Weather

Citation

(2005), "Weather", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 14 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2005.07314dac.003

Weather

23 August 2004Nigeria

Flooding caused by heavy rains has killed at least 12 people with more than 30 hospitalised in northern Nigeria’s Gombe State, a senior government official said today. The 14-hour downpour started Saturday (21 August) night and continued till the early hours of Sunday, leaving more than 100 houses submerged and vehicles and other valuable properties destroyed, state water resources commissioner David Albashi said. He said a lot people were still missing following the incident. “The floods affected all parts of the state. We are still collating figures of fatalities. However, by our estimate as at this moment, we are sure of the death of 12 people, while 100 people have lost their homes,” he said. He said state officials were assessing the extent of damage to enable them provide relief materials to the victims.

25 August 2004. Fifteen people were killed after heavy rains in a remote Nigerian town, a government spokesman said today, taking to 38 the death toll in flash floods that swept through the northeast region in the last two weeks. At least 3,000 people were displaced and crops, livestock and buildings were washed away in Gombe by the flooding caused by hours of heavy downpour on Saturday, Gombe state spokesman Mohammed Ahmed Yidikawu said. “Fifteen people were killed, 1,500 houses destroyed and 434 families or 3,000 people displaced by the floods,” Yidikawu said. It was the worst flooding in the town in 40 years, he said, adding that relief materials have been dispatched to the victims who are now staying with relatives pending their relocation by the government. At least 23 people were killed and hundreds of families displaced earlier in August in the remote market town of Loko in neighbouring Adamawa state. Heavy rain has caused flooding in several areas but the disaster in Loko was by far been the worst.

27 August 2004Typhoon “Aere”, Fujian Province, China

Typhoon “Aere” inflicted more than 2.1 billion yuan in damage on Fujian province, knocking down more than 8,000 buildings and submerging crops, but local officials yesterday insisted there were no casualties. Civil affairs officials in Fujian and neighbouring Zhejiang province, which was also hit by the typhoon on Wednesday (25 August), said they were still waiting for reports of deaths or injuries. However, Xinhua reported earlier that one person was missing in Zhejiang’s Butou village, while Agence France-Presse quoted a Fujian provincial official as saying seven people were slightly injured. Fujian evacuated 937,000 people from the path of the storm, while Zhejiang moved another 360,000, state media said. Officials said the massive evacuations prevented any deaths. “Aere” affected more than 2.5 million people in Fujian alone and at least another two million in Zhejiang, government estimates show. The typhoon weakened yesterday and was heading for Guangdong. State television reports said the central and provincial governments would contribute 50 million yuan in relief funds to the disaster-hit areas. Flooding across Fujian swamped at least three cities and destroyed nearly 47,000 hectares of crops, state media said. The province is one of the mainland’s top rice producers. A day after the disaster, authorities were struggling to restore electricity and transportation as heavy rains caused more flooding in parts of the province. Rainfall in some areas exceeded 300 mm. In Fuqing city, where the typhoon first made landfall on Wednesday afternoon, parts of the city remained without power while flooded streets brought traffic to a halt, a local official said. Trees and signs blown down by the storm littered the streets. “Aere” later made landfalls in another two areas, Shishi and Hailong. However, authorities had re-opened the airport serving the provincial capital of Fuzhou, which was trying to clear a backlog of cancelled flights. Officials had also opened two main highways shut due to the storm. Boat services to some of Fujian’s offshore islands remained cancelled. A resident of Xiamen city, south of where the storm hit, said: “The damage outside Xiamen is extensive.” Zhejiang, still reeling from the mainland’s worst typhoon since 1956 which hit just two weeks ago, appeared to be less affected. In Wenzhou city, a centre of private enterprise, damage had reached nearly 800 million yuan, Xinhua said. The typhoon toppled nearly 1,500 houses in the city and forced more than 5,500 companies to halt production. It also damaged roads and telecommunication lines.

29 August 2004The Philippines

A total of 32 people have been killed and more than a million other people received assistance amid massive floods in the Philippines. More than 100 towns and cities of the main island of Luzon went under water or were isolated by landslides following last week’s heavy southwest monsoon rains induced by Typhoon “Aere”, they said. The extreme weather killed 24 people, mainly drowning victims or buried by landslides, the civil defence office said. Eight other people are presumed dead after being carried off by rampaging floodwaters last week. Portions of the main north-south Luzon highway were cut off after the Pampanga and Tarlac rivers burst dikes, while landslides blocked key arteries in the upland Cordillera region of northern Luzon. Civil defence officials said 1.12 million people out of the national population of 84 million received relief assistance worth 7.96 million pesos (about US$142 million). Of that number, more than 6,000 lost their homes and sought refuge at government-run evacuation centres. Although the heavy rains have stopped and floods are receding, Red Cross spokeswoman Tess Usapdin said the affected population would need a week more of food and medical support before things could return to normal. “The waters are subsiding. Hopefully, there would be no typhoons arriving soon that could induce more monsoon rains,” Defense Secretary and civil defence chief Avelino Cruz said over DZBB radio.

27 August 2004. A huge part of Central Luzon became a virtual calamity area today as sea defences were breached, further swelling the floods that have rampaged through farms and subdivisions – even malls – since monsoon rains fell heavily in the middle of the week. Eighteen of Pampanga’s 20 towns and two cities are now flooded; in Paniqui, Tarlac, soldiers mounted a daring rescue of hundreds trapped on rooftops, including the vice mayor going around town to warn people to move to higher ground; and major highways from Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon were impassable in some parts owing to floods and mudslides. Disaster mitigation teams stepped up operations as more than 300 of 761 barangay affected by Wednesday’s (25 August) heavy downpour in six regions including Metro Manila remained under water and thousands of families were still in distress. The death toll rose to 17, while the number of missing persons rose to four, officials said. Affected areas besides Metro Manila are the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and the Cordilleras. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported today that at least 342 barangays in 28 towns and two cities in Pangasinan are still under water. A total of 29,158 families comprising 158,999 persons are affected. The NDCC said that the San Roque Dam reached its critical level, forcing authorities to open its gates. The water released from the dam flowed into the Agno River, which caused floods in the areas. Two portions of the dike on Amburayan River in barangay Maria Cristina East and West and Consuegra in Bangar, La Union, collapsed owing to strong current, the NDCC said. In Paniqui town in Tarlac, 11 villages went under water, prompting residents to leave their homes early today. The Armed Forces, meanwhile, sent engineers to assist local governments in restoring damaged bridges, roads and dikes. Lt. Gen. Jose Reyes, Air Force commander, sent three helicopters from the 505th Search and Rescue Group and the 207th Tactical Helicopter Squadron, following reports that some Paniqui residents were trapped on their rooftops. In Cavite, six fishermen were rescued on Wednesday midnight by Navy personnel after the vessel they were using was damaged by strong winds and heavy rains. Pampanga has been declared in a state of calamity after 18 of its 20 towns and two cities have been flooded following continuous rains. The Pampanga Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) reported that as of 12 noon, today, a total of 53,990 families or at least 266,533 persons have been affected by floods in 225 barangay of the 507 total barangay in the 18 flood-stricken towns.

30 August 2004. Vast areas of northern Philippines were inundated after a week of heavy monsoon rains and the death toll in the flooding climbed to 35, disaster relief officials said today. At least six people were reported missing and eight others injured in the floods that have affected more than 1.4 million people in Manila and northern provinces, the NDCC said. In Bulacan province’s Calumpit town, 27 miles north-west of Manila, families ate lunch on the rooftops of their half-submerged homes. They said they have also been sleeping there. One resident struggled through neck-deep waters on a raft of banana stalks and wood lashed together, trying to reach his submerged home. His three young children and the relief goods from local officials were perched atop the raft. The disaster council said the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan and San Miguel town in Bulacan province, where many roads remained under water or were blocked by landslides, have been declared recipients of emergency funds for relief and rehabilitation. The disaster council said fresh reports, which came in today, showed 35 dead, mostly from drowning. Many of the dead are children and teenagers. Nearly 27,000 people in several northern provinces had been evacuated. Others were trapped in their homes by the sudden rise of the water overnight, 26 August, when authorities were forced to open gates of dams north of Manila to prevent damage. Meteorologists said seasonal rains were worsened by Typhoon “Chaba” and Typhoon “Aere”, which hit the northern Philippines before heading to Taiwan and south-eastern China.

31 August 2004. The death toll in massive flooding in the Philippines due to continuing torrential rains rose to 43 today, with more than one million people displaced, civil defence officials said. Four provinces in the main island of Luzon have been placed under a state of calamity following last week’s heavy monsoon rains induced by Typhoon “Aere”, officials said. Most of the deaths were due to drowning or landslides, they said. Portions of the main north-south Luzon highway remain cut off after the Pampanga and Tarlac rivers burst dikes, while landslides blocked key arteries in the upland Cordillera region of northern Luzon. Floods had slowly receded at the weekend, but fresh rains in the past two days dashed evacuees’ hopes that they would soon return to their homes, officials said. Television footage showed that houses in the northern province of Bulacan and Pampanga remained submerged, with residents using canoes and rubber boats to leave.

2 September 2004. Dengue cases are on the increase in the northern Philippine villages as the flood caused by heavy typhoon rains is still worsening, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday. The DOH officials told radio dzMM that more dengue cases had been detected in at least three villages in Pampanga, one of the Central Luzon provinces hardest hit by widespread flooding earlier this week. Dengue, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes among humans, is common in tropical areas such as Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. The DOH said it had stationed medical workers in the afflicted villages to monitor the health situation. Aside from dengue, it was also reported that some residents have been afflicted with sore eyes, the department said. One week after two typhoons, “Marce” and “Chaba,” launched the northern Luzon islands, waist-high flood waters continued to submerge the Pampanga Delta. According to report released by the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center, dengue cases in the Philippines reduced to 3,269 with 33 deaths from January to June this year, 50 per cent down from the same period last year. The majority of the cases across the country were male and about 47 per cent of the cases belonged to the one to nine years age group, the report said.

10 September 2004. Residents in southwest China have started mopping up and rebuilding after some of the worst storms devastated the region, killing at least 189 people. Downstream from the worst-hit communities, a further disaster was averted when the massive Three Gorges Dam project survived intact when the largest flood peak of the year passed without incident. More than 20 sluice gates were opened to release water at the dam when it climbed above warning levels. The China News Service says the water level is now falling in most regions and the dam can be re-opened for navigation today. Upstream in Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality, clean-up efforts are underway after almost a week of torrential rains left a trail of destruction. Official media says more than 11 million people have been affected and economic losses are expected to exceed US$470 million.

2 September 2004Hurricane “Frances”

More than a million people threatened by Hurricane “Frances” were told to clear out today, and residents scrambled to board up homes and stock up on water ahead of what could be Florida’s mightiest storm in a decade. A hurricane warning covered much of the state’s eastern coast – about 300 miles from Florida City, near the state’s southern tip, to Flagler Beach, north of Daytona Beach. The warning meant hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph were likely by midmorning tomorrow. Most of the residents who were told to leave were in South Florida – 300,000 in Palm Beach County, 250,000 in Broward County and 320,000 in Miami-Dade County. States of emergency were declared in Florida and Georgia. Supermarkets along Florida’s Atlantic coast were stripped of bottled water and canned goods. In the pre-dawn hours today, long lines formed outside home supply stores in Palm Beach County, with dozens of people hoping for a chance to buy plywood or generators. Demand for gas was so great some stations were pumped dry. As of 11:00 hours, “Frances” centre was 450 miles east-south-east of the lower Florida coast. It was moving west-north-west near 13 mph, and was expected to continue that course for 24 hours. In the Caribbean, the storm’s lashing winds tore tin roofs off houses and plucked trees from the ground as it ploughed through the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas’ prime minister warned that “Frances” could be the worst in the archipelago nation’s history. Florida may reverse lanes on some highways to handle the evacuation traffic, state Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate said. Many businesses along the Atlantic coast began closing yesterday, some not planning to reopen until Sunday at the earliest. Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Centre shut down, leery of the havoc “Frances” could bring. Court trials were cancelled in ten counties, cruise lines kept their ships away and schools in nine counties were shuttered for today; another three planned to do the same tomorrow. In St Lucie County, a curfew was to go in effect tomorrow night. To make matters worse, many rivers and lakes in the Carolinas and Virginia are already swollen with rains from a series of August storms. The most recent of those came Monday, when the remnants of Tropical Storm “Gaston” brought heavy rain and knocked down trees and power lines.

