Hi Everyone...
I know I'm back behind 3 weeks but since, I've gave this assigment to myself that I have to update this, I'll assure, no matter how many weeks late, I'll still do a review...

4th May 2010, Tuesday
Tornadoes and FloodsKill 15 in Southern US States

A Line id thunderstorms brought heavy weekend flooding and tornadoes to Mississipi and Tennessee, with at least 15 deaths.
Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen said it will likely be days before floodwaters recede enough to thoroughly assess the damage to roads and bridges.

7th May 2010, Friday
Hailstones Wreak Havoc in South-Western China

Gales and hailstorms in south-westhern China killed at least 33 people and injuried more than 190 early yesterday, state media reported.
Several homes collapsed in the megacity of Chongqing, but the number was still being tallied, said the disaster-relief director at the Chongqing civil-affairs bureau.
State TV showed collapsed buildings, uprooted and fallen trees, landslides and partially flooded roads.

10th May 2010, Monday
Powerful Quake Hits Aceh

Banda Aceh - A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Indonesia's Aceh province yesterday, causing panic in an area that was devastated by the killer waves of the 2004 tsunami.
Coastcal residents fled from their homes and headed inland fearing a destructive tsunami but officials said no casualties were reported. The people of Aceh are still traumatised by memories of Dec 26, 2004, when a 9.3-magnitude quake killed at least 168,000 people.
"This quake turned out not to be destructive," said Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono. "There were many people who panicked and fled their homes. They were just so afraid that a tsunami would happen again," he added.
A local tsunami alert was issued by the Indonesian goverment but lifted about 90 minutes later. A quake last year killed more than 1000 people on Sumatra but a 7.7 quake last month in the same area caused only minor damage.

12th May 2010, Wednesday
An Unusual Sunset

Australia's Syndey Harbour was blanketed in a thick haze yesterday as a smoke cloud from controlled fires in the city's west swept across the central business district. Unexpected winds saw the smoke from the burning-off of dense bush land in the blue Mountains, done as part of a fire hazard reduction plan, descend on the city. A change of the wind is expected to see the haze dissipate by today.

13th May 2010, Thursday
Fears of Flooding Faze Northern Pakistan

Fears are growing that a lake created by a landslide will burst, causing a huge flood in northern Pakistan that could affect over 50,000 people and disrupt a key trade link with China.
A landslide in early January blocked the Hunza River and created the lake. Twenty people were killed and another 25,000 were stranded upstream from the town of Gilgit.

13th May 2010, Thursday
Quebec Sinkhole Sucks Up Home, Family of Four

Saint-Jude(Quebec) - Rescue officials have found the bodies of all four members of a family who went missing after their house was swallowed by a gaping sinkhole in a town northeast of Montreal.
The authorities said the family was in their basement cheering on the Montreal Canadiens in their Stanley Cup play-off ice hockey game when the massive landslide hit on the Monday night in Saint-Jude.
"They were found very close to one another, some of them lying on the couch in the family room in the basement," Mr. Michael Dore, Quebec's emergency management coordinator, said on Tuesday.
The first body found belonged to father Richard Prefontaine. The others were his wife Anais, 9, and Amelie, believed to be 11.
The landslide tore a hole more than 4 times the size of a football field into Saint-jude, a verdent village near Montreal.
Sinkholes can occur when water undermines an area of land or when rock below the land surface shifts. This particular sinkhole ate up three cars, one stretch of a concrete road and most of the house that once sat by a cliff over a tributary of the Yamaska River.

14th May 2010, Friday
Weather Woes Spell Trouble for Mongolia

Mineral-rick Mongolia is on the grip of a natural disaster, after its worst winter in 50 years wiped out huge livestock populations vital to the country's herders.
Ms. Rana Flowers, the United Nations' top representative in the landlocked country, said a hot, dry summer last year, followed by fierce cold weather and heavy snow, and a late spring have left much of the population reeling.

17th May 2010, Monday
Volcanic Ash Closes Some UK Airports

Civil aviation officials closed airports in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland yesterday in response to a drifting, dense cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland that is encroaching on British airspace.
The National Air Traffic Service said all airports in Northern Ireland closed from 1pm to 7pm local time yesterday, along with others in northern England, including Manchester and Liverpool.
Britain's Department of Transports warned lsat Saturday that British airspace was likely to face partial closures until tomorrow due to the ash cloud.

17th May 2010, Monday
Hailstorms Hit China, killing 7 and Forcing Evacuations

More deadly weather has hit China, with seven people killed and 98 injuried after a tornado and a hailstorm struck north-eastern heilongjiang province last saturday, said Xinhua.
Thousands were evacuated.

Weather & Natural Disaster Blogger, Cruyff

Hi everyone!
It's time for another week review again...

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26th April 2010, Monday
Sandstorms Kill 3 And Block Aid To Quake Area

Violent sandstorms engulfed north-west China yesterday, leaving three people dead and one missing as visibility dropped to near zero.
Flights carrying relief supplies and workers to quakestruck yushu county were delayed as the region was swept by a blast of cold weather, stirring up clouds of dust and sand in bad weather expected to continue through to today.

26th April 2010, Monday
Jakarta Sinking 10cm a Year

Jakarta, Indonesia's capital and its largest city by far, is sinking at a surprisingly speedy rate of 10cm a year, a recent study has found.
While the problem is not new, the swiftness with which it is worsening may not bode well.
The main causes for this phenomenon - which has been evidenced in recent years by several major floods - are extensive land extraction due to groundwater exploration and pressure from high-rise buildings, which are pushing parts of the city into the underlying water table.
Residents have been bypassing the water grid, which is in shambles, to sink bores to suck out groundwater.
"The land has been sinking for a long time, and the coastline is now encroaching on the heart of the city," Dr. Irwan Gumilar, a geodynamics research from the Bandung Institute of Technology, said.
Dr, Irwan was a member of a research team, led by Professor hasanuddin Abidin, that monitored Jakarta from 1997 to last year.
"Few people may realised that the land is sinking by 10cm to 12cm a year," Dr. Irwan said.
The highest rate of subsidence was recorded in coastal areas in North Jakarta, including Muara Kapuk and Ancol, where extensive development had increased pressure on the relatively young and potous soil beneath.
Eariler studies, as reported in 2008, had suggested that the city of 12 millions might sink 40cm to 60cm, which would leave parts of ir underwater ny 2025 if the sinking was not arrested.
But the rate of sinking given in those studies was not as rapid as the one Dr. Irwan has cited.
The problem has little to do with global warming or the rising of the seas, and far more to do with the problems caused by excessive development.
Dr. Irwan did not offer any fresh solutions to the emergent crisis.

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27th April 2010, Tuesday
13 Cambodians Killed By Lightning Since March

In a string of tragedies that has elicited a warning from the Prime Minister, officials say at least 13 Cambodians have so far died by lightning since rain began falling last month, reported Xinhua.
Prime Minister hun Sen called on his countrymen to be wary about the lightning threat, saying lightning has become "fiercer" in recent years.

27th April 2010, Tuesday
6.9-Magnitude Quake Hits Ocean Near Philippines

A strong 6.9-magnitude quake struck in an ocean area north of the Philippines yesterday and was felt throughout Taiwan, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no mass tsunami warnings.
The Philippine authorities forecast little damage after the 10.59am quake that struck 300km off the Batan Islangs and 314kim south-east of Taiwan.

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Weather & Natural Disasters Blogger, Cruyff