Category Archives: Natural Disasters

Typhoon Goni kills at least 10 as it hits eastern Philippines

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Volcanic mudflows bury houses before powerful winds weaken as storm blows towards Manila

A powerful super typhoon has slammed into the eastern Philippines, killing at least 10 people and causing volcanic mudflows to bury houses before weakening as it blew towards Manila, where the capital’s main airport was shut down, according to officials.

Typhoon Goni hit the island province of Catanduanes at dawn on Sunday with sustained winds of 140mph (225km/h) and gusts of 174mph. It was heading west towards densely populated regions, including Manila, and rain-soaked provinces still recovering from a typhoon last week that left at least 22 people dead.

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Turkey earthquake: drone shows buildings reduced to rubble in İzmir – video

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Drone footage captured buildings reduced to piles of rubble in the Turkish city of İzmir on Friday after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea, setting off tidal waves which slammed into coastal areas and islands. Search and rescue operations continued at 17 collapsed or damaged buildings, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said.

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‘Everywhere was collapsing’: powerful earthquake hits Turkey and Greece – video report

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Footage shows the aftermath of a deadly earthquake that struck in the Aegean sea and toppled buildings in the Turkish city of İzmir and the Greek island of Samos. 

The earthquake struck about 11 miles (17km) off the coast of İzmir, causing a number of deaths and widespread damage. 

Witnesses captured the moment buildings collapsed and sea water flooding in both Samos and İzmir

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Turkey: gamer’s livestream captures moment earthquake hits İzmir – video

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Footage from a Turkish gamer's livestream has gone viral after it captured the moment a powerful earthquake hit the coastal city of Izmir on Friday. In the footage, 22-year-old Arda Can Özel can be seen sprinting out of the room as he feels the ground beginning to shake. He later posted on his Instagram account to say he and his family survived the quake unharmed

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Rescue teams search rubble after earthquake rocks Turkish coast and Greek islands

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At least 27 reported dead and 800 injured in quake that hit İzmir in Turkey and Greek island of Samos

Rescue teams searched through concrete blocks and rubble on Saturday after at least 27 people were killed and hundreds injured when a powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea toppled buildings in the Turkish city of İzmir and created sea surges on at least two Greek islands.

Turkey’s disaster and emergency authority (Afad) said the quake on Friday, measuring about 7.0 in magnitude, struck at 2.51pm local time (11.51am GMT). with 407 aftershocks recorded overnight. Around 800 people were reported injured.

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Turkey: sea water floods İzmir after powerful earthquake – video

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An earthquake of approximately magnitude 7.0 in the Aegean Sea has caused sea water to rise and flood parts of the coastal city of Izmir, carrying furniture and other items with it. The quake struck at 2.51pm local time on Friday, according to the country's disaster agency

Powerful earthquake rocks Turkish coast and Greek islands

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Aftermath in İzmir as 7.0-magnitude earthquake hits Turkey and Greece – video

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An earthquake has struck in the Aegean Sea, flattening buildings in Greece and Turkey. Footage shows buildings reduced to rubble in the Manavkuyu neighbourhood of İzmir, a city on Turkey's Aegean coast. 

The US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.0 and said tremors were felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul

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Australia must prepare for future shaped by extreme climate, bushfire royal commission warns

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Report into the apocalyptic 2019-20 bushfires says Australia must radically change its approach to fighting fires under new climate conditions

Australia’s bushfire disaster last summer was just a glimpse of what global heating will deliver to the country in the future, with major changes needed to the way the nation responds, according to the final report of the royal commission.

The royal commission has made 80 recommendations, including calls for a more co-ordinated approach and new legislation to allow the prime minister to declare a national state of emergency.

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Firefighters battle to contain blaze on Kilimanjaro

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Fears for climbers who may have been in area of fire on slopes of Africa’s tallest mountain near Tanzanian border with Kenya

A huge fire has broken on Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak and a key attraction for tourists in Kenya and Tanzania.