3 September 2004. A hurricane warning is in effect for the east coast of Florida from Florida City northward to Flagler Beach, including Lake Okeechobee. A hurricane warning also remains in effect for the central and north-western Bahamas. A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch are in effect for the middle and upper Florida Keys from south of Florida City southward to the Seven Mile Bridge, including Florida Bay. At 02:00 EDT, the eye of hurricane “Frances” was located by reconnaissance aircraft and radar near lat 24.7 N, long 75.7 W or near the northern end of Cat Island. This is also about 310 miles east-south-east of the Florida lower east coast. “Frances” is moving toward the west-north-west near 9 mph and a west-north-west to north-westward motion with some decrease in forward speed expected during the next 24 hours. On this track, the core of hurricane “Frances” will continue to move near or over the central Bahamas this morning and over the north-western Bahamas later today. Reports from an air force reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate maximum sustained winds are now near 120 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the centre, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 miles. The latest minimum central pressure reported by the hurricane hunter is 954 mb, 28.17 inches. Storm surge flooding of six to fourteen feet above normal tide levels along with large and dangerous battering waves can be expected near the eye of “Frances” on the west side of Eleuthera Island and on the north side of Grand Bahama Island. Storm surge flooding of four to six feet above normal tide levels can be expected on the west side of the other islands of the Bahamas. Coastal storm surge flooding of six to eleven feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves, can be expected near and to the north of where the centre makes landfall in Florida. Rainfall amounts of seven to twelve inches, locally as high as 20 inches, are possible in association with “Frances”. Swells generated by “Frances” will be affecting portions of the south-eastern coast of the United States. These swells could cause dangerous surf and rip currents.

4 September 2004. The hurricane’s arrival in Florida comes only three weeks after the devastation caused to the state by Hurricane Charley. Charley came in with 145 mph winds, causing billions of pounds of damage and killing 27 people. Frances has already been recorded at 145 mph and has forced hundreds from their homes in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

5 September 2004. Hurricane “Frances” pounded Florida relentlessly with high wind and heavy rain today after it smashed across the state’s east coast, knocking out power to four million people and forcing residents to withstand a prolonged lashing that shredded roofs and uprooted trees. At dawn, the storm had weakened, with maximum sustained winds near 95 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane, but forecasters warned the storm track would bring the centre of the hurricane back over the warm water of the north-eastern Gulf of Mexico. They said it was possible “Frances” would regain intensity by tomorrow evening. The eye of the storm blew ashore at Sewall’s Point, just east of Stuart, around 01:00 hour. “Frances” was expected to remain over the state for most of the day, dumping eight to twelve inches of rain, with up to 20 inches in some areas. “Frances” was so big that virtually the entire state feared damage from wind and heavy rain. About 230 miles of coastline from the Deerfield Beach area northward to Flagler Beach remained under a hurricane warning as dawn approached today. The largest evacuation in state history, with 2.8 million residents ordered inland, sent 86,000 residents and tourists into shelters. Miami-Dade County told about 320,000 residents they could return home today. The storm shut down much of Florida, including airports and amusement parks, at the start of the usually busy Labour Day weekend. President Bush declared a major disaster in the counties affected by “France”, meaning residents will be eligible for federal aid. Four people were hospitalised in Boynton Beach after breathing carbon monoxide fumes from a generator that was running in a house. No other injuries were immediately reported. Before moving into Florida, “Frances” shattered windows, toppled power lines and flooded neighbourhoods in the Bahamas, forcing thousands from their homes. The Freeport airport was partially submerged in water. At least two deaths in the Bahamas were blamed on the storm. In Palm Bay, winds pried off pieces of a banquet hall roof, striking some cars in the parking lot. Trees were bent and light posts wobbled in the howling gusts. Further south in Fort Pierce, the storm shredded awnings and blew out business signs. Many downtown streets were crisscrossed with toppled palm trees. In Stuart, where the eye came ashore, traffic lights dangled, and one hung by a single wire. Downed trees blocked at least one residential street, and signposts were bent to the ground. The facade at a flooring store collapsed, as did the roof of a storage shed at a car dealership. In Melbourne, 65 miles north of Stuart, the wind and rain looked like a giant fire hose going off at full blast. Roads, streets and beaches were mostly deserted. Roads were littered with palm fronds and other debris. Businesses were shuttered and even petrol stations were closed, their empty pumps covered with shrink wrap. At 08:00 hours, the centre of the hurricane was about 40 miles east of Sebring, which is 70 miles southeast of Tampa. The storm was crawling west at 8 mph. Sustained winds were about 95 mph, down from 105 mph when it made landfall. The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said one gust was registered at 115 mph at Fort Pierce. Florida Power & Light pulled crews off the streets because of heavy wind, meaning the four million customers without power would have to wait until the storm subsided, spokesman Bill Swank said. Nearly all of Vero Beach, 30 miles north of Stuart, was blackened, the city’s utility said. Forecasters said the slow movement and large eye would mean several hours of calm for some locations after they were battered by the strongest winds.

5 September 2004. Hurricane “Frances” is currently hammering Florida’s east coast, bringing 100 mph winds and torrential rain. Power lines have been torn down, leaving up to two million people without electricity. Houses have been damaged and trees uprooted. The storm is set to peak later today. BA passengers stranded in Florida had been told that they could fly to the UK at no extra cost if they could reach another major eastern US airport. But the airline has not paid to put people up in accommodation until services resume as the hurricane is “an act of God” and not a fault of the airline. However, many passengers will be able to reclaim expenses on their travel insurance and some were moved on to earlier flights before airports closed. Customers are still being urged to check before heading off to the airport to see if their flight will run. Forecasters say the storm has weakened but it could yet strengthen again after sweeping through the Bahamas, killing two people.

5 September 2004. Storm-weary Floridians emerged from east coast hurricane shelters today as hurricane “Frances” moved to the state’s west coast after tearing off roofs, washing sailboats ashore and cutting power to four million people. The hurricane virtually shut down the fourth-largest US state, home to 16 million people, for two days and promised damage not only to buildings but also to the state’s economy on the usually busy Labor Day weekend, normally an end-of-summer bonanza for Florida’s $53 billion tourism industry. The state’s largest population centre and big Latin American business hub, Miami, escaped the worst of the storm but the impact on Orlando, the main tourist playground, was uncertain as the hurricane lumbered across central Florida. The $9.1 citrus industry, badly damaged by hurricane “Charley” three weeks ago, was likely to take another hard blow as the storm moved across the state’s best growing regions today. Even as the large and slow-moving storm, from which 2.5 million people had been urged to flee, edged toward Tampa on the west coast, residents of east coast towns emerged from their hurricane cocoons to survey the damage. In St Lucie County, where the eye of the storm came ashore, National Guard troops patrolled to deter looters and enforce a 24-hour curfew. Police and fire crews moved out into streets where “Frances” ripped off roofs, peeled away aluminium siding, tore boats from moorings, felled trees and shattered street signs and traffic signals. In Fort Pierce, sailboats washed into parking lots. “There’s damage but not total destruction,” said county emergency management spokeswoman Linette Trabulsy. “Parts of roofs are gone. Trees are down, big trees that you wouldn’t expect to be snapped in half. It could have been a lot worse.” A sinkhole opened up on Interstate 95, the region’s main traffic artery, in Palm Beach County. “Frances” was weakening, with top sustained winds of 75 mph, down from 105 mph yesterday. However, because it was lingering so long it increased the risk of flooding. State emergency managers said there were no confirmed reports of storm-related deaths. At 14:00 hours (18:00, UTC), the centre of the storm was about 55 miles east of Tampa, the US National Hurricane Centre reported. It was moving west-north-west at 9 mph and was expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico by late today or early tomorrow. A weakened “Frances” was expected to hit the Florida Panhandle tomorrow. The hurricane hit hardest along a 150 miles stretch of Florida’s east coast from Palm Beach, to Titusville and the Space Coast, home to NASA’s space shuttle fleet. Much of the state remained shut down today. Many airports were closed and big shopping malls and Disney World theme parks were shut. The only relief for hoteliers on the holiday weekend was the influx of tens of thousands of storm evacuees. Business activity ground to a halt on one of the four long weekends retailers count on for big sales. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had closed 59 stores by Friday (3 September). Lowe’s Cos, the home improvement chain, had 44 stores closed today. However, flights resumed at Miami International Airport, the 20th busiest airport in the world, and some restaurants in Miami Beach opened. Florida Governor Jeb Bush said up to 1.9 million customers were without power. Power companies say a customer averages out at two people, meaning nearly four million people, or a quarter of the state’s population, had no electricity. More than 85,000 people were housed in shelters. Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown said federal authorities were prepared for a huge relief effort. “We’re moving right behind “Frances’,” he said. “Frances” could cause between $2 billion and $10 billion in insured losses, industry group Risk Management Solutions said

5 September 2004. Bahamians emerged today from 48 hours of roaring winds and severe flooding to witness the destruction left by hurricane “Frances”: wrecked homes and collapsed roofs, yards littered with mangled trees. The hurricane left at least two people dead and one missing, and officials said they feared the death toll could rise. The northern island of Grand Bahama appeared particularly hard-hit, with several neighbourhoods flooded, fallen trees blocking roads and severed power lines hidden amid debris. The hurricane stalled over Grand Bahama Island and caused widespread damage yesterday. It remained unclear how many homes were flooded in the Bahamas, but officials said they estimated that scores, perhaps hundreds, of homes were damaged on Grand Bahama Island alone. One man was found dead yesterday on the western end of Grand Bahama, police Superintendent Basil Rahming said. Police believed the man was trying to swim to safety. Another man was electrocuted on Friday (3 September) while trying to fill a generator with diesel fuel as the storm raged. Police said they feared a third man in his 80s was probably killed in his wooden house when it collapsed yesterday near the western tip of Grand Bahama. His body had yet to be found. At least five people on the island sustained minor injuries during the storm, said Sharon Williams, the administrator of Rand Memorial Hospital. Power remained out in spots across the Bahamas, including Freeport, the Bahamas’ second-largest commercial centre, where the brunt of the storm hit yesterday with sustained winds of up to 105 mph. More than 1,000 people rode out the storm in shelters. Parts of Grand Bahama Airport remained flooded, and electricity was out on the island of 50,000 people. Police said about a dozen businesses reported break-ins, and some residents said they feared looting.

6 September 2004. Tropical Storm “Frances” hit Florida for a second time today, weaker but still bearing torrential rains and high winds as it crossed from the Gulf of Mexico onto the north-western Panhandle. “Frances” initially crossed the Florida peninsula into the warm Gulf of Mexico then made a second strike at the coastline. At 14:00 hours, the centre was moving ashore on the Florida Panhandle near the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Apalachee Bay, the US National Hurricane Centre reported. The storm was moving north-northwest at about 8 mph and its 65 mph winds were expected to weaken quickly as it moved into Alabama and Georgia. Fresh evacuation orders were out for those in low-lying coastal areas on the Panhandle, and forecasters warned the storm could spin off tornadoes and dump 10 inches of rain as it moved through the south-eastern USA. An insurance industry group, Risk Management Solutions, estimated “Frances” has caused between $3 billion and $6 billion of insured losses. About 3.3 million customers were without electricity this morning as winds toppled trees and downed power lines in 53 of Florida’s 67 counties. The massive number of outages that we have will have us probably working up to two weeks to restore services,” said Colleen Castille, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Some 90,000 people were in shelters. Trucks of ice, water and pre-packaged meals poured in to the state. “Frances” hit hardest along a 150 miles stretch of Florida’s east coast, including the home of NASA’s space shuttle fleet. It peeled away aluminium siding, tore boats from moorings, felled trees and shattered traffic signals. By this morning, heavy rains and strong winds from the back of Frances pounded the heavily populated Tampa and St Petersburg areas on Florida’s west coast. Major bridges were closed and residents were urged to stay indoors. Populous Miami, Florida’s business hub, escaped the worst of “Frances”. Orlando’s Disney World tourist playground reported little damage and reopened some parks today. Florida’s $9.1 billion citrus industry, hard hit by hurricane “Charley” last month, was likely to sustain another blow.

7 September 2004. Ports on the US Gulf Coast are recovering after Hurricane “Frances” struck yesterday (6 September). Port Canaveral suffered severe shoaling and displacement of marker buoys as a result of the hurricane. It is likely to remain closed for three-to-five days, in addition to possible extended delays in order to fully dredge the entrance channel. Tampa is currently closed, but is expected to open to traffic at about 09:00, local time, today. West Palm Beach is currently not available, but an update of its status is expected today. Jacksonville is currently closed to all traffic, but may re-open this afternoon. Miami and Port Everglades are now fully operational. The ports of Wilmington, Charleston and Savannah are also open to all vessel traffic.

7 September 2004. Miami, 7 September – Floridians have begun mopping up and counting the cost of hurricane “Frances” path through the state and thousands of people have joined long lines for ice, water and fuel. Power outages still affected 2.5 million customers today, or around five million people – a little less than a third of the state’s total population – and topped a list of concerns as tanker-loads of gasoline arrived but could not be pumped because there was no electricity at many gas stations. More than 4,900 National Guard troops were deployed or were on standby as they prepared to shift from providing security in areas covered by night-time curfews to distributing humanitarian aid, state officials said. Ice to help people cool down without air conditioning in Florida’s subtropical summer heat was also a priority. “Right now our main priority is life safety and getting water and ice to people. Once we get that under control then we’ll start looking at the long-term issue of recovery,” said Joan Heller, a spokeswoman for Brevard County, one of the hardest hit areas on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Heller said distribution centres for water and ice had yet to open, but people were already waiting in line. “Frances”, which at one point last week reached Category 4 strength with 145 mph winds as it bore down on the Florida peninsula, petered out over Georgia and Alabama last night after dousing the Florida Panhandle. It killed at least five people – two in the Bahamas and three in Florida – and smashed boats, tore roofs off houses, ripped away car ports, tiles and patios, snapped trees and downed power lines across the state. There were also four traffic-related deaths in Georgia blamed on the hurricane, officials said. Florida’s chief financial officer, Tom Gallagher, said today that initial estimates of the insured damage from “Frances” ranged from $2 billion to $4 billion. That was less than the $7.4 billion in insured damages caused by the smaller but more powerful hurricane “Charley” after it came ashore on 13 August on Florida’s south-west coast. However, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson said “Frances” may have done more harm to the state’s $9.1 billion citrus industry than “Charley”, which caused at least $150 million in damages after uprooting trees and knocking down fruit. “We think there are going to be serious losses to the fresh fruit industry. The amount of fruit on the ground in some places is even greater than it was with “Charley” in the west,” Bronson said. The storm shut down large areas of the state over the three-day Labour Day holiday that is normally a busy shopping and travel weekend. More than 200 shelters remained open, providing housing for about 40,000 victims, including 5,000 with special needs. President George W. Bush asked Congress to approve $2 billion in emergency aid for the state, and announced he would visit Florida on Wednesday.

