Thursday 31 July 2014

Climate chaos

Indian landslide: Dozens trapped in Pune village of Malin
At least 20 people are confirmed to have died after a landslide buried some 40 houses and trapped up to 200 people in a village in west India, officials say.


BBC,
30 July, 2014

Teams of emergency workers have so far rescued 10 people in Malin village, near the city of Pune in Maharashtra state, where the disaster happened.
Rescuers trying to reach survivors are being hampered by bad weather.
The landslide hit the village early in the morning while people were sleeping.
BBC Hindi's Devidas Deshpande, who is at the scene, says it took hours to raise the alarm. A local bus driver alerted officials on discovering that Malin and the road leading to it were no longer to be seen.
The whole village except its school has been washed away or buried, our correspondent says.
Landslides are common in some parts of India during the monsoon rains, which run from June to September.
An official from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said hilly terrain was making rescue work difficult.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the loss of lives in the landslide as "saddening". He said Home Minister Rajnath Singh would travel to Pune to assess the situation.
Looking at the scale of destruction, pulling out any survivors would be no less than a miracle.
It's been raining heavily for the past two to three days in this remote area, and residents of nearby villages say they were woken up by a loud noise at 0300 local time. Some said it sounded like a massive bomb had gone off.
A large part of a nearby hill collapsed on Malin, and its population of 150 to 200 tribal people were covered with tonnes of loose earth, mud and rocks.
Its homes, mostly shanties made of mud and grass, were flattened and buried under the debris, giving its sleeping residents little chance of escape.
It was not until midday that residents from nearby villages managed to inform administrators.
Rescue teams have been delayed by the narrow single-lane road that is the only approach to the village, and incessant rains are hampering the rescue operations.
More than 12 hours after disaster struck, rescuers are digging through the debris to try to reach survivors, but as evening falls, hopes are getting dimmer.line break
Senior local official Prabhakar Deshmukh told the Associated Press news agency that rescue workers were being hampered by rains and poor roads.
"According to the district officials 150-200 are feared trapped," Tripti Parule, a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Authority, said in an email to the BBC.
Indian television channels showed dramatic footage of a huge chunk of a hillside giving way, with mud, rocks and water flowing below.
Malin map
The landslide spot in Pune district, 30 July 2014
Local official Saurav Rao told the Press Trust of India that heavy machinery and ambulances had been sent to the village.
"The exact number of casualties is not known as we are moving slowly to ensure that those trapped are removed safely," Mr Rao said.
More than 500 people died and several thousand people were listed as missing after floods and landslides hit the northern state of Uttarakhand in June last year.

Japan Heat Wave Kills 15, Thousands More Are Hospitalized

30 July, 2014

As the U.S. East Coast enjoys a mild break from blazing summer heat, there are major problems brewing on the other side of the world.

Japan has been gripped by a serious heat wave that has claimed the lives of at least 15 people, Yahoo! News reports, and another 8,600 people or so have been sent to hospitals with heat-related illnesses.

Temperatures surpassed 95 degrees on Sunday, and on that one day alone, six people died from the heat, the report adds. More than half of those hospitalized were elderly patients – a frequent issue during Japan's heat waves because about 25 percent of the country's population is 65 or older, according to New York Magazine. Compare that to America, where 14 percent of the population is 65 or older, the magazine adds

Temperatures in Tokyo surpassed 90 degrees multiple times during the deadly heat wave and are expected to hit 90 or above for the rest of the week, if not longer.

A similar heat wave hit Japan hard last year, when record-high temperatures in excess of 105 degrees were recorded, CBS News reports. Summer temperatures are often stifling in Japan, but the summer of 2013 was the hottest on record for the country, according to Channel News Asia.

"Japan is normally very sultry in late July anyway, but temperatures have been a bit higher than average over the past week or so in the major cities," said weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. "Osaka, for instance, had lows in the 80s for four straight days, and the high reached 99 there on July 25."


