Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Sunday 12 May 2013
Drought Affecting 3.58 Million Hectares of Farmland
Scorching drought in China’s western and central regions has affected at least 3.58 million hectares of farmland, [that’s an area the size of Taiwan,] drought relief authorities said.
- Affected land used to grow crops totaled 2.13 million hectares, lower than the average acreage of 6.3 million hectares over the past few years, according to a statement from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.”
- At least 5.54 million people and 3.99 million livestock in the two drought-stricken regions are currently short of drinking water, the report said.
Rainstorms Destroy Thousands of Homes, Affect one million in southern and eastern China
Extreme Rain Events have battered southern and eastern China since last week, destroying thousands of homes, and affecting at least a million people, said a report.
As of Saturday, rainstorms have affected about 850,000 people, toppled more than 2,200 homes and forced 14,000 citizens to relocate in Hunan.
Rainstorms have affected about 196,800 people in east China’s Jiangxi Province, local authorities said Saturday.
As of 11 p.m. Friday, the heavy rain, which started from Tuesday, has battered 26 counties in Jiangxi, the provincial flood prevention and drought control headquarters said.
The storms have destroyed about 20,000 hectares of crops, and left tens of thousands displaced.
Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events
Calif. Homes Sinking In Volcanic Grounds, Lakeport Community Evacuated
Homes in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, are breaking apart and sinking into cavernous fractures that had first appeared as cracks in the ground.
“We have a dormant volcano, and I’m certain a lot of things that happen here (in Lake County) are as a result of that, but we don’t know about that,” county public works director Scott De Leon told Yahoo News.
Associated Press/Rich Pedroncelli – In this photo taken Monday, May 6, 2013 Robin and Scott Spivey walk past the wreckage of their Tudor-style dream home they had to abandon when the ground gave way causing it to drop 10 feet below the street in Lakeport, Calif. Officials believe that water that has bubbled to the surface is playing a role, in the collapse of the hillside subdivision that has forced the evacuation of 10 homes and the notice of imminent evacuation of another 10 in this upscale subdivision. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli). More images…
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At least 40 killed, 100 injured as explosions shake Turkish town
At least 46 people were killed and 100 others injured, 50 of them seriously, after 3 powerful explosions shook the Turkish town of Reyhanli in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, near the border with Syria, authorities have said.
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Yet another deadly coal mine blast in China
Death toll from a coal mine explosion on Saturday in southwest China’s Sichuan Province rose to 27, local authorities said.
- The blast occurred in Taozigou colliery, Luxian County in the city of Luzhou, according to officials.
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Bangladesh death toll rises to 1125
Death toll from the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory complex in Bangladesh rose to 1,126 by 3:00pm ( local time) on Sunday, after 16 additional bodies were discovered in the rubble, 19 days after the building collapsed, officials said.
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Novel Coronavirus Kills 2 More People in Saudi Arabia
Two more people have died from novel coronavirus (nCoV) in an outbreak in al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia, Reuters quoted a Saudi official as saying.
- The latest cluster of infections includes 15 confirmed cases, including 9 deaths, the official has reported.
From April 2012 to [May 8, 2013,] a total of 33 people from Saudi Arabia [2 others reported dead on May 12,] Qatar, Jordan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and France were confirmed to have an infection caused by the novel coronavirus, CDC reported.
- Saudi Arabia: 24 people; 13 of them died [at least 15 dead as of May 12, 2013]
- Qatar: 2 people; both survived
- Jordan: 2 people; both died
- UK: 3 people; 2 died, 1 recovered
- UAE: 1 person; died
- France: 1 person, receiving treatment
Coronaviruses are a cause of the common cold. A coronavirus also was the cause of the severe respiratory illness called SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). SARS caused a global epidemic in 2003, but there have not been any known cases of SARS since 2004. This novel coronavirus is not the same coronavirus that caused SARS. —CDC
We know this virus has infected people since 2012, but we don’t know where this virus lives. We know that when people get infected, many of them develop severe pneumonia. What we don’t know is how often people might develop mild disease. We also know that most of the persons who have been infected so far have been older men, often with other medical conditions. We are not sure why we are seeing this pattern and if it will change over time. —WHO
The greatest global concern, however, is about the potential for this new virus to spread. This is partly because the virus has already caused severe disease in multiple countries, although in small numbers, and has persisted in the region since 2012. Of most concern, however, is the fact that the different clusters seen in multiple countries increasingly support the hypothesis that when there is close contact this novel coronavirus can transmit from person-to-person. This pattern of person-to- person transmission has remained limited to some small clusters and so far, there is no evidence that this virus has the capacity to sustain generalized transmission in communities. —WHO
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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 12, 2013 —
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,035 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
- SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,035 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
- The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …
GLOBAL WARNINGS
Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background
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