Wolf, this one is for you! Thanks for suggesting it!

wow, you're very welcome! ohhhh, my very own geospring topic *grin* anyway, i wanted to share something i learned on a national geographic discovery show about landslides. now, all you scientific types will already know this but i did not! when mt st helens erupted, it was being filmed. during this process, the geologists (or vulcanists) learned a new thing and put an old theory about landslides and their causes out the door. right before this volcano erupted, the earth moved downward, almost as if making room for st helens' belly to spew forth with all its energy. this ad never before been documented and changed the theory about landslides being the result of a volcano rather than a precurser (sp?). oh, and that half of a volcano in hawaii is gone, that was interesting too, i couldn't figure out how they knew that the volcano didn't cut itself in half!

It's that cross-section that shows the internal plumbing which gives away the fact that half of it is missing. Next time write down what it sounds like - you were very good with Happy Easter in Hawaiian...go for the name of the volcano and I shall investigate. Not sure they are talking about a cone or an entire volcano!

Love the name GeoSpring...it rolls nicely around on the tongue. *hugs*

I'm gonna borrow a post I put in Intro and put it here regarding the halving of Volcanoes: Cinder cones fracture along the line of the fault zone which caused the cone in the first place. A whole lotta shaking going on will make coastal ones plunge into the sea entirely or just the seaward half. Leaves behind a most interesting cross-section of how the cone was built of layers of cinder and spatter which held the cinders together. Some do blow themselves apart. Not much left to see of those. They are usually Phreatic ones which experience steam explosions and it just leaves the jagged rim of the base of the cone there. Unfortunately, Volcano is a big structure often used interchangeably with volcanic cone. One is a mountain and one is a small-to-large hill. Of course, when a new volcano is building, it begins small...so that is lso a possibility!

see, i don't remember the name of it or which island it was on. paid attention cuz they said hawaii and i thought, hey, i know someone there! *grin*

Yup! You do,indeed. I can look it up in my texts and other places which might have it. Of course, the Hawaiian Chain stretches some 1500 miles across the pacific, but it would have to be at this end to still look like a volcano. Let me do some checking when I am more awake tomorrow. I just might ask the kid, too!

I think this is the right place to put this Marcia? 2000-02-10 SOUTH AFRICA: FLOODS SWAMP PARTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA, KILL 35. By Buchizya Mseteka JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10 (Reuters) - At least 35 people have died in flooding from torrential rains that have swamped parts of southern Africa and cut major road links in the region, television and radio stations reported on Thursday. The South African emergency services said water levels were rising in most rivers and advised people not to try to cross them. "It is still raining in most areas and we have a problem with fresh drinking water," said Captain Ronel Otto. She said an 80-year-old woman died on Thursday when her house collapsed on her in South Africa's Northern province. Other officials said floods had cut off a road linking Botswana to Zimbabwe and South Africa and links between Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa. In Mozambique, government officials said four people died when a bus was swept away by floods and overturned. The main road link between Mozambique and South Africa was also cut, leaving traders and tourists stranded. South African radio reported that 800 trucks were stranded on the Botswana side of the border by high waters. South Africa, the regional economic powerhouse, is already providing aid to Mozambique, where floods have isolated cities and left more than 100,000 needing aid. South African police said torrential rains across South Africa's Northern, Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces left a trail of death, destruction and despair, as dams overflowed, and rivers broke their banks and swept away bridges and roads. Local media said the death toll in the Northern and Mpumalanga provinces - the worst affected - had risen to 31, scores were missing and thousands were homeless. The South African Weather Bureau forecast more rain and thunderstorms through to next week, threatening further flooding with most rivers already at their highest levels in 50 years. The Star newspaper reported that damage to infrastructure in Mpumalanga amounted to around 250 million rand ($39.4 million). Business at the country's famed Kruger National Park has been disrupted with the closure of several rest camps. Scores of tourists were evacuated from the Park on Wednesday, disrupting one of South Africa's lucrative hard currency earners. for more current news, click on the link below http://news.africa.com/

Good grief, Maggie! Near anyone you know? This is as good as any place else because this magnitude flood is just about Biblical, and it is gonna change the landscape for sure. Soil transportation, for one. Wonder when the Cholera outbreaks begin?! Thanks, but so sorry for the poor people affected.

No, I don't know anyone there. But I am surprised that it didn't even get a mention on the BBC news. I haven't heard of any majorfloods in that area before.

Interesting how blind to the third world the media can be - unless it is a slow news day! Shocking, actually!

I check BBC monitoring quite often as they do have some wider view stuff on it. Usually the BBC's world coverage is quite good.

This just came in: Mozambique In Mozambique as the Incomati, Umbeluzi and Sabie Rivers rose to their highest levels ever recorded, a major international humanitarian relief operation swung into action to bring relief to tens of thousands of flood victims. In a statement, the Mozambique government said that it estimated that it would need about US $15 million to fully rehabilitate flood-stricken areas. It said that US $2.7 million was needed for the initial emergency response. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) sent an assessment team to assist the Resident Coordinator and the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) in information gathering, reporting and appeal contribution management. OCHA said that it had released US $30,000 from the OCHA Emergency grant. The United States embassy in Maputo said that it had given US $25,000 to help support flood relief efforts. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik, announced this week a donation of US $100,000 to support flood victims. Bondevik was in Mozambique for talks with President Joaquim Chissano. The United Kingdom's Department of International Development has pledged US $30,000 for emergency relief efforts. The Belgian chapter of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF-B) had already provided doctors, medical supplies and water tanks to several sites in the capital Maputo and Matola, about 45 km west of the capital. Neighbouring South Africa, according to OCHA, provided two cargo helicopters to help rescue people stranded by rising flood waters. South Africa is also providing various non-food items such as tents, blankets and kitchen utensils. UNESCO said that it would monitor the communications requirements to improve information access to the affected populations. In Maputo, about 100,000 people have been affected by the flooding. WFP said, in its latest update that, about 20,000 people were being sheltered at 14 centres in the city. It said that 1,000 mt of food, enough to feed 70,000 people for one month, would be distributed. Authorities in Maputo had also started rationing water after a treatment plant was flooded. WFP said that it was also providing 54,655 people with food aid in other parts of the Maputo Province. "Recent information indicates that these numbers should increase by about 10 percent," the report said. In Matola 25 km away, an estimated 100,000 people had been affected by the floods. It said that 2,000 people were being housed at 11 sites in the city and that "several cases of malaria had been reported at some of these sites". In Xai-Xai, the capital of the southern Gaza Province, 5,000 people had to be resettled. WFP said that this number was likely to increase as the level of the Limpopo River rose. WFP said that 6,975 families in Sofala Province in the east had been affected, with about 34,874 people having to be evacuated. It said that there was no access to the south of the province and that the main road to Maputo in the Chibabava district was also impassable. In Inhambane Province to the east of the country, flooding from the Save River had affected the Govuro district in the north of the province. Botswana Meanwhile, Botswana received about three quarters of its annual rainfall in recent days, severing the country's main road and rail arteries in what police described this week as some of the worst floods experienced in the past 30 years. Foreign Minister Mompati Merafhe said on state radio this week that 5,100 homes had been destroyed by the floods. The main route linking Gaborone with the north of the country, was washed away near the town of Morwa, about 70 km north of the capital, while crops in many areas were destroyed, officials said. In Kopong village, about 30 km from Gaborone, residents had been forced to seek refuge on rooftops after the Metsimotlhabe river burst its banks. Local radio broadcast warnings to the public to be alert for collapsing infrastructure, and people were advised against attempting to cross fast flowing rivers. Police and the country's emergency services were assisting people rendered homeless. Swaziland In Swaziland, an estimated 10 rivers in the country had burst their banks. At least two people had drowned since the rains began on Saturday afternoon. Swazi Meteorological services said this week that between Sunday and Monday an estimated 157 millimetres of rain had fallen in the country's capital, Mbabane. The agriculture ministry's Food and Security Bulletin said the continuing heavy rains were also threatening the country's maize supply because fields were becoming water-logged. A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs told IRIN this week that the Mananga border post, between Swaziland and South Africa's Mpumalanga Province, had been closed because of the heavy rains. South Africa In South Africa, at least 38 people are reported to have died and thousands left homeless by the heavy rains. One of South Africa's most well known tourist attractions the Kruger National Park, has been devastated and forced to close its gates because of the rain. The damage to the Park is estimated to be about US $11 million. In the country's Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern Provinces officials said this week that water levels in all dams were above 100 percent. Initial estimates for damage to government infrastructure in the Northern Province has been put at US $33 million. An IRIN Focus report on the situation in the region can be viewed at: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/other/20000208.htm

