End of the World?

Real culprit behind global warming

2006-03-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Water.

An increase in the level of water vapour in air can increase the mean tempetature of the earth by about 4 degree celcius; a percentage much higher than what could be cause due to other green house gases like CO2.

Turns out, the real reason for global warming is not CO2 and other gases emitted by human activities; but due to the emission of water vapour from human(?) activities.

Read the link for more.

via Physorg

NASA Solar Storm Warning

2006-03-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

It's official: Solar minimum has arrived. Sunspots have all but vanished. Solar flares are nonexistent. The sun is utterly quiet.

Like the quiet before a storm.

This week researchers announced that a storm is coming--the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.

via NASA

World records 136 tremors between Dec 9-1

2005-12-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: Atleast 136 tremors were recorded all over the world by seismologists between December nine and 16 and these shocks were concentrated all along plate boundaries and majority of along the Pacific and Indian ones. Compared to earlier years, the earth is showing a pattern not experienced by humans although such unusual phenomena is not uncommon to the planet, Prof Chandrasekharam, Earth science Department of IIT said while explaining the USGS earthquake record for the period.

"This apparently shows the dynamic changes that the Earth is undergoing internally. A large amount of scientific data is pouring-in with respect to such changes taking place within the Earth," he said. One of the most interesting phenomena noticed recently, is the shifting of the present magnetic pole of the earth towards Russia. A major shift of the pole is recorded by palaeomagnetist Joseph Stoner from Oregon State University, who announced it last week

North India reels under cold wave; toll rises to 40

2005-12-19T02:59:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: The bitter cold continued to afflict northern India, taking the death toll to 38 on Monday as six persons, including a Thai tourist, perished in Uttar Pradesh and the thickening fog snarled road traffic and delayed trains in the region. A 64-year-old woman tourist from Thailand, Amphong Chang, died at the guest house of a Thai temple in Varanasi due to the intense cold.

Plane carrying school children crashes in Nigeria

2005-12-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

A passenger jet crash-landed and burst into flames on a runway in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt Saturday, killing almost all the people on board. Officials said 103 people died and there were only seven survivors who were taken to hospitals. Among the passengers were 'a large number' of students from a Catholic school returning home for the holidays. An airport worker told the Associated Press that he was standing in the midst of an horrific scene, with bodies and wreckage all around him.

110 killed in Iran plane crash

2005-12-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- An Iranian military transport plane has crashed near Tehran after hitting a 10-story apartment building, killing at least 110 people -- most of them aboard the plane -- Iranian officials and state-run media reported.
The air force C-130 -- carrying more than 90 people -- crashed at about 2 p.m. (1030 GMT) on Tuesday, sparking fires in the apartment building that houses military personnel and their families.
Everyone on board the plane was killed, including 47 journalists who planned to witness the Iranian navy's maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, officials said.
via CNN

Dozens die in Congo train crash

2005-11-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

Dozens have been killed in a rail accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a train went over a bridge.
The people were travelling on top of carriages and were swept off by support beams on the bridge.
Officials say about 60 people may have died on the train that was travelling from Lubumbashi in the south-east to Kindu in central Maniema Province.
An eyewitness says that most of the passengers were knocked into a river with a strong current.

via BBC

It's official: 2005 hurricanes blew records away

2005-11-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- A brutal and record-setting hurricane season that repeatedly pounded the United States, devastated the lives of tens of thousands and spawned the historic Katrina ends November 30, at least on paper.
Though December storms are still a possibility, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers says, the hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to the end of November.
"The hurricane season is not an on and off switch. If the water is still warm enough, we could still get a tropical storm in December, and this could be one of those years where that could happen," Myers said.

via CNN

Earthquake toll leaps to 73,000

2005-11-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Pakistan says more than 73,000 people died in the 8 October quake that devastated its north and Kashmir.
Official figures a day earlier had put the death toll at about 57,000. No reason was given for the sudden jump.
The government has proceeded cautiously in its count so far. The new figures tally closer to local estimates of 80,000 which are several weeks old.
Relief commissioner Farooq Ahmed Khan said more than 69,000 were injured. He expected the casualty toll to rise.