9 September 2004. Freeport, Grand Bahama is completely without communication and water. They will up and running in about five weeks with light. The essential areas such as hospital, work places, police and other essential areas are been worked on first. Water is 80 per cent back on the entire island. Hundreds of persons are without homes. Domestic Airport complete damaged. Small settlements/towns completely devastated. No vessels have been in our port since 3 September Schedule of vessels are expected to resume regular service today.

8 September 2004. Freeport is starting to emerge from the devastation caused by hurricane “Frances.” Property damages are significant with some marine related concerns. Oil terminals (BORCO and SRPH): all offshore jetties are extensively damaged with a large percentage of observable structures missing altogether. No information with regard to the potential for oil spills yet available and no oil spills reported. Crude oil tanker Nysa (157,814 gt, built 2000) broke adrift at the height of the storm and drifted across the harbour, reportedly sinking a small tug in the process. No reports of injuries. The tanker effectively blocked the entire harbour for several days whilst the storm was in the area but has now been returned to its berth. Passenger Red Boat (32,753 gt, built 1966) broke adrift during the storm and was blown across the harbour, contacting the container terminal. It also reportedly sank a small inter-island ro-ro vessel in the process. No reports of injuries. The vessel has now been returned to its normal berth

8 September 2004. The remnants of hurricane “Frances” poured drenching rain today from the Carolinas to the Great Lakes, causing flooding and mudslides in the central Appalachians and snarling the morning commuter rush in the Northeast. Mountainous western North Carolina was hardest hit. Just over 11 inches of rain fell at Rich Mountain, and nearly 10.5 inches at Highlands, the National Weather Service said. Rescuers were busy during the night pulling stranded people from rising water but no deaths or serious injuries were reported. Rainfall at Walhalla, South Carolina, measured nearly 9.5 inches over 30 hours. Heavy rain also fell in eastern sections of Tennessee and Kentucky, most of West Virginia and Virginia, and large parts of Maryland, Ohio and south-western Pennsylvania. More than eight inches of rain was reported in southern and western Virginia, and street flooding and power outages were reported in the southern city of Martinsville. Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner declared a state of emergency. “Streets are closing, small creeks are rising – things are just beginning to happen,” said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “They’re still getting heavy rain.” About 100 roads in western North Carolina were shut down, said Patty McQuillan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. A rockslide blocked two of the four lanes on a stretch of Interstate 40 east of Asheville, she said. The Swannanoa River washed out roads and bridges, preventing safety workers from reaching the worst of the damage during the night. Flooding from the Swannanoa also blocked roads to the Biltmore Estate, the popular tourist destination near Asheville. Seventy families were evacuated from flood-prone areas along the Tuckasegee River, Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe said. In southern Virginia, about 25 families were evacuated from a mobile home park in Galax. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency yesterday and said 140 National Guard soldiers were sent to help out in the western part of the state. The Highway Patrol put 900 troopers on alert. As far north as New York City, the circulation around “Frances” was to blame for more than three inches of rain that swamped commuters during the morning rush hour, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ralph Izzo. Streets and pedestrian crosswalks were flooded all over the city, some commuter trains and subway lines shut down, and incoming airline flights were delayed up to 90 minutes. Extensive street flooding was reported in northern New Jersey, with numerous highway and local road closures, and fire-fighters rescued several motorists whose vehicles stalled in rising water. Heavy rain is likely in the area through Friday evening (10 September), forecasters said. Authorities in Georgia reported 180,000 customers remained without power today because of “Frances”, which moved through the state yesterday.

5 September 2004China

Days of torrential rains in south-west China unleashed floods and landslides that killed at least 19 people, the government said today. The downpours in Sichuan, a province prone to seasonal flooding, fell non-stop from Thursday (2 September) through to yesterday with more rain forecast, the official Xinhua News Agency said. In addition to the 19 confirmed dead, 21 others were missing, the report said. Rescue work was under way. The rains also damaged farmland and reservoirs and caused severe traffic jams, it said. In the hard-hit county of Quxian, rainfall reached ten inches by yesterday and caused $19 million in damage, the agency said.

6 September 2004. The death toll from torrential rainstorms in Sichuan province has risen to 44, with 37 people missing. Xinhua reported last night that Dazhou, north of Chongqing, sustained the most serious damage, with 21 people confirmed dead and 24 reported missing. In Nanchong, about halfway between Chongqing and Chengdu, 14 people were killed and six missing. Rescuers were trying to restore communications with Dazhou after they were cut off following four days of continuous downpours. “Dazhou became a ‘lone island’,” Xinhua said. “All transport links with the outside were suspended. Supplies of water, electricity and gas were cut. “In the southern district of the city, witnesses can see many residents trapped in their houses and police are trying to move them to safety in small boats.” The downpours started on Thursday (2 September) and triggered landslides which destroyed farmland and reservoirs, the news agency said. Weather officials said Dazhou received more than 360 mm of rainfall in the past four days. An official from Dazhou city government said: “Several thousand people are trapped downtown. Casualty figures are being collected. The Sichuan provincial government has sent out officials to monitor the rescue work.” Another official said: “All bridges in the city have been submerged and traffic from the city centre to the southern part of the city is totally paralysed.” An official with the Dazhou Flood Prevention Office said the level of the Zhou River, which flows through the city, was at least five metre above the safety level. It was estimated that about one million people in Dazhou and Kai county had been affected by the torrential rain and more than 3,000 houses destroyed or damaged.

6 September 2004. At least 79 people have been killed and 74 are missing as torrential storms lash south-west China. Disaster relief officials say at least 55 are dead and 47 missing in Sichuan province, while 24 people died and 27 are missing in Chongqing municipality. They say many of the dead and missing are from Dazhou city.

7 September 2004. Five days of torrential rain have left at least 91 people dead in Sichuan province and Chongqing, as local officials struggle to cope with the deluge. More than six million people have been affected by the incessant downpours. Officials from the Sichuan Flood Prevention Command Headquarters said the victims mostly drowned or were buried in landslides. The China News Service reported that at least 67 people had died in Sichuan and 50 others were missing. The downpour has forced 82,000 people in Chongqing to leave their homes. Twenty-four people have been killed, 27 are missing, thousands of homes have been destroyed and 1.2 million people are affected in the municipality. In Chongqing’s Kai county, 87,000 people were stranded and rescuers had to evacuate 3,000 residents in the most dangerous areas. Tang Wanli, an official with the Chongqing Civil Affairs Bureau, said a teenage schoolboy was among the most recent deaths in the region. Yesterday, Xinhua reported that the central government had approved yuan 40 million in emergency aid for the victims. Military helicopters were sent to Dazhou city, one of the worst-hit regions, following an emergency request from the provincial government. However, floodwaters prevented the aircraft from landing at night. Military officials said another attempt to reach the city would be made during daylight. Reports said at least 300 armed police arrived in Dazhou in boats late on Sunday (5 September) to assist the rescue operations after the city’s transport links were severed. Residents in Dazhou reportedly struggled yesterday to clean up the mess while rescue workers continued to search for those missing. According to Xinhua, most shops in Dazhou were still closed yesterday and there were long queues outside the few restaurants which had managed to open for business. The agency said many families had moved into hotels and guesthouses after their homes were flooded. It quoted local officials as saying at least 30,000 victims needed government assistance to find accommodation. The Dazhou government held an emergency meeting to discuss the disaster and set up a number of special task forces to study ways to restore the water supply and distribute food. “We have no fresh water for several hundred thousand people. All mineral water in the shops has sold out and all instant noodles are gone,” Vice-Mayor Zhang Zhike said. A local resident who posted a message on an internet chat room said: “Traffic is paralysed, there is no television signal and banks are all closed.” Meanwhile, officials said the situation would begin to improve. “According to the meteorological bureau, the rain will stop this afternoon,” said He Rongjun, a deputy director of the Sichuan Disaster-Relief Bureau.

7 September 2004. Floods and landslides triggered by torrential summer rains have killed at least 118 people and left dozens missing in south-western China, officials and state television reported today. Thousands of army and navy personnel and other rescue workers were in Sichuan province helping displaced residents, unloading emergency supplies and guiding those trapped in muddy, swirling waters, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Authorities put the enormous Three Gorges hydroelectric project on alert as flood crests passed through the swollen Yangtze River and more rains were forecast, Xinhua said. China Central Television said 85 were killed and 53 were missing in Sichuan, while another 33 deaths were reported in sprawling Chongqing municipality, upstream from the Three Gorges. Some 33 people were also missing in Chongqing, even as some residents in the area’s Kaixian county were being allowed back to their homes, it said. “The great needs are to ensure there is sufficient shelter and to get food in and to get in necessary medicine,” said John Sparrow, regional information director for the Red Cross. More than 3,000 people left homeless by the flooding were sheltering in schools and government buildings, and rescuers were handing out quilts, medicine, bottled water and instant noodles, Xinhua said. Medical teams were sent to Kaixian county to help prevent disease outbreaks after 100,000 people there were left without safe drinking water, it said. Flooding losses were initially estimated at $315 million, Xinhua said, with the greatest damage caused by landslides and flash floods sweeping through mountain valleys. The central government has allocated about $5 million in relief funds to the region, Xinhua said. Another $600,000 was set aside by the Sichuan government for Dazhou, its hardest-hit town where 46 of the deaths occurred, according to CCTV. In a separate report, Xinhua said heavy rains today caused a mudslide that killed one person and left five missing in Lijiang, a town in Yunnan province south of Sichuan. The halt to navigation on the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s biggest hydroelectric project, was the first since the dam was reopened to river traffic in June 2003, the reports said. Efforts to help flood victims in Sichuan and Chongqing will continue until the danger level has dropped, Sparrow said. “I don’t think we should say the worst is over,” he said. “As long as it rains and as long as the forecast is telling us there could be more rain, there is no reason to ease up on the operation.”

8 September 2004. Floods unleashed by torrential rains have killed at least 143 people and left dozens more missing in south-western China, prompting authorities to put the massive Three Gorges hydroelectric project on alert. Authorities have called in thousands of army and navy personnel to help after five days of continual downpours in Sichuan province. An alert was ordered and navigation halted as flood crests passed through the Three Gorges Dam along the flood-swollen Yangtze River, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. More rains were expected, it said. State television showed violent torrents of murky water spewing through the dam’s sluice gates. Navigation through its huge locks was not expected to resume until tomorrow, it said. Streets that were not under water were covered in rubbish and debris; buildings were in shambles. Scores of emergency workers were shown unloading cases of bottled water in a warehouse, while uniformed soldiers guided boats filled with huddled residents to safety. The greatest damage was from landslides and flash floods sweeping through mountain valleys. At least 81 people were confirmed dead and another 42 were missing in Sichuan, said He Rongjun, a spokesman for the province’s Disaster Relief Office. About 8,900 people were injured or sick due to the floods, he said. Forty-six of the deaths occurred in Dazhou town. Another 33 people were reported dead in sprawling Chongqing municipality along the Yangtze, upstream from the Three Gorges, official newspapers reported, citing local government spokesman He Lingyun. He said 33 people were missing there. The central government allocated 40 million yuan (US$4.82 million) in relief funds to the region, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Flooding losses were initially estimated at 2.6 billion yuan (US$315 million), it said. More than 3,000 people left homeless by the flooding were sheltering in schools and government buildings, and rescuers were handing out quilts, medicine, bottled water and instant noodles, the agency reported. Medical teams were sent to Chongqing’s Kaixian county to help prevent disease outbreaks after 100,000 people there were left without safe drinking water, it said. None of Kaixian’s 55 towns escaped flooding, and more than 87,000 people were still trapped by high waters, the reports said. In a separate report, Xinhua said heavy rains yesterday caused a mudslide that killed one person and left five missing in Lijiang, a town in Yunnan province south of Sichuan.