I had no idea it was so widespread! How terrible! Thanks for finding the more complete story!

Why nothing on the main news though? wierd.

Indeed. Deaths yet? That usually gets attention if enough faceless and nameless people far away die. Sad, but true!

Well they said 35 or so In S.Africa. The Mozambique situation semms pretty bad form the above report. I think N. Ireland has taken over tonight.

http://www.africanews.org/PANA/news/20000211/feat10.html Botswana Appeals For Emergency Aid To Contain Floods February 11, 2000 GABORONE, Botswana (PANA) - Botswana President Festus Mogae and Foreign Affairs Minister Mompati Merafhe Thursday appealed to the international community for emergency aid to deal with the effects of floods that have caused deaths and severely disrupted life in the country. An official press release Friday said Mogae is likely to declare the crisis a national disaster if the situation gets worse. The release added that Botswana's capacity to deal with the flooding and its effects is being exhausted fast. To complicate matters, the rains are still falling and therefore there is need to seek international emergency assistance for greater efficacy in the fight to save lives and alleviate suffering, the release said. All the rivers and dams in Botswana have completely over-flowed their banks, causing severe flooding. The floods have submerged roads, bridges and caused permanent and mud houses to collapse, killing people in the process. By Friday morning, three people had perished in the floods. Reports from other parts of the country say that a number of schools have been closed. In Gaborone school children have been released from classes earlier than usual since the flooding started. Residents of a number of submerged estates had to be given leave from their work places to enable them evacuate their houses. Most affected has been Tlokweng, a populous residential area on the outskirts of Gaborone. The estate has been cut off from the capital after a bridge over the Notwane River was submerged. The capital, Gaborone, was still cut off from Francistown with the police monitoring the submerged bridge on the road to the second city Friday. The army has been called in to help.

Poor Mozambique... It is either draught or flood, and they starve to death anyway. Yet there are edenic places there, i am told, mostly in the islands. OT: methinks I've just seen a "list of the more recent posts" when I was in browse/geo/all/new... Will go see again... Thank you, Master Programmer! :-)

Indeed, but he traded my wallpaper and buttons for the posting list. But, I forgive him anything and all will be well. It is good to see, is it not?! Thank you, my dear prgramming wizard.

(Or whomever it is - Kaylene?!) =P

Did you see the news on the cyclone that hit Mozambique on top of the recent flooding. There's another out in the Indian ocean at the moment, it's just been 'downgraded' to a tropical storm. However, because it's right on top of the last one it will just bring higher floods and added misery. The situation appears really desperate.

I did not see about poor Mozambique, but I did see the storm on the weather map. Avalances have killed many people in Europe. The mountainsides were scoured by last year's heavy rains and there was no vegetation left to hold back the snow.

Oh, I forgot - there's a volcano erupting in the Philippines. Sorry, didn't catch the island name. They're doing mass evacuations.

I'm on my way to my volcano sites...Thanks, Maggie!

Mayon Volcano, Philippines Location: 13.257N, 123.685E Elevation: 8077.43 ft (2462 m) Last Updated: February 23, 2000. February 23, 2000 On 21 February, a wall of the Mayon crater collapsed and sent chunks of volcanic rock crashing down the side of the volcano. Brown ash spewed 1,300 feet into the air. More than 5,000 people remain on the slopes and are reluctant to leave their farms. February 22, 2000 A 6-kilometer-radius around the crater of the Mayon Volcano has been declared a "no man's land." All residents in this area have been ordered to evacuate. Fresh magma is slowly but steadily ascending in Mayon's plumbing system. An increase in S02 emissions and volcanic earthquakes indicate the possibility of a new eruption. A lava pile on the summit has been observed since 12 February.

Mayon, Philippines critical Increasing SO2 emissions, the formation of a "lava pile" on its summit, and increased volcanic earthquakes at the Philippine volcano Mayon in February has led to increased alert levels and the possibility of a new eruption. It is believed that magma is slowly ascending in its plumbing system. Mayon has experienced several eruptions in the past year. The area within a 6-kilometer-radius around the crater of Mayon Volcano has been declared "no man's land" and all residents in the area have been ordered to evacuate. ------------------ From: Philippine Headline News Online Full article at: http://www.newsflash.org ("Hometown & Community News",Feb. 17) MAYON VOLCANO REACHES CRITICAL LEVEL Legazpi City, Feb. 16, 2000 - Government volcanologists raised yesterday the alert level at Mayon Volcano in Albay from "alarming" to "critical" following signs that hot molten rock was slowly but steadily rising to the crater. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Alert Level 3 means that "fresh magma (hot molten rock) is close to the crater," but noted that an eruption "is likely only if the present trend of relatively high volcanic unrest is sustained." Phivolcs said a lava pile on the summit of Mayon Volcano has been observed since Feb. 12, accompanied by an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions and volcanic earthquakes. see the URL above for the full article

