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Magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Costa Rican coast, tsunami warnings issued

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:55:22 GMT

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Costa Rica

Sources [edit]

Mark Memmott. "UPDATE: Tsunami Warnings Canceled After Quake In Costa Rica" — NPR, September 5, 2012
"M7.6 - 10km NE of Hojancha, Costa Rica" — United States Geological Survey, September 5, 2012
"Tsunami Bulletin Number 001" — PTWC, September 5, 2012

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Hurricane Ida comes ashore in Nicaragua

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:47:35 GMT

Friday, November 6, 2009

Tropical cyclones – 2009

Sources [edit]

This article includes material from Hurricane Ida Comes Ashore in Nicaragua by VOA News, which is in the public domain.

"Ida drenches Central America, might approach US" — Associated Press, November 6, 2009
"Hurricane Ida Comes Ashore in Nicaragua" — VOA News, November 5, 2009
"Ida forms in the Caribbean Sea" — BBC Online, November 5, 2009

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Swine flu: recent developments worldwide

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:57:57 GMT

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Swine Flu

Australia [edit]

Australian health minister Nicola Roxon said that there are currently 878 confirmed cases of the influenza in Australia. The bulk of the cases have been in the state of Victoria, which has 752 infected persons. New South Wales is the second, with 74 infections.

Roxon predicted that the swine flu will be a problem in the next two winters, despite efforts to curb its spread.

"I would have thought we're not at the halfway point, given that we still don't have an extensive spread in Australia," Roxon said. "We are only part way, but closer, to having a vaccine and we are still prepared to put all our efforts into containing the disease as much as possible."

Roxon said that Australia's hospitals will start taking samples from people infected with the flu to monitor its spread. She said that "it gives us the tools to monitor how much of the flu in the coming weeks is seasonal flu, how much is actually this H1N1 strain, and we will simply have to keep monitoring that over the coming months." Roxon added that "this is a time to be cautious, where the combination of the flus might turn it into something much less virulent or something more virulent."

Meanwhile, Singapore has urged its residents not to travel to Victoria. A warning at the government website said that Melbourne and Victoria were affected by the disease, and advised any Singapore residents returning from those areas to keep an eye on their health for swine flu symptoms.

Brazil [edit]

The health ministry of Brazil announced on Tuesday that the number of infected people in the country has been increased to 23 after two new cases were confirmed. 25 people are also suspected to be infected.

The ministry said that both new patients are in stable condition, and had both been infected after traveling to the U.S.

Of Brazil's H1N1 cases, nine are in São Paulo, seven in Rio de Janeiro, four in Santa Catarina, and one apiece in Rio Grande do Sul, Tocantins, and Minas Gerais. Seven of the cases had been transmitted domestically.

Canada [edit]

A map showing the spread of the swine flu worldwide.

██ Confirmed cases followed by death

██ Confirmed cases

██ Unconfirmed or suspected cases

Chile [edit]

Almost four hundred swine flu cases in the South American country of Chile have been reported, local health officials say.

The Institute of Public Health in Santiago reported that 393 cases were confirmed in the country in a statement on its website. The institute said that while 98% of cases were only "mild", about two percent of all infections were fatal.

Swine flu cases in Chile have increased twofold within the last seven days.

New Zealand [edit]

New Zealand now has eleven confirmed cases of the swine flu. A further 63 are in quarantine and have been prescribed the antiviral drug oseltamivir (which goes by the trade name of Tamiflu).

Philippines [edit]

Health officials from the Philippines said that seven more people tested positive for the influenza on Thursday, increasing the number of confirmed infections from the disease in the country to 29. There are a further 47 laboratory results pending confirmation.

Francisco Duque, the Philippine's health secretary, said six of the cases were in Filipinos who had returned from visits to the U.S.

"With further characterization of the virus in our local cases, if we see that A/H1N1 poses no severe threat and is self-limited in most cases, we may be seeing a shift in our control strategy to outpatient and home management of patients showing only mild symptoms," Duque said.

