Thousands Dead or Injured in SW China Quake

DEADLY EARTHQUAKE
MAJOR DISASTER
MASS CASUALTIES
SCENARIOS 444, 080, 070, 09, 08, 07
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Earthquake kills at least 398, injures 1,881 others in SW China

Death toll has risen to at least 398, with 1,881 others injured, from an earthquake that struck SW China’s Yunnan province on Sunday, August 3, reported Xinhua, the country’s official news agency.

The magnitude 6.5 earthquake, said to be the strongest to strike the province in 100 years, has destroyed or damaged more than 42,000 buildings, said the report.

The quake has destroyed or damaged about 90 percent of “wood and earth” houses, which includes most of the structures in the disaster zone, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The deadly quake has affected at least 1.09 million people, forcing more than 230,000 people to relocate.

According to USGS/EHP, at least 4 aftershocks measuring between magnitudes 4.5Mw and 4.7Mw have struck the disaster zone, as of posting.

“As of 8 a.m. Monday, 411 aftershocks had been recorded in the quake-hit region, with four measured between 4.0 to 4.9 magnitude and five between 3.0 to 3.9 magnitude, according to the administration,” said Xinhua.

Meanwhile, China’s National Committee for Disaster Mitigation has upgraded its disaster relief response to the highest-level, said the report.

“[The National Committee for Disaster Mitigation] decided to lift the level of the disaster relief response from grade III to I at 11 a.m. Monday. Grade I is usually issued for ‘especially major natural disasters’ in which more than 200 people are killed or more than 1 million people are relocated.”

Thundershowers are forecast through Wednesday, making the relief work much more difficult in the mountainous disaster zone.

Related links

• Hundreds Dead or Missing in SW China Quake August 3, 2014
• Strong Quake Strikes North of PNG  August 3, 2014

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Hundreds Dead or Missing in SW China Quake

EARTHQUAKE
MAJOR DISASTER
MASS CASUALTIES
SCENARIOS 444, 080, 070, 09, 08, 07
.

Deadly Earthquake Destroys Thousands of Homes in SW China’s Yunnan Province

At least 150 people have been killed, 180 others missing and more than 1,300 injured after a strong earthquake rocked southwest China’s Yunnan Province Sunday afternoon, reported Xinhua.

Centered at 27.1°N,  103.3°E, the strong shock occurred at a depth of 12 km in Longtoushan township, 23 km southwest of Ludian [population: ~ 266,000,] Zhaotong City, at about 16:30  (Beijing Time), said the report.

“As of 8:00 p.m., more than 120 residents were killed, over 180 were missing and 1,300 got injured in Ludian County, according to the local government.”

The quake destroyed more than 12,000 houses and damaged 30,000 more, cutting off transportation, electricity and telecommunications links throughout the county, officials have said.

The quake has killed at least 30 others in two neighboring counties, the report said.

“It’s so terrible. The aftermath is much much worse than what happened after the quake two years ago. I have never felt so strong tremors before. What I can see are all ruins,” said a resident.

“Too many buildings were damaged and we are collecting data on deaths and injuries,” said the head of the Longtoushan township, adding an rescue operation is under way.

“The road leading to the township was damaged in a landslide before the quake and the traffic has not been resumed.”

Related Links

• Strong Quake Strikes North of PNG on August 3, 2014

China Earthquake Disaster

SEISMIC HAZARD
HEIGHTENED GLOBAL SEISMICITY
SCENARIOS 08
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Earthquake destroys or damages about 10,000 homes in SW China

An earthquake in Kachang Township of Yingjiang County in southwest China’s Yunnan Province has affected more than 300,000 people in 15 towns, destroying or damaging about 10,000 homes.

Centered at 24.926°N, 97.809°E the quake struck at a depth of 10.0km (6.2mi) on May 24, 2014. The quake was later upgraded to magnitude 5.8Mw.

Earthquake Details [USGS/EHP]

• Event Time: 2014-05-23 20:49:22 UTC
• Location: 24.926°N 97.809°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)
• Nearby Cities:
  • 23km (14mi) NNW of Pingyuan, China
  • 65km (40mi) SE of Myitkyina, Burma
  • 93km (58mi) NE of Bhamo, Burma
  • 220km (137mi) N of Lashio, Burma
  • 599km (372mi) NNE of Nay Pyi Taw, Burma

Related Links

• M6.9 Strikes Near Kamariotissa, Greece May 24, 2014

Severe Flooding Plagues Parts of Houston

Torrential Rains Down Power Lines, Flood Houston Streets

Extreme rains and thunderstorms hit Harris County, Texas, Saturday night, prompting officials to warn people to stay off the roads.

• A weather system moved across southeast Texas over the weekend dumping up to 6 inches of rain over much of Harris County in three hours.

• Local media reported golf ball-sized hail in parts of the Houston metro area.