Volcano Erupts in Philippines By BULLIT MARQUEZ Associated Press Writer AP News Report Thursday February 24 1:21 PM ET LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) - A 1 1/2-mile-high volcano erupted Thursday, spewing superheated ash into the air and sending streams of superhot, bright orange lava down its slopes. Thousands of nearby villagers, many jarred from sleep by rumblings before the pre-dawn eruption, boarded army trucks to leave the area. Evacuees crammed into school classrooms and some took refuge under trees in the schoolyard. No injuries were reported. The Mayon volcano's eruption began with lava gushing out of the crater, accompanied by loud rumblings that some nearby residents compared to thunder. Lava with temperatures that reached well above 1,000 degrees cascaded 3 1/2 miles down the mountain's near-perfect conical slopes. Ash rained as far as seven miles away. Fourteen explosions were recorded by late afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. The fiercest sent ash flying 4 1/2 miles into the air and spread it across the sky, darkening some villages and forcing cars to use their headlights at midday. Officials warned that a more violent explosion could occur at any time. The area is most vulnerable to lava, falling rocks and deadly pyroclastic flows - superheated clouds of volcanic ash that travel up to 50 mph and can instantly incinerate anything in their path. Raymundo Punongbayan, director of the volcanology institute, urged residents of villages up to 5 miles away along the mountain's southeastern side to evacuate. As of noon Thursday, more than 18,000 people had left 18 villages, said Cedric Daep, head of the Albay provincial disaster management office. Judel Mirandilla - a 14-year-old student from the village of Bonga, which lies in the path of possible pyroclastic and lava flows - said he was roused from his sleep shortly after 1 a.m. by thunderous explosions and flashes of light from the mountain. ``We became so scared we decided to leave. Other people were waking up our neighbors to evacuate,'' he said. Authorities canceled all flights to Legazpi, the airport closest to the volcano, located about 215 miles southeast of Manila in Albay province. The volcano's repeated explosions indicated that magna is still rising to the dome and volcanic activity could continue for some time, said Juan Cordon, a research specialist at the volcanology institute. For about a week, the 8,118-foot mountain famous for its cone-like shape has been emitting ash plumes and occasional flows of lava. The crater's lava dome has swelled, releasing molten rocks the size of a room down its slopes. The volcano has been showing signs of unrest since June, spewing ash-laden smoke high in the sky several times last year. An explosion in September forced more than 5,700 people to flee their homes. On Feb. 1, 1814, Mayon's most violent eruption killed more than 1,200 people and buried an entire town in volcanic mud flows. Its last eruption in February 1993 killed more than 70 villagers.

I thought they were having floods...or was that another place in Africa?! And, I thought I had a bad day...! Thirsty Monkeys Stone Herdsman to Death NAIROBI (Reuters) - A group of thirsty monkeys stoned a herdsman to death in drought-stricken northern Kenya as he watered his livestock, a newspaper reported Thursday. ``In a clear sign of worsening drought, a herdsman was killed after riotous monkeys stoned pastoralists at a watering point in Wajir district,'' the East African Standard said. A nurse in district said the man died from severe head injuries. Herdsmen in Wajir usually tend cows and camels.

Philippines volcano eruption warning Authorities in the Philippines' Albay province have urged villagers not to return to their homes near Mayon Volcano, which was evacuated last month after signs of possible eruption. The 2,462m volcano, among the Philippines' most active, belched steam seven kilometers into the air in June, and panicking residents fled to emergency evacuation centers. The volcano simmered down a day later but has been showing signs of possible eruption in recent days. Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado said a 7km area around the volcano is a permanent danger zone. But around half of the 18,000 locals within the zone refuse to leave while others return to work on farms and homes during the day. Fatal eruption Lying 340km southeast of Manila, the crater attracts many tourists because of its cone-shaped profile According to volcanologists, Mayon's gas emissions are increasing and there is a slight bulging of the volcano's slope near the crater. With unfelt tremors becoming increasingly frequent, experts believe magma may be rising toward the crater. Mayon last erupted in February 1993, killing at least 70 people. Its most violent eruption occurred on 1 February, 1814, killing more than 1,200 people and burying an entire town in volcanic mudflows. The Philippines lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", the focus of much of the world's volcanic and tectonic activity as continental plates on either side of the world continue to shift.

Wow! Stunning pictures! Weird about those monkeys in Nairobi! Talk about a bad day...

Yup! I sent David a copy of that picture of the Mayon eruption, and he was impressed. It is amazing how difficult it was to find one on the net yeaterday. Today it is on the front page of our local newspaper! And, just when I think my day has been too sordid to think about, monkeys stone a guy to death. Amazing stuff happens, huh?!

(MarciaH)I thought they were having floods...or was that another place in Africa?! Weren't the floods in South Africa and Mozambique? Further south than Nairobi, Kenya.

Yes, the floods and drought were in widely separated parts of Africe (I was being facetious...a naughty habit of mine.) There is still terrible flooding ongoing in Mozambique. The BBC has articles which numb the mind daily. It seems that those with the least in the whole world continually have what little they have taken away by the whims of nature. And, if not nature, human greed! It all seems so unfair.

Natural Disasters: Drastic Changes in the Landscape One of those big flying rock things certainly changed things a bit for the dinosaurs, didn't it :-)

forgot to close my italic tag... :-)

is that better yet?

it is now! I am glad I am not the only one goofing up the place and deleting my posts. *Hugs* Mike! Yup! The dinosaurs had a really bad go of it and the wee little shrew-like mammals from which all mammals descended hid out of the way and survived. I'm not so sure it was a "good thing"...but that was out of out hands entirely. That skinny little iridium layer told the entire story. They found it world-wide and at exactly at the right time in evolutionary history. Remarkable!

Iridium layer? Does that have to do with the theory that a huge meteor crashed to earth and eventually caused the extinction of the dinosaurs? Is that still the going theory? I reading about "periodic bombardment" in Sky & Telescope years ago, but haven't read much about it since. I don't remember if it mentioned iridium...

Iridium is not found on Earth. The only way it could have gotten here is from extra-terrestrial (do NOT imply space ships) sources. That the impact pulverized the meteor is apparent from the world-wide distribution of this iridium, It must have circled the earth for years (along with masses of Earth material blasted out by the impact) blocking the sun, chilling the climate and causing plants to die. No food, cold temperatures and no sun to bask in to get the reptilian metabolism high enough to eat and digest food caused death. Conveniently, years of rain and settling out of the atmosphere of the obscuring dirt covered the remains. Rain compacted the deposits into fossil-forming rock. The rest is, as they say, history. I know that is a bare-bones narration, but did I get it right, Mike?

It was in the news a few years back because they think they found the impact crater off of the Yucatan Penninsula.

Was that theory on the extinction of the dinosaurs the work of Walter and Luis Alvarez?

It was, Indeed!

Btw, it was neglegent of me not to mention the Alvarez father and son. Thank you for bringing it up!

Yes, thanks...I blanked out on their names! I read that article quite a few years ago; I think it was before the Yucatan crater was found.