Russia [edit]

Russia has reported its first case of the flu, in an unidentified 28-year-old man who had recently been in New York. The man had initially passed a medical check when he arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport last Monday, but began to feel ill two days later and was hospitalised the same day. It is currently uncertain how he obtained the virus.

Russian officials are currently screening flights that have departed from "countries of concern", including all countries in the Americas, as well as Japan and Spain. People arriving on flights from such countries have their temperatures checked by remote sensors, and those with high temperatures are hospitalised and tested for the H1N1 virus. Over a score of people so far have been identified as having symptoms of the disease, but all of them were cleared after later tests.

Turkey [edit]

Turkey's first case happened on May 16 when a passenger flying from United States to Iraq through a connected flight over Turkey entered to İstanbul Atatürk International Airport. With the latest arrival of 2 Turkish passengers from New York and Toronto on June 3, the number of confirmed cases increased to 10.

The Turkish Ministry of Health reported that no infections related for human-to-human transfer of the virus are observed until now and the hospitalized cases are treated in a dedicated hospital in Istanbul.

United Kingdom [edit]

486 people have been confirmed as infected with the H1N1 virus in the United Kingdom. 27 new cases in England were confirmed recently. Five people in the Glasgow area have been hospitalised. Three of them are in intensive care, although one man recently improved and was moved into to high dependency. A 44-year-old woman, who is said to have had underlying health conditions, is also in high dependency, at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, in Paisley.

Scotland is the part of the UK with the highest ratio of affected people to population.

United States [edit]

The U.S. is the country with the highest number of confirmed swine flu infections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least 27 people have died from the virus, and a further 13,271 cases have been reported throughout the country. All fifty states, as well as two territories, have reported cases.

The state of Wisconsin has been the worst hit, with 2,217 infections, as well as three additional suspected cases.

"What is unusual today is not that there has been a death from influenza. Over 37,000 people die in the United States each year of seasonal influenza, and the rates of death and illness from this novel H1N1 strain does not appear to be radically different," said Seth Foldy, a Wisconsin health official. "What is unusual this year is that influenza continues to be widely circulating in Wisconsin and many, many other states this late in the year."

Vietnam [edit]

Vietnam's fourth swine flu infection was confirmed on Thursday, in a six-year-old girl in Vietnam's capital of Ho Chi Minh City, a local media report said. The child is currently receiving treatment. All of the infected patients had recently traveled to the United States.

Sources [edit]

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

2009 swine flu outbreak

Alexandra Odynova. "First Case of Swine Flu Confirmed in Russia" — The Moscow Times, June 6, 2009
"Swine flu kills 27 across US" — Brisbane Times, June 6, 2009
"UK swine flu cases approach 500" — The Press Association, June 5, 2009
"Swine flu tally nears 900" — ABC News (Australia), June 5, 2009
"Wisconsin endures first swine flu death" — United Press International, June 5, 2009
"Canada's health minister announces $10.8M to fight swine flu" — CBC News, June 5, 2009
Jason Gale. "Swine Flu Causes Serious Complications in 2% of Chilean Cases" — Bloomberg L.P., June 5, 2009
"Flu A/H1N1 cases keep rising in Asia-Pacific region Thursday" — Xinhua News Agency, June 4, 2009
"Swine flu cases infect 19,273 across world: WHO" — Agence France-Presse, June 3, 2009
"Brazil reports new A/H1N1 flu case" — Xinhua News Agency, June 3, 2009
"Swine Flu cases in Turkey reach 10" — NTVMSNBC, June 5, 2009

External links [edit]

Current WHO phase of pandemic alert

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Strongest earthquake in 150 years hits Costa Rica

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:58:19 GMT

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Costa Rica

Sources [edit]

Learn more about Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Wikipedia.

