Death Toll from Mexico Storms Climbs to 110

Mexico death toll from storms MANUEL and INGRID rises to 110, with 68 others still missing

Deadly storms MANUEL and INGRID have claimed at least 110 lives and left 68 others missing, presumed dead, after a mudslide buried the village of La Pintada in western Guerrero state.

Historic Rainfall

“We are confronting rainfall that has practically been the most extensive in the history of the entire national territory,” said President Nieto.

The death toll climbed after searchers recovered the bodies of five police officers who were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed into a hillside near La Pintada on Thursday.

The storms have destroyed or damaged private property and public infrastructure in all but 2 of Mexico’s 31 states and affected a total of 1.2 million people, reports said.

About 40,000 tourists had to be evacuated, including 25,00 who were airlifted, out of Acapulco after severe flooding destroyed road and bridges cutting off the popular beach resort.

The full extent of disaster is still unknown because many rural communities remain cut off, officials said.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Residents in sections of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, have been  told to evacuate due to flooding, Sunday night.

An evacuation order has been issued for residents along Highway 68 in Alcalde and Velarde, said a report.

Governor Martinez signed an executive order earlier this month declaring a statewide emergency due to flooding caused by extreme rain events.

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Typhoon USAGI Disaster Update No. 2

Typhoon USAGI has killed at least 25 after making landfall in Guangdong Province late Sunday.

The powerful typhoon has affected about 5.48 million people, leaving 310,000 residents displaced.

USAGI has destroyed 8,490 homes and ruined 50,800 hectares of cropland.

The losses and damage from USAGI is estimated at about  CNY7.1billion (US$1.16 billion) in Guangdong province, said a report.

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Iraq Violence

At least 39 people were killed on Sunday raising the death toll from Iraqi violence to 865 so far this month.

The killings occurred in Baghdad (29 people killed by gunfire, IEDs, suicide bomber), Mosul (9 killed by gunfire, IEDs ) and Abu Saida (1 person killed by gunfire), said Iraq Body Count.

As of September 22, at least 5,110 people have been killed and more than 12,000 other wounded in Iraq since the beginning of 2013, according to UNAMI figures.

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events – September 21, 2013

The Collapse Countdown Continues…

Powerful Typhoon USAGI Slams into N. Philippines

Packing sustained winds of 185km/h gusting up to 230 km/h, USAGI made landfall on Itbayat, the Philippine island closest to Taiwan on Batanes island group.

The typhoon has triggered severe flooding and landslides destroying homes, uprooting trees and power lines, and inundating croplands.

“A flash flood occurred and trees were uprooted from the mountain and swept by roiling waters to the town. Many houses lost their roofs or were destroyed. Damage to crops is heavy and landslides were reported all around.” A senior official and a former congressman for Batanes told Reuters

USAGI has already affected thousands of people, and portends more damage and destruction along its path.

The typhoon is moving slowly WNW at about 17 km/h toward southern China, according to several models.

Typhoon USAGI as it passed through the Luzon Strait. Image recorded at 07:30UTC on September 20, 2013. Credit: NOAA

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Flooding in Mexico Become the Country’s Costliest Disasters

Devastation caused by flooding and mudslides triggered by twin storms INGRID and MANUEL have affected hundreds of towns and villages in Mexico, leaving at least 100 people dead and many dozens missing.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, including at least 50,000 residents in the resort town of Acapulco.

All the dams in the country are practically at 100 percent. This is very serious,” according to Evaluacion de Riesgos Naturales, a Mexican natural disaster risk assessment company.

Scores of highways, bridges and other public infrastructure have been completely destroyed by the flooding and mudslides.

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US Air Force nearly detonated hydrogen bomb over North Carolina

The US Air Force nearly detonated an atom bomb over North Carolina that would have been 260 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atom bomb, said a report.

Two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs, each with a payload of 4 megatons, were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina on 23 January 1961, after a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air.

