Landslide and floods in Manado, the provincial capital of North Sulawesi, in central parts of Indonesia, on Sunday killed 10 people, official said here. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho spokesman of national disaster management and mitigation agency said that the natural disaster had forced about 1,200 people taking shelters. Heavy rains starting after midnight had triggered floods and landslides on Sunday morning, he said. “Nine people were killed by the landslide this morning and another was swept by the waters,” he said. Indonesia has been frequently hit by floods and landslide during heavy rains.
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Updated: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:48:00 GMT | By Agence France-Presse
At least 13 people were killed over the weekend in Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, officials said Sunday.
Indonesia floods, landslides kill 13
Flooding and landslides hit North Sulawesi province’s capital city Manado early Sunday, killing 10 people and prompting another 1,200 to be evacuated, national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
On Saturday three people including two 14-year-old boys were killed after they were swept away by floodwaters in Jambi province on Sumatra island, local disaster official Dalmanto told AFP.
“Several days of heavy rains caused a river to break its banks and flood smaller waterways. The boys were taken away by strong currents as they were bathing in a waterway,” he said.
“And today, we found the body of a man who went fishing in a canal.”
Indonesia has been repeatedly afflicted by deadly floods and landslides in recent years during its wet season which lasts around half the year.
Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land in the world’s fourth-most populous country for the frequent flooding.
Heavy rains caused flooding in the capital Jakarta in January that left 32 people dead and at its peak forced nearly 46,000 to flee their homes.
Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Fri, February 08 2013, 9:35 AM
The House of Representatives said it would question the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) next week over a report saying Indonesia was complicit in the US Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) secret operation to detain and torture suspected terrorists worldwide following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“The publication of the report has apparently gained public attention. Thus, we will ask the BIN for explanation in a hearing slated for next week,” Mahfudz Siddiq, the chairman of the House’s Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, said on Thursday.
Mahfudz said the nation’s spy agency had yet to inform the commission about such a partnership with the CIA.
“We want to know details about the engagement of our intelligence body with the CIA operation because although BIN can work together with foreign agencies in a covert operation, it’s wrong to torture as we have ratified the UN Convention Against Torture,” Mahfudz of the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said.
Indonesia ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in October 1998, an international human rights instrument that prohibits the direct use of torture as well as the deportation of people to countries where they will evidently be tortured.
BIN Spokesperson Ruminta did not respond to The Jakarta Post’s text messages or phone calls for comment.
Two separate landslides triggered by torrential rain in western Indonesia have killed at least nine people, including four geothermal workers, and left 17 others missing, officials said Sunday. Disaster official Ade Edward said 20 houses were buried by mud and rocks that fell from surrounding hills at dawn Sunday in Tanjung Sani village in West Sumatra province’s district. Rescuers recovered five bodies and were searching for 17 people who reportedly were buried under the mud, he said. Three injured villagers were being treated at a hospital. Heavy rain also triggered a landslide late Saturday in a drilling field owned by PT. Pertamina Geothermal Energy, killing four workers on Sumatra island, company official Adiatma Sardjito said. “The workers were having dinner when the landslide suddenly occurred,” Sardjito said, adding that five others were injured and one was missing. He said the company had sent heavy equipment to assist efforts to retrieve the bodies.
Heavy rain was forecast again for Indonesiaâs capital as floods that began three days ago claimed 11 lives in the city. Five people died of electrocution, four elderly victims died of hypothermia or illnesses, and two children drowned since flooding began on Jan. 15, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman at the National Agency for Disaster Management, told reporters in Jakarta today. More than 18,000 people in the city of 9.6 million have been evacuated from their homes, he said. âRainfall with high intensity may be ongoing until this weekend,â Nugroho said. Water levels rose in the neighboring city of Depok and the resulting surge was headed toward Jakarta. The floods have disrupted businesses, stranded travelers and swamped the offices of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Consumer prices may rise because of disruptions in food distribution, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said in Jakarta today, adding that the government is working to ensure smooth deliveries.
A state of emergency in the capital, which contributes about 16 percent of Indonesiaâs economy output, will stay in effect until Jan. 27, Governor Joko Widodo said yesterday. The seasonal floods are affecting 41 square kilometers (16 square miles) of Jakarta, representing about six percent of the cityâs total land area. In 2007, floods submerged 232 square kilometers and forced the evacuation of 320,000 people, Nugroho said. Indonesiaâs floods are not affecting industrial areas and will have a limited impact on banks, Citigroup Inc. analyst Ferry Wong said in a report today. The overall economy will face a limited impact if the heavy rains stop now, he said in the report. Demand for home improvements, pharmaceuticals and noodles will increase, while distribution and logistics businesses will be impacted, according to the report. Jakarta sits in a low-lying area with 13 rivers and more than 1,400 kilometers of man-made waterways, making it prone to flooding, according to the World Bank. About 40 percent of Jakartaâs land area is below sea level.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, after severe flooding paralysed parts of the city. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. Despite promises of the government to find a solution to the recurring problem, the flooding has only gotten worse. Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Jakarta.
