Indonesia: Mt Merapi erupts again

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi has erupted again. After two days of intense activity, the volcano started spewing ash on Monday morning, for the fourth time in a week.
The volcano has claimed thirty-eight lives, but many were able to escape. More than 66,000 evacuees remain in temporary shelters, as the alert warning remains at its highest level. The scale of the evacuation means resources are becoming stretched. Although the government has set up 99 shelters, it still doesn’t seem to be enough.Merapi is expected to continue erupting over coming days.Residents have been warned against returning home, until the alert level is lowered.

Indonesia: Mt Merapi erupts again

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi has erupted again. After two days of intense activity, the volcano started spewing ash on Monday morning, for the fourth time in a week.
The volcano has claimed thirty-eight lives, but many were able to escape. More than 66,000 evacuees remain in temporary shelters, as the alert warning remains at its highest level. The scale of the evacuation means resources are becoming stretched. Although the government has set up 99 shelters, it still doesn’t seem to be enough.Merapi is expected to continue erupting over coming days.Residents have been warned against returning home, until the alert level is lowered.

Heavy rains, snow hit parts of Australia

Wild weather battered parts of Australia, forcing the evacuation of towns inundated by swollen rivers in some parts of the country on Saturday.
In southwest New South Wales the local government declared some areas natural disaster zones after rivers burst their banks due to torrential rains, flooding towns. Many residents were caught by surprise.
It came up so quickly and people didn’t have a chance and people are saying they didn’t get warned, said local resident Peter Thompson.
State Emergency Services were busy helping flood victims. We were pretty stressed, swimming around our main street that normally has double trucks going up it and we’re swimming with snakes and lizards and spiders, said State Emergency Services worker Amanda Shoat.
South East Queensland was hit by gale-force winds, and 32,000 houses lost power while a cold front brought spring-time snow to Kinglake in Victoria.

Heavy rains, snow hit parts of Australia

Wild weather battered parts of Australia, forcing the evacuation of towns inundated by swollen rivers in some parts of the country on Saturday.
In southwest New South Wales the local government declared some areas natural disaster zones after rivers burst their banks due to torrential rains, flooding towns. Many residents were caught by surprise.
It came up so quickly and people didn’t have a chance and people are saying they didn’t get warned, said local resident Peter Thompson.
State Emergency Services were busy helping flood victims. We were pretty stressed, swimming around our main street that normally has double trucks going up it and we’re swimming with snakes and lizards and spiders, said State Emergency Services worker Amanda Shoat.
South East Queensland was hit by gale-force winds, and 32,000 houses lost power while a cold front brought spring-time snow to Kinglake in Victoria.

Yamuna Water Level

According to reports, it is expected that the water to rise at least 2 meters above the danger level due to heavy rains, in addition to large quantities of water released from the Apple Hathnikund in Haryana. He also reports that the government was doing its best to assist local authorities in dealing with the situation.

Responding to national disasters force also work closely with local authorities in the evacuation. On the other hand, the report asserts that killed two people from high water levels in the river Yamuna. Has been in many villages and the districts of Panipat, Yamunanagar severely damaged by floods and damaged hundreds of homes in the region.

Rain batters China; 250,000 evacuated in flood

BEIJING: Flooding has forced the evacuation of more than a quarter-million people in northern China along its border with North Korea, state media said Monday.

Heavy rains over the last several days caused the Yalu river, which marks the border, to breach its banks, although the water level had started to fall late Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency state media said Monday.

It said four people died, including a couple in their 70s and a mother and son, after their homes in Dandong were swept away by flash floods. Xinhua said 253,500 residents have been evacuated after the Yalu rose to its highest level in a decade.

An official with the Water Resources Department in Liaoning province, where Dandong is located, confirmed that four people had died though he was unable to provide details. He refused to give his name because he was not authorized to speak

Flood warning for Muzaffargarh issued

MUZAFFARGARH: Flood warning has been issued in Muzaffargarh district after the water level in Ring Pur canal reached a dangerous level, Geo News reported.

The residents have been asked to leave the area. Adequate transport facilities were not available making the evacuation more difficult where 400000 people were waiting to move.

DCO Muzaffargarh Farasat Iqbal told Geo News that the government would provide all resources to the citizens.

New York airport terminal evacuated after bomb scare: report

NEW YORK: Officials at New York”s John F. Kennedy International Airport evacuated one of its airport terminals after a bomb scare Sunday on one of the busiest US holiday travel days, WABC television reported.

The television station reported that authorities cleared JFK”s Terminal 1, while hazardous materials experts and other emergency crews arrived at the scene.

But the network, an affiliate of CNN, reported that it expected shortly to receive an “all-clear” from security officials meaning that there authorities believe there is no imminent threat.

The network reported that the evacuation was carried out in “an abundance of caution.”

Officials at the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, did not immediately return AFP”s calls seeking information about the incident.

CNN, which aired footage that showed passengers milling about on the airport tarmac, reported that the incident occurred at around 5:40 pm when airport officials received a bomb threat from an “anonymous woman.”

A short time later, the network said officials found an unattended piece of baggage at the airport, which sparked the alert and led to the evacuation.

The bomb scare took place on Independence Day, which marks the founding of the United States, and is a US national holiday.

The scare also came as airports across the United States ramped up security during the busy holiday weekend.

Flood-hit south China braces for more rains

BEIJING: China braced for more downpours Thursday as the government set up emergency response headquarters to combat floods and landslides that have killed over 200 people and forced more than two million from their homes.

The state meteorological bureau warned that more rains were due to pound five hard-hit provinces and regions in southern China in the coming days, as water levels on many rivers surpassed historic highs.

Up to 196 millimeters (eight inches) of rain pummeled parts of Jiangxi and Fujian provinces during a 24-hour period starting Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said, warning of landslides and mudflows.

More than 15,000 soldiers had been dispatched to hard-hit areas to help in rescue operations, while militias aided in the evacuation of over 75,000 people in Jiangxi after a dyke burst on the Fuhe river, it added.

The disaster, which has hit 10 southern and central Chinese provinces or regions, has caused an estimated 43 billion yuan (six billion dollars) of economic losses and displaced 2.4 million people since June 13. At least 211 people have died in the disaster with 119 left missing, the ministry said.

China floods toll touches 200, 123 Missing

BEIJING: The death toll in landslides and floods triggered by persistent rainstorms in southern China over the past week crossed 200, besides affecting over 29 million persons in ten provinces, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

In eastern Fujian province alone, 76 persons were killed and 79 reported missing, official media reports said in Beijing.

The heavy rains and floods have also left 123 persons missing in southern China as relief workers battled to save thousands of individuals stranded in Fuzhou city in east China”s Jiangxi province after the dike at a section of the Fuhe River burst Tuesday evening at 6:30 p m (1030 GMT) and threatening nearly 80,000 residents.

An estimated 68,000 of the 100,000 persons living near the river were evacuated by Tuesday morning, said local disaster relief officials.

Meanwhile, China”s President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao Tuesday called for all-out efforts to combat the floods and save lives.

The downpour that began June 13 triggered flash floods, inundated rivers and cropland, besides disrupting traffic and telecommunication facilities in large swathes of southern China causing estimated economic losses of up to 42.12 billion yuan ($6.7 bn) and forcing the evacuation of 2.38 million persons.

The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFCDRH) said 195,000 homes were damaged, while 68,000 houses collapsed under the impact of the rains and 1.6 million hectares of crops were destroyed, the official news agency, said.

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