8 September 2004. Rain-soaked residents of south-western China began digging out today after floods and landslides that killed at least 161 people, while authorities warned of further rains over parts of the disaster area. Days-long showers had stopped over Sichuan province’s hard-hit Dazhou area, where the death toll stood at 89, with 41 missing and about 10,000 people sick and injured, said He Rongjun, a spokesman for the provincial disaster relief office. In sprawling Chongqing municipality just east of Sichuan, 72 people were dead and 23 missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. However, He said meteorologists had warned at least three major storms would strike in coming weeks, and that authorities were alert for further damage. “Even though the rain has stopped, we will not be moving any rescue workers from the front line so soon,” He said by telephone from Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu. Authorities put the enormous Three Gorges hydroelectric project on alert as flood crests passed through the swollen Yangtze River. Navigation through the dam’s locks was suspended, although Xinhua said traffic would be restored tomorrow. Residents of Chongqing’s mountainous Kaixian county were being allowed back to homes devastated by the floods and mudslides, Xinhua said. The area accounted for 54 of Chongqing’s deaths. More than 200 medical workers were disinfecting the area and 18 disease monitoring stations were being set up to guard against outbreaks, Xinhua said. Electricity was expected to be restored to the entire county by today. More than 5,000 soldiers were taking part in the rescue efforts, and one 19-year-old recruit drowned while helping with evacuations, Xinhua said.

9 September 2004. A massive flood crest passed safely through the Three Gorges Dam on China’s Yangtze River today as devastated communities upstream cleaned up from floods that killed at least 177 people and injured thousands. Xinhua news agency has described the floods as the worst in a century as central Hubei and Hunan provinces downstream braced for the torrent of muddy water heading towards them. But Xinhua also said the flood crest would not cause major damage as there had been no major rainfall downstream. “It is now moving forward swiftly and smoothly without the occurrence of major dangers along the river bank and will arrive at Wuhan (Hubei provincial capital) on Saturday,” it said, quoting experts. “It will not cause calamity on the lower reaches of the river.” An official with the Three Gorges Dam said water levels remained high and navigation on the reservoir was still suspended. “The peak passed early in the morning. Today the water flow is still high but not at its highest,” the official said. The locks would reopen and navigation could resume in two to three days, he said. The world’s largest hydroelectric project, built to tame the flood-prone Yangtze, now faces a test as residents downstream of the dam await the crest. With the rains passed, relief work in flood-damaged regions of south-western Sichuan and Chongqing turned to cleaning up the mess and preventing epidemics. Sichuan disaster officials reported the toll had reached 102 dead and 25 missing. In neighbouring Chongqing, the death toll had risen to 75 and 25 were missing, the official Xinhua news agency said. Most of the deaths were caused by mudslides and flash floods sweeping through mountain valleys after five days of heavy rains beginning last Thursday. The floodwaters destroyed more than 400,000 hectares (one million acres) of cropland and caused damage estimated at more than 3.9 billion yuan ($471 million).

9 September 2004Hurricane “Ivan”

Jamaicans were scrambling for supplies and fortifying their homes today as hurricane “Ivan” moved nearer with 150 mph winds after killing at least 20 people on the island of Grenada. Tourists fled the Florida Keys and residents of the 100 miles island chain prepared for an evacuation tomorrow as Florida braced for a third hurricane strike in a month. Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Cayman Islands were also readying for a possible Category 5 storm. Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson urged Jamaica’s 2.7 million people to get ready. “Ivan” weakened slightly today from a Category 5 storm to Category 4, but forecasters said it could regain strength. Some gas stations in the capital ran out of fuel and lines formed at food stores. The government ordered schools closed today and tomorrow and three universities shut their doors. Emergency managers in the Florida Keys ordered evacuation for visitors, a measure taken well in advance because thousands of tourists need time to move recreational vehicles and boats up the only road linking the island chain. The 80,000 residents of the Keys were to begin evacuating tomorrow morning. The Cayman Islands issued a hurricane warning for its 43,000 people today, telling them hurricane conditions were possible within 24 hours. “Ivan” slammed into Grenada on Tuesday (7 September), flattening or badly damaging homes and cutting power. A US State Department official said the storm killed 20 people. Grenada’s capital, St George’s, was devastated. Caribbean emergency managers said the island had no electricity or water and was in dire need of communications equipment, food, tents, tarpaulins and building materials. “Ivan” was also blamed for the death of a woman in Trinidad and Tobago and a swimmer in Venezuela. The centre’s long-range forecast, which is subject to change, had “Ivan” reaching Cuba by Sunday, and Florida on Monday.

10 September 2004. Extremely dangerous hurricane “Ivan” is moving west-north-westward toward Jamaica. A hurricane warning remains in effect for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning remain in effect for the entire south-west Peninsula of Haiti from the border of the Dominican Republic westward, including Port Au Prince. A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect for the Dominican Republic from Barahona to Perdenales. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for the south-western coast of the Dominican Republic from Palenque westward to Barahona. A hurricane watch is in effect for central and eastern Cuba from Matanzas eastward. Tropical storm warnings may be required for portions of south-eastern Cuba this morning. At 06:00, UTC, the centre of hurricane “Ivan” was located near lat 15.7N, long 73.8W, or about 250 miles south-east of Kingston, Jamaica. “Ivan” is moving toward the west-north-west near 13 mph and this general motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. On this track the hurricane will be nearing Jamaica tonight. Maximum sustained winds have decreased a little to near 145 mph with higher gusts. “Ivan” is an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next 24 hours, and “Ivan” could regain Category 5 status as it approaches Jamaica. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 50 miles from the centre, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. The latest estimated minimum central pressure recently measured by reconnaissance aircraft is 930 mb, 27.47 inches. Storm surge flooding of five to eight feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves, can be expected near the centre of “Ivan” in the hurricane warning area. Rainfall amounts of six to ten inches, possibly causing life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, can be expected along the path of “Ivan”.

11 September 2004. Deadly hurricane “Ivan” battered Jamaica with powerful winds and torrential rains today but spared the island the worst of its wrath as the eye skirted the shore and headed for the Cayman Islands and Cuba. The storm felled large trees and poles, flooded streets, swept away houses and left the island in the dark. Sporadic shooting broke out on the deserted streets of the capital when looters went on the rampage. “Ivan,” which has already killed 27 people and left a trail of devastation across the Caribbean, veered west just as it approached Jamaica and skirted the southern shore instead of ploughing through the island. At 05:00, EDT, the hurricane’s winds had weakened slightly to 150 mph but remained a powerful and deadly Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1-5. The storm was moving west-north-west or north-west at about 8 mph and, at this rate, “Ivan” was expected to reach the Cayman Islands in 24 hours before heading for Cuba tomorrow and then to Florida on Monday (13 September). Forecasters warned that within the next 24 hours “Ivan” could become a stronger and rare Category 5 hurricane capable of causing catastrophic damage. The evacuation of the Florida Keys’ 80,000 residents was already under way and was the third big evacuation in Florida in a month. “Ivan” has already devastated the island of Grenada, where it killed 17 people and damaged 90 per cent of homes. The island remained without power or water and was under a dusk-to-dawn curfew after widespread looting. Residents on foot or in battered cars scoured the island in search of water, food and gasoline. “Ivan” also killed at least one person in Jamaica, four in Venezuela, four in the Dominican Republic and one in Tobago. In the Cayman Islands, a major offshore financial centre, most schools and businesses, including banks, were boarded up. Some apartment complexes ordered residents to evacuate.

11 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan” lashed Jamaica with monstrous waves, driving rain and winds nearing 155 mph today, killing at least five people as it washed away homes and tore roofs off houses and trees from the ground, but unexpectedly spared the island from a direct hit. In the storm’s wake, authorities in Grenada found another eight bodies, raising the toll on the island to 34 dead and the toll across the Caribbean to 50. In the Jamaican capital, Kingston, sporadic looting and gunfire erupted overnight and continued this morning. Looters carried boxes of groceries from a smashed storefront. A ten-year-old girl drowned in Old Harbour, just east of Kingston, and a woman was killed in the capital by a tree that struck her home. Police said three other people, a man, a woman and a baby, drowned in Clarendon parish, just west of Kingston. Jamaica was saved the full brunt of “Ivan” by an unexpected wobble and lurch to the west overnight. Forecasters warned it could still move back to its predicted course and hit Florida. At 14:00, EDT, today, the eye of “Ivan” was about 40 miles west-southwest of Jamaica’s western tip and sustained winds were at 145 mph. After drifting west for the past few hours, it was expected to resume a west-northwest track at around eight miles per hour. Meteorologists expected it move near or over the Caiman Islands tomorrow.

12 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan,” one of the most powerful storms to batter the Caribbean, gutted homes, washed away roads and killed at least 16 people in Jamaica yesterday but appeared to have spared the island the utter devastation wrought on Grenada. “Ivan,” blamed for the deaths of at least 44 people in the Caribbean, became a rare, top-intensity Category 5 hurricane with catastrophic winds of 165 mph as it blasted past Jamaica and headed towards the Cayman Islands, Cuba and possibly Florida. The hurricane was the sixth-strongest recorded in the Atlantic basin, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. “It’s definitely one of the most powerful hurricanes to have occurred in the Atlantic Ocean,” said hurricane centre meteorologist Gene Hafele. “Ivan” ripped off roofs across Jamaica and torrential rains triggered mudslides, washing out roads. The storm brought trees and poles crashing down in the capital, Kingston, where ravines overflowed and flooded streets. Near Kingston airport at Harbour View, a giant storm surge gutted a row of beachfront homes and dumped beach sand on roads. Aid agencies and officials said they were still trying to find out what had happened in the south-eastern parish of St Thomas, one of the hardest-hit areas, and St Elizabeth in the south-west. Jamaica’s death toll rose to 16 and included people whose houses collapsed when trees fell on them and others who drowned when flash floods washed through their homes. However, the hurricane gave Jamaica’s 2.7 million people a slight, last-minute reprieve by veering westward, keeping the worst winds off the south coast and away from Kingston, where tens of thousands of people live in flimsy shanties. Jamaican police made 28 arrests as they battled looting that erupted during the storm. Two men were shot dead by police in gunfights when officers tried to retrieve stolen goods. Robbers held up emergency workers at gunpoint, shooting and injuring one doctor as she slowed her car in rising water. The Category 5 storm, capable of destroying buildings, remained on course to hit the Cayman Islands and Cuba. It also threatened Florida with its third big hurricane strike in a month, after “Charley” and “Frances,” which together caused an estimated $9.4 billion to $11.4 billion in insured damages. Evacuations were almost complete in the Florida Keys, where officials ordered tourists and 80,000 residents out of the 100 mile-long island chain. Mexico began evacuating some 2,250 people from a small island off the Yucatan. In the Cayman Islands, authorities told coastal dwellers to flee battering waves and a 15 feet storm surge as the hurricane’s wobbly track put Grand Cayman, the largest of the territory’s three islands, in greatest danger. “We are looking at potentially catastrophic conditions,” said James Ryan, chairman of the Caymans hurricane committee. Most of the residents of the smallest island, Little Cayman, had been brought over to shelters on Grand Cayman, said committee spokeswoman Joan Scott-Campbell. Public storm shelters rapidly filled up as winds of up to 50 mph began to hit Grand Cayman last night and the authorities declared a state of emergency. Hurricane force winds were expected to begin being felt early in the morning. At 23:00 yesterday the centre of “Ivan” was about 105 miles south-east of Grand Cayman in lat 18.3N, long 80W, the NHC said. It was expected to drift west-north-west at about 8 mph. “Ivan” was forecast to hit Cuba by tomorrow and approach Florida’s west coast by Tuesday (14 September). Cuba began evacuating 200,000 people in the western half of the island. It appeared the storm would hit key tobacco-growing areas west of Havana and not the capital itself, where residents jammed shops to buy food and water and candles. So far, the worst-hit Caribbean island appeared to be Grenada. The Red Cross estimated 60,000 of Grenada’s 90,000 people were left homeless. The island has been without power or water and under a night-time curfew since “Ivan” struck last Tuesday. The State Department sent charter flights yesterday to evacuate 1,400 stranded Americans, many of them medical students. In addition to 19 confirmed deaths in Grenada and 16 in Jamaica, four people died in Venezuela, four in the Dominican Republic and one in Tobago.

12 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan”, situation at 09:00, UTC: a hurricane warning remains in effect for the Cayman Islands. A hurricane warning remains in effect for Cuba from Pinar del Rio to Ciego de Avila, including the Isle of Youth. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion. A hurricane watch remains in effect for the rest of Cuba. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 36 hours. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Jamaica but is likely to be lowered later this morning. Interests in the north-western Caribbean Sea, as well as in the eastern Gulf of Mexico should closely monitor the progress of this extremely dangerous hurricane.

