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

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