It was, and they made a documentary about it with the Alvarez's and it is shown from time to time on the Discovery and Learning Channels, also not including the Yucatan crater. It is still most fascinating...and entirely relevant.

From http://www.nasa.gov/today/index.html; there is a picture with it. Full story is supposed to be at http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html, but I haven't located it yet. Massive African Dust Storm Over the Atlantic A huge sandstorm blowing off the northwest African desert has blanketed hundreds of thousands of square miles of the eastern Atlantic Ocean with a dense cloud of Saharan sand. The massive nature of this storm was first seen when it reached over 1000 miles into the Atlantic on Feb. 26 by NASA's Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) spacecraft. This image, captured yesterday, shows the dust and sand blowing north and east to the coast of Portugal. Recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have linked the decline of the coral reefs in the Caribbean to the increasing frequency and intensity of Saharan Dust events. (2/29/00)

Thanks, Ginny! Going to post it in Atmospheric disturbances Geo 11.

Hi, Anne Hale from Oz. The desert near Uluru is blooming with wonderful flowers and is green!!!! Lake Eyre a salt pan in the heart of northern South Australia is filling up and has not done so for years. Cyclone Steve has crossing into the Gulf of Carpenteria and is bearing down on communities and the city of Darwin - we have a low which is feared to be turning into a Cyclone off the North West Australian coast. Melbourne usually very wet during summer is going to have water restriction cause it has been so dry. Perth had nearly 100% humidity yesterday plus nearly 100degrees. Unheard of hear - its supposed to be dry heat. Flooding is nearly as bad as Mozambique but we have the facilities to rescue and clear up - but unfortunately can't help those poor people because our helicopters etc. are busy helping the flood stricken Queensland, News South Wales and the Northern Territory - also now North Western Australia is expecting flooding.

The desert near Uluru is blooming with wonderful flowers and is green!!!! That's Ayres Rock to us. Anne, that should be gorgeous. Am thinking how it would look with the red earth there. Wonder if there are pictures posted somewhere.

Not yet, but if no one has posted by morning, I will hunt up some and do so! Aloha Anne! What a pleasure to see you posting with such ease!

Hi again Tropical Cyclone Steve is not now expected to reform and hit Darwin. And Tropical Cyclone Norman is moving away from Western Australia. Small earthquake in Port Lincoln today - almost unheard of.

Good Heavens, Anne. Who has provoked the wrath of God?! Has your Big Wet dried to a Big Flower Garden for good for the year?

Heard there's another cyclone (gloria?) forming ready to hit Mozambique. What IS happening in Australia - I don't remember hearing about such things before - or is it just that I haven't heard in earlier years.

I was wondering the same thing. Anne will be on later this afternoon (my dinner time is her breakfast time the next day!) We can always look at the weather maps but that doesn't explain why so many storms just that they exist.

We had the el nino effect, wasn't there supposed to be a counter one that followed. Could this have anything to do with it?

Yes! La Ni�a... Entirely possible, but then again it is theory to be replaced by the next darling of the environmentalists. Earth fluctuates and so does the Sun...there are many reasons for the weather changes and ice ages. They will always be with us and we will continue to talk about the weather...and guess!

Tropical Cyclone Steve has now reformed for a third time in Western Australia and is travelling down the north western Australian coast. We now have two cyclones running down the coast. Worrying hey. Perth itself will have intensive heat caused by the northerly/northeasterly winds. Tuesday will be well over a hundred degrees - but if a trough forms we probably will finish up with heavy rain.

We're thinking of you! My mind boggles at the conditions. Is that centigrade or farenheit?

Ignore that - of course it must be farenheit. sorry, confused.

Poor Anne...What incredibly bad weather you have had this season/year. Lie down with cool cloths on your face and turn on the fans. I cannot imagine living with such high temperatures anymore. Our extreme highs never reach 90�F

Is the electricity still working? Do you have fans/air conditioners?

This just came in from UN. ETHIOPIA: Raging forest fires continue More than 30,000 hectares of land has been destroyed by raging fires which broke out in Shakiso district, in Borena zone of Oromiya State, southeast Ethiopia over three weeks ago. "The fire is still out of control," counsellor at the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi, Mengistu Ayalew, said on Friday. "Help from the international community is yet to come." The fire has caused the deaths of hundreds of animals at the National Park in the Bale Mountains, destroyed forests, electricity poles, residential houses and bee hives. "It is a catastrophe," he told IRIN.

Good grief! Is there no end of suffering for that continent?! Thanks, Maggie.

africa has been hit so hard and very little help too. We here have enough troubles and have not helped much although we have a fund set up. The cyclone is causing having and warning are up as far south as Port Hedland. Today was hot about 94 but from tomorrow, 96f, 100f, then 102f then a cool change down to 88f. Or if the cyclone doesn't move inland but continues down the coast I don't know what will happen - but it is nothing compared to Africa - difference between third world and the affluent countries - the government helps restore he farms and stock, sugar cane etc. for next year.

I think it is becoming more and more apparent that one or two or even a few fortunate first-world-countries cannot take care of the entire world. I am sure there many hungry, unhoused and ill people wandering the streets here as anywhere else, and we are not tending them, either. There are no easy solutions.

You are right Marcia - our farmers are in dire straits they need help, there are homeless and refugees in terrible conditions. Our aboriginals are not well looked after - taken away from there native areas and live on the fringes of the city - their children steal cars, they rob and break into houses, then sent to prison or children's detention with very little done for their welfare - the parents are usually alcoholic and are thus unable to discipline them. Our prisons are mostly full of aboriginals and there is only 2% of our population. Thus it is difficult for funds to be sent to Africa when we can't even help our own.

That is like our aboriginal populations in the US - AmerIndian on the mainland and Polynesian in Hawaii. When we imposed Christianity on the rest of the world, we forgot to practice it ourselves!

The type of Christianity imposed was Victorian without any thought for the aboriginals and their understanding. Also as you said we forgot to practice it ourselves - some 50 years ago it was the practice in Western Australia to remove the aboriginal children from their mothers cause it was deemed they were not able to look after them properly - they are now called the lost generation -they were put into orphanages, foster homes and lots were abused, told their parents were dead etc. I know this doesnit seem a natural disaster but it does come under that heading. Anne H

I think it qualifies just fine as a natural disaster. How sad! Don't you wonder how so many generations of peoples survives without our interevention. Millennia, even, not just the recent centuries! Can't think of this too deeply or I'll get furious and have nothing to attack but my own innards. Good to see you posting. D must have got it right ! Bravo!!!

Yeah but only on the web - we can't send e-mail except on Yahoo. I get angry to because I knew two of the girls taken from their homes. Doreen who I know particularly well was the daughter of a chief. She now works for her people in the tribal areas. Wonderful good - she came good - she had a wonderful foster mother - so theres a good story.