“The MK Mod 2 bomb did not possess adequate safety for the airborne alert role in the B-52,” wrote Parker F. Jones, supervisor of the nuclear weapons safety department at Sandia National Laboratories in his 1969 assessment.

One of the two bombs that fell to earth, “behaved precisely as a nuclear weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold carnage.”

“One simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe…It would have been bad news – in spades.” Jones said.

Nuclear fallout from a 4-megaton detonation would have put millions of lives at risk in large portion of eastern United States encompassing major cities like Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

The document detailing the incident was obtained by the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the Freedom of Information Act.

The US government had previously denied that any such incident ever took place.

“The US government has consistently tried to withhold information from the American people in order to prevent questions being asked about our nuclear weapons policy,” Schlosser told the UK Guardian. “We were told there was no possibility of these weapons accidentally detonating, yet here’s one that very nearly did.”

Schlosser says he discovered at least 700 “significant” incidents involving nuclear weapons between 1950 and 1968 at the height of nuclear arms race between the US and the Soviet Union.

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IAEA Members Vote Down Resolution on Israeli Nukes

A resolution sponsored by Arab countries calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has been voted down by 51 countries including the U.S., Japan and dozens of Israel-first European countries.

Some 43 other nations voted in favor of the resolution, which was put to vote in Vienna on Friday.

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Two dozen killed, 55 wounded in Nairobi shopping mall shooting

A group of 5 to 10 gunmen, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, attacked the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi midday Saturday, killing at least two dozen people and leaving 55 others wounded.

“We are treating this as a terrorist attack,” said police chief Benson Kibue, adding that there are likely no more than 10 attackers involved.

The Westgate Mall is situated in Nairobi’s affluent Westlands area and is frequented by wealthy Kenyans and expatriates, reports said.

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events – September 19, 2013

The clock continues ticking …

Losses from deadly flooding in Colorado estimated at $2 billion

Total cost of property losses from deadly flooding in Colorado is estimated at about $2 billion, according to the catastrophe modeling company Eqecat, said a report.

The projected losses for residential property are estimated at about $900 million, while “$1 billion is attributed to losses projected for commercial and government property, including roads and bridges, Eqecat senior vice president Tom Larsen told Reuters.”

The disaster zone encompasses 17 Colorado counties, as the historic deluge, called a 500-to-1,000-year flood, destroyed or damaged ten of thousands of properties.

The full extent of property losses and damage in Boulder County has not yet been revealed.

Eqecat’s initial estimate of $20 billion in total economic losses from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 was later revised up to $50 billion (!)

FIRE-EARTH models show the total cost of Colorado disaster could reach $8 – $10billion.

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Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

• Typhoon USAGI Eying Taiwan

• The Second Coming of MANUEL

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Continued …

The Second Coming of MANUEL

MANUEL Strengthens into a Cat 1 Hurricane

Tropical Storm MANUEL, which has battered southwestern Mexico, has now intensified into a category one hurricane approaching northwestern Mexico and threatening more destruction.

MANUEL and INGRID, the first twin storms to hit Mexico within one day since 1958, have killed at least 80 people across Mexico.

About 60 people are now reported missing after a landslide buried a village in the southwestern Mexico.

“Very powerful” landslide

The Mexican President Nieto said at least 58 people were missing after a massive landslide buried the village of La Pintada in the southwestern Guerrero state.

“It doesn’t look good, based on the photos we have in our possession … [it was a] very powerful landslide.]

MANUEL is expected to dump up to 15 inches of rain in the state of Sinaloa, which could cause deadly flash-floods, according to forecasters.

Meantime… looters ransacked the flooded Mexican beach resort of Acapulco on Wednesday … read more

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Related Links

• Global Disaster Headlines – September 18, 2013 September 18, 2013
• Twin Storms Leave 42 Dead, 1.2 Million Battered September 17, 2013
• MANUEL and INGRID Kill Dozens in Mexico September 16, 2013
• FEWW New Hurricane Scale September 3, 2008