Indian train crash kills 102

2005-10-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- At least 102 people died and 92 others were injured when a passenger train derailed in southern India Saturday as it attempted to cross tracks washed away by a flood, police said.
The incident occurred about 4:15 a.m. in the Andhra Pradesh state near the town of Valigonda. Seven coaches of the 15-coach train remained in the water, and it was not known how many people remained inside. Each coach has a capacity of about 60 people.
Rescue workers were using cranes to retrieve the coaches from the water, and using acetylene torches to open them, authorities said.

via CNN

Blasts in New Delhi kill 55

2005-10-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

Terrorists blamed for pre-festival marketplace attacks

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Three explosions ripped through New Delhi within minutes of each other Saturday evening, killing at least 55 people.
Most of the deaths occurred at a marketplace crowded with thousands of people getting ready for India's festival of lights, the state of Delhi's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, told CNN.
She said at least 31 people died at the Sarojini Nagar marketplace in central Delhi and the others were killed at the Paharganj marketplace, both packed with people preparing for the Hindu holiday of Diwali, India's largest festival.

via CNN

Bomb kills 25 in Iraq

2005-10-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A pickup truck carrying dates and packed with explosives blew up and killed at least 25 people in a market in a small Shiite town north of Baquba on Saturday, an interior ministry official said.
Three U.S. soldiers also died Saturday, authorities said.
At least 52 people were wounded in the attack that targeted civilians in town of Hwaider, Iraqi police said, and shops and restaurants were damaged. A doctor at Baquba hospital said at least 10 of the wounded were in critical condition.

via CNN

Wilma wallops Florida

2005-10-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

2.2 million homes without power, governor says

NAPLES, Florida (CNN) -- Hurricane Wilma lashed Florida's east coast Monday after plowing across the peninsula with heavy rains and widespread flooding.
Gov. Jeb Bush said at least 2.2 million homes were without electricity and some 4,000 utility workers were on standby to begin repairs after the storm passes.
Bush said there were reports of several tornado touchdowns in central Florida since Sunday night and the threat of tornadoes on the eastern peninsula continues.

140 tremors rock Pakistan

2005-10-21T04:55:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Over 140 aftershocks have rocked Pakistan since a powerful earthquake left thousands of people dead and flattened entire villages, seismic experts said here on Sunday. Pakistan's seismic and weather experts recorded over 140 aftershocks, with 21 over 5 magnitude on the Richter scale, since yesterday's massive quake which killed over 18,000 people and injured around 42,000. The recurring tremors, some of them lasting few seconds, triggered panic in some areas. A large contingent of mediapersons waiting for Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao's briefing ran out in panic as a tremor shook the Information Ministry's building.

via timesofindia.com

Hurricane Wilma lashing the Yucatan

2005-10-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Deadly Hurricane Wilma was pounding Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early Friday, with the popular tourist cities of Cozumel and Cancun directly in the storm's path.
The Category 4 hurricane's outer bands began lashing the tourist hotspots late Thursday, and the winds will get stronger as the center of the storm moves closer.
As of 5 a.m. ET, the storm's top winds were 150 mph, with higher gusts.
By the time the outer wall of its eye reaches the Yucatan shoreline, the hurricane could strengthen into a Category 5, with sustained winds greater than 155 mph, forecasters said.

via CNN

Guatemala slide toll may hit 1,400

2005-10-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

PANABAJ, Guatemala (Reuters) -- A Guatemalan village buried under tons of dirt and debris may be declared a Mayan mass grave as rescuers give up digging for the remains of up to 1,400 people killed in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Stan.
After days of heavy rain, mud, rocks and trees crashed down a volcano's slopes and into the Maya Indian village of Panabaj as people slept early on Wednesday, covering it in a quagmire up to 40 feet (12 meters) deep in places.

