Protected forests in Brazil could cut billion tonnes of CO2

BONN, Germany
An ambitious plan to put more than 10 percent of Brazil's Amazon forest beyond the grasp of loggers and agribusiness could slash carbon emissions by 1.1 billion tonnes by mid-century, according to a study released Wednesday.

Deforestation in the tropics accounts for 20 percent of global emissions of CO2, making it the second largest driver of global warming after the burning of fossil fuels.

Amazonia alone accounts for nearly half of those emissions, and 65 percent of the Amazon forest is in Brazil.

Torrential rain kills 53 in China

China
Beijing (AFP) May 28, 2008
The death toll from torrential rains in China climbed to 53, state media reported Wednesday, after people were killed by collapsed buildings, floods and landslides in five provinces.

A further 28 people were missing, and 4,000 were stranded by floods, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hundreds of buildings were buried by landslides or inundated by floods, officials with the provincial government told the news agency.

Clinton Campaign: Seat All Delegates With Full Votes

Breaking National News
USA
In the latest twist in the ongoing Democratic nomination saga, all eyes this weekend will be on a small group of 30 little-known Democratic Party insiders meeting inside a Washington, D.C., hotel Saturday to resolve one of the most hotly contested disputes of this campaign.

The Democratic National Committee panel is charged with figuring out how many of Florida and Michigan's delegates should be seated at the party's convention in August in Denver and allowed officially to participate in the naming of the party's presidential nominee.

Pro-Clinton supporters from Count Every Vote '08 are planning a protest outside the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel where the panel is holding its public meeting.

Representatives from both campaigns and state party officials from Florida and Michigan will make their presentations at the meeting, which, for the first time in recent history, will be covered intensely by the television news media.

READ:Count All the Votes





Pastor Controversy Clouds Fight for Florida/Michigan
Precisely at the time when Obama's camp needs to be building bridges to supporters of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who's known Obama for about 20 years, took to the pulpit of Obama's church Sunday and ridiculed Clinton, using racially divisive language.

Clinton team demands Obama action on pastor attack

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Hillary Clinton's camp demanded Friday a specific rejection from rival Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama of a priest who mocked her in racially-tinged language at his Chicago church.

Iceland shaken by magnitude 6.1 earthquake

Breaking Earth News
Iceland
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - A strong earthquake shook southern Iceland on Thursday, damaging roads and buildings and causing some injuries, officials and local media said.

Channel 2 television cited civil protection authorities as saying the quake caused injuries, but it was not immediately clear how many.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.1 quake hit at 3:46 p.m., with its epicenter near the town of Selfoss, 30 miles east- southeast of the capital, Reykjavik. The Icelandic Geological Survey said it measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Residents in the capital felt buildings shake.

Iceland's national broadcaster RUV radio reported no injuries but said buildings had been damaged near the epicenter. Authorities advised residents in the area to leave their homes because of the possibility of aftershocks.

Balkans swelter in record-breaking heat

EASTERN EUROPE sweltered in a pre-summer heat wave Wednesday that pushed temperatures to A 121-YEAR HIGH in Belgrade and halted a Hungarian train after the tracks bent. In Bulgaria, temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius in the western part of the country, the highest in a century for the end of May. Belgrade, Serbia's capital, had 39 degrees, the highest May heat since 1887. Neighbouring Macedonia recorded 38 degrees in the south and 35 degrees in the capital Skopje. Szeged, a Hungarian city near the Romanian and Serbian borders, reported 34 degrees, the HIGHEST FOR THE DAY SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN. Unseasonably high temperatures were forecast throughout Greece. Italy is also in the throes of a heatwave .

The first heat wave of the year was set to hit Germany this week, with temperatures poised to crack 30 degrees Celsius in the southwestern part of the country.

Germany Faces Hot and Stormy Weekend
The mercury is set to soar this weekend in Germany, as shifting high pressure system “Otto” brings high temperatures and occasionally heavy thunderstorms to much of the country.

One month's rain in two days ... and more to come

Great Britain
London was set for more heavy rain this week following a sodden bank holiday during which MORE THAN A MONTH'S WORTH OF RAIN FELL IN TWO DAYS. Meteorologists recorded more than 56mm of rainfall over the course of Sunday and Monday - 7mm more than the average for the whole of May. Emergency services were called to flooded homes and businesses in Tilbury and Billericay, Essex. High winds blew trees onto cables in Surrey. A 13-year-old girl was killed by a falling tree in Huddersfield Tuesday.

Vietnam reports "UFO" explosion

Breaking Earth News
Vietnam

HANOI (Reuters) - An unidentified flying object exploded in mid-air over a southern Vietnamese island, state media said Wednesday, a day after Cambodia's air force retracted a report of a mysterious plane crash.

The Vietnam News Agency said residents of Phu Quoc island, 10 km (6 miles) off the coast of the Cambodian province of Kampot, found shards of grey metal, including one 1.5 meters (1.5 yards) long.

"The explosion happened at about 8 km (5 miles) above the ground, and perhaps it was a plane, but authorities could not identify whether it was a civil or military aircraft," VNA said in a report headlined "UFO explodes over Phu Quoc Island."

Soldiers were sent out to look for wreckage and survivors, and local authorities contacted airlines in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, but received no reports of missing aircraft, the official state news agency added.

Villagers in Kampot said Tuesday that they had heard a loud explosion. Wednesday they told Reuters they had found small chunks of metal near the coastline.

UFO BREAKING ALERT

ABC News/AP News

Video: UFO Reported Near Bush Airport

A Strange Object in the Sky

HOUSTON -- The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration said they are investigating a report from a Continental Airlines pilot, who told air-traffic controllers that a possible model rocket with a flaming tail and a trail of smoke was flying ahead of the plane shortly after takeoff Monday.

Precipitation breaks record for Montana

Montana, USA
Image: Mystic Lake
After seven days of rain and an accumulation of almost four inches of precipitation, rivers and streams in the area are still high but haven't gone over their banks. In the last seven days 3.88 inches of rain fell in Billings and outlying areas saw similar amounts. The rainfall from Wednesday through Saturday SET RECORDS for the longest and heaviest stretch of rain in the Billings area. All four days brought at least .7 of an inch of rain, and the last time that amount was recorded for longer than a day was in March 2006, when heavy rainfall was recorded for two consecutive days. Precipitation fell as snow in the high country, and 19 inches of snow was reported at Mystic Lake in Stillwater County during the four-day dump.

Mud volcano filling 60 pools a day

Breaking Earth News
Indonesia

TWO years after it oozed into life, Indonesia's "mud volcano" is still spewing toxic sludge across the Javanese countryside at the rate of 60 Olympic swimming pools a day.

And the more homes and farms that disappear beneath its stinking grey goo, the louder the calls for justice from hundreds of displaced families who are awaiting compensation.

"There is always a fear that even where we are staying we will be flooded with mud. Recently the dyke at Renokenongo subsided two metres, new gas leaks are everywhere," said Sunarto, who lives near the mudflow.

"When the wind blows westward we can smell the strong odour from here. It seems like there's no end, but there would be if only the Government would act more swiftly."

RELATED NEWS
The Indonesian "mud volcano" is collapsing under its own weight, worsening the environmental disaster. Sudden collapses of up to three metres (9.8 feet) have been recorded at the centre of the volcano in East Java. "Such sudden collapses could be the beginning of a caldera - a large basin-shaped volcanic depression." The caldera could be as much as 146 metres deep. "(Scientists) propose the subsidence is due to the weight of mud and collapse of rock strata due to the excavation of mud from beneath the surface." The mud volcano, known as "Lusi", has already been an environmental and economic disaster for local people, and things will get worse as the mud continues to flow and the centre collapses. "Sidoarjo is a populated region and is collapsing as a result of the birth and growth of Lusi. This could continue to have a significant environmental impact on the surrounding area for years to come."

Videos on Demand: Mass Evacuation Underway in China

A total of 158,000 people (in about 30 towns) have now been evacuated from potentially vulnerable areas downstream from Tangjiashan lake. The lake's water level is rising by more than one metre pre day. It now holds as much water as 50,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. If the water bursts through the natural barrier of rock and earth, more than one million people may have to be relocated.

Source: earthfrenzyradio.blogspot.com via steve468

NowPublic

Rain, dust storms kill 22 people in northern India

Breaking Earth News
India
LUCKNOW, India - Dust storms and heavy rains lashed huge swaths of northern India, killing at least 22 overnight, an official said Tuesday.

An additional 89 people died in unseasonal rain and dust storms in Uttar Pradesh state last week, police spokesman Surendra Srivastava told The Associated Press in the state capital Lucknow.

Srivastava said bad weather caused "havoc" on Monday as strong winds of more than 70 miles per hour (113 kph) and heavy rains swept through the state, uprooting trees and electricity poles and destroying mud-brick houses.

Story Continues

Ecuador records 125 explosions of Tungurahua volcano

Ecuador, S.A.
ECUADOR recorded 125 moderate explosions of the Tungurahua volcano in center of the Andes Sunday. "The volcanic activities continue with a high seismic level, mainly characterized by moderate explosions." There are also 32 earthquakes inside the mountain and continuous shocks 17 times. The ash emissions have caused an ash rain in Pillate and Guadalupe near the volcano. At the same time, those emissions have formed 3-km-high clouds. The volcano began its current eruptive process in November 1999 and since then has alternated between frequent activity and calmness.

Chinese troops tackle quake lake

China
Image: Aerial view of Tangjiashan quake lake

Story: On Sunday six people died from the effects of a strong 6.0 aftershock. Nearly 300,000 homes were wrecked in the aftershock, and more than 1,000 people injured. The official death toll from the May 12 earthquake rose to 65,080 on Monday, with another 23,150 missing. There have been more than 8,000 aftershocks; the biggest was this 6.0. Troops in China are trying to clear a river blocked during the recent earthquake, amid fears millions could be at risk of flooding. Dozens of lakes were formed when landslides triggered by the massive 12 May earthquake blocked rivers. Heavy rain forecast for the next few days could cause the barriers blocking the lakes to burst and flood nearby areas.

The latest figures show more than 45 million people have now been affected by the Wenchuan earthquake. The death toll has risen to 67,183. Over 20,000 people are missing and nearly 362,000 have been injured. More than 15 million people have been evacuated or relocated from the quake zone. The China Seismological Bureau reported no aftershocks measuring above magnitude 4 from noon on Monday to noon on Tuesday. But there were 226 tremors measuring less than 3.9 on the Richter Scale

Eight killed as tornadoes rake US Midwest

Breaking Earth News
USA
Image:A home sits destroyed by a tornado near Parkersburg, Iowa

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Authorities across the US Midwest braced for the possibility of new deadly tornadoes Monday, after at least eight people were killed when twisters swept through the region over the weekend.

CNN reported that seven people were found dead in the north-central Iowa towns of Parkersburg and New Hartford when a tornado passed at about 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) Sunday.

Marble-sized hail also fell over the town of Waterloo, Iowa where authorities reported significant damage to homes, trees and power lines, the report said.