Did you get my response to your email? It is good to know that true beauty can grow out of barren fields. Thank you for the bright spot in an otherwise terrible tale. My congratulations and gratitude to you and Doreen!

from UN IRIN news service ENVIRONMENT: Obasanjo appeals to UN to save Lake Chad Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to the United Nations Development Programme and other international agencies for help in reversing the gradual recession of Lake Chad. In a speech delivered on Monday by Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma in Abuja at the opening of the 47th session of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, he said it was imperative to halt the degradation of the lake, once the world's sixth largest, 'The Guardian' newspaper of Lagos reported. "Your vision for the people of the Lake Chad basin must have at its core the security and well-being of the suffering masses as well as the unity of the member-nations," he said. Members states of the commission, formed in 1964 to ensure optimal use of the lake basin's water resources, are Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. The commission is also supposed to coordinate the planning and implementation of all regional projects of the lake basin, review complaints and help settle disputes. As a result of persistent drought since the 1960s, the lake has shrunk to one-tenth of its size. A project has been launched to save it but the commission lacks money. "Member countries, therefore, have to pay their contributions on time," Obasanjo said.

Mt. Etna erupting with some force. I wasn't sure where to put the info.

For Mt Etna, I think I will continue the discussion in Geo 2 and post what I can find about it. Thanks, Anne!

******************************* Yemen -- landslide ******************************* From: Martin Menzies I have just talked with Mohamed Al'Kadasi and Abdulkarim Al'Subbary who are at Royal Holloway for a Penrose Conference on Volcanic Rifted Margins. They came in from Sana'a yesterday. They have no knowledge of any volcanic eruption but they confirm that a landslide occurred at Saber, near Taiz on one of the granite mountains. As a result Dr. Ismaiel Al-Ganad (Director Geological Survey, Sana'a) ordered two geologists to visit Sabwer and to report to him. Professor Martin Adrian Menzies, (Chairman/Head of Department & Professor of Geochemistry) http://www.gl.rhbnc.ac.uk Department of Geology Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, England

Don't know where else to put this and it might not change the landscape, but it sure enough is a disaster: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 - 7:39:05 AM HST Accident reported on nuclear sub at Pearl Harbor One worker is hospitalized after a pipe burst aboard the USS Olympia By Gregg K. Kakesako - Star-Bulletin One shipyard worker was injured during an accident on the nuclear attack submarine USS Olympia this morning at Pearl Harbor. The accident, which occurred at around 5:37 a.m., injured one civilian shipyard worker who was taken to Tripler Army Medical Center. His condition was unknown. The sub's nuclear reactor was not operating at the time and had been shut down for two weeks. The shipyard worker was working on a pipe when it may have ruptured forcing the worker to back into another object. The explosion was caused by a leak from the propulsion plant to the ship's bilge. The Olympia is a Los Angeles class attack submarine homeported at Pearl Harbor. - - - Starbulletin.com will update this story as it develops.

I hope that liquid wasn't radioactive.

No, it wasn't and the reactor was shut down at the time. Fortunately!

India's drought relief starts to get through By Peter Popham in Jodhpur 29 April 2000 The Indian government's plan to relieve the worst drought for a century finally swung into action yesterday while thousands of people desperate with hunger and thirst fled the worst-afflicted regions. In Jodhpur the first relief train arrived with 200 tankers of water which will be trucked to Rajasthan's parched countryside. The state authorities said 400,000 people had been hired for emergency work schemes. A trainload of fodder is expected today and ships carrying water were on their way to the coast of Gujarat. But if the inhabitants of a village called Mokalashani get so much as a sniff of the water, the fodder or the work, they will be mighty surprised. It is a small place, with 500 or 600 people. It is not remote: Jodhpur, the second-biggest city in the state, which has plenty of water thanks to the Rajasthan Canal, is an hour away. But the people here are about as desperate as you can get. Every village in western Rajasthan is a potential victim in time of drought, so the government built water tanks in most villages, hooked up to pipelines. Mokalashani has one too but the expert eye of my local companion spotted something wrong: the structure was disintegrating. Villagers confirmed it was a ruin. Built 10 years back, pipes fed it for a few days, then never again. So what do you do? It is 43 degrees Centigrade in the shade and the most vital staple of life has gone. The answer is that you dust off the wisdom of the ancients. When these villages were established, settlers made a hedge againstdrought: in the beds of the seasonal ponds they dug wells, which they lined with stones for durability. But when the government waved its wand and shot pipelines out into the Rajasthan Desert, these practices fell into disuse. Now, for want of alternatives, Mokalashani's women are rediscovering the wells, or bheri. But this year's drought is so bad that they too are almost dry. Many village women have given up and set off in search of better sources. Apart from being so depleted, the water in Mokalashani's bheri is not even potable. It is dirty and can only be used for watering animals and washing. The only way to get drinking water is from water barons, who bore wells on their land or use intimidation to plunder common sources, then fill up tankers to sell. Near Jodhpur they charge 150 rupees (�2) a tanker but in Mokalashani it is 300 rupees. One day soon, if the people of Mokalashani have not given up and fled, an official will arrive to set up a famine work programme. As subsistence farmers the villagers have no cash coming in but by working in such a programme for eight days they will be able to afford one tanker of drinking water, enough to last one family about a week. But in Mokalashani no such scheme is operating. The only way to get cash is to mortgage land and house and sink into debt. In many poor, drought- prone parts of the Indian countryside a time of drought presents bigger and ruthless landowners with a perfect opportunity for expanding their land-holding when their poor neighbours, faced with the challenge of merely staying alive, are in no position to argue about the terms of a loan. This helps explain why tens of thousands of poor farmers have abandoned the cattle they can no longer feed or water. They place a tilak, a red "third eye" spot, on the cow's forehead and thread a string round one ear to indicate that they yield the holy animal to any gaushala, cow sanctuary, which may take pity. But the normal end of such cows is as a heap of bones in a dusty field, picked over by dogs and vultures. Such remains can already be seen outside Mokalashani. http://www.lineone.net/express/

It boggles the mind that the Indian subcontinent can continue to be devastated by floods, drought and famine yet continues to increase their population alarmingly. Dontcha wonder if nature is not trying to tell them something?!

It would seem so. The human population increase also spells trouble for India's animal population, most especially elephants and tigers.

Indeed! Strange and unfortunately, they were not considered an incarnation of someone - only cows. Will someone tell me why, please.

