‘Airmageddon’ in Indonesia

Military plane crashes in Medan, Indonesia, killing scores of people

All 113 people on board an Indonesian military transport plane that crashed Tuesday in a major city on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are believed to have been killed, according to the country’s air force chief.

The Hercules C-130 crashed into two houses and a hotel before bursting into flames in a residential area of Medan city [metro pop: ~ 5 million,] according to the chief.

The number of casualties on the ground has not yet been established.

Medan is the capital of the North Sumatra province, and is the fourth largest city in Indonesia.

Mandala Airlines Flight 091

On 5 September 2005, Mandala Airlines Flight 091 crashed into a populated area of Medan shortly after take-off from the city’s airport, killing 149, including 49 people on the ground. Additionally, some of the 17 people on board the plane who survived the crash, and 26 others on the ground who were injured, are believed to have since died as a result of their injuries.

“103 Dead” in East Algeria Plane Crash

“NO Survivors!”

At least 103 passengers and crew were killed when an Algerian military Hercules C-130 transport plane crashed in the northeast of the country, according to local media.

The plane reportedly crashed in a mountainous area of Oum al-Bouaghi province in bad weather. There were “no survivors,” according to informed sources.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – November 18, 2013

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – November 18, 2013

Deadly Tornadoes Attack U.S. Midwest

At least SIX people were killed and dozens more injured after 67 tornadoes [confirmed total] spawned by a massive weather system struck parts of 9 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. Some 442 events have so far been reported across NINE states after Sunday storm attacks, which flattened large section of the city of Washington, Ill.

Plane crash in Russia’s Kazan kills 50 people on board

Russian authorities confirmed that all 50 people aboard a passenger plane were killed when the aircraft  crashed on landing in central Russia’s city of Kazan, capital of Tatarstan Republic.

Egypt train and bus crash kills 24 near Cairo

24 people were killed and 20 others injured when a train crashed into a pickup truck and a bus near Cairo, the state news agency MENA said on Monday.

50 Children were killed when a train hit their school bus near Manfalut, about  350km south of Cairo, on November 17, 2012.

Guided-missile cruiser struck by “friendly” drone: LATimes

The guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville was  struck by an aerial-target drone during a training exercise off Ventura County, officials said.

BQM-74E target drones are launched from the guided-missile destroyer McCampbell in 2010. (Ensign Colleen R. Praxmarer / U.S. Navy)

The US Navy vessel was struck on its port side by an BQM-74 series drone, leaving two sailors with burns.

“The drone, controlled from Point Mugu, was being used during a routine exercise meant to test the ship’s radar system’s tracking ability. The test was not designed for the ship to shoot down the drone,” LATimes quoted officials as saying.

Navy technicians are examining the extent of damage to the ship, as other specialists try to establish the possible cause of the drone malfunction, said the report.

Bomb attack kills 31 in Syria including 4 generals

A bomb attack by Saudi-backed foreign terrorists on an army base near Damascus killed at least 31 Syrian military personnel including four generals,  according to reports.

“Three generals and a brigadier-general were among 31 troops killed in a bomb attack that caused a building in the army transport base in Harasta to collapse,” said director for Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Libya declares a State of Emergency in Tripoli as deadly violence erupts

A 48-hour state of emergency has been declared in the Libyan capital Tripoli after gun battles between rival militia groups left at least 45 people dead and more than 400 wounded.

However, eyewitnesses say the death toll is much higher than the official figures.

“Officially, there were more than 40 victims in the clashes in Tripoli in the past two days, but according to our data, the number of victims is much larger,” a medic on the scene told reporters.

Potentially Disastrous Fuel Rod Removal Operation Starts at Fukushima Daiichi

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO, has begun removing nuclear fuel rods from a storage pool at a damaged No. 4 reactor building.

The pool contains 1,533 fuel units, of which 1,331 are highly radioactive spent rods. The operator decided to remove unused units first because they release less radiation and heat than the used ones.

Philippines Mega Disaster Update – SitRep No. 27

Super Typhoon HAIYAN affected up to 14 million Filipinos, leaving 5,578 dead or missing, 4,009, 074 homeless, and causing at least PHP10.4 billion worth of damage to the country’s agriculture and infrastructure.

Source: SitRep No. 27 released by Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRMC)  November 18, 2013. [$1 = 43.66 Philippine pesos]

Mass Burials

Town officials bury some of the victims of the Super Typhoon HAIYAN in a mass grave. Credit: Local news media.

This post will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.

Canadian Town Evacuated after Train Explosion

Train explosion kills at least one, leaves dozens missing in Lac-Megantic, Canada

The entire town of Lac-Megantic in Quebec, Canada, was evacuated after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded, killing at least one person.

The explosions destroyed dozens of buildings in the town, located about 250km east of Montreal.

The runaway Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train, with five locomotives and 73 freight cars carrying crude oil, was parked in the village of Nantes near Lac-Megantic, when the loaded cars became uncoupled, rolled downhill into the town and derailed, said the company.

“We do fear that there will be more fatalities and from now we’re trying to locate the people that are still missing,” said Quebec police.

“When you see the center of your town almost destroyed, you’ll understand that we’re asking ourselves how we are going to get through this event,” said the town mayor.

The incident has been described as a “major catastrophe” by the police.

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Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Korean plane crash at San Francisco airport, killing at least 2

An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, crashed while landing on San Francisco International Airport’s Runway 28L Saturday, killing at least two people and leaving 60 unaccounted for.