Iowa Governor Chet Culver declared a state of disaster in three counties. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, a separate twister killed a two-year-old child and seriously injured nine other people in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, CNN said.

Weather watchers said that all told, there were some 160 reports of tornadoes spanning from Texas to Minnesota, and said new twisters were likely, possibly accompanied by hail, damaging wind and downpours.

Floods wreak havoc across Chile

Chile, S.A.
Image: Atacalco Bridge on the Diguillin river south of Santiago, shows damage (AFP)

Heavy rain and flooding in Chile have displaced 15,000 people and shut down the world's largest copper mine, according to the government.

So far, five people are known to have died in the floods - described by some as the worst in at least two decades.

Road and railway bridges have collapsed, and at least seven rivers have burst their banks.

There is also a shortage of drinking water after floodwaters churned up sediment at water treatment plants.

The rains started in the middle of this week and have hardly stopped since. The hardest-hit region has been the central valley, immediately south of the capital, Santiago.

A railway bridge collapsed under the weight of a raging torrent of water and a road bridge fell apart on the Pan American Highway, in effect cutting the country in two.

Those who have died were either swept away by rising rivers or killed by mudslides and falling trees.

In the capital, five months worth of rain fell in the space of eight hours, turning streets into rivers and forcing residents out of their homes.

China aftershock destroys 71,000 homes

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: Chinese watch from the ruins of collapsed buildings, as workers clean the street, unseen, following the May 12 earthquake in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province Sunday, May 25, 2008.


Complete Slideshow: China Quake




Nearly 70 dams are in danger of bursting, rattled again today by one of the strongest aftershocks since the initial disaster. The aftershock caused office towers to sway in Beijing, 800 miles away. The aftershock lasted about 20 seconds in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu. Parts of Sichuan will suffer "heavy and even in some areas torrential rains" later today and Monday, with warning of possible mudslides. The confirmed death toll from the May 12 quake rose to 62,664, with another 23,775 people missing. The overall death toll from the May 12 earthquake could exceed 80,000.

'Be prepared' for volcano eruption

Volcanic Alert
INDONESIA raised the alert level on the tallest volcano on Java island Wednesoday after it spewed heat clouds down its slopes. The alert level of Mount Semeru was lifted to "be prepared," two levels below eruption, when observers reported seeing the massive heat clouds on Wednesday. "It happened six times and the longest was 3000 metres long." The activity was not considered dangerous as only one volcanic earthquake had been registered and the nearest village is 10 kilometres away.

Video/Podcast: Freak storm unleashes tornadoes, floods, snow, more across Inland area

Two tornadoes barreled across Interstate 215 south of March Air Reserve Base on Thursday afternoon, knocking over a tractor trailer and several box cars in a FREAK STORM that also dumped snow in the mountains, triggered lightning, hail storms and mudslides, and flooded Inland roadways and homes

Source: earthfrenzyradio.blogspot.com via steve468

NowPublic

Quake's hard-hit town empties

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: The ruins of collapsed buildings lay among those still standing in Beichuan. On Thursday, workers in white protective suits and black rubber boots sprayed disinfectant on buildings, trees, car wheels and the soles of shoes of people leaving the town, where thousands are still likely buried.

BEICHUAN, China - Wrecking machines on Thursday started toppling the few buildings left standing in this quake-struck town that was once home to 30,000, and the search for survivors is over.

The government announced a sharp increase in the number of confirmed deaths above its projected total of 50,000, and said tents were needed the most. Some 30,000 people were still unaccounted for, amid a seething mass of newly homeless numbering 5 million.

Ten days after China's worst disaster in a generation, it appears the search for survivors — and even the dead — was giving way to the first steps toward reconstruction.

Story continues

Strange Storms Creating Mudslides

Breaking Earth News
California, USA
Image: A mudslide closed two roads in the foothill community of Sierra Madre as wet and windy weather bounced through Southern California for a second day.

Sierra Madre police and fire officials are clearing debris from mudslides today on the heels of a wild spring thunderstorm that wreaked havoc across Southern California on Thursday.

The weather conditions were very different from those nearly a month ago, when about 1,000 residents were evacuated from 200 homes in the upper part of Sierra Madre during a wildfire as Southern California broiled in record-breaking heat. The Sierra Madre fire ended up scorching more than 580 acres over a week and primed the area for mudslides.

Crews struggle to contain California wildfire

Image Above: From left, James Perkins, Chad Brisendine and Ephraim Murad, of the Fresno Fire Dept., monitor the Summit Fire from the deck of a home in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Gilroy, Calif., Friday, May 23, 2008. Calmer winds and heavy fog brought some much-needed relief Friday morning to firefighters working to rein in a wildfire that quickly consumed a dozen buildings in the Santa Cruz Mountains a day earlier. By dawn, the blaze was 20 percent contained after scorching over 3,000 acres. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Breaking Earth News
California, USA

Firefighters continued to fight a persistent wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains that has chewed through acres of centuries-old redwoods, destroyed at least 17 homes and displaced hundreds of people.

Fire officials said they had contained about 25 percent of the blaze, which so far has burned about 5 square miles and destroyed 28 structures. Another 500 buildings were threatened.

Calmer winds and heavy fog Friday morning brought much-needed relief to firefighters. But as the marine layer lifted and the gusts picked up by afternoon, crews found themselves struggling to maintain the fire lines.

Almost 2,000 residents remained under evacuation orders _ more than 450 of them mandatory _ while almost 2,700 firefighters and a swarm of tanker planes and helicopters continued dousing the area, said Dave Shew, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the Santa Cruz Mountains Friday to assess the damage and declared a state of emergency in Santa Cruz County to allow access to funds for the effort.

Related News

California eyes another tough wildfire season

October's devastating wildfires, which burned more than 500,000 acres from Malibu's ocean enclave to the Mexican border, prompted a flurry of reports and promises.

But even as extra water-dropping aircraft are purchased, building codes tightened and goat herds sent to gobble up dry brush on rugged hillsides, Californians are beginning to accept a new reality — massive wildfires are here to stay.

Weld County twister packed an unusual punch

Breaking Earth News
Colorado, USA
Image: Dave Eckhardt removed debris from his field in Gilcrest on Friday that was left by a powerful tornado Thursday.

The tornado that carved a path through Weld County on Thursday marked a deadly, if abnormal, introduction to the tornado season in Colorado.

Every year, dozens of twisters touch down across the state, but few wield the intensity of the one that sawed through Windsor and hit three other communities in north-central Colorado, peeling rooftops, cutting power and leaving one person dead.

"It's kind of a wake-up call that, yes, tornadoes can occur, they can be big, they can be fatal and they can be near the Front Range, so don't take them for granted," said Nolan Doesken, the state climatologist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Last year, on March 28, a tornado packing winds up to 165 mph swept through the southeastern Colorado town of Holly, killing a mother of two.

Before that, the last time a fatal tornado struck Colorado was in 1960, in Sedgwick County.

RELATED STORY
Twisters Pound Kansas for Second Night
WINDSOR, Colo. -- Tornadoes have ripped through parts of central and western Kansas for the second night in a row. At least one house has been destroyed and there's widespread damage to farm buildings and power lines.

Alps hit by two-decade decline in snowfall

Paris (AFP) May 21, 2008
A forthcoming study has added to worries that the Alpine ski industry will be badly affected by global warming, the British weekly New Scientist reports on Wednesday.

A "dramatic step-like drop" in the amount of snow falling in the western European mountain chain occurred in the late 1980s and since then snowfall has never recovered, it says.

The evidence has been compiled by researcher Christoph Marty at the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.

China scrambles to help homeless as quake death toll climbs

Breaking Earth News
China
China scrambled on Wednesday to provide shelter and prevent disease among five million people made homeless by last week's earthquake, as the number of dead and missing climbed above 74,000.

With hope virtually extinguished of finding more survivors amid the rubble of the devastated towns and villages across mountainous Sichuan province, soldiers and relief workers focused on the desperate plight of those displaced.

Nine days after the 8.0-magnitude quake, the government said the confirmed number of people killed had risen to 41,353. But with another 32,666 confirmed still missing, the death toll is likely to soar.

Stopping disease outbreaks among the five million people displaced in the disaster has become a top concern, and China's health ministry has sent more than 3,500 specialists in epidemic control to Sichuan.

Doctors in the region were also ordered to test all quake survivors who needed medical treatment for a potentially deadly bacterial infection, known as gas gangrene , that has led to 30 people having amputations.

Food Crisis Rippling Out Like a "Tsunami"

UNITED NATIONS - “A rolling tsunami of social unrest is underway as we speak — hungry people are desperate people capable of taking desperate actions. This tsunami is rapidly enveloping the global South, and it won’t take much longer before it knocks at the door of the global North,” warned Vicente Garcia-Delgado, the U.N. representative for CIVICUS, the world alliance for citizen participation.

At a forum on the world food crisis held at the United Nations Friday, civil society groups stressed that over 800 million people are now at risk of starvation, while 100 million have joined the ranks of the extremely poor in just the last few months and are now living on less than a dollar a day.

Source: earthfrenzyradio.blogspot.com via steve468

NowPublic

The Media Drumbeat For Obama

From The Editor's Desk
Skywatch-Media News

May 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton's 35 point victory in Kentucky coupled with her landslide victory in West Virginia, would not have come to fruition but for her tremendous support among women and White working class voters.

Kentucky/Oregon Results
Thank You Kentucky
Obama's Kentucky Problem

As a matter of fact, Hillary has won more votes than anyone running for the Democratic nomination in the history of the Democratic Party, and she added to her popular vote lead last night. Most importantly she has won states that will total 308 electoral votes in November -- more than enough to carry the general election.

Despite her impressive victories, her strong showing in vital swing states, and her overwhelming support among key voting groups, the media retches up the drumbeat for Obama, determined to have the final say in this historical race. Yet voters continue to send a message to those who want this race to be over, they are more determined than the media to keep this race alive. The pundits may have their way in this election, but the voters will have the final say.

Hillary will continue her quest to make certain the more than 2 million voters in Florida and Michigan are heard when she meets with the credentials committee on May 31 in Washington D.C. Today she is pleading her cause throughout Florida. Then on to Puerto Rico where she is expected to add hundreds of thousands of votes to her popular vote lead. As she said in her victory speech last evening, "This race is far from over." Like Hillary, her supporters are true to their cause, they will never give up and they will never give in.

Video:The Fight for Florida Votes

Hillary and Puerto Rico

Ohio Superdelegate Endorses Hillary

KEEP HILLARY'S HOPES ALIVE!

Extreme Cold Hits Peru's Highlands

Peru, S.A.
Extreme cold kills over a dozen in Peru's highlands - Temperatures have begun to drop dramatically in Peru's highland regions. Temperatures in the highlands of Puno, Tacna, Arequipa, Moquegua and Apurimac have dropped as low as -15°C (5°F). The climatic phenomenon could be a consequence of a lack of clouds. The average temperature in the region would be -12°C (10°F). It was also reported that 54,859 cases of respiratory infections had been registered, 700 of which were pneumonia.