12 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan” is battering the Cayman Islands en route to Cuba, after moving on from Jamaica, where it killed at least 14 people. It is ripping up homes and causing extensive flooding. One of the worst hurricanes ever seen in the Caribbean, “Ivan” has weakened to a Category-4 level, but is expected to strengthen again. A massive clean-up operation is under way in Jamaica after “Ivan” and intense rain afterwards, wrecked the island. In the Caymans, some 45,000 residents were hiding in homes and shelters as the hurricane unleashed ferocious winds, rain and waves of up to 20 feet (6 metres), while cutting off power lines, uprooting trees and scattering debris. “We are now experiencing the full intensity of the storms and conditions are about as bad as they will get,” a spokesman for the Grand Cayman-based Hurricane Hotline said. “We are getting reports of homes being damaged, tiles missing and roofs lifting up. So far nobody has been injured but there is lots of flooding from rising tides. A state of emergency has been declared.” Water supplies have been turned off for fear of contamination during the storm. Most residents on the smaller islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac were evacuated to the main island of Grand Cayman. Yesterday, hundreds boarded charter flights off the low-lying islands. At 12:00 GMT, the eye of the hurricane, which is described as “extremely dangerous”, was about 35 miles (55 km) south-east of Grand Cayman island, the Miami-based NHC said. The NHC added “Ivan” was likely to regain a Category 5 intensity later in the next 24 hours. “Ivan” was moving at a speed of nearly 9 mph (15 kph) with maximum sustained wind speeds decreasing to 250 kph (155 mph), with higher gusts. Its centre is expected to move over or very near the island of Grand Cayman within the next few hours. It is moving towards the west-north-west and a turn towards the north-west is expected during the next 24 hours, the NCH said. Hurricane toll: Grenada: at least 17 dead. Venezuela: five killed. Jamaica: 14 killed. Dominican Republic: four killed. Tobago: one killed. With the intense driving rain that followed it, flooding is continuing to be the main problem in Jamaica and many parts remain cut off from the rest of the island. Homes and roads were swept away in flooding caused by heavy rain and huge waves up to 23 feet (7 metres) high. Of the half a million people in the exposed eastern shores who had been urged to move into shelters, many ignored the advice fearing their homes might be looted. In Kingston, there had been reports of looting, but police were primarily concerned with rescue work. There is no electricity and many places are without water. The country’s two international airports are not scheduled to re-open until tomorrow.

13 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan” moved toward Cuba today after pummelling the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Grenada on a track that eventually will bring it to the US coast. “Ivan”, has sustained winds near 160 mph and has killed at least 47 people. Forecasters said the rare and deadly Category 5 hurricane was expected to pass near or over extreme western Cuba this evening. They warned of a 20-25 feet storm surge of seawater to the east of where the centre makes landfall in Cuba. On Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands, homes and businesses were flooded, an airport runway was submerged and roofs were torn off, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the Caymans. “Ivan” was headed for tobacco-growing regions of western Cuba or Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula today and then toward the USA, where it could inflict a third hurricane strike on Florida within a month or curve west toward New Orleans. The hurricane’s path was unclear, and the most powerful winds around its eye-wall could end up closer to the Yucatan than to Cuba as it sweeps into the Gulf of Mexico and makes an expected northerly turn. At least 12,000 Jamaicans spent last night in shelters after huge waves, flash floods or fierce winds wrecked their homes. Looting, which erupted as the storm hit, appeared under control, as heavily armed police patrolled. Cuba evacuated 1.3 million people – more than a tenth of its population – and prepared for 12 inches of rain. Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula also braced for possible high winds, and began evacuating 12,000 residents and tourists from Isla Mujeres, a resort island eight miles from Cancun. “Ivan” was downgraded to Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson storm scale as it hit the Caymans but strengthened again to a rare Category 5 last night. It was unlikely to reach US shores as a Category 5, the US National Hurricane Centre said. Ivan’s centre was about 160 miles south-east of the western tip of Cuba, in lat 19.9N, long 83.5W and moving west-north-west near 9 mph at 02:00 hours, (06:00, UTC), the US National Hurricane Centre reported.

13 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan”: a hurricane warning remains in effect for Cuba from Pinar del Rio to Ciego de Avila including the Isle of Youth. A hurricane watch remains in effect for the rest of Cuba. At 09:00, UTC, today the government of Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the north-eastern Yucatan peninsula from Tulum to Progreso. A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Cayman Islands, but will likely be lowered later today. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for the Florida Keys from the Seven Mile Bridge westward to the Dry Tortugas. This watch could be lowered later today.

14 September 2004. Having killed 60 across the Caribbean, “Ivan” was heading toward Cuba yesterday on a track that will bring it ashore in Florida or Alabama sometime Thursday (16 September). Hurricanes “Charley” and “Frances” caused billions of dollars in property damage in Florida. Cuba, still recovering from “Charley”, expected hurricane conditions within 24 hours in the western portion of the nation. In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency. Exxon Mobil Corp and Kerr-McGee Corp began evacuating non-essential workers from platforms yesterday. “Ivan” is forecast to make landfall in Alabama, closer to rigs than previous storms “Charley” and “Frances.”

14 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan” churned northward into the Gulf of Mexico today on a track for the US coast after ripping off roofs and downing trees and power lines as it brushed past western Cuba. There were no reported casualties on the island from the giant storm, the most powerful to hit Cuba in living memory. After a Caribbean rampage that killed at least 68 people and left behind vast damage, “Ivan” was expected to make landfall in the USA as early as tomorrow night, prompting forecasters to post a hurricane watch from the Florida Panhandle to west of New Orleans in Louisiana. The powerful core of “Ivan”, a rare Category 5 hurricane with winds near 160 mph, passed over Guanahacabibes peninsula, a sparsely populated national park in western Cuba. Vicious winds and pounding seas further from “Ivan’s” centre pummelled the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio. The sea surged 600 yards inland at some points and the beach and diving centre of Maria la Gorda was hit by an 11 feet surge, officials said. Cuban authorities had evacuated 1.3 million of the country’s 11 million people before “Ivan” took a more westerly path than first predicted. There were no reported deaths or even injuries. However, “Ivan’s” death toll rose to 68 as Haiti reported three storm-related deaths and the Pan American Health Organization said 37 people had died in Grenada. Nineteen were killed in Jamaica, four in Venezuela, four in the Dominican Republic and one in Tobago. Meanwhile, in the Mexican beach resort Cancun, on the Yucatan peninsula, thousands of residents and visitors were evacuated as heavy rains and choppy seas pounded the coast. Flights to Cancun had been cancelled amid fears of major damage, and tourists were warned to stay in their hotels. The small Caribbean island of Cozumel, one of the world’s leading diving centres, was cut off from the mainland. But Cancun airport remained open, as did Mexico’s main oil exporting ports. “Ivan’s” track was expected to take it to the US Gulf coast between the Mississippi Delta and Florida Panhandle by tomorrow. If it does not curve west, the storm could inflict a third hurricane strike on Florida within a month. Authorities in the Florida Keys allowed evacuated residents to return to the island chain. But officials warned that at least 1.7 million people in fragile mobile homes or low-lying areas were at risk along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

15 September 2004. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producers are bracing themselves for Hurricane “Ivan”, shutting down production platforms and evacuating staff. Around 20 oil majors and independents have evacuated platforms and drilling rigs operating in the eastern and central parts of the region and more are expected to close today as the hurricane sweeps in towards the Gulf Coast after skirting Cuba.

15 September 2004. Authorities urged millions of people from New Orleans to northwest Florida to flee as hurricane “Ivan” churned through the Gulf of Mexico on a track that could bring it onto the US coast by tonight. As thousands of coastal residents of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana choked roads to higher ground, the US Census Bureau estimated that more than 6.1 million people may be affected by the large and extremely dangerous storm. Anxiety ran especially high in New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin said “Ivan” could flood New Orleans with up to 18 feet of water and urged people to leave. Forecasters said water levels were already running up to one foot above normal along the north Gulf Coast. Authorities placed a long stretch of coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Apalachicola, Florida, under a hurricane warning. Oil companies plucked thousands of workers from offshore platforms and shut down some refineries and rigs in the Gulf, home of about a quarter of the US oil and gas output. Florida authorities, preparing for a possible third hurricane strike in just over a month, told about 543,000 people to evacuate mobile homes and flood-prone coastal areas in at least ten western counties. “Ivan” was forecast to roar ashore late today or early tomorrow, on or near the border between Mississippi and Alabama. The nearest cities include Biloxi and Pascagoula, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama. “Ivan” had weakened slightly as it moved north but was still a dangerous Category 4 storm on the five-step hurricane intensity scale, the US National Hurricane Centre said, but by the time it reaches shore it was expected to have dropped to a Category 3 strength.

15 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan”: a hurricane warning is in effect from Grand Isle, Louisiana to Apalachicola, Florida, including the greater New Orleans area and Lake Pontchartrain. A hurricane watch remains in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana to west of Grand Isle. A tropical storm warning is in effect from intra-coastal City, Louisiana to west of Grand Isle and from east of Apalachicola to Yankeetown, Florida.

15 September 2004. State of emergency exists in the Cayman Islands due hurricane “Ivan.” A curfew is in force from 18:00 to 06:00 hours. Much destruction on roads, coast and property. No casualties reported. Airport was reopened yesterday. Power still out, however, hopefully to restore some power today.

16 September 2004. Five ports and over half of the Gulf of Mexico’s production platforms are closed ahead of Hurricane “Ivan”, which is due to hit the region this morning. The US Coast Guard has closed the ports of Houston, Texas, Mobile in Alabama, Panama City and Pensacola in Florida, plus Gulfport and Pascagoula in Mississippi State as a safety precaution ahead of the storm. It has also restricted river traffic along the Mississippi in Louisiana. The US government has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, while residents from the Gulf coast are fleeing.

16 September 2004. Hurricane “Ivan” slammed into the US Gulf Coast today with destructive winds and pounding waves that ripped away beachfront homes, flooded deep inland and spawned tornadoes that killed at least two people. Even before the eye of the enormous storm hit shore, “Ivan’s” wrath was felt over a 400 miles stretch of the coast from New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle as vicious winds and heavy rain flattened trees and cut power to tens of thousands. The centre of the Category 4 storm was roaring over barrier islands near the Mississippi-Alabama border well before dawn. Towering waves, torrential rainfall and winds capable of splintering mobile homes were not the only danger. At least two people died in northwest Florida when around five tornadoes touched down and damaged or destroyed up to 70 buildings, including a fire station, police said. Tens of thousands of people had evacuated in long streams of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Ivan was expected to submerge downtown areas of Mobile, but not everybody heeded the appeals to evacuate. In New Orleans, officials remained nervous that “Ivan’s” storm surge and rains could breach levies, overwhelm pumps and flood streets with a toxic brew of sewage, chemicals and water from the Mississippi River. Experts said Ivan could cause up to $10 billion in insured losses in the USA on top of the $1 billion to $2 billion in losses in the Caribbean. The insured losses do not reflect lost revenues for Florida’s and the Gulf Coast’s tourism industries. Nor do they include the economic costs of closing down oilrigs and refineries along the Gulf Coast, source of a quarter of US oil and natural gas production. At 01:00 hours, (05:00, UTC), Ivan’s eye was about 40 miles south of the Alabama coast at lat 29.7N, long 87.9W, and moving north at about 12 mph, forecasters said. “Ivan’s” top sustained winds were about 135 mph, making it a Category 4 hurricane.

24 September 2004. Reborn tropical depression “Ivan”, packing 5-10 inches of rain, made its way inland late yesterday near the Texas-Louisiana border. As of 23:00 hours, the storm’s maximum sustained winds were 35 mph and “Ivan” was moving northwest at about 9 mph, said the NHC. The storm was expected to weaken as it moved farther into Texas. On the eastern side of the storm, tornadoes are possible in southern Louisiana, the centre said. “Ivan” will probably make a westerly turn in the next 24 hours. “Ivan” regained strength Wednesday (21 September) as a tropical storm over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. “It’s just kind of like a cold front,” Freddie Richard Jr, emergency preparedness director in Louisiana’s Cameron Parish, said. “We’re just getting some rain and a little bit of wind.”

22 September 2004. Jamaica’s vital sugar industry could lose some US$25 million in revenue – a quarter of total earnings – because of severe crop damage from Hurricane “Ivan”, officials said today. About 35 per cent of the Caribbean island’s sugarcane crop was damaged by torrential rains and strong wind brought by Ivan nearly two weeks ago, said Allan Rickards, head of the Jamaica All-Island Cane Farmers Association. Though much of the crop will grow back, decreased sugarcane quality caused by flooding will likely lead to a 15-per cent drop in production this year, from 200,000 tonnes to 170,000 tonnes, near the island’s all-time low. “We will have a sugar crop, but it’s going to be a serious reduction in income,” said Rickards, whose group represents 12,000 cane farmers. “A lot of people are going to be hurt.” Sugar is Jamaica’s third-largest industry, employing some 40,000 workers and earning about US$100 million in foreign income. Ivan brushed Jamaica’s southern coast 11 September, destroying homes, knocking out power to most of the island and killing at least 17 people. The damage comes at an especially bad time for Jamaican sugar growers, who are already facing a massive cut in subsidies from European countries. The storm also wiped out much of Jamaica’s banana crop, forcing growers to abandon exports for up to nine months. Rickards said sugarcane growers are trying to acquire fertilizer to re-enrich the soil and salvage next year’s crop. Meanwhile, the government said today it is not planning major spending cuts to help finance reconstruction efforts after “Ivan”.

22 September 2004. The Coast Guard continues to work with the US Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA surveying and assessing damaged ports and waterways today in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to determine when they may be reopened. While aids to navigation repair, and dredging operations in hurricane-affected areas continue, mariners are asked to stay off the waterways that are closed and exercise caution when transiting due to aids to navigation discrepancies, debris, and possible shoaling and shifting of bottom topography. No significant change to port status has been made.

13 September 2004Vietnam

Landslides triggered by torrential rains buried 21 people in northern Vietnam, killing at least 11, an official said today. The landslides buried the victims, who belong to four Dao ethnic minority families, on Monday night (13 September) in Bat Xat district of Lao Cai province, chairman Ly Xeo Din of the district People’s Committee said. “We have found 11 bodies as of late Tuesday and hope to retrieve about 10 more,” he said. Bat Xat is on the border with China and is 236 miles north-west of Hanoi.