Lahars at San Cristobal volcano, Nicaragua ------------------------------------------ Just after the beginning of the rainy season a series of lahars took place at San Cristobal volcano, Nicaragua. On the evening of Saturday, May 13, several lahars have occurred at the volcano, after short but intense rains. The largest lahar came down the southern flank of San Cristobal,following an existing gully near hacienda Las Rojas and then following a dry river near the village Valle Los Morenos. This lahar reached the Chinandega-Leon highway below the Los Cabros bridge, nearly 15 km from the volcano. The deposited material consisted partly of new volcanic ash that has accumulated since the beginning of the ongoing eruption of San Cristobal in November 1999. Local inhabitants report that they heard a noise "like helicopters" when the lahars occurred. INETER seismologists immediately detected the lahars by means of the local seismic stations. The recordings from two stations located south and southwest of San Cristobal suggest that the lahar consisted of at least 5 separate events which occurred between 7:20 PM and 8:30 PM (local time). The largest lahar came down at 8:00 PM and reached the area of Valle de Los Morenos, 7 km from the crater, at about 8:20 PM. On Wednesday, May 17, after hours of intense rain, another strong lahar occurred at 8:00 PM, at the same location. The lahars caused no destruction and no injuries as they passed through unpopulated area. Local inhabitants living near San Cristobal well remember the 1998 Casita volcano lahar disaster. For that reason, during the nights of heavy rainfall, most locals preferred to stay in the emergency Civil Defense shelters, which local authorities had prepared in advance on high ground. Civil Defense and local authorities have maintained a yellow alert level for San Cristobal area since the beginning of the rainy season. INETER, in a report on the risks of lahars and landslides at San Cristobal volcano published on April 25, had alerted Civil Defense and local authorities to the possibility of strong lahars in the area due to the deposition of large quantities of fresh volcanic ash, especially near the crater region of San Cristobal. San Cristobal volcano, is the highest volcano (1740 m) in the Nicaraguan volcanic chain (http://www.ineter.gob.ni/geofisica/vol/cristobal/cristobal.html). The area south and southwest of the crater is densely populated. Casita volcano, at 4 km distance from San Cristobal, was the place of a disastrous landslide which destroyed two villages and killed more than 2,000 people on October 30, 1998 (http://www.ineter.gob.ni/geofisica/vol/casita/casita.html).

Friday July 14, 9:30 AM Tornado kills 11 people in east China, injures 500 BEIJING (Reuters) - A tornado killed 11 people, injured 500 and destroyed more than 4,000 houses in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. It said the tornado hit the cities of Yangzhou and Taizhou on Thursday afternoon, uprooting large trees and disrupting power supplies and telecommunications. The tornado ripped across fields of rice and cotton, causing more than four million yuan (320,000 pounds) in damage, Xinhua said.

Bombay landslide toll 67 and likely to rise By Uday Khandeparkar BOMBAY (Reuters) - Sixty-seven bodies have been pulled from under tonnes of sewage, mud and debris in a Bombay slum buried by a landslide, rescue officials said on Friday. The death toll is expected to rise. The torrential rain that triggered Wednesday's tragedy has eased and rescue workers were guided by the stench of rotting flesh as they looked for victims among the crushed hovels on a hillside in the city's eastern suburbs. Soldiers cordoned off the site at Azadnagar, a largely Moslem colony in the suburb of Ghatkopar, so that emergency workers using mechanical diggers could work unhindered by the thousands of people who live in surrounding slums. The landslide is believed to have been triggered by the bursting of a swollen septic tank at the top of the hill. A tanker sprayed the hill with chemicals to prevent the spread of disease and mask the stink. "The workers are now being led by the stench in their search for bodies. They've just located one such area and are digging there," a newspaper photographer at the site said. Building collapses and landslides are common in Bombay during the four-month monsoon season because a majority of the city's more than 12 million people live in shacks. The huts are typically made with bamboo, corrugated tin and plastic sheeting. India's western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have been battered by heavy rains in the past week and the total death toll has risen to nearly 120. Maharashtra, of which Bombay is the capital, accounts for 90 of those deaths. In neighbouring Gujarat, where 30 people have died in the past few days, over 5,000 people were rescued from their flooded homes and the army was called in to help with the evacuation, a local government spokesman said on Friday. The break in the weather comes after a weeklong spell of the heaviest rains since the four-month monsoon season began in June. The city, paralysed for two days because of flooding on the streets and railway tracks, returned to normal on Friday.

As if Bombay did not have enough grief

These URLs were sent to me by my son - the contain most of the major fire fronts active a this time http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/news.shtml http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.html http://volcano2.pgd.hawaii.edu/goes/california/ http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast04aug_1m.htm?list

Firefighters Lose Ground in Montana HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Two hundred Canadian firefighters and 500 additional Army troops will reinforce beleaguered crews battling wildfires across the West, the head of the U.S. Forest Service said Friday. Mike Dombeck said most of the Canadians will be assigned to Montana while a second battalion of 500 Army troops from Fort Hood, Texas, will undergo firefighting training and join 500 Army troops and 500 Marines already assigned to fires in Idaho. Dombeck toured the Idaho and Montana fire lines Friday and promised adequate resources for fire crews. ``We're really at the mercy of Mother Nature,'' the forest service chief said. ``Unless we have a miraculous change in the weather, I think we can look forward to several tough weeks ahead of us.'' In Montana, 15 major fires were burning on 100,000 acres. Hundreds of homes were evacuated in the Bitterroot Valley, where heavy smoke cut visibility to zero on stretches of highways. In Nevada, a firefighting helicopter crashed near Elko, killing one crew member and injuring three other people shortly after takeoff late Thursday. One crew member remained in serious condition Friday; the pilot and a fuel truck driver who ran to help were treated and released. In all, nearly 62,000 wildfires have been reported across the nation this year, scorching nearly 3.8 million acres. Assistant Interior Secretary Sylvia Baca has called it the worst fire season in 50 years. More than 60 large fires were burning Friday across more than 650,000 acres of the West, and forecasts called for continued dry, hot conditions with the potential for lightning-packed thunderstorms. Fire conditions were predicted at the worst possible level, known as ``red flag,'' Friday, with temperatures in the 90s and blustery winds. The entire southwestern Montana zone raised its fire-danger rating to ``extreme'' on Thursday. It previously reached that level in 1994 and 1988, officials said. Farther south, near Jackson, Wyo., a brief downpour Thursday slowed a 3,100-acre wildfire, but 200 people were no closer to returning to their homes, cabins and campsites in the Bridger-Teton National Forest on Friday. The lack of rain in northwestern Wyoming is close to what it was in 1988, the year of the devastating Yellowstone National Park fires. In central Idaho, nearly 600 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, wrapped up two days of firefighter training and streamed into already burned areas to begin mopping up. The soldiers' arrival freed up experienced firefighters to battled the stubborn blaze that had ballooned to 17,000 acres by Friday. Six Blackhawk helicopters joined the crew, dropping water and flame retardant on hotspots. Outside Reno, crews corralled a fire that damaged six homes even as other lightning-sparked blazes flared up across northern Nevada - some burning virtually unchecked. Gary Zunino, northern regional manager for the Nevada Division of Forestry, said the number of people and equipment to battle the flames was dwindling. ``The fires are going to move fast and get big fast,'' he said. ``Everybody in the West is fighting for the same resources.'' Elsewhere, firefighters across Utah battled nearly 109,800 acres of wildfires after a night of thunderstorms brought dozens of new fires to the state. On the Net: National Fire Information Center: http://www.nifc.gov Forest Service links: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/links2.shtml APO/Western-Fires/ Copyright � 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinkshave been inserted by AOL.com.