Death Toll Mounts From Tropical Storm Halong

Philippines
Manila - The death toll in a storm that battered the Philippines over the weekend has risen to 24 with nearly half a million people displaced, the Office of Civil Defence said Tuesday.

Storm Halong blew out of the Philippines overnight and headed towards Okinawa, Japan after causing landslides and flashfloods in northern and central provinces, the weather bureau said.

More than 416,000 people were displaced by Halong in at least five northern and central provinces, the Office of Civil Defence said.

Image: A farmer shows the almost-ready for harvest rice plants which he uprooted from his rice field which was flooded due to storm Halong Sunday May 18, 2008 in San Fabian, Pangasinan in northern Philippines. Tropical storm Halong sliced through the mountainous northern Philippines, blowing roofs off houses and toppling power poles, officials said Monday. (AP Photo)

More Images

China works flat out to prevent dam flood

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: Earthquake survivors flee in a speedboat from a landslide set off by an aftershock in Yingxiu, Sichuan Province

Story: Chinese engineers are working round the clock to try to stop thousands of people from being flooded out by water in a dam that was created by landslides during the earthquake. The swelling lake that has risen to 70m (230ft) would threaten, if it burst, the five million residents of Mianyang county, home to the second-biggest city in southwestern Sichuan province. It is expected that the water will be released to avert a collapse. One plan is to build up earth barriers halfway across the Beichuan river, at several points downstream from the reservoir. These barriers would divert the water, slowing its flow and reducing the danger to communities in its path. Once these were ready, some or all of the water could be released over the next day or two, possibly by blasting away part of the landslide. More than 2,000 people were moved at the weekend from a village in Hongyuang township after the blocked Qingzhu river burst its banks and began flooding their homes. At one dam in Fuxing Township, a team of engineers from northeastern Liaoning Province was using lorries and diggers to shore up a small reservoir that had sprung a leak during the tremor. Officials have already helped the farmers downstream to bring in their crops — just in case. Several dams weakened by the earthquake are under 24-hour observation for signs of collapse and may not be able to withstand strong aftershocks or flooding. “The earthquake this time has caused damage at various levels to reservoirs and dams." More than a thousand dams of different sizes lie in the area hit by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake. Right after the earthquake, the Chinese army was trying to reach people to rescue them, but the roads were blocked. If there weren't so many dams, more soldiers could have gone by boat. But the dams were in the way

Heavy dust storm enshrouds Beijing

China
Beijing (AFP) May 20, 2008
A heavy sandstorm hit Beijing Tuesday, shrouding the Chinese capital in a cloud of yellow dust and hampering visibility, the local environmental department said.

Clouds of dust were being blown in from neighbouring Inner Mongolia and Shanxi province as a cold front moved in from the north, the Beijing environmental protection bureau said on its website.

It was the third such dust storm to hit the capital so far this year, the bureau said.

Ethiopian millions 'risk hunger'

Breaking Earth News
Ethiopia
Six million children in Ethiopia are at risk of acute malnutrition following the failure of rains. More than 60,000 children in two Ethiopian regions require immediate specialist feeding just to survive, Unicef says. The situation is expected to worsen in the next few months as crops fail. "This is absolutely alarming, we need a massive effort. We have drought - a really poor rainy season - and, of course, we have high food prices worldwide." Money just is not arriving, with donors concentrating on the disasters in Burma and China. The UN estimates it currently has a shortfall of 180,000 tonnes of food - and presently has no promises to meet this target.

Climate plan could change sky colour

Climate change is happening so quickly that mankind may need to pump sulphur into the atmosphere to survive. A scientist has proposed this radical solution to climate change which may change the colour of the sky. He says it may be necessary, as the "last barrier to climate collapse...We need to be ready to start doing it in perhaps five years time if we fail to achieve what we're trying to achieve." The gas sulphur would be inserted into the earth's stratosphere to keep out the sun's rays and slow global warming, a process called global dimming. The sulphur could be dispersed above the earth's surface by adding it to jet fuel. He conceded there were risks to global dimming via sulphur. "The consequences of doing that are unknown." Australia's best-known expert on global warming, he has updated his climate forecast for the world - and it's much worse than he thought just three years ago. He has called for a radical suite of emergency measures to be put in place. New science shows the world is much more susceptible to greenhouse gas emissions that had been thought eight years ago. Regardless of what happens to emissions in the future, there is already far too much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Cutting emissions is not enough. Mankind now has to take greenhouse gases out of the air. "The current burden of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is in fact more than sufficient to cause catastrophic climate change. Everything's going in the wrong direction at the moment, timelines are getting shorter, the amount of pollution in the atmosphere is growing. It's extremely urgent."

Volcanologists Keep A Weary Eye on Mt Etna

Satellite Image: The volcanic SO2 plume from the first Etna eruption on 10 May 2008 was tracked by GOME-2 for three days after the eruption. The plume was transported over large distances towards the east with the prevailing wind and travelled from the volcano over Greece to Asia. Credit: DLR.

Italy
The latest eruptions of Etna started on 10 May 2008 around 16:00 CEST. The first eruption lasted for about 4 hours and was dominated by heavy activity of the south-eastern crater. High amounts of lava have been emitted, a lava fountain could be seen at the crater and several lava flows travelling down into the eastern flank of the volcano into the Valle del Bove depression were visible on one of the webcams installed to monitor the volcano. Cloudy conditions and poor visibility obstructed the monitoring of the eruption activity, but it seems that this is one of the heaviest eruptions of the south-eastern crater since 2001. A second eruption occurred on the evening of 13 May from a fissure that opened NE of the SE crater, about 800m long. Catania airport had to be closed because of ash emission from Etna. Apart from the emission of lava, the eruption at Etna emitted large amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2), a colourless and toxic trace gas, into the atmosphere. It plays an important role in climate change if it finds its way to high atmospheric regions through volcanic eruptions, where it can lead to temporary cooling.

21 new lakes formed owing to China quake

China
Massive landslides resulting from the strong earthquake on May 12 in southwest China, have led to the formation of at least 21 lakes in various cities. Expert teams, comprising at least two water conservancy specialists and 10 People's Liberation Army personnel, have been deployed at each of these newly formed lakes to monitor the situation and evacuate the residents in case of any danger. The landslide blockages have been reported in Beichuan and Anxian counties in the city of Mianyang, Qingchuan county of Guangyuan, Mianzhu and Shifang cities of Deyang, and Pengzhou city near the provincial capital Chengdu. The three lakes had more than 10 million cubic meters of water, and more than 20 million cubic meters of rocks slid into rivers after the quake and formed the lakes. Water has been flowing over some of these blockages in Qingchuan county, but posed no danger. Seven more landslide blockages were found in Beichuan county, about 160 km from the epicenter, Wenchuan.

Precipitation this year has set a soggy record

Missouri, USA
Image: Pedestrians endured the Morning rain and thunderstorms at the intersection of Euclid Ave and Laclede Ave Tuesday morning.

Story: All those booming waves of rain have made this the wettest start of any year on record in St. Louis.

The National Weather Service says we had 22.3 inches of precipitation from Jan. 1 through Sunday — and that was before another half-inch fell Tuesday. Precipitation through Sunday was 9.2 inches above the usual 13.1 inches through any given May 11.

The Weather Service official records here date to 1870. The soggy start to this year edges out 1927, which used to have the wettest first four months and 11 days on the books.

Cyclone toll above 133,000

BURMA'S junta took diplomats on a tour of the storm-ravaged Irrawaddy delta as the toll of dead and missing from Cyclone Nargis soared above 133,000 people, making it one of the most devastating ever to hit Asia.

In the last 50 years, only two Asian cyclones have exceeded Nargis in terms of human cost - a 1970 storm that killed 500,000 people in neighbouring Bangladesh, and another that killed 143,000 in 1991, also in Bangladesh.

However, with an estimated 2.5 million people clinging to survival in the delta, and the military government refusing to admit large-scale outside relief, disaster experts say Nargis' body count could yet rise dramatically.

Quake waves went around world twice

The devastating earthquake in southwest China was so powerful that its seismic waves travelled around the globe - twice. Usually only surface waves from a quake of about magnitude 8.0 or stronger go around the globe more than once. The Matsushiro Seismological Observatory, north of Tokyo, detected surface quake waves at 3.41pm Japanese time (1641 AEST) on Monday, some 13 minutes after the 7.9-magnitude quake struck in China's Sichuan province. Seismological equipment in an underground tunnel showed the same kind of low-frequency waves 90 minutes later at 6.10pm and again at 8.40pm. This shows the waves from the quake went round the globe twice, travelling eastward from the epicentre to Japan, crossing the Pacific to the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean to Africa before coming back to Asia. Westbound waves were also observed. "The circling of waves was observed as the quake was so intense." Surface waves, which cannot be felt by humans, travel more slowly and last longer than waves that go through the interior of the Earth.

Canal causes widespread flooding in Korat town

Breaking Earth News
Thailand
Image: Motorcyclists ride through floodwater in Muang district of Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday. — PRASIT TANGPRASERT

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: An overflowing tributary of the Lam Takong canal has caused widespread flooding in Muang district, leaving tambon Muen Wai severely inundated. Many communities in the tambon were badly flooded after Boriboon, a tributary of the Lam Takong canal, burst its banks and overflowed into at least four villages. Floodwaters were one-metre deep in most areas of the villages, making roads impassable. Lam Takong canal drains into the Lam Takong reservoir. Officials are keeping a close eye on the UNUSUALLY high water level in the reservoir. The Meteorology Department has forecast more heavy showers in many areas of the country in the next few days. At least 300 downstream villages face a serious flood threat from the Srinakarin and Vajiralongkorn dams. If the dams are damaged in an earthquake, weathermen say the villages could be flooded in less than two hours. The province has reported stronger seismic activity in the area this year, drawing concern from those looking after the reservoirs. Local environment groups have criticised government officials for their inaction and refusal to install an early warning system and for not improving the drills for disaster preparedness.

Huge Hailstorm Hits Belgrade

Serbia
An Apocalyptic storm slammed into Belgrade yesterday afternoon. The BBC got some good footage of the rivers of hailstones.

VIDEO FROM BBC

VIDEO: MASSIVE BELGRADE HAILSTORM

China stands still to mourn quake victims

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: A paramilitary police rescue crew stands in a collapsed building for three minutes silence as a mark of respect to the victims of a devastating earthquake, in the town of Tashui, in China's southwest Sichuan province Monday May 19, 2008.

WENCHUAN, China - China stood still Monday in mourning over tens of thousands of earthquake victims, and the government appealed for more international aid to cope with the country's deadliest disaster in a generation.

The military was still struggling to reach areas cut off by the earthquake, with more than 10,000 discovered stranded in Yinxiui valley near the epicenter Sunday. There was no information on casualties there, and 600 soldiers were hiking into the area. In an indication of the massive challenge China faces in housing the millions made homeless by the earthquake, the Foreign Ministry made an international appeal for tents. In the disaster area, more than 200 relief workers were reported buried in a mudslide in Sichuan province, where the quake was centered. There were no more details in the report.