Plane sinks in melting asphalt at Moscow airport

RT,
29 July, 2014


A passenger aircraft got stuck at Domodedovo airport for over 4 hours after its landing gear sank in melting asphalt of one of the taxiways due to a strong heat wave that hit Moscow.

As temperatures peaked at 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, an S7 flight from Domodedovo Airport enroute from Moscow to Novosibirsk took off at 16:00 local time instead of a scheduled take-off at 11:15.
At 11.15 our aircraft, Boeing 737, had to take off,” Evgeny, a passenger on board the flight told Komsomolskaya Pravda. “However, we were informed that the flight is delayed by 45 minutes due to the fact that the plane still has not arrived. At 11.50, when it finally arrived, we were allowed to go on board. The Boeing then drove off and having left the airport building stood up to wait in line for take-off.”

The Boeing 737 could not take off, since the rear landing gear was stuck in a pothole about 10-15 centimeters deep as the heat melted asphalt underneath the weight of the plane.

But when it came time to fly, he could not budge. The asphalt melted and rear wheels sunk in it by 10-15 centimeters,” Evgeny says.

The passengers had to disembark as the maintenance crew worked on getting the plane back in take-off mode.

Abnormally high temperatures have led to minor defects to the local seat covers of aircraft parking,”Daria Korshunova, a spokeswoman for the airport told Komsomolskaya Pravda. Korshunova also said that flights coming in and out of Domodedovo airport were not affected.
The temperatures in Moscow region are expected to climb in the coming days. Wednesday's forecast calls for 31-33 C in the city, with 35 C predicted by the weekend. Meanwhile ecologists from environmental monitoring agency issued a “red” alert pollution warning.
Muscovite refreshing at the fountain on Manezhnaya Square.(RIA Novosti / rigoriy Sisoev)
Muscovite refreshing at the fountain on Manezhnaya Square.(RIA Novosti / rigoriy Sisoev)

The warning extends to those suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, pregnant women and the elderly. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city for July 29 was in 2010 when the air hit a scorching 38.2 C (100 F).
Every two hours, some 600 specially equipped trucks spray the streets of the Russian capital to cool the pavement. Water is also being handed out to metro passengers and at railway stations.
"In the subway, at 10 stations where there are problems in terms of temperature based on historical observation, paramedics are stationed there,” Maksim Liksutov, the head of Moscow's Transportation Department was quoted by Moscow city portal, FlashNord.
Liksutov also said that “184 metro stations are equipped with water coolers, as well as water distributors at all Moscow's railway stations." In addition, Moscow authorities announced that specially designed“cool rooms” are available for public use in the center of the city.
Moscow's health authorities said that since the beginning of the heat wave, only 2-3 people a day have asked medical assistance related to heat strokes, in comparison to over 7,000 patients that seek medical care in Moscow daily.
A father and his son enjoy bathing in the fountain at a park in Tokyo.(AFP Photo / Toru Yamanaka )
A father and his son enjoy bathing in the fountain at a park in Tokyo.(AFP Photo / Toru Yamanaka )


Meanwhile in Japan, a heatwave there has taken away the lives of at least 15 people over the past week. Over 8,000 Japanese sought medical attention with heatstroke symptoms, official figures showed Tuesday, AFP reports.

As 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures struck the island nation with high humidity on Saturday, nearly 8,600 people went to emergency rooms for heat-related symptoms by Sunday, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Fifteen people have died.
In 2013 Japan experienced its hottest summer on record, with a record 41 degrees C (105.8 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country, causing tens of thousands to suffer heat-related symptoms.
AFP Photo / Dmitry Serebryakov


Freak flood footage: Romania ravaged by deadly deluge

Two people died and several hundreds were forced to evacuate as surging floodwaters submerged villages in Romania on Tuesday. Footage filmed in Arges County on Wednesday showed emergency workers rescuing people stranded by the floods, wrecked buildings and overflowing rivers.






Storm warnings for Europe


Storms warnings for Europe, including RedAlerts for extreme high temperatures in Poland and rain and flooding in Germany.

For up to date information: http://www.meteoalarm.eu/





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