Category:

Disaster & Management

In the hands of God:’ Central America bears brunt of powerful hurricane Iota

About 40,000 people in Nicaragua have been evacuated to shelters, authorities said. Many coastal areas are at risk of storm surges of as much as 20 feet (6 meters) above normal tides. In Honduras, 80,000 people were moved to safety.

“It’s the strongest hurricane that has touched Nicaraguan soil since records began,” said Marcio Baca, director of the Nicaraguan Institute of Earth Studies.

This is the first time two major hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic basin in November since records began in 1851.

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Annual global modeled insured average Cat losses in 2020 at $100 billion:AIR Worldwide

“The ability for the global (re)insurance industry, financial institutions, governments, and non-governmental organizations to prepare for large losses before they occur is critical to continued solvency and resilience,” said Rob Newbold, executive vice president at AIR Worldwide.

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Philippines hunts for missing after its deadliest typhoon this year

Vamco, the 21st and most deadly cyclone to hit the country this year, tore through the main island of Luzon late on Wednesday and early Thursday, just as the country was reeling from Goni, the world’s strongest typhoon of 2020, which killed 25 people and flattened thousands of homes.

Tens of thousands of homes were engulfed by the floods and as the water receded in areas such as Marikina, a suburb east of Manila, homes covered in debris and caked in mud emerged.

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English judge blocks $6.6 billion Brazil lawsuit against BHP over burst dam

The case is the latest battle to establish whether multinationals can be held liable for the conduct of subsidiaries abroad.
The collapse of the Fundao dam, which is owned by the Samarco joint venture between BHP and Brazilian iron ore mining giant Vale VALE3.SA, killed 19 and sent a torrent of mining waste into communities, the Doce river, and the Atlantic Ocean, 650 kilometres (400 miles) away. It was Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.
The ruling comes about 18 months after the UK Supreme Court ruled that nearly 2,000 Zambian villagers could sue miner Vedanta in England for alleged pollution in Africa because substantial justice was not obtainable in Zambia.

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Super typhoon Goni slams into Philippines, 1 million evacuated

Manila’s main airport was ordered shut down for 24 hours from Sunday to Monday and airlines canceled dozens of international and domestic flights. The military and national police, along with the coast guard and firefighters, have been put on full alert.

About 1,000 Covid-19 patients were moved to hospitals and hotels from tent quarantine and treatment centers in the capital and the northern province of Bulacan, Jalad said. More emergency shelters would be opened than usual to avoid congestion that can rapidly spark infections.

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Strong earthquake kills 19 people in Turkey and Greek islands

People ran onto streets in panic in the Turkish city of Izmir, witnesses said, after the quake struck with a magnitude of up to 7.0. Neighbourhoods were deluged with surging seawater which swept debris inland and left fish stranded as it receded.Ismail Yetiskin, mayor of Izmir’s Seferihisar, said sea levels rose as a result of the quake. “There seems to be a small tsunami,” he told broadcaster NTV.

Footage on social media showed debris including refrigerators, chairs and tables floating through streets on the deluge. TRT Haber showed cars in Izmir’s Seferihisar district had been dragged by the water and piled on top of each other.

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