• “County officials said at least three bayous and creeks are close to capacity, potentially causing flooding in surrounding streets and low-lying areas. South Mayde Creek at Greenhouse near Katy and Brays Bayou near Lawndale and Gessner were both at capacity. Keegans Bayou near Sugar Land was also rising,” said a report.

• Storm cut power to at least 50,000 customers in the area, CenterPoint Energy reported.

“Showers, thunderstorms and flash flooding risks will continue Saturday night from the Tennessee Valley into South Texas. Some storms may become severe during the early overnight hours but the severe risk should diminish throughout the night.” NWS reported.

“Showers and thunderstorms will continue Saturday night. Some storms will still have the potential to become severe with tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail all possible. The severe threat will diminish throughout the night. Flash flooding will also be a concern with stronger storms.”

0O0

Explosion at Marathon Detroit Refinery

An explosion at Marathon Detroit Refinery prompted the authorities to partially evacuate the nearby city of Melvindale due to air quality concerns.

Explosion in a storage fuel tank at Marathon Detroit Refinery spewed a large plume of black smoke.

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Thousands fighting SW China forest fire

Thousands of fire crews have been deployed to contain a forest fire that has  raged for a sixth day in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

• The blaze broke out on Tuesday and has since consumed hundreds of hectares of forests in Lufeng County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Xinhua reported.
  

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Bangladesh: Dhaka building collapse update

• Confirmed Fatalities: 367
• Still Missing: As many as 600
• Rescued: 2,343
• Injured: More than 1,000, many received serious injuries

U.S. Wildfires

• Warm days mean early wildfire season in Oregon
• Wildfires reported across Maine 
• Strong winds give new life to wildfire near Livingston, Montana

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 28, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,049 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,049 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

Minnesota Seeks Presidential Disaster Declaration

Ice storm damage estimated at $26 million in 5 Minnesota counties

Gov. Dayton has asked for a presidential disaster declaration for five counties in SW Minnesota after an ice storm earlier this month caused damages estimated at $26 million, said a report.

The three-day ice storm destroyed 3,000 power poles and damaged more than 800 miles of electric lines. “Thousands of damaged trees will likely have to be cut down,” said the report.

“We have to hope that we get a disaster declaration because there are no communities in Nobles County—and Worthington included—that have reserves in their budgets to handle the amount of cleanup effort that is going to be involved in getting the town back to the way it was prior to the ice event,” Worthington Mayor was quoted as saying.

0O0

Other Disasters/ Significant Events

Kansas Declared Presidential Disaster Area

The Disaster President has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Kansas in 23 counties affected by a snowstorm during the period of February 20-23, 2013.

The disaster areas are the counties of Barber, Barton, Dickinson, Ellis, Franklin, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Kingman, Marion, McPherson, Ness, Osage, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Smith, and Stafford.

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Persistent Drought in SW China’s Yunnan Province affects at least 12 million people

A villager looks at the dried-up pond in Qingshan Village of Qujing City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, April 8, 2013. Over 12 million people have been affected by the lingering drought in the province. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou). More images …

Where there is drought…

Photo taken on April 27, 2013 shows the site of a forest fire in Qinfeng Township of Lufeng County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Xu Tao) More images…

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 27, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,050 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,050 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

Drought Affecting Tens of Millions in China

Western China hit by severe drought

Severe drought has affected at least 23.7 million people in western China’s Yunnan, Gansu and Sichuan provinces since October 2012, causing economic losses of more than 1.1 billion U.S dollars, said the authorities.

Persistent drought has scorched Yunnan Province, causing crop failure and reducing agricultural production throughout the province. Many people in the province’s  mountainous areas lack drinking water, said a report.

Original Caption: A water reservoir that has a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters lies empty in Shaoxin Village of Mile, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, March 29, 2013. (Xinhua/Chen Haining). More images …

In NW China’s Gansu province about 4.5 million people have been affected by the ongoing drought;  more than 650,000 people lack drinking water.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – March 30, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,078 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,078 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

Deadly Landslide Caused by ‘Continuous Rain, Geological Conditions and Earthquakes’

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,257 Days Left

[October 6, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. 

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,257 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

A deadly landslide that claimed at least 19 lives in southwest China’s Yunnan Province was caused by a combination of continuous rain, geological conditions and earthquakes, Chinese geologists have said.

• “… the area where the landslide occurred received about 297 mm of precipitation from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4, three times the amount received during the same period in previous years…  Rock and soil that was loosened by multiple earthquakes that occurred in early September formed a landslid,” said a report.

Other Disasters/ Significant Events

United States

Nine states have reported cases of meningitis linked to epidural steroid injections, CDC reported. An estimated 17,000 people may have received the injections.  As of October 6, 201 2:00pm ET2:

Total count: 64 cases, 7 dead

• Florida: 4 cases
• Indiana: 5 cases
• Maryland: 3 cases, including 1 death
• Michigan: 8 cases, including 2 deaths
• Minnesota: 1 case
• North Carolina: 2 cases
• Ohio: 1 case
• Tennessee: 29 cases, including 3 deaths
• Virginia: 11 cases, including 1 death

California

• San Bernardino. The city of San Bernardino has become the third California city in two weeks to file bankruptcy protection in the face of a $45-million budget shortfall, reports said.