Death toll in Asia earthquake nears 20,000

2005-10-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

Rescue workers pulled survivors from rubble and uncovered bodies from debris in Islamabad, Pakistan, and elsewhere, a day after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit South Asia. Nearly 20,000 people were estimated killed in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

Toll rises in major Asian quake

2005-10-09T04:34:00.000-07:00

At least 51 people were killed in South/Central Asia and hundreds more injured when a major earthquake -- estimated to be the most intense in the region in the last century -- jolted residents of three countries as far as 400 miles away Saturday.
The epicenter for the magnitude 7.6 quake was about 60 miles northeast of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Quake sounds reveal Earth 'ripping apart'

2005-10-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- Scientists are gaining insight about December's devastating earthquake and tsunami from the actual sounds of the magnitude 9.3 quake in the Indian Ocean.
"It's really quite an eerie sound to hear the Earth ripping apart like that. We hear it on smaller earthquakes quite frequently but something of this scale that goes on for eight minutes is very much unprecedented," said Maya Tolstoy, a marine geophysicist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
"It really gave me the chills when I first heard it," she said.

Pakistan puts quake toll at 18,000

2005-10-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistan earthquake toll has reached 18,000 dead and more than 41,000 injured, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, a spokesman for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, said Sunday.
Sultan told CNN the figure was as of 7.am. (10 p.m. ET Saturday). CNN could not independently verify Sultan's figures.
He said the magnitude 7.6 quake that struck Pakistan and parts of India and Afghanistan on Saturday morning had killed 18,020 and injured 41,188 people.

Turkish train crash kills 36

2005-10-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

At least 36 people were killed when a newly introduced high-speed train came off the tracks between Turkey's main cities Istanbul and Ankara.
The government crisis centre initially put the death toll at 139 - but later revised the figures downwards without giving an official explanation.

Japanese train crash kills dozens

2005-10-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

A train has derailed and hit a building in Japan, killing 50 people and injuring about 300 in the country's worst rail crash in four decades.
The commuter train came off the tracks at Amagasaki near Osaka, 410km (255 miles) west of Tokyo, and the front two carriages rammed into a building.

Indian train crash leaves 16 dead

2005-10-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured in a train crash in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Rescue teams have been working to free hundreds feared trapped in the mangled carriages, officials said, with the death toll thought likely to rise.

More than 8,000 Iraqis killed in insurgent attacks

2005-10-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Insurgent attacks in the last six months have killed more than 8,000 Iraqi civilians, police and troops, according to Iraq's interior minister.
Meanwhile Thursday, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said the insurgency's reliance on car bombs is due to their "high payoffs."

London Bombs - death toll rises to 52

2005-10-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The death toll from London's terrorist attacks rose to 52, as the first victims were identified and the British capital got back to business after a weekend of mourning and memorials.
London police announced the three additional confirmed deaths after making their first positive identification of one of the victims of Thursday's bombings.
A string of bombs that ripped through three London Underground trains went off within seconds, authorities said, adding that the blasts were so strong none of the victims have been identified.

Suicide bomber kills 60 near Baghdad

2005-10-08T13:09:00.001-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a propane fuel tanker parked near a gas station south of Baghdad Saturday evening, killing at least 60 and wounding as many as 100 people, police sources said.
The massive blast occurred in the center of Musayyib along a dangerous stretch in Babil province known as the Triangle of Death about 45 miles south of the capital. Musayyib is predominantly Shiite.

Iraq suicide bombings kill 99

2005-10-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Ninety-nine people have been killed and more than 180 injured in suicide bombings over the past two days in Iraq, including a fuel tanker attack south of Baghdad.
The death toll from the suicide bombing near a parked fuel tanker in the center of Musayyib, about 45 miles south of Baghdad, has risen to at least 90, authorities said Sunday.

25,000 civilians killed in Iraq war

2005-10-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

CNN) -- Nearly 25,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq since the start of the Iraq war, according to a group that tracks such statistics from media reports.
The Iraq Body Count -- a London-based group comprised of academics, human rights and anti-war activists -- said on Tuesday that 24,865 civilians had died between March 20, 2003 and March 19, 2005.
The group said 42,500 injuries were recorded as well.

Car bombs kill 14 in Baghdad

2005-10-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Fourteen Iraqis were killed Monday in two separate suicide car bombings in the country's capital, police officials and the Ministry of Defense reported.
In the first attack, 12 Iraqis died and 16 were wounded when a car bomb detonated at a checkpoint for the Sadeer Hotel around 6:15 a.m. (10:15 p.m. ET Sunday), a Defense Ministry statement said.
The vehicle exploded near a building housing guards for the hotel. Several guards were among the casualties, police said.