A budding supreme court judge has ignited public outrage by saying women enjoy being raped.
Muhammad Daming Sunusi made the quip during a vetting session for Indonesia’s highest court.
When asked his views on the death penalty for rapists, he replied: ‘The rapist and the victim of rape both enjoy it, so we must think carefully before imposing the death penalty.’
According to reports the parliamentary selection panel laughed at his comments, but drew immediate criticism on social media and from rights groups.
Mr Daming later apologised for the remark, which he said was ‘intended to break the ice’.
Speaking at a press conference he declared: ‘I apologise to the Indonesian public from the bottom of my heart. I realise those words shouldn’t have come out from anyone, let alone a justice hopeful.’
Despite the apology two political parties have already said they would vote against Mr Daming being elected as one of 23 judges at the court in Jakarta.
Women’s rights groups have also suggested the chief judge of Palembang high court be censured.
Some suburbs in the capital already go underwater when there is a big tide but the problem is expected to get even worse.
Jakarta is sinking by up to 10 centimetres a year and Indonesia’s national disaster centre says with oceans rising, large parts of the city, including the airport, will be inundated by 2030.
Flooding and high tides are already causing problems for some residents in the city of 10 million people.
Kartoyo’s roadside food stall is swimming in about 30 centimetres of water.
“It has been easier,” he said.
“This kind of flood is manageable but hopefully it won’t get higher.”
“The people here before, they couldn’t even go to the market because of the flood and the children couldn’t go to school.”
In 2009 the council built a small sea wall, but the ocean still pushes its way up through the drains and into homes.
The roar of chainsaws has replaced birdsong, the once-lush, green jungle scorched to a barren grey. The equivalent of six football pitches of forest is lost every minute in Indonesia.
The disappearance of the trees has pushed thousands of animals — from the birds they harbour and sustain to orangutans, gibbons and black panthers — out of their natural homes and habitats.
They have been replaced by plantations that are too nutrient-poor to support such wildlife, instead dedicated solely to producing fruit that is pulped to make oil used globally in products ranging from food to fuel.
A palm oil tree can yield useable fruit in three years and continue doing so for the next 25 years. But such wealth creation has meant environmental destruction.
“We don’t see too many orangutans any more”, said a worker with a weather-beaten face, taking a break in the shade of a hut built on a path gouged out of the forest floor.
Experts believe there are about 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 80 percent of them in Indonesia’s Borneo and the rest in Malaysia. Exact data on their decline is hard to come by, say primatologists.
“What we see now is a contest between orangutans and palm oil for a home,” said Sri Suci Utami Atmoko from National University in Jakarta.
“You can judge that the population is depleting from the loss of orangutan habitats.”
Gibbons, often recognisable by the rings of white fur that frame their faces, are among the hardest-hit species.
“There are 100,000 gibbons in Borneo. But in 15-20 years, there will be more viable populations,” said Aurelien Brule, a French national based in Borneo for 15 years who runs an animal sanctuary.
Gibbons rescued from the destruction of their forest homes cannot be returned alone into new wild habitats. “Other pairs protecting their own territory would kill them,” said Brule, adding that rampant deforestation has wiped out sites suitable for single animals.
There is also a human cost, with the permits for plantations resulting in the eviction of indigenous people.
Abdon Nababan, the secretary general of AMAN, an Indonesian indigenous peoples alliance, said there is no exact data but recorded cases of land conflict are in the hundreds, with thousands of people possibly affected.
Bambang Muryanto and Arya Dipa, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Bandung | Archipelago | Tue,
Mount Merapi, located in Yogyakarta, emitted high-pressure gas on Sunday afternoon that caused its crater wall to collapse and volcanic ash to fall on its western slope, as smoke billowed up to 1 kilometer into the sky.
As the gas discharge was not followed by other dangerous volcanic activity, the phenomenon was regarded as a small-scale volcanic eruption and the volcano’s alert status remained normal.
“Mount Merapi’s status remains normal because there was no dangerous volcanic activity,” said Volcanic Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTK) head Subandriyo on Monday.
According to Subandriyo, the incident was due to the accumulation of gas produced by the volcano’s magma. As the gas’ exit fumarole was too narrow, the volcano eventually released all the buildup of very high pressure gas by erupting, which caused the crater wall to collapse and this emitted a massive rumble.