San Francisco General said they had received at least 10 of the critically injured, including two children, according to a report.

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was carrying 307 people including 291 passengers and 16 crew.  Not all of the 60 people missing were presumed dead, said the San Francisco Fire Chief.

At least 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans and 61 US citizens were on the plane the plane, said a report.

-oOo-

Thousands Flee California Wildfires

“I opened the front door and the whole mountain was on fire.” —a Ventura County resident

Thousands of people including residents in several Ventura County communities and students at Cal State Uni Channel Islands were forced to evacuate after several wildfires consumed more than 10,000 acres.

• California wildfire expected to gain strength as wind, heat ramp up [UPDATED May 3, 20137:27 a.m. PDT]

• Fast moving Springs fire forced authorities to evacuate students from Cal State Uni Channel Islands in Camarillo and resident of several neighborhoods in Ventura County.

• More than 2,000 homes were threatened by the blaze, which had damaged about two dozen homes, as of posting.

• Springs fire, powered by Santa Ana winds, extremely low humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s, had consumed at least 8,000 acres and was only 10% contained, as of posting.

• Banning Fire in Riverside County, which has consumed at least 3,000 acres since Wednesday, was 40% contained by Thursday, said Cal Fire.

• Another brush fire in Tehama County, north of the town of Butte Meadows, had consumed more than 2,000 acres and was only 10% contained.

• Several other fires were burning in northern Calif., as of posting.

• Officials closed a 10-mile section of Pacific Coast Highway between Las Posas Road in Ventura County and the Los Angeles County due to extreme fire hazard.

• “This is the problem we have: high winds, high temperatures, low humidities, plus the (vegetation) fuels that have been suffering from the drought we’ve had this winter. This all adds up to a perfect storm for wildfire.”

• Some 945 fire personnel are tackling the blaze from fire departments throughout the Southland.

Calif. Max Temps Forecast. See inset for forecast time and period.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

US military cargo plane crashes in Kyrgyzstan

A US tanker aircraft used for midair refueling over Afghanistan has crashed after taking off from US Manas airbase near Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, according to reports.

• The US military uses the Manas airbase for its operations in Afghanistan since 2001.
  • A crew of five people were flying the KC-135 Stratotanker, according to AKI Press, a Kyrgyz news agency.

Second Crash in 4 Days

• At least 7 crew members of a 747-400 US cargo plane were killed when the aircraft crashed at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan on Monday.

The Dubai-bound Boeing 747-400—operated by Florida-based National Air Cargo—crashed just after takeoff from Bagram Air Base around 11:20 a.m. local time, Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

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Death Toll in Bangladesh Building Collapse Climbs to 507

The death toll from the collapse of an eight-story factory building near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has climbed to  507, officials have said.

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Outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in NW China, SW China, Tibet and Xinjiang

China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has confirmed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in southwest China, and Tibet Autonomous Region, said a report.

A village in Dagze County in Lhasa City reported on April 25 that 145 heads of cattle were showing suspected signs of the disease, according to the MOA.

“Local authorities sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where 527 heads of cattle have been culled and safely disposed of, so as to prevent spreading the disease,” the ministry was reported as saying.

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Death Toll in Gold Mine Collapse Climbs to 100

About 100 miners have reportedly been killed after an “unlicensed” gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s Darfur region. The gold mine, some 200 km NW of the North Darfur state capital El Fasher, began to collapse on Monday, trapping nine of the rescue team on Thursday.

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Chinese ring sold rodent meat as beef and mutton

Some 904 people have been arrested in China during a three-month surveillance campaign involving food-related crimes. The ring sold rodent meat, rat and fox, as  beef and mutton, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has revealed.

• Police have uncovered 382 cases involving fake meat, and seized more than 20,000 tons of illegal products since January 25, the ministry said.
  

• “In Wuxi, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, suspects made fake mutton from fox, mink and rat by adding chemicals. The products were sold to markets and the suspects made more than 10 million yuan (1.62 million U.S. dollars) from the illegal activities,” the report said.
  

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 3, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,044 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,044 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

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

Plane Crash Kills Many in Nigeria

Airliner crashes into building killing 193

A Dana Air passenger plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, crashed into a two-story building in poor, densely populated residential area of Lagos, killing all 153 people on board, and at least 40 people on the ground.

“Among the dead was the spokesman for the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Levi Ajuonuma, according to a passenger list released by the airline. Ajuonuma was also de facto spokesman for the oil minister in OPEC member Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer,” Reuters reported.

At least four Chinese citizens were among the victims, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

The crash occurred  less than a day after a Nigerian Allied Cargo plane crash-landed in Ghana, killing at least 10 people on board.

Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian President, has  declared 3 days of national mourning.

• See also:  Airlines & Aviation Industry, Airline Safety, Air Travel …

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• NM, USA.  Gila National Forest Wildfire (Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire), the largest in New Mexico history, has grown to at least 250,000 acres, as of posting.
  • The fire was sparked by lightening on Wednesday May 16th, 2012.
  • The blaze is uncontrolled, though it is about 17 percent contained.

Whitewater Baldy Complex fire, Gila National Forest, NM.  June 3 Fire Progression Map – Source: Southern Area Incident Management Team

Gila National Forest Wildfire, June 2, 2012.

Photos by Kari Greer/ Credit: US Forest Service, Gila National Forest

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