CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The floods that hit three cities in Northern Mindanao have now affected at least 67,000 people, or more than 17,000 families, with seven persons reported missing and at least one dead, disaster councils reported late yesterday afternoon.
At least 5,480 families or about 27,375 persons in Cagayan de Oro City alone were affected by flash floods that hit the region’s capital city since Friday, the City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) and the military reported.
The villages severely affected in Cagayan de Oro were Barangays 6, 7, 13, 15, 17 and Barangays Carmen, Balulang, Consolacion, Gusa, Taguanao, Kauswagan, Macasandig and Tablon, authorities said.
Hundreds of earthquakes have hit Yellowstone National Park, raising fears of a more powerful volcanic eruption.
The earthquake swarm, the biggest in more than 20 years, is being closely monitored by scientists and emergency authorities.
The series of small quakes included three last Friday which measured stronger than magnitude 3.0. The strongest since this latest swarm of quakes began on December 27 was 3.9.
No damage has yet been reported but scientists say this level of activity - there have been more than 500 tremors in the last week - is highly unusual.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s West Papua province at 7:33 a.m. on Sunday (2233 GMT on Saturday), according to the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG).
The quake was a strong aftershock following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake which jolted eastern Indonesia’ West Papua at 4:43 a.m. local time on Sunday (1943 GMT Saturday), Indonesia’s leading website Detik News quoted BMG as saying.
The epicenter of the 7.6-magnitude aftershock was 0.88 degrees southern latitude and 133.38 degrees eastern longitude with a depth of 10 km below the sea level, the BMG said.
The death toll from the worst cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe’s history continues to rise and now stands at 1,608, the United Nations said today, adding that the number of cases of the acute intestinal infection caused by contaminated food or water has risen to 30,365 as of 29 December.
UN agencies are continuing their efforts to help the country to tackle the epidemic, which affects all provinces of the southern African country and comes amid a collapsing health system and worsening humanitarian situation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has in recent days set up a response team comprised of an environmental health officer, epidemiologists and data managers.
The Israeli blitz against the Gaza Strip has left two more people killed, bringing the Palestinian death toll to 397 since Saturday.
Over 1900 others were also wounded in the onslaught. Women and children have been among the victims, the UN announced on Wednesday.
A Palestinian medic was killed and two others wounded when a missile struck next to their ambulance east of Gaza City, Palestinians said.
An alert pilot of Air India’s Haj flight today helped avert a possible disaster at NSC Bose Airport this morning.
The Boeing-747 flight carrying 449 haj pilgrims from Jeddah was about to land in three minutes when the pilot noticed another aircraft on the same runway and contacted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) officers alerting them to it.
There was poor visibility and planes were landing under CAT-II ILS conditions. The ATC officers immediately contacted the pilot of the Alliance Air’s cargo flight that was on the runway. The cargo flight, IC-7901 was carrying mails to Guwahati.
At least 53 people have been killed in a fire in a nightclub in the Thai capital, Bangkok, police say.
More than 100 others were injured in the blaze, which broke out as people celebrated the New Year.
Witnesses said bodies were laid out on the pavement in front of the club, named as the Santika, in central Bangkok’s Thong Lor district.
Police said they were investigating what sparked the fire in the club, popular with both Thais and foreigners.
The blaze was now under control but the death toll could rise, a fire official said.
BETHESDA, Md. — Numerous motorists were rescued Tuesday morning after a 66-inch water main broke in the area of River Road and Bradley Boulevard in Montgomery County.
The water main broke just before 8 a.m., sending 150,000 gallons of water a minute down River Road. As many as 18 cars may have been trapped in the water, which is said to be 3 to 4 feet high in some places.
A helicopter rescued people using a basket and transported them to safety. Crews in boats and a fire truck rescued others.
DENVER (AP) — Investigators took photos and measurements at the charred wreckage of a Continental Airlines jet Monday, searching for clues about why the plane veered off a runway and skidded into a shallow ravine. The twin-engine Boeing 737-500 still sat in a shallow, snow-covered ravine where it came to rest after its aborted takeoff Saturday at Denver International Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators made preliminary reviews of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder on Sunday, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said.
A trip to see Santa saved a mother and baby who would otherwise have been home when two training flights collided, sending a plane crashing into the family’s new Sydney house, killing two female pilots.