“The incident can be called a small-scale ‘volcanic eruption’,” said Subandriyo.
In Bandung, West Java, Geological Disaster Mitigation and Volcanology Center head Surono said the collapse of the crater wall of Mount Merapi on Sunday was a natural process. The collapse was not due to an increase in volcanic activity of the most active volcano in Indonesia.
The lava dome collapsed because rocks and eruption material from the 2010 eruption were still not completely set and stable. “The force of gravity or the weight of the rocks has caused the crater wall to collapse,” Surono said in a text message on Monday.
The lava dome collapsed on Sunday at 6:02 p.m. local time. According to Surono, officers at the Babadan observation post, located more than 5 kilometers from the mountain park, heard a rumbling sound which was a result of the collapse.
They also observed smoke billowing at a height of 1,000 meters above the peak, slanting westward. Surono added that a slight ash cloud occurred, followed by the smell of sulfur. “Based on a report, a rain of ash took place in Jurang Jero and Srumbung. The smoke was not emitted from an eruption, but rather by the collapsed crater dome,” Surono said.
Surono urged residents living around the volcano to remain calm and not panic due to unclear rumors. “Information on volcanic activity can be obtained from the Yogyakarta BPPTK,” added Surono.
Subandriyo said the amount of gas pressure was unclear, as his office was unable to conduct the measurements. The crater emitted thick smoke mixed with gas and ash and rose up to 1 kilometer. Its shape resembled a pyroclastic flow.
According to Subandriyo, the phenomenon was the first after it erupted in 2010. “The volcanic magma is currently rich with gas. This did not occur before the 2010 eruption,” he said. He added that in the past month, the crater dome of the 2,800-meter tall volcano often collapsed because the structure of the dome was not yet stable and due to the drought.
He also called on residents living along the slope of the mountain to remain calm because the status remained remains normal. However, he has advised trekkers not to approach the peak as it was quite dangerous. “Climbers should only hike up to Pasar Bubrah,” said Subandriyo. Pasar Bubrah is located around 400 meters from the peak.
Yoto, a resident in Jengglik hamlet, Ngablak district, Magelang, Central Java, who was at the western slope of Mount Merapi, said he heard a loud rumble coming from the peak of the mountain on Sunday afternoon. “I heard the rumble at around 6 p.m.” he said.
According to him, the gas emission led to ash rain which lightly covered Purwosari hamlet, Ngablak village.
Jamin, head of Kali Tengah Kidul hamlet, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, located around 4 kilometers from the peak, said he also heard the rumble on Sunday afternoon.
However, the incident did not cause residents to evacuate due to the ash rain. “I heard the rumble, but residents remained calm. We are used to hearing these rumbles,” said Jamin.
Mount Merapi, located in Yogyakarta, emitted high-pressure gas on Sunday afternoon that caused its crater wall to collapse and volcanic ash to fall on its western slope, as smoke billowed up to 1 kilometer into the sky. As the gas discharge was not followed by other dangerous volcanic activity, the phenomenon was regarded as a small-scale volcanic eruption and the volcano’s alert status remained normal. “Mount Merapi’s status remains normal because there was no dangerous volcanic activity,” said Volcanic Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTK) head Subandriyo on Monday. According to Subandriyo, the incident was due to the accumulation of gas produced by the volcano’s magma. As the gas’ exit fumarole was too narrow, the volcano eventually released all the buildup of very high pressure gas by erupting, which caused the crater wall to collapse and this emitted a massive rumble. “The incident can be called a small-scale ‘volcanic eruption’,” said Subandriyo. In Bandung, West Java, Geological Disaster Mitigation and Volcanology Center head Surono said the collapse of the crater wall of Mount Merapi on Sunday was a natural process. The collapse was not due to an increase in volcanic activity of the most active volcano in Indonesia.
The lava dome collapsed because rocks and eruption material from the 2010 eruption were still not completely set and stable. “The force of gravity or the weight of the rocks has caused the crater wall to collapse,” Surono said in a text message on Monday. The lava dome collapsed on Sunday at 6:02 p.m. local time. According to Surono, officers at the Babadan observation post, located more than 5 kilometers from the mountain park, heard a rumbling sound which was a result of the collapse. They also observed smoke billowing at a height of 1,000 meters above the peak, slanting westward. Surono added that a slight ash cloud occurred, followed by the smell of sulfur. “Based on a report, a rain of ash took place in Jurang Jero and Srumbung. The smoke was not emitted from an eruption, but rather by the collapsed crater dome,” Surono said. Surono urged residents living around the volcano to remain calm and not panic due to unclear rumors. “Information on volcanic activity can be obtained from the Yogyakarta BPPTK,” added Surono. Subandriyo said the amount of gas pressure was unclear, as his office was unable to conduct the measurements. The crater emitted thick smoke mixed with gas and ash and rose up to 1 kilometer. Its shape resembled a pyroclastic flow. According to Subandriyo, the phenomenon was the first after it erupted in 2010. “The volcanic magma is currently rich with gas. This did not occur before the 2010 eruption,” he said. He added that in the past month, the crater dome of the 2,800-meter tall volcano often collapsed because the structure of the dome was not yet stable and due to the drought.