At least 26 dead in Iraq suicide attack

2005-10-08T06:48:00.001-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomber killed at least 26 people on Friday in an attack on an army recruiting center in the northern Iraqi town of Rubia, police told CNN.
The bomber blew himself up among a group of recruits, police said.
At least 30 people were wounded, police said.

Bomb blasts shake Bangladesh

2005-10-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

DHAKA, Bangladesh (CNN) -- A series of bombs exploded nearly simultaneously in dozens of cities across Bangladesh Wednesday, striking regional capitals as well as the national capital, Dhaka, authorities said.
According to police, at least 115 people were injured with 350 bombs detonating. Bangladeshi media reported at least one fatality.

965 dead in Baghdad stampede

2005-10-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Deaths mounted steadily in northeast Baghdad after a massive midday Shiite religious procession erupted into a chaotic stampede Wednesday, causing the drowning and trampling deaths of 965 pilgrims.
Authorities believe a rumor raced through the crowd that a suicide bomber was in their midst, and that created panic among the waves of pedestrians trying to cross the Al-A'imma bridge over the Tigris River. The throngs of Shiite faithful had been stopped by security checks and bogged down by concrete barriers.

Car bomb kills 30 in Iraq

2005-10-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A car bombing in a town on the eastern outskirts of Baghdad killed 30 people and wounded 38 others on Saturday evening, emergency police said.
Six cars were destroyed in the bombing in Nahrawan, a predominantly Shiite industrial area. It wasn't clear if it was remotely detonated or a suicide bombing.

Iraq violence leaves at least 29 dead

2005-10-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A wave of new violence in Iraq, including a suicide bombing and a deadly armed robbery, left 29 people dead and scores wounded Sunday. Four bodies were also found.
Unknown gunmen killed two security guards as they were on their way to deposit money at the Al-Rasheed bank in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Mansoor, stealing $850,000 from two Ministry of Finance Cars, Baghdad emergency police said.

Bodies of 22 men found shot to death

2005-10-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The bodies of 22 men were found Tuesday in southern Iraq shot in the head with their hands tied, police in Baghdad said.
The men may have been tortured, police said.
According to The Associated Press, an Iraqi official said the men appeared to have been killed recently.

Simultaneous car bombs kill 62 in Iraq

2005-10-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A string of car bombs exploded Thursday in the Iraqi city of Balad, killing at least 62 people and wounding more than 70 others, a police official in Tikrit told CNN.
The bombings took place about 6:30 p.m. in the center of the mixed Shiite and Sunni town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad. They detonated about 10 minutes apart, two of them in the same location.

Bali terrorist blasts kill at least 26

2005-10-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- Terrorists brought death to Indonesia's Bali paradise for the second time in three years, as blasts killed at least 26 people at two resort spots packed with tourists.
The blasts struck the seaside area of Jimbaran Bay and the bar and shopping hub of Kuta, 30 kilometers (19 miles) away at about 8 p.m. Saturday night (8 a.m. ET).
In addition to the 26 fatalities, hospital officials said 102 people were wounded. One of those who died was a 16-year-old Australian boy, officials said, while South Koreans, Americans, Japanese and Britons were among those wounded.

Mosque blast kills at least 25

2005-10-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomb blast Wednesday inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Hilla, south of the capital, killed at least 25 people and wounded 87 others, Iraqi police officials said.
The explosion, which happened at 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) at the Ibn al-Nima mosque in central Hilla, occurred during funeral services for a Shiite Muslim who was killed in a separate suicide attack, police said.
Iraqi police were present at the service and may have been the target of the attack.

Iran plane crash kills 46

2005-10-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian authorities have begun investigating the crash of a Ukrainian Airways passenger plane that went down in central Iran Monday, killing all 46 people aboard, Iran's Minister of Transportation said.
The plane crashed at 7:30 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) in a mountainous area after losing contact with ground controllers as it prepared to land in the town of Isfahar, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Tehran.
Transportation Minister Ahmad Korram said the 42 passengers and four crew members who died were all Ukrainians. Most, he said, were aviation experts who were in Iran to test a new airplane, the Antonov 140.