Forest Service links: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/links2.shtml/APO/Western-Fires/

Did you know there are firefighters coming over from Australia. Our thoughts go with you all in the Western Pacific. We have our quota of bush fires over here and can understand your fears.

Yes, and Canadian troops have been sent to our aid, as well. It is now burning some very important archaeological places in Mesa Verde National Monument. Thanks for the Aussie aid!

Four killed in worst Japan rains in century http://uk.news.yahoo.com/000912/1/aiyfj.html NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Flooding and landslides from Japan's worst torrential rains in at least a century have killed four people and prompted authorities to urge almost 400,000 to flee their homes in the nation's industrial heartland. Police said on Tuesday four people were still missing after rains triggered by typhoon Saomai lashed three prefectures in central Japan, halting high-speed bullet trains and traffic on the main highways into the industrial metropolis of Nagoya. Local authorities urged 200,000 households to evacuate to public facilities after heavy rains set off landslides and rivers burst their banks, flooding thousands of homes, and virtually cutting off Nagoya, a city of more than two million people. "Rain is likely to fall for another two days so people should remain on the alert," a Meteorological Agency official told a news conference on Tuesday morning. Some 460 military troops were sent to Aichi Prefecture, where Nagoya is located, and soldiers rescued 30 people stranded on the rooft ps of flooded homes. More than 50,000 passengers were forced to spend Monday night on high-speed bullet trains stalled by the storms, which dumped as much as 60 cm (18 inches) of rain on the area. Thousands were stranded in train stations. The rainfall in the region, home to Japan's third-largest metropolitan area, was the highest on record for a 24-hour period since the local observatory began keeping records in 1891. "All I can do is ask the gods to send the floods away," said a woman in Nagoya. A 76-year-old man and his 73-year old wife were killed when their home was flattened by a landslide in the region's Komaki city. In Nagoya, a 53-year-old firefighter died after being washed into an irrigation channel, a police spokesman said. Twenty-nine people have been injured. Saomai, packing winds of up to 162 kph (100 mph), was moving slowly toward Japan's southern island of Okinawa from the southeast and was expected to hit the island full force sometime in the evening. Television cameras showed vast residential areas partly submerged in muddy water after the Shonai River broke through its banks near Nagoya. The Shin River, running parallel to the Shonai, also broke through a 100-metre (330 foot) stretch of its banks. An estimated 38,000 homes have been flooded. Residents clutching backpacks and plastic bags with a smattering of belongings waded through waist-deep water as they fled their homes. Some held onto ropes to avoid being swept away. "The road looked like a river of churning water last night although by this morning the water had resided a bit," said Nagoya housewife Nobuko Iijima. "There were dozens of abandoned cars blocking the road." Rescue Efforts Firefighters rescued about 50 people stranded on the second story of their homes by floods and orange-suited rescue workers lifted children and elderly from boats. Japan has had more than its share of natural disasters this year. Three volcanoes have erupted in Japan this year including one on the northernmost island of Hokkaido in April and another on the tiny island of Miyakejima, 180 km (113 miles) south of Tokyo. Nearly all of Miyakejima's nearly 4,000 residents had been evacuated by early this month.

Thursday September 14, 11:15 AM http://uk.news.yahoo.com/000914/80/aj9ej.html Half a million at risk in huge Vietnam floods LONG AN, Vietnam (Reuters) - Rising waters threaten to drive a further 500,000 people from their homes in the worst floods to hit Vietnam's Mekong Delta in decades, relief officials have said. The floods have already inundated at least 140,000 homes in the rice growing provinces of Long An, Dong Thap and An Giang bordering Cambodia and forced more than 50,000 people to seek refugee on higher ground, the International Red Cross said. "I think we are talking about a very grave situation at the moment," said John Geoghegan, head of a delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) visiting the stricken area to assess relief needs. The swelling floodwaters from the mighty Mekong River and its tributaries have already surged well above danger levels and turned vast areas of the provinces into inland seas. Reuters journalists travelling by boat with the Red Cross team to the worst-hit part of Long An province saw hundreds of low-lying bamboo and thatch homes flooded to th ir rafters. Relief officials say nearly half the land area of the three provinces is submerged and water levels are above or approaching those in 1996, when floods killed 180 people. Geoghegan said water levels were forecast to rise another half-metre in coming days, endangering another half a million people in a worst case scenario. HIGHER WATERS LEVELS EXPECTED "(They) have still been rising in the Mekong (river) in Cambodia. That head of water is going to be coming down this way in the next few days." On Thursday, the IFRC appealed for $1.9 million (1.34 million pounds) to help victims in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where it said 600,000 people had lost homes and farmland. It said the unusually widespread monsoon floods had affected millions across Southeast Asia and nearly 800,000 square km of land in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam had been flooded. The Red Cross said $300,000 (212,000 pounds) would go to Vietnam to help 100,000 people hit by tropical storm Wukong on Sunday and Geoghegan's assessment would clarify the Delta needs on Friday. Prompt rescue efforts by thousands of soldiers and volunteers have held Vietnam's death toll to eight in the past week, but rapidly rising water levels threaten increasing numbers of people. Geoghegan said the Delta had been better prepared than in 1996, with more dykes and canals built, but some dykes that have offered refuge to evacuees have begun to crumble. Some families had to be moved 25 km (15 miles) to the nearest high ground, he said, adding that evacuees would need several months' assistance after losing crops and food. "They're going to be sitting on the dykes until the end of November, because that's when water levels will reduce to their normal levels." The Dong Thap flood committee said some 28,000 people were already facing hunger and 57,000 less severe food shortages. It said 110,000 homes in the province had been flooded and more than 30,000 people evacuated. Geoghegan said that despite the risks, some villagers had been reluctant to leave their homes, fearing the loss of meagre possessions, increasing the risk of casualties. Floods, landslides and typhoons have killed about 40 people in Vietnam this year. Floods and typhoons lash the country every year beginning from July, and last November typhoons and ensuing floods in the central coastal areas killed 730. Truong Van Tiep, vice chairman of Long An people's committee, said water levels were the highest recorded in the province in 73 years. "They have come earlier this year and have lasted longer," he said. The floods' impact on rice output has been slight as the Delta harvest was almost complete when they hit. Officials said 24,000 hectares (60,000 acres) of rice were lost in all three provinces and traders say stocks are plentiful.

