Tag Archives: natural disasters

Turkish Officials Under Fire Over Lax Building Codes

The Associated Press reports: Turkey has for years tempted fate by not enforcing modern construction codes while allowing — and in some cases, encouraging — a real estate boom in earthquake-prone areas, experts say. The lax enforcement, which experts in geology and engineering have long warned about, is gaining renewed scrutiny in the aftermath of this week’s devastating earthquakes, which …

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Death Toll In Turkey-Syria Earthquake Passes 5000

The Associated Press reports: Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, with the discovery of more bodies raising the death toll to more than 5,000. Countries around the world dispatched teams to assist in the rescue efforts, …

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1500+ Dead After Massive Quakes Hit Turkey, Syria

Reuters reports: More than 1,500 people were killed and thousands injured on Monday when a huge earthquake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, pulversing apartment blocks and heaping more destruction on Syrian cities already devastated by years of war. The magnitude 7.8 quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was the worst to strike Turkey this …

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6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Northern California

CNN reports: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook Northern California’s Eureka area early Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey, and thousands are without power in its wake. The quake, recorded at 2:34 a.m. PT, was centered in the Pacific just off the coast, about 7.5 miles from the Humboldt County city of Ferndale, the survey said. Most homes and businesses …

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Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Volcano Begins To Erupt [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby, authorities said Monday. The eruption began late Sunday night in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Early Monday, it said lava flows were contained within the summit …

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Feds To Study How Extreme Weather Impacts Insurance

CNN reports: The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday it is launching an assessment of worsening extreme weather and its impact on the cost of insurance. As climate change is making storms stronger and more destructive, Treasury officials told CNN they want to take a hard look at how climate-related disasters are driving up insurance rates around the country. The department’s …

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Hundreds Dead In 6.1 Mag Afghanistan Earthquake

Reuters reports: An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 killed 920 people in Afghanistan early on Wednesday, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages. Photographs on Afghan media showed houses reduced to rubble, with bodies swathed in blankets lying on the ground. Helicopters were deployed in …

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Damage Reports Emerge From “Moonscape” Tonga

The BBC reports: A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves has smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the tsunami had wreaked “significant damage”, washing boats ashore and battering beachside shops. Locals say Tonga looks “like a moonscape” after being coated in a layer of volcanic …

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Reuters: No Contact With Tonga Since Tsunami [VIDEO]

Reuters reports: Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through. An underwater volcano off Tonga erupted on Saturday, triggering warnings of 1.2-metre tsunami waves and evacuation orders on the shores of Tonga as …

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Tsunami Strikes Tonga After Volcano Erupts [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: Tsunami waves caused by a giant underwater volcanic eruption have hit the Pacific country of Tonga. Social media footage showed water washing through a church and several homes, and witnesses said ash was falling over the capital, Nuku’alofa. A tsunami warning sent residents scrambling to higher ground. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano was heard …

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Texas Adds Dozens To 2021 Winter Storm Death Toll

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas has added 36 more deaths to the official death toll from the February snow and ice storm, bringing the total to 246 in what was one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history. The Department of State Health Services disclosed the new total in a report on the storm that was released Friday …

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CO Blaze Destroyed 1000 Homes, Cause Investigated

The Associated Press reports: A Colorado official says nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed, hundreds more were damaged, and that three people are missing after a wildfire charred numerous neighborhoods in a suburban area at the base of the Rocky Mountains northwest of Denver. The cause of the blaze was under investigation. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said utility officials found …

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Customers Flee CO Stores Ahead Of Flames [VIDEO]

The Independent reports: Customers rushed to evacuate a Costco retail store and a Chuck E Cheese restaurant in Superior, Colorado, on Thursday after a wildfire started spreading rapidly across the area due to gusty winds. Thousands of people in Colorado have been evacuated as hundreds of homes were destroyed by wildfires that tore through parts of the state. A video …

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Colorado Wildfires Destroy Over 500 Homes [VIDEO]

The Denver Post reports: A wind-whipped grassfire roared east from Boulder Thursday afternoon, destroying at least 500 homes, closing major highways and causing the evacuation of more than 30,000 people in two towns, including hospital patients. The Marshall fire, which officials said likely was sparked by downed power lines in the winds that reached gusts of more than 100 mph, …

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Biden To Visit Kentucky To Survey Tornado Damage

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: President Joe Biden is planning to come to the Bluegrass State in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the commonwealth over the weekend. Biden is planning to travel to Fort Campbell on Wednesday for a storm briefing and will also visit Mayfield and Dawson Springs, two of the towns hit hardest by Friday’s …

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KY Gov: 64 Dead, 105 Unaccounted For In Tornadoes

Louisville’s CBS News affiliate reports: The tornadoes left massive devastation in at least eight Kentucky counties, and the death toll now stands at 64, but there are still 105 unaccounted for. The search and rescue process continues, but getting through what can best be described as a “mountain of debris” is no small feat. The governor believes the total death …

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CNN Roasts Rand Paul For Disaster Relief Hypocrisy

Mediaite reports: CNN’s John Avlon accused Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) of flip-flopping on federal relief now that his state has been devastated by natural disaster. Political observers have pointed out that Paul has a history of publicly opposing relief when other areas of the country were slammed by natural calamities in the past. Avlon made this the focus of a …

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KY Gov: Tornado Death Toll May Exceed 100 [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Rescuers in an increasingly bleak search picked through the tornado-splintered ruins of Kentucky homes and businesses Sunday, including a candle factory that was bustling with night-shift employees when it was flattened, as the governor warned that the state’s death toll from the outbreak could top 100. Workers sought refuge in what was supposed to be the …

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Hypocrite Rand Paul Seeks Disaster Relief For Kentucky

Raw Story reports: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky dashed off a letter to President Joe Biden today pleading for expeditious federal relief aid to victims of a deadly 200-mile tornado that struck his state Friday. In 2017, Paul was one of just 17 senators to oppose an emergency $15.3 billion federal relief bill for victims of Hurricane Harvey. In 2013, …

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Tornado Wrecks TN Venue Of Anti-Vax Hate Pastor

First, a quote to remind you about him: When y’all going to get the memo that I didn’t get it wrong? Trump ain’t never went nowhere, he ain’t back, he’s always been around. He is the legitimate president of the United States of America. I don’t care if you stand up and clap or not. I’m telling you, Donald Trump …

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