18 September 2004Panama

Nine people have been killed and 13 declared missing after strong rains triggered flooding and mudslides in Panama, civil defence authorities say. Roberto Velasquez, head of the National System for Civil Protection, says seven of the dead are children, three of whom died in a mudslide in San Miguelito district. President Martin Torrijos has visited flooded areas and ordered the ministries of health, housing and public works to assist victims and repair damages to roads and public buildings. “It’s a tragic, sad situation,” Mr Torrijos said. Mr Velasquez says rescue personnel are hunting for 13 people declared missing after the Cabra Riverover flowed its banks some 40 kilometres south-east of the capital.

23 September 2004China

Floods in China killed more than 1,000 people this year, destroyed 650,000 village homes and caused 64.7 billion yuan ($7.82 billion) in direct economic losses, the official Xinhua News agency said. This year’s floods killed 1,029 people and affected about 114.7 million people, Xinhua said. China put the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project, on alert earlier this month as floods upstream on the Yangtze River in Sichuan province and in the huge Chongqing municipality killed more than 100 people. The dam was built to stop centuries of flooding on the world’s third-longest river, which did not overflow as much as in previous years, state media said.

17 September 2004Hurricane “Jeanne”

Threatening to regain hurricane strength, Tropical Storm “Jeanne” headed for the Bahamas on a track for the south-eastern USA after killing three people and causing extensive damage in the Caribbean. The storm forced the evacuation of thousands yesterday as it slammed into the Dominican Republic after punishing Puerto Rico with flash floods and deadly winds. “Jeanne” made landfall on the Dominican Republic’s eastern tip and then weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it raked the north coast. But forecasters warned that it could strengthen before reaching the southern Bahamas today. It could then move toward the USA, anywhere from Florida to the Carolinas. “Jeanne’s” heavy rains soaked the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, where a four-month-old died when a landslide crushed part of her family’s house, said Jose Luis German, spokesman for the country’s National Emergency Committee. At least eight people were injured as trees toppled and floods struck parts of the east and north-east, officials said. Crashing waves pounded the north coast and winds battered trees. Telephone service and electricity were out. Some flights were cancelled. More than 8,200 Dominicans were evacuated and took refuge in shelters set up in schools and churches, officials said. Beachside hotels and restaurants closed along the north coast, while authorities ordered boats into port. “Jeanne” hit the Dominican Republic with winds of near 80 mph. It was at 70 mph, just 4 mph shy of a hurricane, when it raged across Puerto Rico on Wednesday, dumping up to two feet of rain on the US territory, flooding hundreds of homes, snapping trees and downing power lines. “It left a wake of destruction that we now have to face,” Puerto Rican Gov. Sila Calderon said yesterday. She asked President Bush to declare a disaster to speed the release of federal aid. Heavy rains continued to soak parts of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, threatening flash floods and mudslides. Landslides have caused a large amount of damage to the exotic vegetation in the Caribbean National Forest. About 3,600 Puerto Ricans remained in shelters yesterday, dozens of roads were blocked, most of the four million islanders were without power and some 600,000 without running water for a second day, Calderon said. One Puerto Rican woman was killed Wednesday (15 September) when winds flung her from a hammock and smashed her into a neighbour’s house, and a man putting up storm shutters died when he fell from a roof, police said. At 02:00 “Jeanne’s” eye was over the north-east Dominican Republic, about 65 miles north-northeast of Santo Domingo. The storm was drifting, with storm-force winds stretched out 70 miles, and expected to remain near the Dominican coast through today. A slow west-north-west turn was expected in 12-24 hours. A hurricane warning was posted for the south-eastern Bahamas and the British Turks and Caicos Islands, and a watch for the central Bahamas. Haiti’s north coast was under a storm warning.

18 September 2004. Tropical storm “Jeanne” headed for the Bahamas today after an assault on the Dominican Republic that killed ten people, destroyed hundreds of houses and forced thousands from their homes. “Jeanne,” which also killed two people in the US territory of Puerto Rico earlier in the week, prompted storm warnings in parts of the Bahamas, a 700-island chain with a population of 300,000. President Bush declared a disaster in Puerto Rico today, a move that releases federal aid. At 11:00, EDT, the centre of “Jeanne” was near Great Inagua Island in the south-eastern Bahamas, moving north-north-west at about 7 mph with top winds of 50 mph, the US National Hurricane Centre said. The longer-term forecast, which has a wide margin of error, forecast “Jeanne” staying well to the east of the USA in the coming days. Roads in and out of badly hit Pensacola, Florida, were clogged on Saturday with National Guard troops, emergency workers, electrical repair crews and residents returning to the area. The routes were complicated by roads cut by smashed bridges and strewn debris. In the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, authorities said the death toll in the storm had risen to ten, while 146 people were injured after “Jeanne” lashed the north of the country for two days with high winds and torrential rains.

20 September 2004. More than 90 people in Haiti have died as a result of floods in the wake of tropical storm “Jeanne”, which swept through the Caribbean in recent days. Several people are also reported missing after torrential rains fell on the north-west of the country. UN peacekeepers, who came to Haiti following a coup in February, have been deployed to help survivors. “Jeanne” had earlier caused extensive flooding and a number of deaths in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Two days of steady rain sent torrents down the mountains of northern Haiti, causing a river to burst its banks, officials said. A UN official in Haiti said there were 50 confirmed deaths, but the numbers could rise. “We don’t know how many dead there are,” Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said. “2004 has been a terrible year,” he added. The disaster came four months after floods killed more than 3,000 people in the border area between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At its strongest, “Jeanne” killed at least eight people in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. In the Bahamas the government on Sunday called off all warnings as “Jeanne” took a north-westerly turn out into the sea.

17 September 2004. Hurricane “Jeanne” attacked the north-eastern region of the Dominican Republic yesterday, injuring at least eight people, after hitting Puerto Rico where hundreds of homes were destroyed and two people killed, according to reports reaching here. Floods caused by heavy rains submerged main streets in the north-eastern Dominican city of Samana and the south-eastern city of Romana, cutting off transportation and power. The eastern Dominican city of Higuey was the worst hit, with hundreds of houses washed away by floods, thousands of people displaced and at least eight injured. The Dominican government has declared a state of emergency. By now, some residents have been evacuated from five cities in the eastern area, all schools in the country closed and sea transportation and fishing halted.

21 September 2004. Floods and mudslides from Tropical Storm “Jeanne” have killed about 90 people in Haiti and more are missing in the Caribbean nation, as the storm swirls in the Atlantic east of the Bahamas. “Jeanne” previously killed 11 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Two days of steady rain sent torrents down the mountains in the Artibonite and north-west provinces of Haiti, causing rivers to burst their banks and triggering mudslides, civil defence officials said. UN resident coordinator Adama Guindo said about 50 people were killed around Gonaives. The city of 200,000 people was covered with mud and a delegation of officials could not leave the high ground to enter. Many people had climbed onto roofs to escape the floodwaters and were stranded there, the officials said. The island of La Tortue, off Haiti’s north coast, was barely visible under the water, according to officials who flew over it in a helicopter. Homes were washed away, cars were caught in the rising water and telephone service was cut off, making it difficult to communicate with emergency officials in the region. Officials with the Office of Civil Protection said about 30 people were also killed in flooding in the north-west province of Haiti and others are believed missing. About ten deaths were reported in other areas and at least 380 were injured, officials said. Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said he would declare a state of emergency, and the World Health Organisation was sending a team to distribute medical kits. “Jeanne” swept north of Hispaniola during the weekend. On Sunday (19 September), it was spinning northward in the Atlantic Ocean about 230 kilometres east-north-east of San Salvador and had top sustained winds of 80 kph. The US National Hurricane Centre in Miami expected it to turn to the northeast, away from the Bahamas by late yesterday.

21 September 2004. At least 250 people have died in massive floods that raged across northern Haiti after Tropical Storm “Jeanne” hit the Caribbean nation over the weekend (18-19 September), a UN spokesman said, while 18 people were killed in other Caribbean islands. The death toll in Haiti was based only on the bodies counted early yesterday at the public hospital in the northern city of Gonaives, and the total number could still rise as local officials in other parts of the country grapple with the enormity of the floods. Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, who declared three days of national mourning, flew over a flooded area by helicopter on Sunday. He described the area as a “vast sea.” “There is not one house in the city of Gonaives that is not flooded,” Latortue said, adding that 80 per cent of the population there, or 80,000 people, need food. Meanwhile, authorities were without news from the country’s second largest island, La Tortue. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) could not find the island of 26,000 people while flying over the region by helicopter on Sunday. MINUSTAH resumed its emergency helicopter flights carrying food and medicine to Gonaives, the mission’s spokesman Toussaint Kongo-Doudou said. “All humanitarian agencies have mobilized to assist in the devastated regions,” including medical teams dispatched by the United Nations and Doctors Without Borders, he said. One tonne of medicine will be airlifted to Gonaives, while the UN’s World Food Program will send convoys of food and water to the city about 110 kilometres north of the capital, Kongo-Doudou said.

21 September 2004. At least 573 were killed by Tropical Storm “Jeanne” and officials said they expected the toll to rise. More than 500 people had died in Gonaives, according to Touissant Kongo-Doudou, a spokesman for the UN mission. Another 17 died in the nearby town of Terre Neuve, agriculture official Madiro Morilus said, and another 56 were recovered in the northern city of Port-de-Paix, according to Kongo-Doudou. The toll has been largest in Haiti where deforestation has made even light rain deadly. More than 90 per cent of Haiti’s trees have been chopped down, mostly to make charcoal. Without roots and foliage, there is nothing to hold water back from low-lying towns.

21 September 2004. The town of Gonaives has been completely destroyed by hurricane “Jeanne”. The hospital does not exist anymore. All patients drowned. There is no government building, as well as most private ones, standing, following a rise in the flood water of 15 feet. There have been more than 1,000 deaths and all people there have no food no water whatsoever. The town does not exist anymore. The road to Cape Haiti does not exist anymore either for it goes through Gonaives. Cape Haiti, Port-de-Paix and all the coast line suffered great casualties Rescuers dug through mud and ruined homes for bodies today, expecting the death toll of more than 600 from Hurricane “Jeanne” to rise even further, with half the crowded northern city of Gonaives still under water from the weekend’s devastating winds and rain. Bodies, including many children, were stacked at the city’s main morgue. At least 500 people were killed in Gonaives, according to Toussaint Kongo-Doudou, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti. Aid workers were struggling to get relief to victims amid worries over looting and crime, said Hans Havik from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Three trucks carrying Red Cross relief supplies rolled into Gonaives yesterday, but before they could reach their destination at the mayor’s office, two of them were mobbed by people who grabbed blankets and towels. UN troops stood by watching. People tripped over each other to grab tiny bags of water thrown from a Red Cross truck in front of City Hall, where officials said about 500 injured were treated yesterday. Dieufort Deslorges, a spokesman for the government civil protection agency, described the situation in Gonaives as “catastrophic”. He said survivors need everything from potable water to food, clothing, medication and disinfectants. “We expect to find dozens more bodies, especially in Gonaives, as floodwaters recede,” Deslorges said. Floodwaters destroyed homes and crops in the Artibonite region that is Haiti’s breadbasket. Elsewhere, 56 people were killed in northern Port-de-Paix and 17 died in the nearby town of Terre Neuve, officials said. Deslorges reported another 49 bodies recovered in other villages and towns, most in the northwest. “Jeanne” regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic yesterday, but posed no immediate threat to land. At 05:00 hours, today, it was moving eastnorth-east with 90 mph winds, about 445 miles east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.

22 September 2004. The death toll across Haiti from the weekend deluges brought by Tropical Storm “Jeanne” rose to more than 700 yesterday, with about 600 of them in Gonaives, and officials said they expected to find more dead and estimated tens of thousands of people were homeless. Waterlines up to ten feet high on Gonaives’ buildings marked the worst of the storm that sent water gushing down denuded hills, destroying homes and crops in the Artibonite region that is Haiti’s breadbasket. Floodwaters receded, but half of Haiti’s third-largest city was still swamped with contaminated water up to two feet deep. Not a house in the city of 250,000 people escaped damage. Rescue workers reported recovering 691 bodies by Tuesday night, about 600 of them in Gonaives and more than 40 in northern Port-de-Paix, Deslorges said. In addition, at least 51 were recovered in other areas. But Deslorges said there were dozens more dead still unaccounted for, which would bring the toll past 700. More than 1,000 people were missing, said Raoul Elysee, head of the Haitian Red Cross, which was trying desperately to find doctors to help. The international aid group CARE said 85 of its 200 workers in Gonaives were unaccounted for. Brazilian and Jordanian troops in the UN peacekeeping mission sent to stabilize Haiti after rebels ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February struggled to help the needy as aid workers ferried supplies of water and food to victims. CARE spokesman Rick Perera said the agency had about 660 tonnes of dry food in Gonaives, including corn-soy blend, dried lentils and cooking oil and was trying to set up distribution points. Several nations were sending aid including $1.8 million from the European Union and $1 million and rescue supplies from Venezuela. The US Embassy announced $60,000 in immediate relief aid Monday (20 September). Yesterday, “Jeanne” was posing no threat to land, about 515 miles east of Great Abaco island in the Bahamas.