Turkish Airlines plane crashes, 75 dead, 5 survivors

2005-10-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (CNN) -- A Turkish Airlines flight carrying 80 people crashed Wednesday on approach to the airport in this southeastern Turkey city during extremely foggy weather, authorities said.
Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said 74 people aboard Turkish Airlines Flight 634 were killed in the crash; a 75th victim, a 2-year-old girl, was declared brain dead after emergency surgery. Five survived, including one of the crew members, Yildirim said.

Iranian plane crash kills 302

2005-10-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

ZAHEDAN, Iran (CNN) -- A military plane carrying 284 members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard and 18 crew members crashed Wednesday night in southeastern Iran, officials said. All 302 people onboard were confirmed dead.
Ali Moradi Haqiqi, police chief of the Sistan-Baluchestan province, said the crash occurred in a mountainous region in bad weather, about 20 miles short of the Kerman airport.

111 killed in Benin plane crash

2005-10-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

COTONOU, Benin -- Rescuers are searching for survivors after a Beirut-bound charter jet crashed on takeoff from a coastal airport in the West African country of Benin, killing at least 111, officials say.
About two dozens bodies and the plane's cockpit were found on the beach after the crash, which occurred Thursday afternoon as the Boeing 727 took off from the airport in Cotonou, Benin's commercial capital on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Hajj stampede: 244 pilgrims dead

2005-10-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- A stampede Sunday morning killed 244 Muslim pilgrims and injured another 244 at a stone-throwing ritual which has been the source of deadly tramplings in the past, according to Saudi's health minister.
The incident happened around 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The health minister said the stampede lasted for about 27 minutes before the crowd was brought under control. The stoning ritual has since resumed.

43 dead in Mideast air crash

2005-10-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- An Iranian airliner crashed Tuesday as it approached Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, killing 43 people, government officials said.
Initially, authorities said five people survived but two of them died on the way to a hospital. A hospital official said one of the remaining three had died, but later another official said the remaining three survivors were alive but in critical condition.

Russians mourn plane crash victims

2005-10-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia is observing an official day of mourning for the 89 people who died in the near-simultaneous crashes of two passenger jets.
As flags flew at half mast in the capital Thursday in honor of the victims, investigators in Moscow have been examining the planes' flight data recorders.

'Terrorist act' blamed for air crash

2005-10-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- One of two Russian airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously was brought down by a terrorist act, officials said, after finding traces of explosives in the plane's wreckage.
The planes, with 90 people aboard, went down within 20 minutes of each other Tuesday night. In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said there was "mounting evidence" that both crashes "were acts of terrorism."

China plane crash kills 54

2005-10-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A commuter jet has crashed into a frozen lake in northern China seconds after takeoff, killing all 53 people aboard and one on the ground.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation and the flight data recorder has not been located, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Firefighters and rescue workers recovered the bodies of all 53 passengers and crew from the lake near the Inner Mongolian city of Baotou, according to Xinhua.

28 killed in Russian plane crash

2005-10-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A Russian plane crashed as it tried to make an emergency landing in Russia's far north, killing 28 of the 52 people aboard, officials say.
The An-24 plane was carrying 45 passengers and seven crew members when it crashed Wednesday near Varandei in the Nenets autonomous region along Russia's Arctic coast, an Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman said.
Ten of the 24 survivors were in grave condition, the spokesman told The Associated Press.

Dozens die in Peruvian plane crash

2005-10-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

LIMA, Peru -- A Peruvian passenger plane carrying 100 people crashed in a jungle Tuesday a few miles short of its planned destination at Pucallpa's airport, and Peruvian officials said 37 to 40 bodies had been recovered.
Police and rescuers told local media the death toll was at least 70.

100 killed in Indonesia jet crash

2005-10-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

MEDAN, Indonesia (CNN) -- More than 100 people have been killed after a plane crashed into a residential area of the Indonesian city of Medan, officials said.
Nine passengers survived the crash, according to the crisis center set up in Medan. The plane was carrying 117 people. In addition, the crisis center said 10 people who live in the area where the plane crashed were injured. It was not known how many people if any on the ground were killed.

