disaster

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Gustav Floods Upper 9th Ward
 Gustav Floods Upper 9th Ward 
UPDATED
Sep 1, 2008 12:45 PM CDT

Gustav Floods Upper 9th Ward

(Newser) - Six inches of water from Hurricane Gustav is flooding the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans, but the Army Corps of Engineers says the situation is not a major danger, the Times-Picayune reports. The Lower Ninth Ward’s levees, which were reinforced after Hurricane Katrina, have not given way. "...

New Orleans Mayor Orders: 'Get Out of Town'

(Newser) - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin tonight ordered the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, turning informal advice to flee from Gustav into an official order to "get out of town." Nagin didn't mince words, referring to Gustav as the "storm of the century." The order takes effect...

GOP Watching Gustav to Decide on Convention

Mac says party won't celebrate if US is battling hurricane

(Newser) - GOP leaders are monitoring Hurricane Gustav "from day to day" to decide whether to delay the Republican National Convention, John McCain said today. “It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural...

1M Flee Gulf Coast Hurricane Warning

(Newser) - Spooked by Hurricane Gustav's rapid move toward Category 5 strength, a million residents of the Gulf Coast fled today as a hurricane watch was issued for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and part of Texas. Gustav is likely to become a Category 5—with sustained winds of 156 mph or more—by...

Survivors Tell of K2 Disaster
 Survivors Tell of K2 Disaster 
Aug 28, 2008 2:36 PM CDT

Survivors Tell of K2 Disaster

Worst mountaineering tragedy since 1986

(Newser) - After braving a challenge that trumps Everest—one that claimed the lives of 11 fellow mountaineers—the survivors of this month's K2 disaster tell Andrew Buncombe of the Independent about their harrowing descent. Battling frostbite, Italian guide Marco Confortola watched helplessly as his friends died, while Dutch climber Wilco van...

Pilots' Union Warned Spanair: Operations Are a 'Disaster'

Union told management fleet was too old as early as 2007

(Newser) - Pilots at Spanair, operator of the MD80 airliner that crashed in Madrid this week, killing 153, warned management repeatedly that passenger safety was compromised by the “chaotic” way the airline was operated, the Times of London reports. Emails from the Spanish pilots union claimed the fleet  wasn’t being...

149 Confirmed Dead in Spain Crash
 149 Confirmed Dead
 in Spain Crash
UPDATED
Aug 20, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

149 Confirmed Dead in Spain Crash

Bodies too hot to touch after fiery disaster; 26 survive

(Newser) - The Spanish government confirms that 149 people died when a Spanair jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Madrid's airport today, the AP reports. Only 26 survived the horrific crash, which tore the aircraft apart to the point that rescue workers said the wreckage didn’t look like a plane and...

Atop Deadly K2, Climbers Hit Perfect Storm of Tragedy

11 deaths make worst climbing incident since 1986

(Newser) - This weekend’s disaster on K2, in which 11 climbers lost their lives on the world’s second-highest peak, was one of the climbing’s greatest tragedies. Though “the weather was perfect” when climbers set off Friday, the New York Times takes a look at how the treacherous slopes,...

US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes
 US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes
Aug 2, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes

Scientists propose techniques to modify the weather

(Newser) - The Department of Homeland Security is hoping that weather-altering techniques can lessen the devastation caused by hurricanes, the Daily Telegraph reports. A hurricane reduction program likely to begin in October will devote $64 million to efforts such as spreading tiny salt particles in the storms to drain them of much...

Please, Media, That Was No Quake
 Please, Media,
 That Was No Quake
opinion
Aug 1, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Please, Media, That Was No Quake

The only real damage was to one columnist's workday

(Newser) - The brouhaha over the California earthquake this week was generated as much by media as trembling ground, Joel Stein writes in the Los Angeles Times. The quake did damage Stein's workday, however, because he had to field so many calls from worried, out-of-state loved ones who saw the overhyped coverage...