He also called on residents living along the slope of the mountain to remain calm because the status remained remains normal. However, he has advised trekkers not to approach the peak as it was quite dangerous. “Climbers should only hike up to Pasar Bubrah,” said Subandriyo. Pasar Bubrah is located around 400 meters from the peak. Yoto, a resident in Jengglik hamlet, Ngablak district, Magelang, Central Java, who was at the western slope of Mount Merapi, said he heard a loud rumble coming from the peak of the mountain on Sunday afternoon. “I heard the rumble at around 6 p.m.” he said. According to him, the gas emission led to ash rain which lightly covered Purwosari hamlet, Ngablak village. Jamin, head of Kali Tengah Kidul hamlet, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, located around 4 kilometers from the peak, said he also heard the rumble on Sunday afternoon. However, the incident did not cause residents to evacuate due to the ash rain. “I heard the rumble, but residents remained calm. We are used to hearing these rumbles,” said Jamin.
LOUISVILLE KY
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Greece’s hottest day this year is forcing authorities to shut down the Athens Acropolis six hours before schedule in the interests of visitor health, the site’s guards said on Monday.
The country’s top monument was to shut down at 1100 GMT instead of its normal 1700 GMT closing time, a guard told AFP.
The ancient citadel is perched on a rocky plateau rising amid a sea of concrete in the Greek capital of over four million, offering precious little shade to thousands of tourists who visit it daily.
Temperatures in Athens were set to exceed 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) at the close of this year’s hottest week that earlier forced authorities to make air-conditioned halls available to the public.
The environment ministry said air pollution was also above warning levels in various parts of the capital as it warned people with respiratory problems and heart trouble to stay indoors.
Looking for relief from the heat over much of the Lower 48 states? Head to coastal Alaska where they are experiencing the coldest first half of July on record!
Through the first 14 days of July, the average temperature in Anchorage was 53.1 degrees factoring in daily highs and lows, which makes it the coldest first half of the month on record according to the National Weather Service in Anchorage.
Should this temperature trend continue, it could threaten the record for the coldest July ever, which occurred in 1920 and had an average temperature of 54.4 degrees.
Typically this stretch of time is the warmest of the year. Instead, temperatures in the city of Anchorage are running 5.3 degrees below average.
Somedays have even turned out colder than cities on the Arctic Coast such as Barrow. On July 12th, the high temperature topped out at 54 degrees in Anchorage, while temperatures soared to 62 in Barrow (a whooping 15 degrees above average.)
Not only has it been cool, but residents of the Alaska city haven’t seen much sunlight due to overcast skies and a persistent flow off the ocean. Rainfall through the first 14 days is running slightly above normal at 120 percent. But the clouds and cool temperatures have been the bigger story.
The reason for the cool weather along the coast has been due to jet stream position. Normally it will fluctuate northward sending storms into western Alaska and allowing ridging to build over the southern and central part of the state at times.
Well this summer it’s been consistently farther south sending storm after storm into the Gulf of Alaska, keeping a cool southeast flow of air aimed on the southern coast.
While heavy rain isn’t common with this kind of a storm track, the flow will keep clouds and cool temperatures in the offing as long as it persists.
Anchorage hasn’t been the only southern city feeling the chill. Homer, Alaska is running 5 degrees below normal for the month thus far while Palmer is running 3.8 degrees below average.
Residents of Anchorage and the southern coast shouldn’t expect any big warm ups anytime soon as this pattern of storms moving into the Gulf of Alaska looks to persist at least through next weekend.
Since early June, the Midwest and parts of the northern and central Plains have faced a devastating drought. The lack of substantial rainfall has had severe effects on corn production and has resulted in desertlike conditions for some areas. Paired with the recent heat wave, the situation has become a disaster for corn growers and has significantly driven down yields in the United States for 2012.
Some parts of the nation are better off than others when compared to a week ago, in terms of dryness and drought. However, some areas, including part of the corn belt, have gotten worse.
Waves of downpours have greatly eased the drought in portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia in recent weeks, while dry conditions have gotten worse in parts of the corn belt.