According to Tanzanian national park authorities, the fire broke out on Sunday afternoon and is yet to be contained.

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New Zealand bushfire that demolished village leads to climate crisis debate

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Scientists say hotter and longer summers make such an unusually fierce fire more likely

A bushfire that destroyed most of a village in New Zealand’s South Island has sparked a fierce debate between high-country farmers and conservationists, as those affected struggle to understand the unusually fierce nature of the blaze.

Lake Ōhau village is located at the foothills of the Ben Ohau mountain range, and is home to just 15 permanent residents but its numbers swell significantly during the holiday season. On Sunday morning, a fire tore through the foothills and into the village, forcing 90 people to evacuate.

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Wildfires tear through drought-racked Paraguay amid record heat

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Country faces more than 5,000 fires, with yellow smoke reaching the capital as neighbouring Brazil and Argentina face blazes

Devastating wildfires have broken out across across Paraguay, as drought and record high temperatures continue to exacerbate blazes across South America.

A total of 5,231 individual wildfires broke out across the country on 1 October – up 3,000 on the previous day. Most of were concentrated in the arid Chaco region in the west of the country, but thick yellow smoke had reached as far as the capital, Asunción.

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‘We had minutes’: California Glass wildfire rips through wine country – video report

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A destructive wildfire is being driven by strong winds through wine country north of San Francisco in California.

The Glass fire burned through Napa and Sonoma counties burning down buildings including wineries in the area.

The fire began Sunday as three fires merged and drove into vineyards and mountain areas, including part of the city of Santa Rosa. Around 70,000 people were under evacuation orders

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US runs out of Atlantic hurricane names as frenetic season continues

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  • Naming shifts to Greek letters after 21-name list is exhausted
  • Texas coast prepares for tropical storm Beta

So many powerful storms have formed over the Atlantic this year that for only the second time, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has run out of names, meaning it is now naming tropical storms and hurricanes with letters from the Greek alphabet.

There are 21 names available each year. The list ends with those beginning with W and excludes Q, U, X, Y and Z. Once that list is exhausted, the nomenclature system switches to the Greek alphabet.

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California firefighters battle El Dorado fire – video

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Firefighters in Southern California continue to tackle one of 27 huge wildfires blazing across the state which has already burned more than 21,600 acres (8,741 hectares) of forest.

A firefighter has died while battling the El Dorado fire which has been burning in San Bernardino National Forest since 5 September.

A front of humid and rainy weather has brought some relief to western states that have suffered a historically devastating fire season

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Hurricane Sally: level-two storm hits Florida and Alabama – video

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Hurricane Sally, a huge grade two storm with 100mph winds and torrential rain, has hit the US’s Gulf coast, reaching Florida and Alabama with fears of ‘life-threatening flooding’.

The storm was moving at only 2mph before dawn on Tuesday, centered about 115 miles south-south-east of Biloxi, Mississippi, and 60 miles east-south-east of the mouth of the Mississippi river

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Record-breaking wildfires in Brazil threaten endangered species – video

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Record-breaking wildfires are threatening thousands of acres of one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet, Brazil's Pantanal region.

'Sometimes we are a bit frustrated, but we try to have hope and to rescue the few animals we can,' said 26-year-old vet Karen Ribeiro at one of the shelters, where rescue units and volunteers are bringing in animals including jaguars for evacuation

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Dozens missing in Oregon as historic fires devastate western US

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Dozens of people are missing and at least 23 people are believed to have been killed as historic wildfires in the western US forced evacuations, stretched fire crews thin and spawned misinformation.

Residents of Portland, Oregon, awoke on Friday to air thick with smoke pollution that dimmed the sun and turned the skies blood-orange red. Hundreds of firefighters are battling two large wildfires that threatened to merge near the most populated part of Oregon, including the suburbs of Portland, and the governor said dozens of people are missing in other parts of the state.

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