• Atwater. The small Central California city of Atwater (Pop: ~28,000) has declared A fiscal emergency, which could translate to the state’s fourth municipal bankruptcy this year, said a report.

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

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Hard Freeze Hits the U.S.

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,258 Days Left

[October 5, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. 

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,258 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...

.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

“Early season” snowstorm surges south and east across the U.S.

A powerful early season snow storm is forecast to bring light to heavy snow, freezing temperatures and strong winds to the north-central Plains today. Snow will expand to the central Plains and the northern Rockies on Friday and Saturday, NOAA forecasters said.

• Forecasters in several locations are calling for overnight low temperatures in the 20s that will bring an end to the growing season. A hard freeze with temperatures in the 20s is expected through 9 a.m. Friday in western South Dakota and northeast Wyoming. Freezing overnight temperatures are also expected in parts of Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.
• The cold front is expected to move into much of the Eastern United States and the Deep South.
• Hard Freeze Warnings,  Freeze Warnings, Hazardous Weather Outlook,  and various winter-weather watches and advisories are in effect across much of the country.

Other Disasters/ Significant Events

China. Landslide death toll in Yiliang County, located in SW China’s Yunnan province,  has climbed to at least 19, including 18 primary school children.

• Eight-hundred residents were relocated after the landslide.

• Yiliang was struck by a cluster of earthquakes on September 7, which left 81 people dead and 800 others injured, said a report.

Rescuers search at the landslide site in the village of Zhenhe, located in Yiliang County, Zhaotong City,  Yunnan Province, southwest China, October 4, 2012. Nineteen people, including 18 primary school students, who were buried in the landslide on Thursday are now confirmed dead. (Xinhua/Long Jiao).  More photos…

South Africa.  Anglo American Platinum, world’s largest platinum producer, has fired 12,000 striking South African miners after a protracted strike over wages, reports said.

• Clashes between striking miners and police left one worker dead.
• Some 34 miners were shot dead by the “post-apartheid” police in August.

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

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Yunnan Quake Injures 300

A Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake in China’s SW Yunnan Province Injures 300

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, which was initially reported as a magnitude 5.5 shock by USGS, has reportedly toppled 10,000 homes, injuring more than 300 people.

[Note: The number of toppled building may have been exaggerated for political reasons.]

The moderate-to-strong quake struck at 19:19:17  [time at epicenter] yesterday in Guantun, a small town about 100 km (60 miles) ENE of Dali, Yunnan, China. Eight aftershocks measuring 3 to 4.1 on the Richter scale followed the mainshock.

10-degree Map Centered at 25°N,100°E

Earthquake Location. (Source: USGS)

Seismic Hazard Map

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green (Source: USGS)

Historic Seismicity

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green (Source: USGS)

Earthquake Details

• Magnitude: 5.7
• Date-Time
  • Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 11:19:17 UTC
  • Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 07:19:17 PM at epicenter

• Location: 25.619°N, 101.086°E
• Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
• Region: YUNNAN, CHINA
• Distances:
  • 100 km (60 miles) ENE of Dali, Yunnan, China
  • 120 km (75 miles) SSW of Panzhihua (Dukou), Sichuan, China
  • 695 km (430 miles) SW of Chongqing, Chongqing, China
  • 2130 km (1320 miles) SW of BEIJING, Beijing, China

• Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 7.1 km (4.4 miles); depth fixed by location program
• Parameters: NST= 89, Nph= 89, Dmin=975 km, Rmss=1.19 sec, Gp= 50°, M-type=centroid moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8
• Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
• Event ID: us2009iwar

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency:

The quake occurred at 7:19 p.m., at a depth of about 10 kilometers, with the epicenter in the county’s Guantun Township, about 200 km from the provincial city of Kunming, said the China Earthquake Networks Center.

More than 300 people were injured and more than 10,000 houses collapsed in a 6.0-magnitude earthquake that hit southwest China’s Yunnan Province Thursday evening, local authorities said.

Among the victims, 30 suffered severe injuries while the other 305 were slightly injured as of 1 a.m., said the quake-relief headquarters in Yao’an County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

The headquarters previously put the number of injuries at 336, among whom 56 were severely injured.

More than 10,000 houses collapsed and more than 30,000 others were damaged in six counties in Chuxiong, according to the latest figure.

Last year’s magnitude 7.9 quake struck China’s Sichuan province, northeast of yesterday’s quake, killing up to 90,000 people [many of the victims were schoolkids studying at shoddily-built schools when the disaster occurred,] and destroying as many as 5 million structures that left millions homeless.

For detailed reports and reference on Sichuan quake see links below.

Related Links:

FEWW Earthquake Links

Amazing Images: Terrace rice fields in Yunnan Province, China

GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. (Credit: Jialiang Gao; via Wikimedia Commons)