Los Angeles Eyes Sewage as a Source of Water

LOS ANGELES — Faced with a persistent drought and the threat of tighter water supplies, Los Angeles plans to begin using heavily cleansed sewage to increase drinking water supplies, joining a growing number of cities considering similar measures.

Mayor ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, who opposed such a plan a decade ago over safety concerns, announced the proposal on Thursday as part of a package of initiatives to put the city, the nation’s second largest, on a stricter water budget. The other plans include increasing fines for watering lawns during restricted times, tapping into and cleaning more groundwater, and encouraging businesses and residents to use more efficient sprinklers and plumbing fixtures.

The move comes as California braces for the possibility of the most severe water shortages in decades.

Food Riots are Coming to the U.S.

Food riots are coming to America? - The Midwest is at the heart of our wheat and corn production. All it will take is one bad drought - which Iowa expects. For the past 6 months North Dakota is in the worst drought ever - and now possibly a global drought - and our food supplies will take a serious hit. Extreme flooding like the Midwest and Mississippi just experienced are wiping out food crops. With escalating fuel costs, there will come a point when truckers are unable to make a living and simply have to shut down. A global pandemic would also shut down access to food and water supplies. Riots and food protests have already hit many nations: South Africa, Pakistan, Lebanon, Gaza, Kenya, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bahrain, the Emirates, Italy, Russia, Indonesia, Egypt in addition to Haiti, Cameroon, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Bolivia, Peru, Thailand, Somali, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Uzbekistan, Yemen, India, and the Philippines. With food shortages threatening to become the biggest crisis of the 21st century, you can bet food riots are coming to America. Stock up now - buy in bulk - and pack for long-term storage any grain products and foods you regularly consume. The longer you delay, prices are only going to escalate, your options will dwindle, along with selection. If you keep your standby cash in a money-market fund you'll be lucky to get a 2.5% interest rate. Meanwhile the most recent government data shows food inflation for the average American household is now running at 4.5% a year. And some prices are rising even more quickly. The latest data show cereal prices rising by more than 8% a year. Both flour and rice are up more than 13%. Milk, cheese, bananas and even peanut butter: They're all up by more than 10%. Eggs have rocketed up 30% in a year. Ground beef prices are up 4.8% and chicken by 5.4%.

New rumbling from Chilean volcano worries experts

While scenes of molten lava are relatively commonplace, this otherworldly picture of the Chaiten Volcano in southern Chile shows a truly spectacular, and devastating, volcanic phenomenon.

Chile, S.A.
Chile's Chaiten volcano groaned, rumbled and shuddered on Thursday, raising new concerns among authorities, as lightning bolts pierced the huge clouds of hot ash hovering ominously above its crater. "There's been additional volcanic activity that we're really worried about." Heavy ash kept shooting from the volcano as it generated small tremors. On the ground, heavy flooding hit the area around Chaiten as falling ash swelled rivers, overflowing their banks. The government on Wednesday declared the town of Chaiten, only six miles (10 km) from the erupting volcano, off-limits for three months and reported that about 90 percent of the town had been flooded by the Blanco and Raya Rivers. Rains are normal during the southern hemispheric winter in Patagonia, but the deluge of volcanic ash has caused nearby rivers to breach their banks.

Related News
Chile's Peteroa volcano - Officers from the Regional Emergency Office are planning to install seismometers in the Maule region amid an increase in smoke columns coming from the crater of the Peteroa volcano. The Peteroa volcano is located on the border of Argentina, where it is known as the Azufre volcano. Many glaciers originating from the Claro River also exist within the vicinity. “For now we are asking people to remain calm, since it is very likely that the increased activity is due to the melting of the glaciers near the volcano”. At least 16 smoke columns have been registered lately.

INDIA - The mystery behind the geological eruption at the Murti village in Baramati taluka on Sunday remained unsolved, even as a three-member geologists’ team from Pune visited the place on Wednesday and ruled out any volcanic activity. After inspecting the spot thoroughly, they said, “The eruption is neither a volcano nor an earthquake. Villagers need not worry. Onlookers have stepped on the spot and have destroyed vital clues. We should have visited the spot much earlier. We have taken a few samples of the solidified matter." When asked why the area was not cordoned off to keep it safe from public interference, the police sub-inspector said he had informed the higher authorities about the incidence. Confirming that it was not a natural phenomenon, the DVS secretary said, “The melting of rock-like substances had taken place at the electricity pole. It later solidified in the form of hard matter.” Explaining a possibility, she said since the eruption occurred at the bottom of an iron electricity pole, perhaps it has to do with electricity. The molten lava-like fluid may have taken place due to residual current under the earth surface. According to witnesses, a lava-like substance was oozing out from the six-inch radius hole. A man who was among the first to visit the spot after the eruption said initially there was hot, brown fluid and vapour was continuously coming out. Another man, in whose field the incident took place, said that he saw the eruption of a red-hot fluid. “The government authorities will decide their next course of action after studying the geologists’ report."

Thousands of Chinese Quake Victims Flee Possible Flooding

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: An earthmover removes giant rocks off the only main road leading to hard-hit Beichuan county, China, 15 May 2008

Chinese officials have ordered thousands of people to evacuate a village near the epicenter of Monday's earthquake, amid conflicting reports that a dam has burst.

Witnesses say they are not sure whether the dam near Beichuan in the northern part of Sichuan province has failed, or whether a lake has overflowed its banks.

Authorities increased the official death toll Saturday to nearly 29,000. The actual number of dead is expected to surpass 50,000. Some 5 million people have lost their homes.

On Friday, a strong aftershock measuring 5.9 triggered landslides on recently-cleared roads leading to Wenchuan county, again cutting off roads and communications.

Natural changes pinned to warming

Since 1970, there's been about 0.5C, 0.6C of warming - that's the global average. And look at all the effects this relatively low amount of warming has had. The researchers assembled a database including more than 29,500 records that documented changes seen across a wide range of natural phenomena, such as: the earlier arrival of migratory birds in Australia, declining krill stocks around Antarctica, earlier break-up of river ice in Mongolia, genetic shift in the pitcher plant mosquito in North America, declining productivity of Lake Tanganyika, melting Patagonian ice-fields making sea levels rise. In virtually all cases, global warming was the primary driver of change, as opposed to natural variability or other human impacts such as deforestation or water pollution.

Severe weather strikes Louisiana

Breaking Earth News
Louisiana
Image: Street flooding in Baker (Photo by Randy LeDuff/WAFB-TV)

GROSSE TETE, LA (WAFB) - Numerous schools were closed across south Louisiana Thursday after a morning of heavy rains. There are numerous reports of damaged homes and businesses, as well as street flooding. Thursday's line of severe thunderstorms followed a strong storm system that moved through the region Wednesday afternoon, also causing damage.

As of 11:00 a.m. Thursday, DEMCO reports that 4900 of its customers were still without electricity, with 4300 of those in Livingston Parish.

There were numerous reports of storm-related damage and incidents across the WAFB viewing area Wednesday evening, including:

Water entering homes in Denham Springs and damage in the city, including downed trees. Water was also reported covering roads in Hammond.

Reports of heavy damage in the Zachary area, especially Plank Road and Tucker Road near Hwy 64. Callers report multiple trees down throughout the area. Numerous reports of hail were documented as a severe thunderstorm moved across the area Wednesday afternoon.

Numerous reports of street flooding in the Baker area. A Pointe Coupee Parish sheriff's deputy reported golf ball sized hail in Livonia Wednesday afternoon. There have also been several reports of high winds Image Above: Street flooding in Denham Springs (Courtesy: Karen Deel)

China quake death toll could rise to 50,000

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: A couple builds a shelter on the ruins of their house at Luoshui, near Shifang, in China's southwest Sichuan province Thursday May 15, 2008.

LUOSHUI TOWN, China - China warned the death toll from this week's earthquake could soar to 50,000, while the government issued a public appeal Thursday for rescue equipment as it struggled to cope with the disaster.

More than 72 hours after the quake rattled central China, rescuers appeared to shift from poring through downed buildings for survivors to the grim duty of searching for bodies — with 10 million directly affected by Monday's temblor.

In Luoshui town — on the road to an industrial zone in Shifang city where two chemical plants collapsed, burying hundreds of people — troops used a mechanical shovel to dig a pit on a hilltop to bury the dead.

Police and militia in Dujiangyan pulverized rubble with cranes and backhoes while crews used shovels to pick around larger pieces of debris. On one sidestreet, about a dozen bodies were laid on a sidewalk, while incense sticks placed in a pile of sand sent smoke into the air as a tribute and to dull the stench of death.

Heavy rain pounds D.C. region

WASHINGTON D.C. - The heavy, steady rain that pounded the region for more than 24 hours on Monday sent rivers over their beds, destroyed homes and caused one woman, caught in the grip of Beltway traffic, to deliver her third child in the back of a car. The rising waters and falling trees caused thousands of power outages and closed about 90 roads throughout the region, including about 20 in suburban Maryland, 63 in Northern Virginia and seven in the District of Columbia. Rescuers in Prince William County evacuated 31 homes and rescued more than 18 people from rushing water, mostly from vehicles trapped in flood zones. Torrential downpours brought up to 3 inches of rain and put most of the area under flood warnings and closed dozens of roads across Northern Virginia. Floodwaters erased the earth under a section of Dale Boulevard in Dale City, leaving a 20-foot-deep hole in the four-lane Prince William County thoroughfare. "This is SOME OF THE WORST FLOODING WE'VE SEEN IN AT LEAST 30 YEARS.”

Image Above: A section of inbound River Road in Bethesda is closed due to flooding. – Andrew Harnik/Examiner

Red Cross: Up to 128,000 may have died in Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma)
Image: A child is carried by a boy in a village affected by Cyclone Nargis located near the Myanmar capital Yangon May 14, 2008. (Strinnger/Reuters)Another powerful storm is headed toward


New Cyclone Developing



Story: Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta. The Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area. The new cyclone would likely not be as severe as Nargis because it is already close to land, and cyclones need to be over sea to gain full strength. "There will be a lot of rain but the winds will not be as strong." So little aid has reached the area that the U.N. warned today of a "second wave of deaths" among an estimated 2 million survivors. U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people so far. Getting to the worst-affected areas was getting more and more difficult, and the impending storm was expected to compound the misery of the survivors. Some survivors of Cyclone Nargis were reportedly getting spoiled or poor-quality food, rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to suspicions that the junta may be misappropriating foreign aid. The news of a second cyclone was not broadcast by Myanmar's state-controlled media.

Molten rock on the move in NZ volcano

New Zealand
Vulcanologists say molten rock appears to be moving higher inside Mt Ruapehu. They say elevated gas output, high lake temperatures and tremors continue to indicate unrest at Ruapehu, but say it is not clear whether an eruption is imminent. Eruptions in 1995 and 1996 wrecked the ski seasons in those years and were economically disastrous for the area.