Even though the recent heat wave has ended, weeks of drought and days of 100-degree temperatures have already taken a toll on this year’s corn crop in a large part of the Midwestern United States.
Spotty downpours will grace northern and eastern areas of the corn belt into August, but not enough rain will fall on a large part of the corn belt, leading to a disaster.
A 640-acre wildfire on California’s Central Coast has forced evacuations of about 50 homes in rural San Luis Obispo County. State fire spokeswoman Tina Rose says the fire covering about one square mile was burning Monday in grass, brush and oak woodlands, forcing the evacuation of homes on Parkhill Road near Highway 58 about five miles east of the town of Santa Margarita, where an elementary school has been opened as a shelter. The evacuation order will remain in effect overnight. More than 200 firefighters are battling the blaze with help from six aircraft. It was 20 percent contained. Firefighters are being challenged by the fire’s location in very rough terrain. Wind gusts up to 21 mph are being reported in the area and temperatures were in the mid-70s.
A surfer struggles to keep upright on a large, rough wave off the Southern California shore at El Segundo Beach in El Segundo, Calif., Friday, Dec. 15. 2006. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
While Fabio should weaken as it heads northward in the eastern Pacific, Southern California will feel some impacts.
Fabio will encounter cooler Pacific water and stronger wind shear, causing the system to weaken into a remnant area of low pressure by Wednesday.
However, rough surf, increased clouds and spotty showers are in store for Southern California Wednesday night and Thursday as the remnants of Fabio move into Southern California or the northern part of Baja California.
Large swells up to 4-6 feet will be stirred by the remnants of Fabio.
Showers will be more likely in Southern California on Wednesday night, especially in the higher elevations. Flash flooding could be a concern in the Southern California mountains if any heavier downpours develop.
Clouds will increase with some spotty showers farther north across central California on Thursday.
17.07.2012
Tornado
Poland
Greater Poland Voivodeship, [Region of Pomerania (Tuchola Forest area)]
A freak wave of tornadoes ripped through northern Poland on Sunday, wrecking houses and swathes of forest and leaving one person dead and another 10 injured. Tornadoes are not unknown in the European Union’s largest eastern country but the scope and power of Sunday’s twisters was unusual and comes in a summer already marked by flash floods, hailstorms and gales. Some 1,200 rescuers were working to remove fallen trees, unblock roads and restore utilities in the hardest hit Baltic region of Pomerania. Trees were uprooted, buildings damaged and power lines downed, while some 550 hectares of woodlands in the Tuchola Forest area were flattened. “I saw a black column coming our way,” an injured inhabitant of the Wycinki village, whose farm was destroyed by the tornado told state television. “It carried everything away with it … birds, debris, sucked up water from the lake.” A caravan with a family of three inside was seen flying through the air in the village of Stara Rzeka and breaking into pieces upon landing, but its occupants suffered no serious injuries. “The sole fatality was a 60-year-old man in the Pomeranian village of Wycinki who was crushed to death by his collapsing summer cottage,” fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told Reuters by telephone. The tornadoes were the latest outburst of violent weather that has battered Poland since the start of the month with hailstorms, gales, cloudbursts and flash floods. Meteorologists categorising the twister as a class two tornado with wind velocity of up to 200 km/h.
Flooding and landslides caused by record torrential rain on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu have killed six people and left 20 missing. Rescue workers had been unable to reach some of the areas where people were believed to be buried under landslides, television reports said on Thursday. Authorities in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto ordered about 48,000 residents to flee the city. Blackouts hit about 10,000 households in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the Kyushu Electric Power Company reported. Railway services and motor traffic were suspended, Kyodo said, while some bullet train services were temporarily halted in the island’s north and centre. The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall in some parts of the island had reached levels that have “never been experienced”. It said hourly rainfall in the morning topped 120mm in Aso and reached 120mm in Ubuyama. The agency warned of more heavy rain and landslides in northern parts of Kyushu before the downpours move north to the main island of Honshu later on Thursday.
17.07.2012
Flash Flood
India
State of North Bengal, [Area of Teesta, Jaldhaka and Torsa river basins]
Flash floods hit North Bengal with three main rivers – Teesta, Jaldhaka and Torsha – flowing over the danger levels at several places and displacing nearly 2,000 people from their homes. State Irrigation Minister Manas Bhunia on Monday visited North Bengal to take stock of the situation. “Heavy rainfall in parts of North Bengal pose a serious threat to river embankments. The rivers with its origin in Bhutan have not been maintained properly in the past resulting in a rise in their river bed. The work to repair breached embankments has started,” Bhunia said. He will visit Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday where uninterrupted rainfall has played havoc. Bhunia said he has informed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the situation over the phone. “Cooked food and tarpaulins have been distributed among those displaced,” he added. In the last three days, Jalpaiguri district has received 40mm, 102 mm and 81 mm rainfall, respectively, said disaster management department. During the same period, Darjeeling recorded 248 mm rainfall. Cooch Behar, too, has recorded heavy downpour in the last three days. The areas severely affected by rainfall include Nagrakata, Domohani, Fulbari, Hasimara. The administration is suspecting landslides.