23 September 2004. Authorities yesterday readied mass graves for the putrefying bodies of northern Haiti’s flood victims, feared to number as many as 1,700, as calls went out for international relief to aid the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. “Because of the situation of the bodies, we have decided to bury the dead in mass graves,” said Interior Minister Herard Abraham.

23 September 2004. Haiti began burying hundreds of flood victims in mass graves yesterday while emergency food was distributed to some of the thousands of people made homeless by Tropical Storm “Jeanne”. The death toll rose to 1,008 in the Artibonite region around the northern coastal city of Gonaives and 72 in Haiti’s Northwest province, said Dr Carl Murat Cantave, a government official. Another 1,000 people were missing and the final death count was likely to hit 2,000, he said. The UN’s World Food Programme said its first convoy of trucks carrying 40 metric tons of food arrived Tuesday night (21 September) and aid agencies were distributing rice, beans, cooking oil and loaves of fresh bread. “At this point we think at least 175,000 people are affected across the country. Many of them were already very vulnerable and now, they have lost their homes, their entire crops, their animals and the few belongings they had,” said the WFP country director, Guy Gauvreau. UN forces maintaining the peace after Aristide’s departure were helping with rescue and relief efforts. The international Red Cross, meanwhile, launched a worldwide appeal for $3.3 million to help the flood victims. By 17:00 hours, yesterday (21:00, UTC) “Jeanne” was 500 miles east of Great Abaco island in the north-eastern Bahamas and moving slowly west-south-west. Packing winds of 100 mph, the storm was expected to swing to the west eventually and may threaten the east coast of the USA next week, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

23 September 2004. UN peacekeepers increased security today in the Haitian city of Gonaives where more than 1,000 people died in floods, after desperate survivors fought each other to get at emergency food supplies. Toussaint Kongo-Doudou, spokesman for a Brazilian-led UN force patrolling the country, said additional UN troops would also guard food convoys heading to Gonaives. The decision to boost security around relief operations was made after UN troops had to fire into the air yesterday to prevent looting when the first beans, rice and other supplies were handed out to an estimated 20,000 flood victims. “I think it’s fair to say that the situation is tense because people are desperate. Many have not eaten since Saturday (18 September) night or Sunday (19 September) morning,” said Anne Poulsen, spokeswoman for the UN World Food Programme. The national civil defence agency said 1,150 bodies had been recovered by this morning, mainly from Gonaives. Another 1,200 people were still missing and the United Nations warned the body count could rise dramatically in the coming days because two areas of Gonaives remained under water and inaccessible. Representatives from donor countries met in Port-au-Prince today and pledged to quickly pump $84 million into Haiti. Some of that was new money earmarked for disaster relief, and some was to be drawn from gifts and loans already pledged to help the nation bring an end to chronic political instability and poverty. The biggest amount was to come from the World Bank, which pledged $6 million in the next two weeks and $61 million in December. “Jeanne”, with winds of 105 mph, was currently 425 miles east of Great Abaco island in the Bahamas. It was expected to hit the northern Bahamas on Saturday (25 September) and Florida on Sunday (26 September).

25 September 2004. More than half a million residents of Florida’s east coast were urged to evacuate, again, as Hurricane “Jeanne” churned westward today and threatened to become the fourth hurricane to pound the state in the last six weeks. The 100 mph storm could come ashore somewhere on the state’s east coast by Sunday (26 September), targeting some of the same areas hit by previous storms and potentially turning piles of still-un-cleared debris into deadly missiles.

Hurricane “Jeanne” is battering the Bahamas with violent winds and torrential rains – the second storm to hit the islands in under a month. The hurricane is roaring over the island of Great Abaco with sustained winds of about 105 mph. Hundreds of people there and on Grand Bahama were in emergency shelters. “Jeanne” is set to hit Florida later tonight or early tomorrow. People living along the densely populated east coast have been urged to leave. The eye of the hurricane hit Marsh Harbour on Abaco island, which has a population of 20,000, this morning. “Jeanne” is set to move on to Grand Bahama island, which was badly hit by Hurricane “Frances” three weeks ago. Many houses had roofs ripped off and some homeless people were still living with relatives or neighbours. Half of Grand Bahama’s 70,000 people were still without electricity. The NHC has issued a hurricane warning along Florida’s east coast from Florida City in the south up to St Augustine. At 12:00, UTC, “Jeanne” was some 190 miles from Florida. Up to one million people have been urged to leave for safer areas. “Jeanne” is forecast to slam into some of the same areas hit by the previous hurricanes, including Fort Pierce.

Haiti’s government has drawn up plans to evacuate parts of the city of Gonaives, amid fears of disease in the wake of tropical storm “Jeanne.” Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said that a decision would be made shortly on whether to implement the plans. Latortue said the number of people killed had risen to more than 1,500. Aid workers have warned of the dangers of poor sanitation after the sewage system was torn apart in the flooding. Waters have slowly begun to recede in Gonaives, the country’s third largest city. The United Nations says that it expects several hundred more bodies to be found once the full impact of the floods and landslides has been measured. Many homes have been ripped apart, forcing the owners to live on the streets or on the rooftops of houses that are still intact. The authorities are continuing to bury victims of the floods in mass graves. Corpses have been dumped in a pit near Gonaives in an attempt to prevent the spread of disease, while unclaimed bodies continue to litter the city. The roads are covered in a thick coat of mud and there is a smell of raw sewage in the air. Survivors have to drink and cook with water from ditches containing rotting bodies and sewage. Aid was reported to be slowly getting through to Gonaives, but there have been angry scenes at some relief centres as large crowds have gathered, desperate to get hold of food and water. A hurricane warning has been issued along the west coast of Florida from Englewood to the Suwanee River. A hurricane warning continues in effect for the Florida east coast from Hallandale northward to St Augustine, including Lake Keechobee.

26 September 2004. Hurricane “Jeanne” peeled roofs off houses, a hospital and an emergency shelter and left almost two million people without power today as it ploughed through parts of Florida already scarred by Hurricane “Frances” three weeks ago. “Jeanne” weakened slowly as it moved inland after pounding the Atlantic coast with towering waves and ferocious winds, killing at least one person and uprooting trees. Dawn broke over towns littered with tree limbs, scraps of aluminium, strips of roof and other debris. In some areas, cars stood in fender-deep floodwaters. At 08:00, EDT, the storm was hammering central Florida with 100 mph winds and driving rain as it slowly unravelled 65 miles east-south-east of Tampa. The storm’s eye made landfall just before midnight near the southern end of Hutchinson Island just off Stuart with winds of 120 mph. Stuart Mayor Jeff Krauskopf said a hospital lost half its roof but the 50 patients inside were safe.

Desperate Haitians in flood-ravaged Gonaives are mobbing relief workers to steal food aid, prompting the United Nations to rush more peacekeepers in to stem the looting. General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, the Brazilian Army commander in charge of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, criticised the slow pace of relief reaching residents. He said many people were suffering from diarrhoea and that people were contracting gangrene. Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said yesterday that the storm had killed at least 1,500 people. He said the government was drawing up plans to evacuate some of the 300,000 homeless victims to a tent camp. Some victims, fearing the spread of disease, said they would abandon the city. The director of the World Food Program’s Haiti operation said aid groups had been able to get food to only about 25,000 people last week – one-tenth of the city’s population. Planeloads of aid have arrived in Port au Prince, the capital, but getting it to Gonaives is a nine-hour drive with the final leg of the route covered by a lake of mud littered with mired aid trucks. A truck that managed to get through this morning was looted by desperate residents. They threw out packets of water, sending children in the streets dodging other aid trucks to grab the precious loot. Argentine soldiers finally pushed people back from the truck. Some 140 Uruguayan soldiers were on their way to reinforce about 600 UN peacekeepers already in Gonaives, said a spokesman for the UN mission.

The death toll in disastrous flooding in Haiti has risen to some 1,650, with about 800 people still missing, a government official said today. Hurricane “Jeanne” lashed Haiti with torrential rains as a tropical storm a week ago. Floodwaters and mud cascaded into the northern city of Gonaives and other parts of the north and north-west, leaving tens of 1,000s of people with nothing in the poorest country in the Americas. Carl Murat Cantave, a Haitian government official, said the toll was now 1,650.

27 September 2004. Neighbourhoods of roofless houses were swamped under 6 ft of water in Freeport today, a day after Hurricane “Jeanne” blew through the Bahamas. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries in the Bahamas from the Category 3 storm. Some areas of Freeport were without electricity and water early today, although those services were expected to be restored by day’s end. The city’s airport on Grand Bahama island, which was submerged yesterday, reopened today, officials said. It was impossible to get news from Abaco island, where Jeanne made a direct hit yesterday, lashing the island with 115 mph winds and torrential rains. Telephone lines were down and Bahamian officials were unable to reach the low-lying island. Central and northern parts of the island, including Marsh Harbor, Cooper’s Town and Grand Cay, suffered the most damage, said David Cates, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency. An emergency flight by assessment teams was planned for early tomorrow, Cates said. About 700 people had taken refuge at an emergency shelter in a school in Marsh Harbor, the main town on Abaco, an island of 10,000 people, officials said. After hitting Abaco, “Jeanne” whirled along the north coast of Grand Bahama island, where thousands of people took refuge in shelters and homes with windows boarded up. “We have had many reports of roofs blown off, caving in and flooding in low-lying areas from tidal surges,” said Alexander E. Williams, the chief emergency official on Grand Bahama island. The damage to more than 100 homes was limited mostly to roofs, Williams said. Emergency workers ventured into storm-struck neighbourhoods today to assess the damage. In some Freeport neighbourhoods, floodwaters were 6 ft deep, said Matt Maura, spokesman for the Bahamas emergency agency, but floodwaters were receding quickly in most areas of Grand Bahama, Williams said.

27 September 2004. More than a week after devastating floods hit northern Haiti the death count rose sharply as reports came in from remote areas today and aid workers struggled to feed thousands of desperate people. The estimated toll from the floods triggered by hurricane “Jeanne” climbed to about 2,400 after a parish priest reported “a total disaster” in small towns in Poteau, a region outside Gonaives. In Gonaives, young men grabbed food from an aid convoy and others robbed women for bags of rice. Aid workers, backed by armed UN peacekeeping forces, increased the number of distribution points for emergency supplies to four but still faced tense crowds of destitute people clamouring for help. Torrential rain engulfed much of the port city of 200,000 people last week. Government estimates had put the death toll at 1,650, with about 800 missing. However, Toussaint Chery, who as parish priest is Poteau’s top authority, said about 1,000 people had died in 18 rural communities in his region. At least 750 of those deaths had not been previously reported, taking the nationwide toll from “Jeanne” to about 2,400. Carl Murat Cantave, a government official in Gonaives, also said the official toll would rise. “Given the number of missing, when we declare the final death toll in the coming days, it will be at least 2,337 just for the Gonaives region,” he said. Relief agencies were working to set up more food distribution centres as soon as they could establish secure sites, said Rick Perera, a spokesman for relief agency CARE.

28 September 2004. The remnants of Hurricane “Jeanne” veered northward into Virginia today after pelting Georgia and the Carolinas with heavy rains and leaving thousands in these states without electricity. “Jeanne”, which cut a swath of destruction through Florida last weekend, swept into Georgia and the Carolinas yesterday after being downgraded to a tropical depression. It dumped as much as 12 inches of rain in some parts of the states. The weakened weather system caused one death and a handful of minor injuries in South Carolina, according to John Legare, a spokesman for the state’s emergency management division. Officials in Georgia and North Carolina reported no deaths. Damage to buildings and power lines in these states paled in comparison to that seen in Florida, where thousands of homes were damaged and some five million people left without electricity.

29 September 2004. Public safety officials are estimating roughly $13.5 million in damages to area homes and businesses caused by Hurricane “Jeanne” as she muscled her way across the state Sunday (26 September). Public safety officials sent out a request to FEMA for assistance and are expecting word from the federal agency sometime today. Manatee County was included in the presidential declaration for public assistance – for expenses and losses of public agencies. It has not yet been included for individual assistance for homeowners and businesses. Before the Manatee County Emergency Operations Centre shut down its operations yesterday, officials spoke with emergency operations staff in harder hit areas, like Polk County, to ask whether mutual aid from Manatee County law enforcement and public safety officers would be necessary. The state of local emergency declared by commissioners on Saturday will expire this coming Saturday. The Peace River Electric Co-operative incurred damage to some of its substations during “Jeanne,” with its Ellenton branch suffering the hardest hit, according to the Manatee County Web site. As a result, east Manatee customers may be without power up to seven days.

Existing major structural damages from Hurricane “Frances” were aggravated significantly. BORCO appears to be partially back in business but understand that South Riding Point oil jetty will be knocked out for some time.