Related News
A towering cloud of hot ash, gas and molten rock spewed miles into the air by the volcano in southern Chile has partially collapsed, raising fears it could smother surrounding villages, an expert said on Tuesday. The column of ash, which had soared as high as 20 miles (30 km), was now about 4.5 miles (7 km). The column of debris, kept aloft by the pressure of constant eruptions, could collapse entirely, smothering the ghost town of Chaiten 6 miles (10 km) away with hot gas, ash and molten rocks. "These small collapses which generate minor flows of pyroclastic material are normal, they are not that serious in that they affect a small area, the top part of the volcano. But that doesn't make the worst case scenario disappear. As long as the eruptive column is high in the air, (a major collapse) is a possibility." Thick ash has caked rooftops, settled on the backs of animals and also formed a sediment in a river near Chaiten, which overran its banks briefly on Monday due to heavy rains and flooded about 40 houses on the outskirts of Chaiten town. Footage from the area showed a cluster of wooden houses at tilted angles in a river of gray ash.

Update: China quake toll passes 20,000

Breaking Earth News
China
The full horror of the devastating China earthquake began to emerge today as rescuers discovered whole towns all but wiped off the map, pushing the death toll well above 20,000 and rising by the hour. The message that came back from this mountainous corner of southwestern Sichuan province was that town after town was flattened by the 7.9-magnitude quake that struck two days ago. "Some towns basically have no houses left. They have all been razed to the ground." The destruction around the epicentre in remote Wenchuan county is massive, with whole mountainsides sheared off, highways ripped apart and building after building levelled.

China quake 'worse than expected' - First reports from the epicentre of Monday's earthquake in China's Sichuan province suggest the number of dead could be higher than feared. In Yingxiu, in Wenchuan County, the devastation was worse than expected, as roads were blocked and children buried in debris. Out of the town's population of 10,000, only 2,300 have been found alive after Monday's 7.9 quake. The official death toll is more than 12,000, and looks set to rise sharply. Poor weather has continued to hamper aid efforts, and rescuers have been forced to trek to areas cut off by the quake damage and search through the rubble with their bare hands. An army team in Yingxiu said they could hear cries under the rubble of collapsed buildings. The troops have rescued about 1,000 people in Wenchuan County, but an estimated 60,000 people remain missing. In Juyuan, more than 1,000 people were thought to be trapped in a collapsed school building. China's one child policy means that, for most of the relatives desperately waiting outside, their only offspring is under the rubble. About 18,000 people are reported to be trapped at Beichuan, close to the epicentre. In one city, Mianyang, 18,000 people are said to be buried under the rubble, and in nearby Mianzhu, at least 4,800 are reported trapped. In Shifang, where two chemical plants collapsed, releasing a huge toxic cloud, about 600 people were reported dead and up to 2,300 still buried. People have set up tents or makeshift shelters on almost any piece of open land, even in the middle of road junctions.

Clinton's Crushing Victory Enlightens Obama's Weaknesses

From the Editor's Desk
Skywatch-Media News
May 14, 2008

Hillary Clinton's overwhelming victory in West Virginia on Tuesday night, brings to light the significant problems that Barack Obama has with White Working Class and rural voters, not just in West Virginia, but across America in general. It genuinely shows that Hillary is indeed the Right Candidate for the job.
Clinton Crushes Obama Across the Board

Results of West Virginia

There are many questions still unanswered by the Obama campaign as to why their candidate cannot close the deal on this nomination process. How can a "presumptive nominee" for all intents and purposes lose a primary in a major swing state by a humiliating 41%, and then boast about his prospects for winning a general election during a poorly worded speech in a conservative Missouri southeastern district on the eve of Clinton's smashing victory in West Virginia.

Obama in Missouri

There are many more questions that must be disturbing not only to voters but also to the superdelegates that will ultimately determine the nomination for either candidate. For instance, why can't Barack Obama connect with White working class individuals, especially Blue-Collar voters in those important swing states that any candidate would need in order to capture the White House. If Obama has any hope of winning over those voters than he will have to do a much better job of convincing them that he has their best interests at heart and will work hard for them every day.

Then there is the question of the demographics that make up particular regions of the country, especially in those all important rust belt states or swing states that could very well determine who our next president will be. Obama has a big problem with rural voters, possibly due to their distrust for an unknown candidate, but also because his recent comments towards "small-town" rural Americans were insulting, especially to those rural farming communities who "cling to guns" or attend church on a regular basis.

What the Exit Polls Say

Furthermore, Obama should be worried when exit polling is showing as it did recently in Pa, Indiana and West Virgina, that nearly 60% of Clinton's supporters will not vote for Obama in the Fall election, either voting for McCain or choosing to stay home on election day. Certainly these are troubling numbers for any candidate that will need their support in order to win on November 4th. Although some pundits and analysts will say that many of those defectors will come back to roost in the nest after the Democratic convention in late August, it is still discerning to consider the possibility that many will choose other options.

A Clear Rift in the Party

There is also the continued problem that exists with Rev.Wright. Early exit polling in West Virginia indicates that the controversial remarks made by Wright are still a factor for the Obama campaign. It is certain to be a continued factor raised by Republicans in the upcoming general election if Obama becomes the nominee.

Wright and Race are an Issue

It is now conceivable if not highly probable that Clinton will win the popular vote after the final tally is counted on June 3. Having erased most if not all of Obama's gains from the North Carolina primary in last evening's contest, she will now begin gaining on his overall popular vote margin, and will likely overtake his lead after the Puerto Rico Primary is completed. The Island primary which is scheduled for June 1, is reported to have more than 2.3 million registerd voters with at least 80% of those voters predicted to go to the polls. Clinton is favored to win that primary by a comfortable margin due to its overwhelming Hispanic and Catholic demographics, as well as Clinton's support among Puerto Ricans which make up a sizable voting block in New York. Hillary could very well come away with more than 500,000 more votes than Obama when all is said and done in that primary.

Why Puerto Rico Matters

Popular Vote Leads Directly to the Superdelegates

If Clinton should win the popular vote, and it now looks as if she will(exluding Michigan and/or Florida) it will be another valuable argument she can make to the superdelegates and party officials who are sitting on the fence until after June 3.

Clinton's confidence is showing despite the media thrashing she endured over the past week, and the calls for her to quit. Her thumping of Obama in West Virginia indicates her strenghts and his weaknesses. Voters have sent a loud and clear statement that they want this race to continue and for every vote to be counted. Last nights primary results sent a message to the Obama campaign, as well as to their supporters, and especially the political pundits that it it very unwise to attack Clinton and denigrate her campaign, that it can cause voter backlash, as was evident in West Virginia.

Unwise to Attack Clinton

Clinton's continued persistence in spite of the odds to remain in the race, have overshadowed many of the gains made by the Obama campaign. She may be considered by some to be a thorn in Obama's side at this late juncture, but to many she is the candidate best poised to propel Obama into the White House. Without her help, his prospects are dim. To believe otherwise would be foolish and condescending.

It is safe to say that no candidate has won the White House without winning West Virginia since 1916, and the last Democrat to win that state not once but twice, was Bill Clinton. Hillary is by far the strongest candidate to go up against McCain not only in this region of the country, but in all of rural America.

So Goes West Virginia, So Goes The Nation

Next stop is Kentucky where Obama will face the same humiliation that he witnessed in West Virginia, which has to be embarrassing for the man who claims the label of "presumptive nominee." The candidate claiming the mantle of victory one week, but knocked down the next week in a major landslide, must explain himself to the American electorate. Obama if he expects to be the nominee which is still not his to claim, must act and demonstrate that he can win, even when the going gets tough. His lackluster performance in West Virginia and his willingness to write off a swing state as though it doesn't matter will only come back to haunt him in the end.

Kentucky, Another Clinton Landslide

Obama must soon come to a realization that the votes of all citizens are important if he hopes to win in November, and to overlook the wishes of those who don't support him can only lead to more trouble for him in his quest to be president. Being overconfident at this point in time, could cause a reversal of fortunes for the Obama campaign as the stakes are high and the road remains long and burdensome.

Mysterious Fireball Lights Up New Mexico Sky

New Mexico, USA
A mysterious flash of lights over New Mexico's Sandia Crest early Monday morning had some residents wondering if they had seen an unidentified flying object.
But experts said the bright spot, spotted just after 2 a.m., was most likely a meteor.



Video of the flashing light was captured by an observatory near Santa Fe.

Erupting Solar Prominence

SOLAR ERUPTIONS
Astronomers are monitoring an unusually active prominence on the sun's eastern limb. Even veteran observers are impressed, using words like "amazing" and "jaw-dropping" to describe the activity they have seen. One onlooker described the fountain-like eruptions as "volcanic in appearance."

Amateur astronomers in Europe and North America witnessed fountains of hot, magnetized gas surging over the eastern edge of the sun. "My hard drive is full of movies," says Didier Favre of Brétigny sur Orge, France, who counted no fewer than seven eruptions.

Veteran observer Pete Lawrence of Selsey, UK, took the picture above. "This is the first time I've ever seen material moving visually away from the surface of the Sun," he says.


UPDATE: Observers are reporting a sunspot (or proto-sunspot) emerging from the direction of yesterday's prominence: #1, #2, #3.

Tornado upgraded to EF4

USA
The National Weather Service has upgraded the severity of Saturday’s tornado to an EF4, with a maximum wind speed of 170 mph. And Southwest Misourians should brace for another round of potentially severe weather this afternoon and evening. Weather conditions will be similar to those on Saturday that produced a single massive tornado that was on the ground for 74 miles - 29 miles in Oklahoma and 45 miles in Southwest Missouri. It killed at least 22 people - 15 in Missouri and six in Oklahoma and one in Georgia. “Once it came across the Oklahoma-Missouri line it was an EF1. But within a matter of minutes it quickly strengthened to an EF4.” Saturday’s tornado was UNUSUAL in that it tracked southeast instead of taking a more typical northeasterly path. Because it moved southeasterly, it pushed deeper into warm, moist air, helping increase the twister’s strength. “This was a wedge tornado that had some serious width to it. At one point along this track, where it crossed the Oklahoma border near Seneca it was a mile wide.” Tonight a strong cold front will be pushing in from the northwest and colliding with warm, moist air over Missouri. Two jet streams - one flowing at about 60 mph, 2,000 feet above the ground, and another streaming at more than 100 mph at 35,000 feet - may help twist thunderstorms that develop tonight into tornado-producers.

Image: Utility crews work near an overturned car that was tossed into a field by a tornado near Seneca, Missouri, Monday, May 12, 2008. (REUTERS/Mark Schiefelbein)

U.S. - Nearly half of the 21 people killed by a tornado that smashed parts of Oklahoma and Missouri over the weekend died in cars, troubling experts who say vehicles are among the worst places to be during a twister.