160 believed dead in Venezuela jet crash

2005-10-08T03:48:00.000-07:00

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- A Colombian airliner carrying 160 people crashed Tuesday in a remote area of western Venezuela, aviation officials said.
No survivors have been found.
A spokeswoman for West Caribbean Airways, based in Medellin, Colombia, told CNN there were 152 passengers and eight crew members on board, making it the deadliest plane crash in Venezuela's history.
The MD-82 aircraft left Tocumen International Airport south of Panama City around 1 a.m. local time, headed for Fort de France, Martinique, according to Panamanian aviation officials.

Greek crash cause still a mystery

2005-10-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- One month after Greece's worst air accident, a conclusive explanation of what caused a Cypriot Helios Airways airliner to crash killing all 121 people on board still eludes investigators, but recent reports suggest pilots may have failed to respond to a cabin pressure warning.
A preliminary report last month said Helios Flight 522 lost cabin pressure and ran out of fuel before crashing into a hillside near Grammatiko, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Athens, on the sunny and clear morning of August 14.

Earthquake rocks south Asia

2005-10-08T03:29:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- An earthquake measuring magnitude 6 shook parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India on Thursday, seismologists reported.
The quake was centered in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) west of Chitral, Pakistan, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was felt first in the Afghan cities of Kabul and Jalalabad around 11:35 a.m. (2:05 a.m. EST).
In Kabul, CNN's John Raedler was in the fifth floor of the Intercontinental Hotel when the quake struck. The shuddering appeared to last about 10 seconds, shaking the floor and walls, he said. Two clocks hanging on the wall began swinging.

Portion of volcano slips toward ocean

2005-10-08T03:26:00.000-07:00

STANFORD, California (CNN) -- In an event known as a "silent earthquake," a 72-square-mile chunk of the south slope of Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano slipped 3.5 inches toward the sea several months ago, leading one scientist to warn of a possible disaster for Pacific Rim nations.
The slide, documented in the February 28 issue of the journal Nature, was measured by Global Positioning System satellites in November 2000. A 12- by 6-mile area moved 3.5 inches over a 36-hour period in the first "silent earthquake" ever recorded at an active volcano.

Major earthquake shakes Alaska

2005-10-08T03:23:00.000-07:00

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (CNN) -- A major earthquake struck 75 miles south of Fairbanks, cracking roads, crumbling support mechanisms for the trans-Alaska pipeline and triggering mudslides, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, officials said Sunday.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake's preliminary magnitude at 7.9.
"We have heard of items being knocked off shelves," geophysicist Dale Grant said.

Algeria quake death toll tops 800

2005-10-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

Supplies, equipment, blood and manpower ran short Thursday in northern Algeria, where a massive earthquake Wednesday leveled thousands of buildings, killing hundreds of people and injuring thousands of others.
Algerian state radio said more than 800 people were confirmed dead -- 400 to 500 of them in Algiers -- and nearly 6,000 injured. The numbers were expected to rise as rescue workers picked through mountains of debris, often with their bare hands.
In some areas, road construction crews diverted their heavy equipment to work at collapsed building sites.

Earthquake rocks northern Japan

2005-10-08T03:19:00.000-07:00

TOKYO, Japan -- An earthquake measuring 8.0 hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido early Friday, forcing thousands to evacuate and prompting authorities to issue tsunami warnings that extend as far as Hawaii.
The quake was the strongest anywhere in the world this year.
Another temblor of similar intensity struck less than two hours later and multiple aftershocks have been felt. Residents on the eastern side of Hokkaido have been urged to evacuate.

Iran quake toll now put at 41,000

2005-10-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian officials say the death toll in last month's Iranian earthquake in the city of Bam has risen to 41,000 and the final figure could hit 45,000, according to Iran's state-run media.
A close aide to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reported the increased death toll from the December 26 quake, which was previously estimated to be around 30,000.

Over 500 killed in Morocco quake

2005-10-08T03:15:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- The shattering earthquake that struck northern Morocco early Tuesday has claimed 564 lives, the country's Interior Ministry said as hundreds of people prepared to spend the night outside for fear of aftershocks.
Another 300 people were reported injured, 80 of them seriously, the ministry said.
Many of the deaths were around the Mediterranean port city of Al Hoceima which has a population of several hundred thousand.