Update on Vietnam situation:Sunday September 17, 9:15 AM Flood-hit Vietnam villagers have no place to run HONG NGU, Vietnam (Reuters) - Villagers swamped by the worst floods to hit Vietnam's Mekong Delta in decades face weeks of sodden uncertainty and fear as flood waters rise relentlessly around their fragile homes and crumbling dykes. "We don't know what to do -- the water keeps rising and we have no where to run," said 51- year-old Vo Van Duc as he sat with his family on a bamboo floor just a few centimetres above the lapping waters in the Delta province of Dong Thap. Dong Thap, bordering Cambodia, has been one of the three worst hit provinces in what officials say are the worst floods to hit the low-lying rice-growing region in 40 years. Waters from the Mekong River have turned half the land of the rice-farming provinces into desolate inland seas. Only roof-tops of houses and occasional trees break the gloomy monotony. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates more than half a million homes have been flooded, some up to the rafters and 150,000 people forced to flee to higher ground, many having had to abandon meagre possessions and rice reserves. Phan Van Thuong, 66, worries his house will collapse, not least due to increased boat traffic since the floods hit. "My biggest fear is a that a big wave from the river will knock my house down," he said. "I have no idea what to do if water rises. We can't move because the floods are everywhere." Thuong's children have built him a crude wooden bridge from the front of his house to his bed. As he spoke, his 63-year-old wife Luong Thi Tac stepped onto the bed from water reaching above her knee. She is too frail to use the home-made bridge. "Hopefully the floods will recede in about a month," she said. FEARS OF DISEASE Rising waters from the Mekong River have also hit Cambodia hard with 94 people killed since July. Cambodia says the floods are its worst in 70 years and has sought help for an estimated 600,000 affected people. Thailand said more than 85 percent of its rice crop in the main northeastern growing area had been damaged by floods. The Red Cross says its could be late November before the waters recede. It says most of the flood victims are the poorest of the poor peasants and the longer the floods go on the risks of serious outbreaks of disease increases. Dinh Cong Kham, of the local Red Cross, said the floods not only put villagers in immediate danger but also threatened their future livelihoods. They have made a living rearing fish and growing rice and fruits like mangoes and longans. "Fruit trees have had their roots soaked for so long they're now ruined, " he said. "And it takes five years for them to become productive after planting." In An Phu district of neighbouring An Giang province, authorities moved 300 people to a 300-metre long dyke six km (four miles) away. Their living conditions are cramped and squalid and they are short of food and fresh water. Tiny children compete for space with pigs and chickens. A sign reads: "Dumping human excrement is prohibited". Tran Nhan Ngoc was moved to the dyke with three members of her family. They are all hungry. "We have nothing to eat. The floods keep us trapped here waiting to die from hunger," she said from a three square-metre shelter where her sick husband lay on a bed, their only possession. "Before everything was submerged I could earn up to 3,000 dong (about 14 pence) a day going to the market to sell fish or vegetables, but now there's nothing." Tran Thanh Binh, deputy district chairman, said the floods were forecast to peak at the end of this month. Water levels in An Giang's Tan Chau district, where the Mekong River enters Vietnam, were at 4.92 metres on Saturday, eight cm higher than the last serious floods to hit the Delta in 1996, which killed 217 people. They are forecast to hit the five metre mark on September 20. Prompt rescue work by thousands of soldiers and volunteers and better flood defences than in 1996 have so far limited deaths from the latest floods to 19 in the past week -- most of them children. But some dykes not already breasted by the floods have started to crumble and landslides have occurred in some areas, threatening greater casualties. Le Minh Dung, deputy chairman of An Giang Red Cross, said it had been difficult to mobilise help for those worst affected. "The floods have been spreading in the province and everyone is now facing a tough time," he said.

North Pole icecap melts as global warming increases Sunday Times Aug 20, 2000 http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/08/20/stifgnnws02001.html Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor Big thaw hits the North Pole THE North Pole is melting for the first time in 55m years. Researchers have found that the icecap at the top of the world has turned into a mile-wide patch of open ocean. The melting of the pole last happened on such a scale when the Earth was going through a period of rapid warming. This year's meltdown has been linked with the greenhouse effect, where gases released by burning fossil fuels are trapping ever more heat in the atmosphere and so warming the Earth. The melting was discovered by James McCarthy, an oceanographer and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is sponsored by the United Nations to advise governments on global warming. It coincides with official confirmation that the icecap covering Greenland is also disappearing. Earlier research conducted by McCarthy has shown that the average summer thickness of ice at the North Pole was about 9ft. This year, however, he was able to take a ship directly to the pole and then had to float over it - because there was no ice to stand on. "It was totally unexpected," he said. Researchers had warned that the polar icecap was shrinking by about 6% a year, but nobody had expected the North Pole to melt until global warming had become much more severe. The meltdown could also counteract the Gulf Stream, which keeps Britain's climate two to three degrees warmer than countries at similar latitudes. The Eocene period, 55m years ago, was the last time the world's climate grew rapidly warmer. Fossil evidence shows that it became warm enough for tropical vegetation and animals to flourish in the Arctic and Antarctic circles. The news comes as the IPCC is drafting an important report on global warming for publication in January. This weekend it emerged that the report will, for the first time, confirm that the Greenland icecap has not only started to melt but also will eventually disappear unless global warming can be halted. Sir John Houghton, former head of the Meteorological Office and who now heads the IPCC's scientific panel, said the report would make it clear to governments that the world's climate was changing rapidly. "We are confident that climate change is due to human activities," he said. The news also anticipates the November reopening of negotiations in the Hague over ratifying the 1997 Kyoto climate change agreement. Under the agreement, first world countries such as Britain and the United States of America have to reduce their greenhouse emissions sharply by 6%-8% by 2012. Britain is likely to meet the target but, the report will say, most other countries will fail. America - the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide - is predicted to increase emissions by 15%. There is also no agreement on reductions after 2012. Houghton and his colleagues will tell governments that the world must slash greenhouse gas emissions to 60% of 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of climate change. If the reductions are left for another 50 years it could prove too late. The Hadley Centre - the Meteorological Office's climate change unit - has warned of a "runaway" greenhouse effect where temperatures would reach a point at which it could no longer be stopped. Tony Juniper, campaigns director for Friends of the Earth, said the melting of the North Pole showed how urgently action was needed. "The melting polar ice is consistent with the predictions of scientists," he said. "It shows global warming is for real and governments must agree tougher pollution targets." Dr Peter Wadhams, a specialist in sea ice at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, said it was wrong to suggest that the North Pole had never lost its ice. "Polar ice is always moving and these gaps can open up anywhere, including the North Pole - but it is true that there are now many more of them," he said. "Our research shows the average thickness of the polar ice has reduced by 40% and its area is shrinking by 4% a year. By the end of this century it will have disappeared completely."

I posted this in Gaia (topic 4) and made note of the updating gif therein which shows how the ozone hole changes as the atmosphere changes.

Oops! missed that....