UPDATE: Cyclone Death Toll Rises

Photo: Hhaing The Yu, 29, in rain falling on the ruins of his home, in a township outside Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday. Officials are expressing worry about disease.

Breaking Earth News
Myanmar (Burma)
United Nations estimates the dead at 62,000 to 100,000.

Story: MYANMAR’s state media reported Monday that the death toll from the recent cyclone had risen to just under 32,000. Cyclone Nargis devastated the country, washed away villages and left an estimated 1 million people homeless. Today is the 11th day since typhoon Nargis hit Myanmar.

UPDATE: Chile Volcano Zone May Be Permanently Unlivable

Chile, S.A.
Image: Ash from eruption devastates surrounding area
Photo by Victor Gonzalez, Partido Humanista.

Story: Chile's President on Saturday warned that towns surrounding Chaitén Volcano, which has been in constant eruption since May 2, might become permanently unlivable. The National Geologic and Mining Service delivered an ominous report putting the possibility of the volcano's collapse above 50%. “There are experts who say that lava from the Chaitén Volcano could flow directly towards the town of Chaitén. These experts are recommending that the town of Chaitén never be inhabited again.” The volcano could implode, thus releasing a stream of red-hot pyroclastic material (burning gas and rock) capable of destroying everything in its path. There is increased build-up in the dome of magma currently covering the volcano's crater. Futhermore, the material accumulating in the area is “highly dense,” and thus more prone to collapse. Any implosion would cause complete destruction of everything within a 15 kilometer radius around the peak, an area which encompasses Chaitén, Santa Barbara, and several rural farming villages. “We have never had a situation quite like this in Chile.”

RELATED NEWS
NEW ZEALAND - Volcanic activity at New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu is increasing and an eruption could occur at any time. The volcano in central North Island, famed as a location in the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, last erupted on Sept. 25, 2007, spitting 2 metre (6 feet) boulders distances of up to 2 kms (1.5 miles). Ruapehu's elevated alert level has not been changed, but scientists said that activity within the mountain was greater, with high levels of gas spewing out, a warmer than average crater lake and ongoing volcanic tremors.

SICILY - Mount Etna has rumbled back to life with a "seismic event" followed by a burst of ash, volcanologists said today, three days after minor eruptions shook the cone. A "seismic event provoking a strong explosion was recorded Tuesday at 0424 GMT (1324 AEST) in parts of the peak of the volcano." The explosion on Etna was followed by a rain of ash on the southeast crater, "where significant gas emissions are occurring." The "phenomenon currently represents no danger to people or property." Saturday's eruption, accompanied by streams of lava, was also at the volcano's southeast crater.

Death toll in China quake exceeds 12,000

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: Chinese residents walk by a damaged road as they evacuate Beichuan, southwest China's Sichuan province.





Slideshow: Massive Quake Hits China




DUJIANGYAN, China - The toll of the dead and missing soared as rescue workers dug through flattened schools and homes on Tuesday in a desperate attempt to find survivors of China's worst earthquake in three decades.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the death toll exceeded 12,000 in Sichuan province alone, and 18,645 were still buried in debris in the city of Mianyang, near the epicenter of Monday's massive, 7.9-magnitude quake.

The Sichuan Daily newspaper reported on its Web site that more than 26,000 people were injured in Mianyang.

The numbers of casualties was expected to rise due to the remoteness of the areas affected by the quake and difficulty in finding buried victims.

MASSIVE CHINA QUAKE

Have seasons disappeared from our weather?

United Kingdom
Have seasons disappeared from their weather? Temperatures in South Wales that will outstrip those in the Balearics are adding credence to the idea that spring is the new summer. The disastrous flooding last year was preceded by a spring heatwave, and with predictions of the current glorious weather being followed by an underwhelming summer, it seems their expectations of seasons might have to be reassessed. Temperatures in Cardiff are forecast to hit highs of 24C on Saturday and Sunday, compared to a rainy 21C in Palma, Majorca. The glorious start to May follows on from a similar spell in April of last year. February produced early primroses and daffodils and sightings of frogspawn, bats, bumblebees and skylarks, leaving them to ponder whether global warming is seeing the seasons change earlier every year. But, of course, last year’s warm spring was followed by a disastrous summer, with widespread flooding and cool temperatures. BBC Radio 2's gardening expert believes all seasonality has effectively disappeared from their weather. He said: “April was very cold and fairly dry and then we’ve hit the beginning of May and we’ve turned from cold to extreme baking weather like a desert. There’s no seasonality whatsoever now. Back in the 50s and 60s you knew come mid-September you’d get your first frost and everything was finished off. Then you’d get winter with snow and frost and come February it would start to warm up. By April it would be slightly warm with rain and May to August would be the four-month growing season. But we’re definitely not getting that now.”

Virginia should plan for the coming sea-level rise

Virginia, USA
A big problem today and one that grows larger over time is that the whole low-lying coastal system along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline is going under water. From Old Point Comfort through the Back River drainage, up through Poquoson, across to Gloucester and Guinea Neck, and on to Mathews, Stingray Point and Windmill Point – all of this land is getting wetter and wetter. Flooding will increase in the coming decades. Hampton Roads is faced with at least a 2-foot relative sea-level rise over the next century. This increase will unfold gradually with each storm reaching higher and higher until, by 2106, the equivalent of that 2006 Columbus Day nor'easter would produce more flooding than they saw from Hurricane Isabel. This 2-foot rise is the most conservative estimate of what is headed their way, due to global warming that has already happened. Without arguing the source of the warming, without talking about "what ifs" of future greenhouse-gas emissions, they are stuck with this 2-foot relative sea-level rise. They will have to raise houses higher and higher after every one of the future storms. Roads leading to those houses will also have to be raised higher and higher to allow fire and police access. Utilities, storm-water and sewage systems, ground-water and septic systems – every piece of public infrastructure in those low-lying areas will also have to be fixed at taxpayer expense. Virginia is alone among mid-Atlantic states in not responding to the coming sea-level rise. Maryland and North Carolina have produced high-resolution, digital flood maps and are working on solutions. Most state governments along the East Coast have plans to address coastal flooding from the higher tides that are coming.

RELATED NEWS
CALIFORNIA - If left unchecked, the rising sea levels caused by global climate change could leave Stockton under water, California's Lt. Governor warned Thursday. "Yes, Delta water has come up six inches over the last century. And if you go 56 inches, we're in deep water right here." In addition to capricious flooding and spells of drought driven by climate change, he said California laws have to account for things such as levees and how water is stored in natural aquifers that supply drinking water. Making choices that arise from climate change, people often take a short-term approach, brushing aside solutions that set a positive course for years to come, he said. "I think that's really wrong. We need to think of the generations ahead."

Chilean volcano ash could 'collapse' any minute

Chile,S.A.
Volcanic Alert
Image: Smoke and ash rise for thousands of meters through a thick layer of clouds from the crater of the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile, May 7, 2008. REUTERS
More Photos


A huge plume of ash towering above the Chilean Chaiten volcano could collapse and plummet to earth at any moment, an expert has warned. Residents within a 30-mile (50 kilometre) radius of the volcano have now been forced to evacuate from the area. It is possible the plume of ash and rock debris could collapse, killing anyone within it's path. Similar volcanoes (in Mexico and the Philippines, for example) have collapsed on the seventh or eight day of continuous eruption. "We are at a critical point of this phase given the characteristics have remained the same for several days. The volcano is now at its limit and one possibility is that the column could collapse quickly, generating flows of pyroclastic material down its ravines. But there are also other scenarios, such as the energy of the eruption being released more gradually." Geologists have now recommended that the town be moved from it's current location.

Some have compared the situation to Pompeii, the Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The volcanic activity is not unusual, but is SPECIAL in the fact that this type of eruption only happens about six times each century. The volcano has been blowing up since last Friday and there's no telling when it will stop. The 20-mile plume has sent ash into Buenos Aires, shutting down the airport. But if the plume changes formation, it could get even worse.

Tornado season deadliest in a decade

Breaking Earth News
USA
Image: This funnel cloud formed in Keo, Ark. last month. Arkansas has had 49 tornadoes this year, already above its annual average of 48, according to Greg Forbes, severe weather expert at The Weather Channel:By Paul McIntosh, AP

DEADLIEST TORNADO SEASON IN A DECADE - The USA has been ravaged through mid-May by a near-record number of tornadoes that has pushed the death toll - including 47 killer twisters over the weekend - to a 10-YEAR HIGH. Stunned survivors picked through the little that was left of their communities Sunday after tornadoes tore across the Plains and South, killing at least 22 people in three states and leaving behind a trail of destruction and stories of loss. At least 15 people died in southwestern Missouri. In the fading mining town of Picher, Okla., at least six people were killed, and at least one person died in storms in Georgia.

Magnitude 7.8 Quake Strikes China: Thousands Feared Dead

Breaking Earth News
China
Image: Map locates epicenter of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which hit western China.

A POWERFUL earthquake in southwest China has killed up to 5000 people and left as many as 10,000 injured, state media says.

Hundreds of children also remained trapped in at least eight collapsed schools, reports said.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people were killed in Beichuan county of mountainous Sichuan province alone after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region during the early afternoon today, Xinhua news agency said, citing the local government.

As many as 10,000 in Beichuan county were feared injured and 80 per cent of the buildings there had been destroyed, the report said.

UPDATE: Death toll in China Rises to 7600
CHONGQING (AP) — A massive earthquake struck central China on Monday, killing more than 7,600 people and trapping nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school, state media reported.

Myanmar's largest city struggles to recover from cyclone

Burma
Image: A wrecked home by the Yangon River. Essential equipment like heavy machinery is in short supply or nowhere to be found.

(The New York Times)

Story:The inability of the government to clear debris and restore basic utilities like water and power in the country's wealthiest city are a measure of how difficult Myanmar's overall disaster recovery could be. The death toll in Yangon has been small compared with the devastation in the delta of the Irrawaddy River. The government counts fewer than 400 people killed here. But lines for rationed gasoline snake through the city for blocks. Drivers spend three or four hours at gasoline stations to buy two gallons of fuel, the daily allowance by the government. Generators hum everywhere. Buildings have lost roofs, facades. Essential equipment — chainsaws, machines capable of lifting heavy debris and helicopters, among many other necessary items — are in short supply or absent altogether. The U.S. embassy imported chainsaws from Thailand and Bangladesh. The Burma government has 12 helicopters, but only five of them are operational and able to transport supplies to far-flung locations. Basic construction materials are unavailable. "There are no nails to be found in Yangon." Thousands of trees lie where they fell, jetties on the Yangon River have collapsed into the water and only a few traffic lights are working across the city of five million people. Most of Yangon remains without electricity.

