Disaster
May 7, 2008YANGON, Myanmar - Hungry crowds of survivors stormed the few shops that opened in Myanmar's stricken Irrawaddy delta, where food and international aid has been scarce since a devastating cyclone killed more than 22,000 people, the UN said Wednesday.
Corpses floated in salty flood waters and witnesses said survivors tried desperately to reach dry ground on boats using blankets as sails. The UN said some one million people were homeless in the Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma.
YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll in Myanmar's devastating cyclone soared above 22,000 on Tuesday, with more than 41,000 others missing, state radio reported.
Meanwhile, international aid officials said up to one million people may be homeless in the wake of cyclone Nargis, which ravaged the Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, early Saturday.
FREDERICTON - The flood waters are finally receding, but damage claims are steadily on the rise from residents living along New Brunswick's swollen St. John River.
Emergency Measures officials said Tuesday that the river is returning to its normal size, even near its mouth at the Bay of Fundy along the southern reaches of the province.
FREDERICTON - Flood waters have stabilized in Fredericton and are expected to significantly decline over the weekend as dry, sunny weather helps tame the swollen St. John River.
Emergency officials say water levels in Fredericton today are about eight metres above sea level, and they are expected to drop to 7.7 metres by Saturday.
FREDERICTON - Officials in New Brunswick continue to monitor flooding as water levels remain high along the entire St. John River system.
However, the Emergency Measures Organization said there are no crisis situations to report.
FREDERICTON - Emergency Measures officials in New Brunswick are keeping a close eye on the weather and water levels along the St. John River.
The river reached flood level in Fredericton on Tuesday and has continued to rise as a result of snow melt and rain.
MANCHESTER, England - The strongest earthquake to hit Britain in more than two decades was felt across large parts of the country early Wednesday, officials said.
Some homes had minor damage but there were no reports of injuries. The British Geological Survey said it was a 5.3-magnitude quake but the U.S. Geological Survey earlier put the magnitude at 4.7. The quake struck at about 1 a.m. local time and was centred about 200 kilometres north of London.
JAKARTA, Indonesia - The fault line that spawned the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has ruptured nearly 20 times this month, causing three strong earthquakes. The activity shows the stress the seam is under and could be a harbinger of worse to come, scientists warn.
Kerry Sieh, from the California Institute of Technology, has studied the fault for more than 10 years. He likened it to a length of rope in an imaginary tug of war between a group of men and an elephant.
MANILA, Philippines - Weeklong rains have triggered landslides and floods across the eastern Philippines, leaving at least 13 people dead, three missing and tens of thousands displaced, officials said Wednesday.
Most of the deaths occurred from drowning in Eastern Samar province since Feb. 15, when a low pressure area dumped heavy rains that caused flash floods and cut off major roads and damaged bridges, officials said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia on Wednesday, prompting short-lived tsunami warnings and sending residents running from swaying homes. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, struck under the island of Simeulue off the western coast of Sumatra island, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a posting on its website.
BEIJING - Chinese insurers have paid more than US$165 million for deaths and damage from snowstorms that killed at least 107 people, said officials quoted Wednesday by a state news agency.
Millions more in claims are pending from China's worst snow and ice storms in five decades, which began Jan. 10 and wrecked homes, businesses and crops, the Xinhua News Agency said.
ATKINS, Ark. - The death toll in the line of tornadoes that ripped through the southern United States now stands at 47.
Tennessee is the hardest-hit state, with 24 people reported killed. Emergency officials say 12 others died in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky and three in Alabama.
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Rescuers dug for survivors Wednesday after a landslide on Indonesia's main island pummelled a village.
Officials say at least seven people were killed and many homes and roads were destroyed.
KIGALI, Rwanda - Two earthquakes struck hours apart in Rwanda and neighbouring Congo on Sunday, killing at least 39 people and injuring hundreds of others.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the first quake, with a magnitude of 6.0, struck Congo early Sunday.
DILI, East Timor - A strong earthquake struck off the coast of East Timor on Wednesday, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning.
But no large waves hit the tiny nation's coast. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 6.2 magnitude tremor struck 262 kilometres northeast of the capital, Dili, in Indonesia's Banda Sea at a depth of 10 kilometres. Residents in Dili did not feel any shaking and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
SUVA, Fiji - Officials say a powerful cyclone pounded Fiji, killing six people.
Tropical cyclone Gene caused widespread damage and cut power and water to the country's main islands before moving out to sea. Police say the six died on the main island of Veti Levu. Emergency services says hundreds of people were moved to government shelters and schools as they fled damaged houses and flooding.
GENEVA - 2007 was a bad year for floods, the United Nations said Friday.
Floods last year outnumbered all other disasters combined, the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said in its annual report. It said there were about 20 per cent more floods in 2007 than the average of the last seven years.
NEW ORLEANS - The sign on the gate in front of the pretty blue house announced the good news to a neighbourhood that has had little since hurricane Katrina: "There's a doctor in the house. Make your appointment NOW!"
Earl Davis paused to take in the words, then headed up the ramp and through the door - destined for his first doctor visit since returning to the city five months earlier. The family practitioner who treated him as a boy, and then saw his own kids, left after the storm and isn't coming back. Hundreds of other doctors have gone the same route.