Scientists watching unusual events near volcano

2005-10-08T03:13:00.000-07:00

VANCOUVER, Washington (CNN) -- A series of unusual earthquakes near Mount St. Helens in recent days has scientists warning that something more serious could be imminent.
The "hazardous event" the U.S. Geological Survey warns is possible could be an explosion caused by steam building up inside the volcano, or it could be more serious -- involving molten rock and deadly gas.

Tsunami Facts

2005-10-08T03:11:00.000-07:00

The December 26 tsunami was caused by slippage of about 600 miles (1,000 km) of the boundary between the India and Burma plates off the west coast of northern Sumatra. The convergence of other plates strains the area, and at the quake's epicenter, the India plate is moving to the northeast at 2 inches (5 cm) per year relative to the Burma plate. The aftershocks were distributed along the plate boundary from the epicenter to near Andaman Island.
Tsunamis can travel up to 600 mph (965 k/ph, 521 knots) at the deepest point of the water, but slow as they near the shore, eventually hitting the shore at 30 to 40 mph (48 to 64 k/ph, 26 to 35 knots), according to Charles McCreevy, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The energy of the wave's speed is transferred to height and sheer force as it nears shore.

Earthquake Facts

2005-10-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

The 9.0 magnitude quake struck about 7 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Sunday December 26 about 100 miles from the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island.
It was the strongest since the March 28, 1964, quake in Prince William Sound in Alaska. It is the fourth strongest since recordings of magnitude began in 1899, tying a 1952 quake in Kamchatka, Russia.
The three stronger quakes: May 22, 1960, in Chile (9.5); the 1964 quake (9.2); and a March 9, 1957, quake on Andreanof Island, Alaska (9.1). All three of those quakes, along with the Kamchatka quake, created tsunamis.

Tsunami deaths soar past 212,000

2005-10-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia is reporting a staggering new death toll from the tsunami disaster as recovery efforts slowly resolve the fates of tens of thousands of missing people.
The Indonesian Health Ministry says the December 26 earthquake and tsunamis killed 166,320 people in Indonesia, double the previous official figure.
The latest figures out of Indonesia now put the regional death toll for the Indian Ocean disaster at 212,611.

Iran quake toll reaches 400

2005-10-08T03:07:00.000-07:00

CNN) -- Rescuers searched through the night in central Iran for survivors of the magnitude 6.4 magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings and forced residents to take shelter in tent cities.
The death toll has risen to at least 400, officials said.
Earlier, an Interior Ministry spokesman said that at least 950 people were injured in the quake, which struck Tuesday near Zarand, a city of about 135,000 people in Kerman province.

Quake kills at least 300 on Indonesian island

2005-10-08T03:06:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia late Monday, killing hundreds, but fears of another tsunami like those that devastated the region in late December have faded.
On Indonesia's Nias Island at least 300 people died and hundreds more were reported injured or trapped, said government spokesman Agus Mendrova.
But international news agencies are reporting that between 1,000 and 2,000 people may have been killed on Nias Island.

Sumatra rattled by new aftershock

2005-10-08T03:04:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- The west coast of northern Sumatra in Indonesia was hit Wednesday by another strong jolt, 48 hours after an 8.7 magnitude earthquake stirred memories of December's earthquake and tsunamis that killed more than 174,000 people.
Wednesday's aftershock measured 6.3 when it struck at 11:19 p.m. local time (11:19 a.m. ET; 4:19 p.m. GMT) along the same fault line and at the same depth -- 20 miles (30 kilometers) -- as the earlier quake, which struck at 11:09 p.m. Monday.

Scientists: Sumatra quake longest ever recorded

2005-10-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

Temblor big enough to 'vibrate the whole planet '
(CNN) -- Dramatic new data from the December 26, 2004, Sumatran-Andaman earthquake that generated deadly tsunamis show the event created the longest fault rupture and the longest duration of faulting ever observed, according to three reports by an international group of seismologists published Thursday in the journal "Science."
"Normally, a small earthquake might last less than a second; a moderate sized earthquake might last a few seconds. This earthquake lasted between 500 and 600 seconds," said Charles Ammon, associate professor of geosciences at Penn State University.
The Sumatra-Andaman quake released an amount of energy equal to a 100 gigaton bomb.