Cyclone had all the makings of a 'perfect storm'
Cyclone Nargis became one of Asia's deadliest storms by hitting land at one of the lowest points in Myanmar and setting off a storm surge that reached 25 miles inland, its battering winds pushed a wall of water as high as 12 feet. "It was like Katrina going into New Orleans." Forecasters began tracking the cyclone April 28 as it first headed toward India. As projected, it took a sharp turn eastward, but didn't follow the typical cyclone track in that area leading to Bangladesh or Myanmar's mountainous northwest. Instead, it swept into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta in central Myanmar. "The easterly component of the path is UNUSUAL." The result was the worst disaster ever in the impoverished country. It was the first time such an intense storm hit the delta - it was "one of those ONCE-IN-EVERY-500-YEARS KIND OF THINGS." The delta had lost most of its mangrove forests along the coast to shrimp farms and rice paddies over the past decade. That removed what scientists say is one of nature's best defenses against violent storms.

Image Above: This image provided by NASA's MODIS instrument on board the Terra satellite shows Cyclone Nargis as it approaches the coast of Bangladesh Thursday May 1, 2008. The cyclone brewing in the Bay of Bengal was expected to hit the south coast of Bangladesh late Friday with maximum significant wave heights of 21 feet before heading to Myanmar. At 08:00 GMT Friday May 2, 2008 Tropical Cyclone Nargis had sustained winds of 185 kilometers (115 miles) an hour, gusting to 230 kilometers (143 miles) per hour as it approached the coast of Myanmar, according to the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center. (AP Photo/NASA)

BURMA's refusal to give visas to relief experts is "UNPRECEDENTED" in the history of humanitarian work, the UN says.

Fresh fears over Chilean volcano

Chile, S.A.
There have been reports of further activity in the Chaiten volcano in Chile. Army staff supervising the evacuation of nearby towns reported hearing rumbling noises underground and seeing flashes of light overnight Wednesday. Authorities have stepped up efforts to force the few people remaining in the surrounding area in Patagonia to leave. Experts say the volcano could continue to erupt for weeks or months. A layer of ash over 15cm (6in) thick has built up in some places and ground-water supplies have been contaminated. A number of animals left behind have been rescued, but many have been reported dead. Chile is in one of the most volcanically active regions on Earth. Experts say that about 20 of its more than 100 active volcanoes are in danger of erupting at any time.

Effects of the Chile eruption could last decades - Chilean scientists warned on Wednesday that the eruption of southern Chile’s Chaitén Volcano could have drastic long-term effects on the surrounding region. “Areas now being covered with up to 40 centimeters of ash are practically lost. The ground will need much more than five years in order to recover. Decades could pass before natural vegetation begins to grow again. These areas will be starting from square one.” The cloud of smoke has spread to Argentina's Atlantic coast, located some 500 miles to the east. Scientists said water sources – particularly around Futaleufu – showed signs of “abnormal acidity” and that falling ash had caused a build-up of a white, pasty residue in many local tributaries. They detected high amounts of sulfur both in the air and water due to the falling ash. The eruption, the first for Chaitén Volcano in recorded history, followed two days of unusual seismic activity in the zone. The phenomenon nevertheless caught residents and authorities by surprise. Indeed, government and media reports initially misidentified the eruption as coming from the Michimahuida volcano, located some 40 kilometers north-west of Chaitén. Image Above: Ash from Chaitén volcano has spread to the Atlantic. Photo courtesy of NASA

A blanket of ash is exerting a stranglehold on Patagonia. Large swathes of the Argentinean region lay under a choking cloud of smoke and ash after the eruption of the long-dormant volcano of Chaiten in neighbouring Chile. And the Welsh community there has experienced terrifying periods of “nuclear nights” when the pollution in the air has been so thick that it has blocked out the mid-afternoon sun. Earlier there were dramatic scenes, as ash was spewed 20 miles into the sky by the eruption. In key Welsh Patagonian towns like Esquel and Trevelin, residents had to wear face masks whenever they went outside. Livestock were also beginning to die from breathing air and drinking water clogged with thick volcanic ash. The area yesterday remained largely isolated from the outside world, with airports closed and roads opening sporadically because of the amount of ash on the road, up to 3cm deep in places. Patagonia is just half-an-hour’s drive from the volcano. “It is an event that has taken everybody by surprise, nobody has seen anything like this before.”

Turkish quake fault line getting more active, expert warns

Turkey
The massive earthquake fault line running beneath Turkey’s inland Sea of Marmara is showing heightened levels of activity, according to a leading seismic expert. The last major quakes along the fault line, in August and November 1999, caused massive damage and left some 20,000 people dead. The greater Anatolian Fault Line, which runs from near the Iranian border through to Greece has been increasingly active in the Marmara region of late. This movement is particularly noticeable in the Marmara’s southern and northern regions and in the Gulf of Saros, which lies at the head of the Gallipoli Peninsula. This activity suggests there could be a higher risk of an earthquake occurring in the region.

Noctilucent Clouds Seen Over Ireland

Ireland
Just before daybreak on May 5th, experienced sky watchers in Northern Ireland were surprised by a sudden apparition of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). "I was outdoors looking for eta Aquarid meteors when I spotted an eerie glow between my neigbour's houses." reports Martin McKenna of Maghera, Co. Derry. "The strong blue color was unmistakable--it was an NLC."

Noctilucent clouds are mainly a summertime phenomenon and it is very unusual for them to appear so early in May. "In my long years of observing NLCs, this is the earliest I have ever seen them."

These sightings only add to the mystery of NLCs. High-latitude "night-shining clouds" were first reported in the 19th century after the eruption of super-volcano Krakatoa. At the time, the clouds were widely thought to be associated with the volcano. Long after the ash settled, however, NLCs persisted. In recent years they have intensified and spread with sightings as far south as Utah and Colorado. What causes the phenomenon? A NASA spacecraft named AIM is orbiting Earth on a mission to find out.

The early onset of NLCs could herald a spectacular season to come.

Readers, browse our 2007 NLC Photo Gallery for observing tips.

Massive volcanic cloud creeps over Argentina, Chile

South America
Image: A huge cloud of ash spewed from the Chaiten volcano, some 1,300 kms south of Santiago

The Chaiten volcano poured out gas and ash for a sixth day on Wednesday. A thick cloud of ash from the volcano spread across a swathe of South America, prompting fears of health crisis for the people caught in its wake. The enormous slow-moving plume was expected to soon reach Buenos Aires, where about eight million people live, spreading airborne ash particles which health officials warned could be highly dangerous to inhale. The dense, 30-kilometer (19-mile) high plume of volcanic ash took a northeasterly turn overnight to Wednesday after moving for days in a southeasterly direction. Ash from the volcano is expected to blanket the Chilean town of Palena and the Argentine ski resort Bariloche northeast of Chaiten. The area around a 30-kilometer radius of the volcano has been completely evacuated. A Chilean vulcanologist warned Tuesday that the eruption was only in the early stages, and that an explosive eruption was possible. "There could be a major explosion that could collapse the volcano's cone."

Looking down over the ash cloud soaring from Chaiten volcano in southern Chile, the whole area is carpeted in white and experts say the eruption could last for months. "According to experts, the (ash cloud) is less dense, which could indicate a lower probability of it exploding more intensely, but it's just a hypothesis." "This could last a month, three months, maybe we can never return. We are so worried."

Heatwave conditions continue to torment chenniites

Breaking Earth News
India

Chenniites continued to reel under harsh heatwave conditions with the mercury soaring to 41 Deg C (105 Deg F) today and the weathermen predicting that the city will have no respite for the next 48 hours.

The maximum temperature in the city continued to remain above the 40 Deg C mark since the heat wave conditions set in, according to the weather bureau.

Australia ill-prepared for disasters

AUSTRALIA is ill-prepared for the types of freak weather wreaking devastation in other parts of the world and which is increasing, a new report says. As the emergency relief effort is ramped up in cyclone-stricken Burma, a strategic think-tank has warned that it is not even clear who or which authority would be in charge of responding to a similar disaster in Australia. "So-called freak weather is becoming more common, including cyclones, storms, floods, extreme temperature, drought and bushfires. More coastal zone residential developments are simply increasing these risks. There will be significant evacuation and relocation of large numbers of people." The report found Australia lacked an appropriate, effective, timely national community information and warning system capable of being used in the lead-up to, and recovery from, disasters. Governments also need to "climate-proof" infrastructure. Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States the bulk of disaster resources have gone into counter-terrorism measures. But Australia has more to fear from a national disaster than from terrorism. The study found the average family has "little concept" of planning for a situation where they might have no access to food, water or power for three days or more.

Australia ill-prepared for disasters

AUSTRALIA is ill-prepared for the types of freak weather wreaking devastation in other parts of the world and which is increasing, a new report says. As the emergency relief effort is ramped up in cyclone-stricken Burma, a strategic think-tank has warned that it is not even clear who or which authority would be in charge of responding to a similar disaster in Australia. "So-called freak weather is becoming more common, including cyclones, storms, floods, extreme temperature, drought and bushfires. More coastal zone residential developments are simply increasing these risks. There will be significant evacuation and relocation of large numbers of people." The report found Australia lacked an appropriate, effective, timely national community information and warning system capable of being used in the lead-up to, and recovery from, disasters. Governments also need to "climate-proof" infrastructure. Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States the bulk of disaster resources have gone into counter-terrorism measures. But Australia has more to fear from a national disaster than from terrorism. The study found the average family has "little concept" of planning for a situation where they might have no access to food, water or power for three days or more.

Cyclone death toll could reach 250,000

Breaking Earth News
Myanmar (Burma)

THE death toll from Burma's worst natural disaster in living memory could reach 250,000, and millions people will be homeless, a commentator says.

Cyclone Nargis savaged Burma's densely populated rice-growing Irrawaddy Delta region and Rangoon with winds of up to 200km/h at the weekend.

The hardline military dictatorship which rules Burma has so far put the number of deaths at 22,000.

But Larry Jagan, former BBC Asia affairs editor, says military sources put the fatalities around 30,000.

"This is the worst natural disaster that Burma has suffered in living memory. It's very much like Burma's tsunami,'' he told ABC Television.

"I fear the death toll could mount to something like a quarter of a million people.''

Full evacuation ordered around Chile volcano

Breaking Earth News
Chile, S.A.
Volcanic Alert







Image Above: Ash from the Chaiten volcano has even been blown over the Andes mountains and into parts of Argentina. These residents of Esquel, Argentina, used surgical masks Monday to get around.

SANTIAGO, Chile - The Chaiten volcano spewed lava and blasted ash more than 12 miles into the sky on Tuesday, prompting a total evacuation of the provincial capital and other settlements.

President Michelle Bachelet interrupted a speech in the capital to announce that "the volcano is exploding so a total evacuation of the town of Chaiten has been ordered."

Rains following the eruption have carpeted surrounding areas in ash and mud. Hard hit is Chaiten, a small provincial capital of wooden houses and cobblestone streets just 6 miles from the volcano in southern Chile.

Story Continues

Click Image to View Video: Thousands Flee Volcano

Myanmar state radio says cyclone death toll soars above 22,000

*Map showing areas worst-hit by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. More than 22,000 people were killed in Myanmar's devastating cyclone, with thousands more feared dead after the storm left rice fields littered with corpses. (AFP Graphic)

^Slideshow^

Breaking Earth News
Myanmar (Burma)
YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll from the cyclone that battered Myanmar last weekend rose above 22,000 Tuesday as the international community prepared to rush in aid, state radio reported.