Flood-battered Japan warily eyes typhoon
Fears it could heap further misery
AFP
Ukiha: Flood-battered southwestern Japan on Tuesday braced for a typhoon amid fears it could heap further misery on an area where at least 32 are dead or missing after record rainfall.
Typhoon Khanun was lashing the Amami island chain south of Kyushu where four days of torrential rain have sparked landslides and flooding, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Khanun – “jack fruit” in Thai – packing winds of up to 126 kilometres (78 miles) per hour, was moving west-northwest at 30 kilometres per hour and was expected to graze the west of Kyushu island through Wednesday afternoon, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Tuesday brought a lull in the rainfall for most of the region as the weather agency said there was up to 9.2 centimetres (3.6 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to 4.20pm (0720 GMT) in the north of Kyushu.
In hard-hit Minamiaso in Kumamoto prefecture, more than 670 people remained unable to return to their homes on Tuesday afternoon because of landslide fears.
“We started reconstruction work on damaged roads yesterday, but workers have been forced to step aside repeatedly by occasional rains,” said local official Hideki Kuraoka.
“Even a small amount of rain could trigger mudslides and more downpours are expected this afternoon. We remain on high alert,” he said.
Kuraoka said even though forecasters did not expect a direct hit from the typhoon, it was still a worry.
“We cannot know what damage will be caused by the typhoon,” he said. “We are being extremely vigilant about it.”
Most of the 400,000 people who were ordered or advised to leave their homes were allowed to return after authorities began lifting evacuation orders on Sunday.
Roads in Aso city remained flooded and inaccessible.
Troops who were called in to help over the weekend on Tuesday continued their search for three people officially recorded as missing.
They recovered a man’s body from a ditch in Aso on Tuesday, raising the total death toll from landslides and floods across the affected area to 29.
“The body belongs to a man, 55, who was one of the missing people,” said a Kumamoto official.
Aso, which sits at the foot of a volcano, has seen more than 80 centimetres of rain over the last few days, triggering huge mudslides that swamped whole communities and killed at least 21 people in the city alone.
An AFP photographer who visited the city said some people who had been evacuated from their homes were seeking shelter in municipal buildings.
In scenes reminiscent of last year’s devastating tsunami, families sat on mats on wooden floors, or gathered around televisions to watch the latest forecasts.
Other parts of Japan were dealing with soaring temperatures as the first really hot days of the sometimes punishing Japanese summer took hold.
The weather agency said temperatures of 39.2 degrees Celsius (102.6 Fahrenheit) were recorded in Tatebayashi, north of Tokyo, and 37.5 degrees Celsius in Hachioji, a city in western Tokyo.
On Monday, a man in his 80s died in central Niigata prefecture apparently from heat stroke, while nearly 700 people were taken to hospital due to heat exhaustion, local media said.
With the vast bulk of Japan’s nuclear power stations offline in the aftermath of the tsunami-sparked Fukushima disaster, the country is being urged to cut down on electricity usage and the excessive use of air conditioners is being discouraged.
Dorset landslide: Two bodies found in car hit by tunnel entrance collapse near Dorchester
The numbers on Cuba’s cholera outbreak continued to grow over the weekend, with officials reporting 12 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 170, and eight new suspected cases in the southeastern province of Granma. Cuba’s Public Health Ministry, in a statement published in the official news media on Saturday morning, declared that the outbreak was “decreasing” with 158 confirmed cases and three deaths confirmed. But the numbers provided by lead Granma province epidemiologist Ana Maria Batista during her appearance Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings on provincial television showed increases in all the categories. “The numbers show it is growing,” said Santiago Marquez, a physician in the Granma city of Manzanillo who has watched Batista’s nightly reports for more than a week and provided the details to independent journalists in Cuba and El Nuevo Herald. Batista reported 158 confirmed cholera cases in the province on Friday, 163 on Saturday – though her town-by-town breakdown added up to 164 — and six additional cases on Sunday for a total of 170, Marquez said.
