Disaster

Reuters reports: Around half a million people in Oregon were ordered to evacuate on Friday and residents of its largest city, Portland, were told to be ready to go as extreme wind-driven wildfires scorched U.S. West Coast states, causing at least 24 deaths. About 10 percent of the state’s population faced red “GO!” warnings to leave homes immediately, while hundreds …

Some longtime readers may recall that this story was posted annually on this day for the first few years of JMG. I revived it last year after a ten year break. That Day Manhattan, September 11th, 2001 That day, I got to my office on 42nd Street at about 8:55am. About ten minutes later, I got a call from Thomas …

CNN reports: At least 22 large fires are burning in California, where dry, windy conditions and record-breaking high temperatures have been fueling flames for weeks in some areas. While firefighters continue to battle the flames and rescue people from dangerous areas, other agencies are proactively closing national forests and temporary power shut-offs have been ordered to prevent future blazes. The …

The BBC reports: Officials have blamed a gender reveal party for one of several wildfires raging in the US state of California. A “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” at the event sparked the El Dorado fire, which has now spread over 7,000 acres. It is one of more than two dozen blazes across the state. California is currently experiencing a record heatwave, …

The Independent reports: Dozens of wildfires have scorched nearly one million acres across California as officials scramble for aid to contain the raging blazes. Nearly 12,000 firefighters are actively combatting more than 20 fires, each made up of several blazes, as Governor Gavin Newsom seeks support from neighboring states and emergency services across the US and abroad. “These fires are …

The Washington Post reports: Lebanon started a two-week lockdown Friday as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the aftermath of the devastating Aug. 4 explosion in the capital of Beirut that killed more than 170 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. At least 11,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Lebanon this year, with around half confirmed since …

Gulf News reports: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab, submitted his resignation on Monday to Lebanese president Micheal Aoun since a deadly blast blamed on state negligence ripped through the capital. The explosion, along with a severe economic crisis, has been widely blamed on decades of corruption and misrule by Lebanon’s entrenched political class. Lebanon’s cabinet faced mounting pressure on Monday …

Reuters reports: World leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in the wake of the devastating explosion, but they warned on Sunday that no money for rebuilding the Lebanese capital will be made available until the country’s authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people. Over 30 participants …

The Washington Post reports: Security forces in Beirut fired tear gas at protest crowds as mourning turned to anger over the huge blast that leveled parts of Beirut earlier this week and left a shattered city casting blame on the country’s leaders. Activists have called for protests in the central Martyrs’ Square later Saturday in further evidence of the rage …

The Associated Press reports: Lebanese President Michel Aoun knew about the huge stockpile of explosive material stored at Beirut’s port nearly three weeks before it blew up, he said Friday, adding he had ordered action be taken about it at the time, although the top leader also said he had no authority over the facility. “Do you know how many …

CNN reports: Large crowds mobbed French President Emmanuel Macron in Beirut as he toured a neighborhood of the Lebanese capital devastated by Tuesday’s massive explosion. “Revolution, revolution!” people chanted, as shock at the devastation in the city gave way to anger on Thursday. New information reveals that Beirut officials had ignored repeated warnings about a stockpile of dangerous chemicals linked …

The Moscow Times reports: Nearly 3,000 tons of a highly explosive fertilizer that caused Tuesday’s devastating blast in Beirut came from a ship owned by a Russian businessman, the Mediazona news website reported Wednesday, citing Lebanese television and members of the ship’s crew. Lebanese authorities in 2014 confiscated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate from a Moldovan ship called the Rhosus, …

Al Jazeera reports: Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday and said a two-week state of emergency should be declared following a massive explosion in Beirut that killed at least 100 people and injured 4,000 others. The explosion on Tuesday sent shockwaves across the city, causing widespread damage as far as the outskirts of the …

Courthouse News reports: Staring at pictures of the faces of 84 people killed in a deadly fire sparked by his company’s equipment, Pacific Gas and Electric’s chief executive on Tuesday pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter and one count of recklessly starting the most destructive wildfire in California history. “PG&E will never forget the Camp Fire and all that …

The Express reports: Vanessa Bryant has sued Island Express after the company’s helicopter crashed in Calabasas last month, leading to the death of her husband Kobe, daughter Gigi and seven others on board. That is according to TMZ, who originally broke the news of Kobe’s death. Vanessa alleges that Island Express was only permitted to fly under visual flight rules, …

The Guardian reports: At least 20 people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in a crush during a church service at a stadium in northern Tanzania, a government official said. Hundreds of people packed a stadium on Saturday evening in Moshi town, near the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, and were crushed as they rushed to get anointed …

The Guardian reports: A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck in the sea south of Cuba, triggering a tsunami warning for Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but tsunami warnings were quickly issued. The quake also hit the Cayman Islands, leaving cracked roads and what appeared to be sewage spilling from …

The Associated Press reports: The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others that crashed into a rugged hillside outside Los Angeles was flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers. The helicopter plunged into a steep hillside at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday with an impact that scattered debris over an area the size of …

The New York Post reports: A fire tore through an apartment building on the Upper East Side early Tuesday, injuring 26 people, including a 1-week-old baby and four firefighters, officials and reports said.  The fire erupted in a kitchen on the 24th floor of the 41-story building at 515 E. 72nd St. just before 2 a.m., officials said. The residents …

Agence France-Presse reports: Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday, just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital’s main airport, turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all on board. The crash of Ukraine International Airlines came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. …