A news broadcast on government-run radio said that 22,464 people have now been confirmed dead from Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the country's rice bowl and biggest city of Yangon early Saturday.

The broadcast added that thousands more are missing.

Relief efforts for the stricken area, mostly in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta, have been difficult, in large part because of the destruction of roads and communications outlets by the storm.

Australia's climate change victims

Breaking Earth News
Image: Masig Island, one of the low-lying islands of the Torres Strait

TORRES STRAIT, AUSTRALIA - Like Kiribati and Tuvalu, the islands of the Torres Strait are slowly being submerged. But unlike their Pacific neighbours, the plight of their inhabitants is being overlooked. Islanders in the Torres Strait, which lies between the far north-eastern tip of the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea, have witnessed higher tides in recent years than they have ever seen before. Houses, roads and graveyards have been flooded, and the locals believe they know the reason: climate change. About 7,000 people live on the islands, 18 of which are inhabited. Abnormally high tides are not the only phenomenon that the islanders have observed. The seasons are shifting, and the land is eroding. Birds' migration patterns have altered, and the turtles and dugongs (sea cow) that are traditionally hunted for meat have grown scarce. People are no longer certain when to plant their crops: cassava, yams, sugarcane, bananas, sweet potato. "We see the big trees near the beach, like the wongai trees, falling down. The seagrass that the dugongs eat, you used to find long patches of it, but not any more. The corals are dying, and the sand is getting swept away and exposing the rock. "We were taught by our grandfathers and fathers to read the sky and forecast the weather. You see this cloud, you go to your garden and start planting. You see that cloud, it's time to clear your land. But nowadays the weather is unpredictable." Others report that the rainy season is rainier, the dry season drier. And the marine life is behaving oddly. "We were told there's an iceberg melting and the level of the sea is going up. We don't know how we will survive. Our island is only flat, and the water seems to be taking all the land."

Update: Volcano spews ash, one dead

Breaking Earth News
Chile, S.A.
Image: Sleeping giant ... smoke rises from Chaiten volcano, 1220km south of Santiago. The volcano had been dormant for thousands of years / Reuters / Reuters

CHAITEN VOLCANO spewed ash over Patagonian towns in southern Chile today, two days after its FIRST ERUPTION IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS forced authorities to evacuate about 4000 residents. Local media said an elderly woman died as rescue teams evacuated the last remaining people from the town of Chaiten, close to where the snow-capped volcano of the same name erupted on Saturday, triggering earth tremors and sending a cloud of ash three km into the air. Residents were also evacuated from nearby Futaleufu. There is no record of the volcano erupting in the last 2000 years. Southern Chile is fragmented into hundreds of small islands and fjords. Some residents had never ventured from Chaiten itself until the 1000m volcano 10km away forced them to leave. Chile's 2000 volcanoes include two of Latin America's most active - Villarica and Llaima. Llaima, about 700km south of Santiago, erupted on New Year's Day this year, spewing ash and molten lava and forcing dozens of tourists and staff to evacuate a wilderness park. Scientists said some 500 of Chile's volcanoes are potentially active. Chile has the world's second most active string of volcanoes behind Indonesia.

Update: A cataclysmic blast is possible

Chaiten is a caldera volcano, which can explode in a cataclysmic eruption, emptying the magma chamber and causing the dome and surrounding land to collapse into the void beneath.

CHILE - The MOCHIMAHUIDA VOLCANO was emitting a column of smoke that is visible even from Puerto Montt. The volcano, which is located some 40 kilometers to the south of Chaitén, began erupting early Friday morning after having remained dormant for almost two centuries. The last reported eruption of the volcano was in 1835. The natural emergency has alarmed residents, who have been on edge since Wednesday after feeling a series of small earthquakes. Despite the fact that authorities downplayed the importance of the quakes, which totaled more than 60 the day before the eruption, locals could not stop talking about the possibility of an eruption of one of the many peaks in the area. The town of Chaitén awoke in isolation Friday morning after Route 7 to the south of the village was closed due to a thick layer of ash on the road impeding traffic. Air travel in the area has also been complicated by the eruption.

Thousands Dead in Myanmar Cyclone

Breaking Earth News
Myanmar
Official death toll approaches 4,000; government says total could reach five figures in wake of monster storm.
Image:This image provided by NASA's MODIS instrument on board the Terra satellite shows Cyclone Nargis as it approaches the coast of Bangladesh Thursday May 1, 2008
Photos: Burmese Cleanup

YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll from the cyclone that ripped through Myanmar could reach 10,000, a top government minister said Monday.

Foreign diplomats said Foreign Minister Nyan Win acknowledged the possibility of the high casualty figure at a briefing given to them and representatives of U.N. and international aid agencies.

State radio earlier reported that the official death toll from Saturday's Cyclone Nargis had risen to 3,939 from an original count of 351.

The agencies said they are rushing to prepare assistance for victims of the cyclone.

Story Continues

Thousands flee as Chilean volcano erupts

Breaking Earth News
Chile, S.A.
Image: Chaiten volcano erupts, pouring a column of ash miles in to the sky

More than 1,500 people had to flee their homes after a huge cloud of ash and lava was thrown into the sky by a long-dormant volcano in southern Chile.

Terrified citizens of the fishing town of Chaiten, six miles from the volcano, described a noise like a seismic "water boiler", and spoke fearfully of a series of earth tremors lasting hours.

A sea rescue was under way on Saturday for people threatened by the eruption.

The Chaiten volcano, 800 miles south of the capital Santiago, had not erupted for more than 9,000 years and was considered dormant.

The peak is now belching enormous clouds of thick ash, which have drifted across a large area in both Chile and the Argentine province of Chubut, where an airport was forced to close.

Image: Locals wear masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash

Deadly storms hit Arkansas

Arkansas, USA
Image: An unidentified insurance adjuster looks over thunderstorm damage in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday. A powerful storm system packing tornadoes and heavy winds roared across the nation's midsection early Friday, killing at least seven people in Arkansas including a teenager crushed by a tree while she slept (Orlin Wagner/Associated Press)

DAMASCUS, Ark. — Violent storms rolling across the nation's midsection unleashed tornadoes, high winds and hail in four states and killed seven people in Arkansas on Friday, including a teenager who died when a tree fell into her bedroom as she slept.

The storms late Thursday and early Friday ripped off roofs and toppled train cars near Kansas City, Mo.; pelted parts of Oklahoma with hail; and knocked over tents at a popular open-air market in east Texas. Severe thunderstorms were moving into Kentucky and could make for a wet Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Greg Carbin, a meteorologist for the national Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said as many as 25 tornadoes may have cut through stretches of Oklahoma, Arkansas, eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

Residents urged to flee as N.B. river passes flood level

Canada

Homeowners along New Brunswick's St. John River are facing rising waters and a deadline to evacuate.

Time is running out for people to decide whether they want to leave their homes or hunker down and wait out the rising water, which was at 7.1 metres Tuesday and projected to hit 7.8 metres by today -- nearly 1.5 metres above the flood level.

RELATED NEWS
MAINE - The rain-swollen St. John River crested early Thursday after HITTING A RECORD HIGH, forcing hundreds of residents to flee to higher ground. Image: A man walks his dog past a flooded Main St. in Fort Kent, Maine on Wednesday April, 30, 2008. Homes and businesses were evacuated Wednesday as spring floods along the St. John River spilled into the downtown of this Canadian border town, marking what emergency management officials described as a 100-year flood for the St. John. (AP Photo/ Shawn Patrick Ouellette)

Town and state officials called it THE WORST FLOOD IN 80 YEARS OF RECORD-KEEPING. "We have never seen anything of this magnitude."

NCotabato officials declare state of calamity due to flood damage

Philippines
North Cotabato officials have declared a state of calamity in the province after floods last Saturday caused millions worth of damage to crops and infrastructure. The floods severely affected the towns of Pigkawayan, Libungan, Midsayap, Aleosan, Alamada, Pikit and Matalam. Millions worth of palay and corn as well as infrastructure were reported to have been damaged. No fatalities were reported in the floods.

RELATED NEWS
AUSTRALIA - Flooding causes major damage to NSW dairy region - Dairy farmers in the Manning Valley on the NSW mid-north coast have begun assessing flood damage after 400 millimetres of rain fell in just eight days. Milk tankers haven't been able to get to a number of properties and farmers have had to dump milk. An estimated 500 hectares of recently sown pastures have been lost, and will cost up to $400,000 to re-sow in time for winter. A lack of feed will lead to less milk production. "I think it'll be down probably by anywhere up to 20%. The cows have just had to be take off pastures and hand-fed in a lot of areas.

Heat wave deaths toll rises to 39

India
The searing heat wave conditions continued in many parts of the country with a man dying due to sunstroke in Kolkata as the nationwide toll this summer mounted to 39. The national capital blazed at 42.2 degrees Celsius, the highest this season, as hot surface winds that blew across the city during the day added to the misery of the people. Heat wave in most pockets of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh intensified as maximum temperatures were four to six notches above normal. Hisar in Haryana remained the hottest place with a high of 45.2 degrees. Long power cuts and shortage of water supply added to the woes of the people.


Drought News
GEORGIA - Drought not over; Lake Lanier Lower Than This Time Last Year. The report is grim. Lake Lanier is up from where it was at wintertime but it's still 13 and a half feet below where it should be. Areas like Lake Lanier have shown improvement but the forecast for the summer and drought relief is bleak. "We are at the best that we can expect probably through October." It's a sobering statement from the Georgia state climatologist. The consensus among drought experts is that the UNPRECEDENTED drought is not over.

View Video

‘Puja’ at mud volcano

Trinidad
Image: OFFERINGS TO MA DURGA: These Hindu women gather at the foot of the mud volcano as they make offerings to Ma Durga, the Hindu deity said to reside in the earth

Story: Villagers who live on the perimeter of the mud volcano at Colombia Estate, Fullerton Village, said that for the past few days, hot mud has been flowing constantly as the earth trembles near the volcano. The mud volcano is usually dormant. Scattered about the plateau are mounds of other smaller cones which spewed hot mud every few minutes. Villagers said that when there is a steady overflow, the volcanic mud seeped into their backyard gardens. Situated approximately four miles into a heavily forested area, the volcano’s recent activities have left villagers fearing a major eruption. To allay these fears, they went to the site and together with a pundit, offered prayers and even threw flowers and fruits in a solemn act of “feeding the monster within the bowels of the earth’s crust”. Devotees said they performed the puja (prayer) at the mouth of the volcano in the hope that the “devil” in the earth’s crust will not explode. The mud volcano is among some 20 dormant ones in south Trinidad. There has never been an eruption of the Colombia Estate volcano in recorded history. The only such eruption of a mud volcano was at the Piparo mud volcano and this occurred in 1996. It destroyed 15 homes.