CNN Talks

2005-10-08T02:56:00.000-07:00

One of the first milestones of the 21st century began as a sunny day. But September 11, 2001, ended with the deaths of more than 2,700 people in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. Four planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania in a plot officials say was organized by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Indian Ocean tsunami toll

2005-10-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- The toll of dead and missing six months after the December 26 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami stands at 226,328, according to government figures given to the International Federation of Red Cross.
Those listed as missing will be officially declared as dead in most countries a year after the disaster.
Indonesia:128,645 dead, 37,063 missing
Sri Lanka:31,147 dead, 4,115 missing
India:10,749 dead, 5,640 missing
Maldives:82 dead, 26 missing
Thailand:5,395 dead, 2,845 missing
Myanmar:61 dead, 10 missing
Malaysia:68 dead, 12 missing
East Africa (1):312 dead, 158 missing
TOTAL:176,459 dead, 49,869 missing
(1) Figure includes Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Madagascar

Big quake hits Indonesia's Sumatra

2005-10-08T02:52:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A strong earthquake has struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, shaking buildings and triggering some panic.
The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey measured at 6.8, was centered 386 kilometers (240 miles) south-southeast of Banda Aceh.
Tuesday morning's quake hit the same Indonesian region that was devastated by a tsunami after a massive earthquake on December 26.

Large quake hits northern Japan

2005-10-08T02:45:00.000-07:00

TOKYO, Japan -- A strong earthquake struck northern Japan Tuesday, injuring at least 39 people, three of them seriously, police said.
The undersea quake triggered a small tsunami, damaged some buildings, disrupted transport and was felt as far away as Tokyo, officials reported.
The tremor at 11:46 a.m. (10:46 p.m. Monday ET) was initially reported to have a magnitude of 6.8 by the Japanese Meteorological Agency. The U.S. Geological Survey later gauged the quake at 7.2, making it a major earthquake.

Quake rattles Papua New Guinea

2005-10-08T02:44:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- A major earthquake has rocked Papua New Guinea, registering a magnitude 7.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from Friday evening's quake, which struck the New Ireland region of Papua New Guinea.
The quake struck at 5:27 p.m. (3:27 a.m. EDT) and was located 25 miles (40 kilometers) east-southeast of Taron or 540 miles northeast of the capital, Port Moresby.

Major L.A. quake could be worse than Katrina

2005-10-08T02:42:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As many as 18,000 people dead. More than $250 billion in damages. Hundreds of thousands of people left homeless.
That's not the latest estimate of Hurricane Katrina's toll on the Gulf Coast. That's a worst-case scenario if a major earthquake were to hit Los Angeles.
Scientists warn that there's little doubt a major quake will hit California in coming years or decades, though many scenarios are not as disastrous as Puente Hills.

7.5 magnitude quake rocks Peru

2005-10-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

LIMA, Peru (AP) -- A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake in northern Peru killed at least one person, destroyed about 100 homes and disrupted electricity and telephone service in much of the region, Peru's civil defense chief said Monday.
The earthquake was felt throughout Peru's northern coast and as far away as Bogota, Colombia, about 760 miles (1,220 kilometers) northeast of the earthquake zone.

Typhoon, quake leave Taiwan shaken, stirred

2005-10-08T02:40:00.000-07:00

TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- As typhoon Longwang approached Taiwan, a moderate earthquake shook the island, prompting some residents to flee their homes.

Hurricane Stan's death toll climbs

2005-10-08T02:37:00.000-07:00

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- Heavy rains Wednesday pounded Central America for a fourth day, pushing rivers over their banks and unleashing a string of deadly mudslides as the region's death toll increased to more than 135 people.

Mudslides and flooding kill hundreds

2005-10-08T02:35:00.000-07:00

SANTIAGO ATITLAN, Guatemala (AP) -- With food and water running out, governments in Central America and Mexico scrambled Friday to reach isolated areas devastated by a week of intense rains, as the number of victims continued to rise.