She noted on Sunday that eight new cases of suspected cholera had been reported, and that 27 people were hospitalized on Saturday alone with diarrhea and vomiting, the key symptoms of the disease, according to the physician. More general cases of diarrhea and vomiting, which spike every summer with the rains and heat, rose from 5,680 in her Saturday report to 6,002 in her Sunday appearance, Marquez reported. About 97 percent of those already have recovered, she added. The number of Granma’s 13 municipalities where cholera has been reported rose from seven to nine, Batista noted. Appearing with Batista on provincial television Sunday, Deputy Director of Provincial Transportation José Mendoza González again advised residents to put off unnecessary travel in order to avoid spreading the disease. Cuban officials have repeatedly assured since early July that the cholera outbreak was under control and that the rising number of confirmed cases was because laboratories need a week or more to confirm a diagnosis of cholera. Dissidents and independent journalists have alleged that the cholera death toll stands at five to 15 but that the government has confirmed only three to avoid scaring tourists, one of the country’s main sources of hard currency. They have also reported cholera cases in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and other parts of the island.
The Health Ministry announcement published Saturday confirmed a few cases had been reported outside of Granma, but noted that all were people who had been in the province. It was not clear if the 158 cases it reported referred to all the island, or Granma province alone. Batista has made it clear her numbers are for the province only. The ministry announcement was only the national government’s second comment on the epidemic since July 3, when it confirmed three deaths and 53 cases caused by the bacteria Vibrio Cholerae but did not use the word cholera. Saturday’s statement did use the word.
This satellite image from Monday shows an iceberg, top center, breaking off from the Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland.
OurAmazingPlanet
A massive iceberg larger than Manhattan has broken away from the floating end of a Greenland glacier this week, an event scientists predicted last autumn.
The giant ice island is 46 square miles, and separated from the terminus of the Petermann Glacier, one of Greenland’s largest.
The Petermann Glacier last birthed — or “calved” — a massive iceberg two years ago, in August 2010. The iceberg that broke off and floated away was nearly four times the size of Manhattan, and one of the largest ever recorded in Greenland.
Although the new iceberg isn’t as colossal as its 2010 predecessor, its birth has moved the front end of the massive glacier farther inland than it has been in 150 years, Andreas Muenchow, an associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware, said in a statement.
Jason Box, a scientist with Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center, has also been monitoring the Petermann Glacier and in September 2011 he told OurAmazingPlanet that a growing crack likely would sever the glacier once warmer weather took hold during the summer months.
“We can see the crack widening in the past year through satellite pictures, so it seems imminent,” Box said at the time.
Muenchow said that the newest ice island broke away on Monday morning (July 16).
Although iceberg birth is a natural, cyclical process, when the process speeds up, there are consequences.
The floating ends of glaciers, known as ice shelves, act as doorstops. When these ice shelves suddenly splinter and weaken or even collapse entirely, as has been observed in Antarctica, the glaciers that feed them speed up, dumping more ice into the ocean and raising global sea levels.
“The Greenland ice sheet as a whole is shrinking, melting and reducing in size as the result of globally changing air and ocean temperatures and associated changes in circulation patterns in both the ocean and atmosphere,” Muenchow said.
NASA has released still images of a red sprite which Expedition 31 Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured April 30, 2012:
“‘Red sprites are short-lived, red flashes that occur about 80 kilometers (50 miles) up in the atmosphere. With long, vertical tendrils like a jellyfish, these electrical discharges can extend 20 to 30 kilometers up into the atmosphere and are connected to thunderstorms and lightning.”
These images of a red sprite were captured with a digital camera by Expedition 31 astronauts on the International Space Station as they traveled southeast from central Myanmar (Burma) to just north of Malaysia. The still images are part of a time-lapse movie collected from 13:41 to 13:47 Universal Time on April 30, 2012. View the footage here.
The sprite occurs about 6 seconds into the video, above a bright, wide lightning flash in the upper right quadrant.
Red sprites are difficult to observe because they last for just a few milliseconds and occur above thunderstorms-meaning they are usually blocked from view on the ground by the very clouds that produce them. They send pulses of electrical energy up toward the edge of space-the electrically charged layer known as the ionosphere-instead of down to Earth’s surface. They are rich with radio noise, and can sometimes occur in bunches.
For decades, pilots reported seeing ephemeral flashes above storms, but it was not until the 1990s that scientists were able to verify the existence of these electrical discharges. A sprite was first photographed by accident from an airplane in 1989, and observers on the space shuttle captured several more images with low-light cameras in 1990 and in subsequent missions. Viewers on the ground can occasionally photograph sprites by looking out on a thunderstorm in the distance, often looking out from high mountainsides over storms in lower plains.”
