disaster

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Twin Wildfires Ravage LA Area

Over 100 homes ruined in Montecito; 1,500 still at risk

(Newser) - The wildfire in California’s wealthy Montecito area calmed down yesterday, but not before destroying 111 homes, the Los Angeles Times reports; and a new blaze roared overnight in Sylmar, where 5,000 were evacuated, CNN notes. Firefighters warned that 1,500 homes were still endangered by the as-yet-uncontained Montecito...

Haitian School Toll Hits 90; Owner Arrested

Little structural steel or cement was used in building, according to authorities

(Newser) - The owner of a collapsed Haitian school was detained by police yesterday as the death toll in the flattened building hit 90. The Protestant minister who owns the College La Promesse Evangelique surrendered to authorities yesterday, reports CNN. He has not yet been charged with a crime. Authorities said the...

Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75
 Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75 
Nov 8, 2008 12:21 PM CST

Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75

(Newser) - The death toll in the Haitian school collapse has risen to 75, the AP reports. The mayor of the Port-au-Prince suburb where it occurred said 17 dead students have been found so far today. Another 80 are being treated for injuries, many of them serious, and hundreds more children could...

Haiti School Collapse Kills At Least 30

Poor repair job, not recent rains, doomed building, mayor says

(Newser) - At least 30 people, many possibly children, died in Haiti today when a school building collapsed, AP reports. The school, in a village in the hills above Port-au-Prince, experienced a partial collapse in 2000. Before today, the building was under construction, and the town’s mayor said structural problems, not...

Chicago Tot Perishes in Medevac Crash

Girl was being transported to Chicago hospital for seizure treatment

(Newser) - A medical helicopter crashed in a Chicago suburb late last night, killing three crew members and a 13-month-old patient. The helicopter was headed to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago from just outside the city when it went down minutes before midnight. A hospital spokeswoman said the little girl was being...

Ike Spilled 500K Gallons of Gulf Oil

Strong winds, waves damaged dozens of oil platforms

(Newser) - Hurricane Ike knocked at least a half million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and nearby waterways, according to an AP analysis of environmental reports. Worst hit were oil platforms near the coast of Louisiana, but about half of the spill occurred at a facility on Goat...

Ike Returnees Battle Chronic Mold Outbreak

Earlier return may have curbed fungus on Galveston Island

(Newser) - Initial relief that their Texas property survived Hurricane Ike quickly dissipated for many returning to Galveston Island who discovered colorful mold breeding wildly on virtually everything left standing. Damp, hot buildings were left sealed for two weeks when residents evacuated, giving the fungus plenty of time to nestle into the...

Officials: Texas Needs $40B From Feds for Ike Cleanup

Mayors ask Congress to move quickly on relief

(Newser) - Texas officials told Congress today they might need up to $40 billion in aid to rebuild the state's hurricane-hit areas, the Houston Chronicle reports. The state's lieutenant governor sought at least $11.5 billion of aid and as many trailer homes as available to help the 770 communities damaged by...

Crews Fan Out in Texas to Gauge Ike's Wrath

(Newser) - Rescue crews in high-wheel trucks, helicopters and boats ventured out to pluck people from their homes today in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike. The storm blew out skyscraper windows, cut power to millions and swamped thousands of homes along...

Texas Illegals Promised 'Hurricane Amnesty'

Officials don't want immigration enforcement to impede evacuations

(Newser) - The federal government has declared a “hurricane amnesty” in an attempt to get Texas’ illegal immigrants out of Hurricane Ike’s way, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Immigration officials will not attempt to arrest illegals in shelters or along common evacuation routes. The Red Cross has begun outreach programs...

China Landslide Kills 34, Traps Hundreds

Rescuers search for survivors after mud sweeps through Shanxi valley

(Newser) - Rescuers are frantically searching through rubble for survivors of a landslide in northern China that killed at least 34 people, the AP reports. Hundreds are feared missing after a reservoir of mining waste collapsed in the northern province of Shanxi, sending a wall of thick sludge sweeping through a valley...

Gustav Histrionics Were Irresponsible
 Gustav Histrionics 
 Were Irresponsible 
OPINION
Sep 3, 2008 2:48 PM CDT

Gustav Histrionics Were Irresponsible

Gustav prep was 'responsibility avoidance': Furedi

(Newser) - The way media and the state reacted to Gustav wasn't responsible behavior, but rather "responsibility avoidance ... motivated by a desire to avoid blame," Frank Furedi writes in Spiked. He says official overreaction diminishes a sense of community and individual resilience, rendering people passive to the whims of politicians...

Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath
 Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath 
Sep 3, 2008 12:59 PM CDT

Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath

(Newser) - President Bush flew over flooded fields and downed trees today as he kept a close watch on the Hurricane Gustav recovery —in contrast to his administration's bungled response to Katrina 3 years ago. Aboard Air Force One, Bush received a briefing from FEMA director R. David Paulison, who said...

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

Gustav Floods Upper 9th Ward

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

New Orleans Mayor Orders: 'Get Out of Town'

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

GOP Watching Gustav to Decide on Convention

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

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

1M Flee Gulf Coast Hurricane Warning

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

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

Survivors Tell of K2 Disaster

Worst mountaineering tragedy since 1986

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

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

Union told management fleet was too old as early as 2007

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

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

149 Confirmed Dead in Spain Crash

Bodies too hot to touch after fiery disaster; 26 survive

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

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