April 20, 2012

Recent Natural Events

Paraguay – River overflows

At least 10,000 families have been affected by floods after heavy rains caused river overflows in the Chaco region. Read

Strong quake shakes Chile, no damage reported

A powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Chile's eastern port of Valparaiso early on Tuesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, but there were no reports of significant damage and the country's main copper mines were unaffected. Read

Volcanic activity recorded at mountain near Mexico City

Officials placed the alert at Popocatepetl -- which means "Smoking Mountain" in the native Nahuatl language -- at Yellow Level 3. This means there is a probability of explosive activity of an intermediate to high scale, an eruption of lava and a spewing of ash. Read

Other Disasters Related News

Forecasters struggle to stay a step ahead of tornadoes

Despite the latest computer technology, forecasters give tornado warnings to specific locations on average only about 15 minutes ahead of time. Nationwide, 75 percent of those warnings never pan out and even those that do give no information on how severe the tornado is likely to be. Read

Devastation across Chile as forest fires hit five-year high

In an eight-month period, forest fires accounted for the loss of 200,000 acres. Read

So-called natural disasters are not unpredictable – World Bank  

In the event of so-called natural disasters -- whether these refer to earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides or floods -- preparedness can mean the difference between simply a shock and tragic consequences for the population. Read

Human-made earthquakes reported in central U.S

The number of earthquakes in the central United States rose "spectacularly" near where oil and gas drillers disposed of wastewater underground, a process that may have caused geologic faults to slip, U.S. government geologists report. Read

April 13, 2012

Recent Natural Events

Tornadoes expected to sweep across Central U.S. tomorrow

Tornadoes and hail struck the Dallas area earlier this month, causing the cancellation of more than 1,900 flights and damaging aircraft at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Read

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Earthquakes shake Gulf of California

The quakes -- magnitude 6.9 and 6.2 -- were centered about 85 miles northeast of Guerrero Negro in the Mexican state of Baja California, or 325 miles south-southwest of Phoenix in the United States. Read

7.0-magnitude quake strikes western Mexico

The epicenter of the quake was 32 miles (51 kilometers) southwest of La Mira, Michoacan, USGS said. Read

Haiti flooding kills 6, displaces hundreds

The floods also damaged 125 homes, crops and livestock. Read

Thousands forced from homes by floods in Ecuador

Ecuador's government says floods and mudslides have caused at least 10 deaths so far this year and forced about 4,700 people to flee their homes. Read

Dominican Republic – Flash flood warnings in several provinces from downpours

The Emergency Operations Centre (COE) announced yesterday, Thursday, 12 April, that 6,155 people have had to leave their homes and 1,231 houses have been affected of which 16 have been totally destroyed in the recent heavy rains.  Read

Other Disasters Related News

Mangrove restoration protects Guyana's coast and creates a buzz

“The women, through their activities, are playing their part in protecting the sea defences on the coast, since 90 percent of our agriculture is done on the coastland,” says mangrove ranger Raymond Hinds, who is trying to educate locals about the risks from damaging mangroves. Read

Mexico - Drought hits farmers

A severe drought in Mexico that has cost farmers more than a billion dollars in crop losses alone and set back the national cattle herd for years, is just a foretaste of the drier future facing Latin America's second largest economy. Read

Biggest dam complex drained on flood fears

The Emergency Operations Center (COE) issued flash floods and mudslide warnings for Monseñor Noel, La Vega, Sanchez Ramirez and Santiago provinces and ordered forced evacuations in high risk zones, prior to draining the latter’s Tavera-Bao-Lopez Angostura dams complex in Baitoa. Read

Blackberry earthquake app rolled out in Mexico

Civil authorities in Mexico City have rolled out a free app that will warn people when an earthquake is imminent.

Read