Dozens of pet birds smuggled from southern China into Taiwan tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus and were destroyed, Taiwanese authorities said Tuesday. The smuggler bought the 38 birds in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and was caught at the Taoyuan international airport in northern Taiwan when he returned via Macau earlier this month, said the Centers for Disease Control. The birds later tested positive for the H5N1 virus and were killed, it said, adding that nine people who had contact with the birds had not shown any flu symptoms during a ten-day screening. Taiwan has no recorded cases of the deadly H5N1 strain, although in 2005 health authorities said eight pet birds smuggled from China tested positive for the strain and destroyed. The island has reported several outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu, a less virulent strain of the virus, in recent years. China is considered one of the nations most at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world’s biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans.
Biohazard name:
H5N1 – Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status:
confirmed
17.07.2012
Biological Hazard
USA
State of California, [Leucadia and Encinitas, Encinitas beaches]
San Diego County area lifeguards reported a surge in the number of beachgoers stung by jellyfish on Sunday. One-hundred thirty people were stung at six beaches in Leucadia and Encinitas, Encinitas lifeguards said, while state lifeguards reported that 30 people were stung at Torrey Pines State Beach. Jellyfish follow plankton, their main source of food, as they move closer to shore during the summer, said Fernando Nosratpour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As they get closer to beaches, strong currents from along the coast push the fragile jellyfish to shore and break them up into little pieces. The most common types of jellyfish found around San Diego are the moon and the purple-striped jellyfish, Nosratpour said. The moon jellyfish is about 10 inches long and has short tentacles, while the purple-striped jellyfish is about 12 inches long and has long, thick tentacles, he said. Even after breaking up and dying, the purple-striped jellyfish’s tentacles can sting people, Nosratpour said. The moon jellyfish’s sting cells do not work after the jellyfish dies. Jellyfish generally do not attack people. People usually get stung when they rub up against them in the water or touch them once they’ve washed up on the beach. A small rash will appear where the sting occurred. Lifeguards recommend that people keep on eye out for jellyfish pieces in the water and sand. Sting rashes can be treated with diluted vinegar and usually disappear in an hour, although some people may have stronger reactions. Fresh water and sand can aggravate the rash. No one was hospitalized.
Biohazard name:
Jellyfish invasion
Biohazard level:
0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:
This does not included biological hazard category.
Eight firefighters along with two others were transported to the hospital for evaluation after a hazardous material fire south of Canyon Monday evening. According to the Canyon Fire Department, firefighters arrived to the fire at about 7 p.m., Monday and discovered there was a hazardous material involved. The Amarillo Hazmat Team, Amarillo/Potter/Randall EOC and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality all responded to help ensure the hazardous materials stayed inside the fire scene. Fire officials said the 10 people were transported to the hospital only as a precaution. There was no risk to the general public and the scene has now been neutralized. All 10 people taken to the hospital are fine, officials said.
Four people have been taken to hospital after being exposed to a chemical leak at the Port of Brisbane. The four wharf workers were treated by ambulance paramedics at the Patrick Container Terminal on Port Drive for headaches and nausea after being overcome by chemical fumes about 6am. They were taken to hospital for precautionary reasons only. A 150-metre exclusion zone has been established around 10 containers understood to have been unloaded from a Chinese vessel. It is understood six containers have been tested and cleared, but firefighters are assessing four more containers. ‘‘Firefighters in breathing apparatus are also conducting atmospheric testing in the area,’’ a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said. Business and traffic at the Port of Brisbane has been largely unaffected.
Search teams pulled the bodies of 10 people from the rubble of four buildings that collapsed yesterday in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria, as efforts to find other missing people continues, the official Middle East News Agency reported today citing a health official. Five casualties found so far by Civil Defense forces were hospitalized with injuries ranging from fractures to bruises and suffocation, Ahmed Al-Ansari, chairman of Egypt’s Ambulance, said according to the news service. An 11-story building collapsed yesterday afternoon, toppling three adjacent properties.
Sinister clouds hang low over Virginia as tens of thousands lose power in destructive thunderstorms
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Since early June, the Midwest and parts of the northern and central Plains have faced a devastating drought. The lack of substantial rainfall has had severe effects on corn production and has resulted in desertlike conditions for some areas. Paired with the recent heat wave, the situation has become a disaster for corn growers and has significantly driven down yields in the United States for 2012. 
A surfer struggles to keep upright on a large, rough wave off the Southern California shore at El Segundo Beach in El Segundo, Calif., Friday, Dec. 15. 2006. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Stunning: Shelf clouds looming over central Virginia have provided quite a shock for local residents
Threatening: These remarkable pictures make the cloud look like an enormous wave
Amazing: But the shelf clouds are not dangerous, even though they are a sign of a nearby thunderstorm