Chinese Cheered by Eclipse
 Chinese Cheered by Eclipse 
Aug 1, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Chinese Cheered by Eclipse

Nation desperate for good sign a week before Olympics

(Newser) - Finally, China had an act of nature it could celebrate. After an Olympic year of freakish natural disasters, crowds of Chinese watched a total solar eclipse along the country's ancient Silk Road on Friday, one week before the start of the Summer Games in Beijing, the AP reports.

16 Girls Killed, More Trapped in Turkey Dorm Collapse

Rescue teams dig frantically to unearth survivors

(Newser) - A three-story dormitory housing female students collapsed in central Turkey today, killing at least 16 girls, injuring at least 27, and setting off a search for a half-dozen students believed to be under the rubble. The students, between ages 8 and 16, were attending Koran courses in the city of...

Ragtag Levees Leave Midwest Soaking

Locals and towns run disorganized barrier system

(Newser) - As the Midwest battles massive flooding, the New York Times looks at the region's patchwork of homemade levees—which fail to meet federal standards and tend to spring unexpected leaks. Bill Clinton's White House advised a uniform levy system 15 years ago, but the report was read and forgotten. “...

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
UPDATED
Jun 14, 2008 7:21 AM CDT

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan

(Newser) - A 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Japan today, killing at least 6 people and injuring more than 140 others, the AP reports. Landslides trapped another 100 bathers at a hot springs resort, but no tsunami warning was issued. At a nuclear power plant, 5 gallons of radioactive water splashed from...

Even As Neb. Honors Fallen Scouts, Floods Pound Iowa

Hospital evacuated in downtown Cedar Rapids, where 100 blocks are submerged

(Newser) - “We have to make sure people remember," said a 13-year-old who pulled a dead fellow Boy Scout out of the rubble left by Wednesday's fatal tornado. Last night's vigil in Omaha, Neb., was among several for the four teens killed in the Iowa maelstrom; “This is probably...

24 Trapped Ukraine Miners Rescued; 12 Still Missing

One dead in weekend explosion as rescue efforts continue

(Newser) - Rescuers have saved 24 Ukrainian miners trapped underground after a large explosion over the weekend. One miner was found dead, AFP reports. Efforts continued to rescue the remaining 12 workers as flood waters rose. Most of the survivors were found some 3,000 feet underground, their faces covered with soot...

Second Man Dead in NYC Crane Wreck
 Second Man Dead
 in NYC Crane Wreck 
UPDATED
May 30, 2008 2:31 PM CDT

Second Man Dead in NYC Crane Wreck

Both were construction workers; one was operating the crane

(Newser) - The construction crane accident in New York this morning has claimed a second life, that of a 27-year-old construction worker. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the builders were apparently up to snuff with regulations, AP reports, but added, “What has happened is unacceptable and intolerable.” The project was slapped...

Tornadoes Leave 2 Dead in Midwest

More than 20 twisters strike Kan., Okla.

(Newser) - Kansas authorities uncovered two bodies from a crumpled car today after nearly 20 tornadoes whipped through the state yesterday, the AP reports. Several more twisters landed in the countryside of northwestern Oklahoma, leveling a few barns, and Colorado residents are returning to the town of Windsor today after twisters damaged...

6 Die in 5.7-Mag Colombia Quake
 6 Die in 5.7-Mag
 Colombia Quake 
updated
May 24, 2008 6:29 PM CDT

6 Die in 5.7-Mag Colombia Quake

Bogota shakes, 33 miles from epicenter

(Newser) - At least six people died and eight were injured during an earthquake in Colombia today, Reuters reports. The 5.7-magnitude temblor also razed 10 homes, damaged buildings, and sent people running into the streets of Bogota. Three of the quake's fatalities were trapped in landslides, and three others, including a...

Visiting UN Chief Pushes Burma to Accept Aid

Junta refuses US supplies waiting nearby

(Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon witnessed cyclone damage in Burma today, on a trip to bring the devastated country a “message of hope” and push the junta to allow international aid for the millions left destitute, Reuters reports. “I'm quite confident we will be able to overcome this tragedy,...

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