The United Nations will launch a global appeal for $30 million in emergency aid to help Haiti recover from floods that killed hundreds of people, the executive director of UNICEF said today on a visit to the impoverished Caribbean nation. “The situation is quite devastating here,” said Carol Bellamy, who toured the port city of Gonaives, hard hit by floods triggered by hurricane “Jeanne” nearly two weeks ago. Up to 2,400 people have died in the floods, according to local officials. Aid workers are still trying to feed unruly crowds of hungry people. “The hospitals can’t function. They are full of mud,” Bellamy said. “The schools are being used for shelters. There is food distribution, but not sufficient yet.” She said the United Nations would make its appeal on Friday (1 October) for $30 million, the amount Haitian officials said was urgently needed to provide food and water and other relief for the next three months. UN peacekeeping troops have set up a makeshift medical centre in a school and doctors have treated 2,000 people in ten days, many for illnesses from drinking unclean water. Starting tomorrow, relief workers planned to fan out into neighbourhoods to distribute supplies, to discourage large unruly crowds from gathering at the aid centres, said Carl Murat Cantave, a government official in Gonaives. Agriculture Minister Philippe Mathiew estimated damages in the Gonaives area at $21 million. Officials said international donors have promised $84 million, including $10 million the Inter-American Development Bank will disburse from an existing loan as soon as Haiti’s government identifies what it wants to spend the money on. The United States and Canada have pledged $2 million each, Venezuela $1 and the European Union $1.5 million.

22 September 2004India

Rain has killed at least 36 people and washed away houses and farms in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said today. Thirty-five of the people including a number of women and children died when flash floods submerged homes yesterday in Sitapur district near the border with Nepal, local magistrate Amod Kumar said. “Most of the casualties took place last night when people were sleeping and were caught unawares when their houses collapsed,” Mr Kumar said, adding Sitapur had seen heavy rain since yesterday. Police in the state capital Lucknow said heavy rain killed at least one person in the city yesterday. Rain also lashed the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh today but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties, officials said. They said the downpour disrupted traffic in the state capital Shimla and other towns and that the mountains saw un-seasonal snowfall.

27 September 2004Bangladesh

The World Bank and Asian Development Bank said recent floods in Bangladesh had caused 2.2 billion dollars worth of damage. The two donor banks announced the finding after they sent a joint mission to the flood-ravaged country earlier this month to carry out a damage and needs assessment. “The 2004 floods are likely to be as devastating as the 1998 floods in many ways and the mission’s preliminary estimates show that total damage and output losses is about 2.2 billion dollars,” said Christine Wallich, World Bank country representative in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government had said earlier the latest flooding caused 6.6 billion dollars in damage to property and infrastructure. Finance and Planning Minister Saifur Rahman described the report as “incomplete” as it did not include the overall damage caused by the recent flood and the countrywide downpour, official news agency BSS reports. The joint mission, however, admitted the assessment was partial since it has visited only ten districts to assess the damage. The multilateral lending agencies also put forward a proposal for rehabilitation schemes consisting three phases including short- to long-term programmes. At least 700 people died during the flooding in July and August and millions were left stranded or forced to flee their homes. More heavy rain two weeks ago caused more flooding and claimed at least 18 more lives. Experts say the post-flood period can be more dangerous than the floods due to threat of disease and lack of food where crops have been ruined.

22 November 2004Turkey

A total of 13 people were killed and 121 injured today in road accidents in Turkey provoked by snow storms and heavy rains that wreaked havoc and paralysed the country. Snow began falling in Istanbul late yesterday, causing huge traffic jams this morning, leaving motorists trapped on the two bridges linking the Asian and European sides of the city. Traffic was at a near standstill on major arteries in Istanbul and in the capital Ankara, where the snowfall that began Saturday (20 November) has been continuing almost non-stop since. Heavy fogs and snow on Mount Bolu, the halfway point on the busy highway linking Ankara and Istanbul, resulted in at least 21 accidents in which 53 people were hurt, television channels reported. In the central city of Yozgat, a bus transporting school children fell from a bridge, killing four – including two teenagers – and injuring 42, reported the Turkish news agency. Officials reported that 2,800 local roads were cut off, blocking villages, and some 100 homes flooded in the southern city of Adana.

20 November 2004Typhoon “Muifa” (The Philippines)

At least five persons were confirmed killed while 20 others were reported missing as Typhoon “Unding” (international codename: “Muifa”) battered several areas of the Bicol region and neighbouring provinces yesterday, reports reaching the NDCC in Camp Aguinaldo said. Defence Secretary and NDCC Chairman Avelino Cruz Jr also said thousands of families in Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Roxas City in the Visayas were evacuated to government relief centres due to massive flooding. The OCD said that the 20 missing persons were mostly fishermen whose boats RB Jamaica and Binsan Govbe, capsized in an undisclosed area. Reports also said that at least 823 families or 4,117 persons were evacuated to 13 government relief centres in Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Roxas City. The NDCC reported that damage caused by “Muifa” was estimated at R86,887,483, with damage to crops placed at R45,413,463; infrastructure R41,810,000 and private property R484,000. NDCC officials said that power interruption was experienced in several areas of Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Masbate and Sorsogon. Power supply was immediately restored later in the afternoon in areas of Masbate and Catanduanes. Landslides were also monitored on the San Miguel-Viga-PanganibanPanda Road in Catanduanes. The NDCC said that there was heavy flooding in San Agustin, Sta. Cruz and Lipon area in Albay. PDCC authorities said they released 550 sacks of rice to the evacuation areas in Region 5 (Bicol region). The Marinduque Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council undertook clearing operations along all roads connecting the municipalities of Boac, Mogpog and Sta. Cruz. Three fishermen were saved by patrol boats while several others are still missing after their fishing vessel sank off the coast of Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, yesterday. Mayor Jess Dimapilis of Roxas did not identify the victims. “We were not able to interview them because they were still in shock,” Dimapilis told radio DZMM’s “Pasada Sais Trenta” program yesterday afternoon. He said that rescue crewmen are still looking for other survivors of the ill-fated vessel that came from Zamboanga. The official said several patrol boats from neighbouring municipalities have been dispatched to Roxas to help in search and rescue efforts. The Coast Guard and Philippine National Police have also been notified of the incident, he said.

22 November 2004. At least 24 people were killed and dozens were missing in the central Philippines after heavy rains and waves whipped up by a tropical storm sank several vessels, disaster officials said today. The coast guard rushed rescue teams to waters around the central Mindoro and Romblon islands to search for about 40 fishing vessels missing since Saturday (20 November), when tropical storm “Muifa” pounded the southern part of the main island of Luzon. Disaster officials said 61 persons were missing and 79 injured. “We expect the toll to increase because many areas in Mindoro island remained isolated,” Neri Amparo of the NDCC told reporters. “Several towns have no power and no communications to the outside world. We are trying to restore them to get a more accurate picture of the disaster.” The NDCC said five people drowned, two died from hypothermia and another was killed by a falling tree in the Bicol region. About 16 others died of unknown causes, Amparo said. Disaster officials said the typhoon displaced more than 60,000 people in the affected regions, but most of them had returned home by today. Close to 30,000 houses were damaged or destroyed. Crop and property damages were estimated at 73 million pesos ($1.3 million). The storm moved out into the South China Sea, strengthening again into a typhoon, and was headed for southern Vietnam.

22 November 2002. Fifty-eight fishermen are missing, feared drowned as the death toll from a severe storm that battered the Philippines rose to 24. Hopes were fading for dozens of fishermen who were lost at sea south of the main island of Luzon when “Muifa” unexpectedly changed course and struck the region on Friday (19 November). Coast Guard spokesman Armando Balilo said the missing men had spent more than 48 hours in raging waters and that aerial searches of the region were underway. “We are using helicopters to look for them,” he said. Balilo said the authorities were checking reports that four of the missing were washed ashore in the central island of Romblon. He could not say whether the four were alive or dead. After lashing the Bicol peninsula early last week, “Muifa” went for a second pass at the weekend before plowing through the islands of Marinduque, Mindoro and Coron on its way to the South China Sea. Forty-three fishing boats and two tugs with a total of 58 crewmen on board were unaccounted for off Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, the Coron island group and off the Bondoc peninsula near Bicol, the civil defence office said in an updated report. Big waves and strong winds sank or capsized the vessels on Saturday, killing two other crew members. Thirty-four other crew members were rescued by other vessels. The government agency reported three other deaths by drowning, two by hypothermia, one struck by a falling tree, five by a tornado near Roxas town on Mindoro, and 11 others due to unspecified causes. Three other people are also missing, while 79 were injured. “Muifa” destroyed or damaged more than 27,000 houses and displaced more than 60,000 people, it added. The storm wrought 73 million pesos, $1.3 million dollars, in damage to crops and infrastructure, the civil defence office said. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said food and assistance were being rushed to the heavily hit areas. “We will start giving emergency shelter assistance. Many houses have lost their roofs, if not totally damaged,” Soliman told reporters. “We have been coordinating with the agencies and have provided relief, basically rice, because that is what they need,” she said.

23 November 2004. Flash floods triggered by a powerful typhoon left at least 14 people dead in the north-eastern Philippines, bringing the toll to nearly 40 since the weekend, officials said. Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Restituto Padilla said heavy rains prevented two military helicopters from reaching the flooded shorelines near Dingalan town in Aurora province, about 110 kilometres north-east of Manila, where rescue officials said at least 14 residents died. “The area is inaccessible by road and the weather is not getting better. The rain continues and we can’t land at the moment,” Padilla told The Associated Press, adding that casualty and damage reports from the remote area were sketchy. The Office of Civil Defence reported at least 14,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Typhoon “Muifa” slammed into the Philippines over the weekend with winds of 110 kph and gusts up to 140 kph, capsizing boats, damaging farmlands and leaving at least 24 dead and up to 79 injured, the civil defence office said. Sixty-one others, mostly fishermen, went missing in the provinces of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Quezon and Romblon. Officials said the death toll would probably rise further as hopes for finding any more survivors faded. The typhoon toppled trees, electricity and telephone lines as it sliced through the Bicol region on the main island of Luzon, before blowing westward on its way out of the country toward Vietnam yesterday.

23 November 2004. Typhoon “Muifa” battered the Philippines left 29 dead and 84 missing, officials said. “Muifa” swept out of the country, leaving many drowned or missing at sea after capsizing and sinking at least eight fishing and cargo boats off in the Philippine archipelago. Another 89 people were injured while 211,864 people had been forced to flee their homes at the height of storm “Muifa,” the office said although some of the evacuees had since started returning home. Over 9,700 houses were totally destroyed by the storm while initial damage estimates to agriculture, infrastructure and private business hit 147.5 million pesos (2.64 million dollars), the office added.

At least 65 people have died and thousands been left homeless in the Philippines as fresh rains and flooding from a tropical storm compounded the misery and damage from a typhoon over the weekend. Air force and disaster officials said up to 16 people were killed in Aurora province, north-east of Manila, during heavy rains. Air force teams said many residents had been injured by logs being washed out to sea from the Sierra Madre mountains. Local officials had requested extra food and medical supplies. The NDCC said 14,000 people were displaced in Aurora province and 200 houses were partially destroyed. Rescuers were also scouring the sea around the islands of Romblon, Mindoro and Palawan for 67 people missing since Saturday (20 November) when dozens of fishing boats capsized as Typhoon “Muifa” hit the Philippines. The NDCC said 49 people were killed during the typhoon, which moved towards Vietnam on Sunday. Damage to crops, mainly rice and corn, from Muifa was put at 97.5 million pesos (8.3 million pounds). Property damage was about 50 million pesos. “Most of the farmers just finished harvesting, so damage to rice was not that high,” said Gregorio Tan, administrator of grain trading firm the National Food Authority. “Muifa” displaced more than 200,000 people but most returned by yesterday. Nearly 30,000 houses were damaged or destroyed.

24 November 2004. The death toll from a weekend typhoon and a storm in the Philippines has risen to 79 people and at least 86 others are missing, a disaster agency said today. Nearly 11,000 houses were destroyed and more than 23,000 buildings damaged when Typhoon “Muifa” struck the Bicol region southeast of Manila at the weekend, affecting more than 250,000 people, said Neri Amparo, operations chief at the Office of Civil Defence. The typhoon killed 61 people and left 80 others missing, mostly fishermen, in Bicol province and on Mindoro and Romblon islands south of Manila, the office said in a report. The typhoon toppled trees, electricity and telephone lines, it said. Another 18 people died and six went missing in flash floods and a landslide from a smaller storm that dumped torrential rain over the provinces of Aurora and Nueva Ecija northeast of Manila early yesterday, disaster officials said. Much of the damage in the two provinces occurred when uprooted trees and illegally cut logs, washed away by the floods, smashed into homes and destroying a major bridge that led to the worst-hit town of Dingalan, about 110 kilometres northeast of Manila, Amparo said. Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Restituto Padilla said one military helicopter plucked three children from flooded shorelines near Dingalan yesterday. The area was inaccessible by road because of the debris and floodwaters that reached as high as rooftops in some areas. The floods subsided today, Amparo said. About 115 people have been injured in the typhoon and storm, which has since headed toward Vietnam.

24 November 2004. The Philippine Coast Guard reported the cargo barge Rosario is now anchored at Carmen Bay in Tablas island. Rosario was cut adrift after tug Tina, which was towing it, sank between Simara and Banton island on 20 November. The Coast Guard said that only one out of the Tina crew of 11 was rescued. This was contrary to earlier reports indicating that the entire crew of Tina was picked up by passing vessels. The Coast Guard said that search and rescue operations were ongoing to save the ten missing crew.