights of above 400m, said the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala, INSIVUMEH.

Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted on May 19, 2012. Image credit: INSIVUMEH

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar