Category Archives: Natural Disasters

India unveils ‘flatpack’ field hospital with mini x-ray for use in disaster zones

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The portable unit, comprising mini cubes of medical equipment, enables surgeons to be operating within an hour, designers claim

India has designed and built a “flatpack” field hospital that can be flown to a disaster area by helicopter and assembled faster than an Ikea bookcase.

The hospital is contained in 72 small waterproof cubes, each weighing under 15kg and measuring 38cm x 38cm x 38cm (15 x 15 x 15in). They are packed with tents and specially designed medical equipment.

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Victims of deadly landslide in Alaska include five members of same family

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The Heller family was at home when the rockslide buried their home on Friday; neighbor Otto Florschutz was also killed

The deadly landslide in south-east Alaska early this week killed five family members and their neighbor, a commercial fisher who made a longshot bid for the state’s lone seat in the US House last year, authorities said on Friday.

Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36 – plus their children Mara, 16; Derek, 12; and Kara, 11 – were at home on Monday night when the landslide struck near the island community of Wrangell. Search crews found the bodies of the parents and the oldest child late on Monday or early Tuesday; the younger children remain missing, as does neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, the Alaska public safety department said in a statement that identified the victims of the disaster.

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Philippines earthquake: authorities report deaths from falling debris

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Shopping mall ceiling collapse among reported damage after earthquake of 6.7 magnitude hits Mindanao region

The death toll from a strong earthquake off the southern Philippines rose to five on Saturday as authorities reported more casualties across two provinces.

The 6.7-magnitude quake that struck the Mindanao region mid-afternoon on Friday caused part of a shopping mall ceiling to collapse, triggered power cuts and sent people fleeing into the streets.

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‘The children screamed for hours’: horrors of Hurricane Otis leave devastation for Acapulco’s poorest

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Mexico’s Pacific coast was battered by 165mph winds and torrential rain on 25 October. Thousands lost their homes and many now have too little food or water to survive

In the small hours of Wednesday 25 October, Josefina Maldonado, a grandmother of two in her 60s who lives in the Renacimiento district of Acapulco, watched as the corrugated metal roof of her home flew into the sky, ripped off by 165mph (270km/h) winds. The family home and everything and everyone in it, including two terrified small children, were prey to the torrential rain and the horrors of the hurricane. Most of the furniture, including the beds, was swept away.

“It wasn’t that the wind or the water was stronger. Both were working together,” Maldonado says. “We were up all night trying to save what we could, and the children screamed and cried for hours.”

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Qld fires: state will ‘continue to burn’ without rain, as dozens of bushfires flare up across Queensland

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Rural firefighters’ chief says Queensland in ‘survival mode’ amid dry weather, with 53 homes destroyed by fire in the Western Downs

Queensland is in “survival mode” as dozens of bushfires burn across the state and there is no rain on the horizon, the head of the volunteer firefighters association has said.

Firefighters have contained a bushfire at Tara, on the Western Downs four hours west of Brisbane, that destroyed 53 homes and claimed two lives. But fires have flared up to the north and south, with emergency warnings in place on Wednesday for a fire between Warwick and Stanthorpe on the Southern Downs.

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Asio boss says violent protesters will receive ‘full force of my agency’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

While speaking to ABC RN, Chris Bowen was asked if he is concerned about ongoing social cohesion within his electorate amid the Israel-Hamas war. (Bowen is the MP for McMahon, located in Sydney’s outer western suburbs, which has a high percentage of Australians with Muslim ancestry.)

Bowen responded:

It’s important, in this very difficult time in the Middle East, to know that you can believe in the legitimate aspirations and rights of the Palestinian people without exonerating in any sense the heinous acts of Hamas.

You can also believe in the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself [while] expressing concern about the loss of innocent life of Palestinians who do not support Hamas and had nothing to do with Hamas.

I have been concerned by the politicisation of this issue … demanding stronger statements and stronger actions when really, I think the prime minister, the foreign minister and the government have set a very important and considered tone and I think it’s vital that the community hears that tone.

And of course … there is absolutely no place in modern Australia for antisemitism or Islamophobia. Both should be equally condemned. And in an environment like this, it’s particularly important to do so.

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Afghanistan earthquake has killed more than 2,000, Taliban say

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Magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Herat on Saturday, with hundreds of houses reported destroyed

The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan has risen sharply to more than 2,000 people, according to a Taliban spokesperson, as rescuers searched for survivors among the ruins of razed villages.

“More than 2,060 people are dead and over 10,000 are injured,” he told the Guardian. “Many more people are still under the rubble.”

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‘The least we can do is care for their children’: Libyans rally to protect Derna’s orphans

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Hundreds of traumatised children are thought to have lost their families in disaster

People in western Libya have rallied round to provide care and breastmilk for young children orphaned by the devastating floods that hit the coastal city of Derna on 10 September.

Hundreds of traumatised babies and young children are thought to have lost their parents in Derna, where whole neighbourhoods were wiped out after two dams broke.

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Libya floods: warlord using disaster response to exert control, say observers

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Khalifa Haftar and Libyan National Army militia said to be overseeing humanitarian relief arriving in city of Derna

As search and rescue teams continue to hunt for bodies trapped underneath the mud and rubble of their homes in the Libyan coastal city of Derna, observers say the warlord Khalifa Haftar and his sons are using the disaster response as a way to exert control rather than ensure vital humanitarian relief reaches civilians.

At least 11,300 people have died and more than 10,000 are missing, according to the Libyan Red Crescent, after two dams burst during a powerful storm last week.

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Libya and Morocco: two very different responses to catastrophe

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The aftermath of an earthquake in Morocco and flooding in Libya has shown up the state of the two nations

Not one but two disasters have struck in recent days – the earthquake in Morocco and devastating flooding in Libya.

At least 2,900 people are known to have died in the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains a week ago, and the authorities say the death toll will rise.

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‘The waters carried my son away in front of my eyes’: anguished Libyans mourn lost loved ones

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Relatives grieve and search in desperation as Derna’s mayor fears death toll from floods may exceed 20,000

Omar al-Rifadi has been searching for his missing 20-year-old daughter ever since disaster struck the Libyan city of Derna on Sunday, when she disappeared, lost in the darkness amid a catastrophic flood that claimed the lives of thousands and swept many into the sea.

“I walked on foot to look for her. I went to all the hospitals and schools. But luck was not on my side,” the 52-year-old said, tears streaming down his face.

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Canada wildfires: thousands told to flee in British Columbia, as drone-flying tourists criticised

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Minister says it is a matter of life and death for residents near city of Kelowna, as drone operators warned against ‘irresponsible’ activity in fire areas

Officials in the Canadian province of British Columbia have implored tens of thousands of residents to heed warnings and evacuate from areas threatened by “severe and fast-changing” wildfires, and urged “irresponsible” wildfire tourists to stop flying drones in the area.

“We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued,” Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management, said on Saturday. “They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave.”

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Hawaii fires: questions arise over response as death toll rises to 93 – as it happened

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Search for victims continues as more than 2,200 structures damaged or destroyed and more than 2,100 acres scorched

As search and rescue crews continue to uncover the scale of the massive and devastating toll in the historic town of Lahaina, anger is building among residents over various aspects of the government response, from warnings during the inferno to aid distribution afterwards. Residents have asked why emergency sirens didn’t warn Lahaina residents in time to evacuate.

Officials have said there wasn’t time to adequately alert the city before the wind-driven firestorm tore through homes and businesses. Along with the lack of warnings, residents are questioning why plans weren’t in place to ensure a quick and effective response for victims still grappling with the ongoing issues caused by the fire, including contaminated water, widespread power outages, and a lack of response programming and infrastructure that could help streamline aid brought in from the outside.

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Mudslide in north-western Chinese city leaves 21 dead and six missing

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Officials say 900 homes in Xi’an were left without power in disaster that struck after unusually high rainfall and typhoons

A mudslide in China’s north-western city of Xi’an has killed 21 people, with six still missing, officials said on Sunday.

The city’s emergency management authority released an update on the number of casualties from Friday’s disaster as China grappled with unusually high summer rainfall.

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Hawaii fires: rescuers comb through debris in Lahaina as death roll rises to 80 – as it happened

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At least 1,000 people reported missing following fires, as a new fire burns in Kaanapali in West Maui

Hawaii resident Ella Tacderan spoke to the Guardian about her experience of the devastation in Maui where her family home once stood.

“A nightmare” scene, Tacderan said:

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Tornadoes halt Chicago air traffic as residents urged to seek shelter

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At least eight tornadoes hit north-eastern Illinois, with no immediate reports of injuries

Tornadoes and thunderstorms battered the Chicago area on Wednesday, forcing airports to halt air traffic and prompting officials to advise residents to seek shelter as tornado sirens echoed through the third largest US city.

The National Weather Service reported that a tornado touched down near Chicago’s O’Hare international airport on Wednesday evening – one of at least eight tornadoes to hit north-eastern Illinois, including four in Cook county.

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Geological mystery in California as homes slowly slide into canyon

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Cause of landslide that destroyed a dozen homes remains unclear as officials say nothing can be done to stop descent

Three days after a landslide destroyed a dozen hillside homes in southern California, the cause of the disaster is still unclear, even as the homes continue their slow descent into a canyon.

Sixteen people have been displaced since the land between the homes began shifting and sliding over the weekend.

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India floods: monsoon rains leave 22 dead in north as Delhi sees wettest July day in decades

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Residents in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand warned not to go outside and Delhi schools closed amid flooding and landslides in multiple states

Torrential rain across northern India has killed at least 22 people, causing landslides and flash floods in the region, with Delhi receiving the most rainfall in decades, reports and officials have said.

Schools in Delhi were closed after heavy rains lashed the national capital over the weekend, and authorities in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand asked people not to venture out of their homes unless necessary.

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UN denied access to Rohingya refugee camps after Cyclone Mocha

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UNHCR says Myanmar government has refused to allow it to distribute health supplies in Sittwe, where an estimated 90% of Rohingya homes have been destroyed

UN staff say they have been denied access to help thousands of Rohingya living in displacement camps in Myanmar who are in urgent need of food, medicine and shelter in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, which struck the west of the country on Sunday.

People living in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, said they estimated that about 90% of homes of Rohingya people had been destroyed and more than 100 people killed when winds of more than 150 miles an hour hit the region. However, the refugee agency UNHCR said the Myanmar government has refused access to the camps in Sittwe, home to about 100,000 people. “As yet, UNHCR has not been granted access to carry out needs assessments.”

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Reliance on Australia’s military during natural disasters comes at a cost, senator says

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Climate change and humanitarian crisis are calling on too many ADF resources which should be reserved for conflict, Tony Sheldon says

Australia needs to rethink how it uses its defence force for natural disasters, reserving its troops for conflict and limiting their deployment except for in the most extreme events, according to the government’s special envoy for disaster recovery, senator Tony Sheldon.

After the release of the defence strategic review on Monday, the senator also said the government should help locals respond to emergencies before considering creating a new civilian agency.

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