"34 dead, dozens missing from Costa Rica quake" — CNN, January 11, 2009
"Death toll rises to 15 after Costa Rica quake, dozens still missing" — Agence France-Presse, January 10, 2009
"14 killed in strong Costa Rica quake; hundreds trapped" — The China Post, January 10, 2009
"Costa Rica earthquake death toll rises to 15" — CNN, January 10, 2009
Blake Schmidt. "Costa Rica: Quake Kills at Least 15" — New York Times, January 9, 2009
Joint Task Force - Bravo. "U.S. Southern Command Deploys Disaster Response Team to Costa Rica" — DVIDS News, January 9, 2009
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "Daily Note on Emergencies: Costa Rica 6.1 Earthquake Issue 1" — Relief Web, January 9, 2009
Roger Benavides. "Tourists evacuated after fatal Costa Rica quake" — Reuters, January 9, 2009
"Death Toll From Costa Rica Earthquake Climbs to 14" — Latin American Herald Tribune, January 9, 2009
AFP. "Red Cross revises death toll in Costa Rica quake" — ABC News (Australia), January 9, 2009
"2009_Costa_Rica_earthquake" — Map sources/GeoHack, January 9, 2009

"Magnitude 6.1 - COSTA RICA" — USGC, January 8, 2009

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Hurricane Felix makes landfall in Nicaragua

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:24:16 GMT

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Hurricane Felix made landfall in Nicaragua on Tuesday. It reached shore as a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest level of such storms. Within hours, winds had weakened considerably and Felix became a Category 1 hurricane as it moved inland. There remain concerns of potential mudslides due to the heavy rains which continue. From Nicaragua, the storm system appears headed towards Guatemala and Honduras.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

"Felix slams into Central America" — BBC News Online, September 4, 2007
CBC News. "Hurricane Felix weakens to Category 1" — Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, September 4, 2007

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Hurricane Beta makes landfall in Nicaragua

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:02:21 GMT

Monday, October 31, 2005

Hurricane Beta hit the Nicaraguan coast early on Saturday, sending powerful rain and winds their way.

Although it lost some speed during landfall, Beta was still a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of up to 110 Mph (175 kph) and was expected to dump up to 15 inches of rain. Residents from the local coastal fishing villages rushed into flimsy makeshift shelters as the hurricane approached.

"We had a very bad night. The water leaked in, the children were cold. They brought us here without telling us anything. We don't have food or water," Norma Smith, a mother of six, said on Sunday morning.

Neighboring Honduras declared a national emergency, and planned to evacuate 125,000 people. However, residents in the isolated coastal regions are usually wary of outsiders, and many failed to heed the warnings.

"These people do not believe in danger until they really feel it," said Col. Mario Perez-Cassar, the head of Nicaragua's civil defense.

Emergency officials say there have been no deaths so far, but the projected path of Beta takes it straight across Nicaragua, raising the possibility of lethal mudslides in mountainous areas.

Beta, which was not expected to hit the United States, was the 23rd hurricane this year, more than any Atlantic season on record. This season has also seen more storms than at any point since record-keeping began in 1851. The previous record of 21 was set in 1933.

Last week Tropical Storm Alpha formed, the first time a letter from the Greek alphabet has been used because the list of storm names was exhausted.

Sources [edit]

Cyntia Barrera Diaz. "Hurricane Beta slams into Nicaragua's jungle coast" — Reuters USA, October 30, 2005
Bayardo Mendoza. "Hurricane Beta Hits Nicaragua's East Coast" — The Associated Press, October 30, 2005

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CAFTA faces tough vote in U.S. House

Wed, 27 Jul 2005 17:41:18 GMT

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

File photo of President George W. Bush delivering his State of the Union address to the nation and a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003.
Image: Susan Sterner.

President Bush is lobbying the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which is scheduled for a vote Wednesday night. The U.S. Senate passed the treaty in June.

Similar to the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, CAFTA would create a free trade zone putting an end to most trade barriers between the United States and six additional countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

The free trade agreement faces stiff opposition among Democrats. Many Republicans who represent agricultural Corn Belt or industrial Rust Belt and southern textile states in Congress also have stated opposition to the bill. But with a Republican majority in the House large enough to ensure passage of CAFTA, party leaders are trying to shore up enough votes to ensure CAFTA's passage.

This has prompted last minute action by the President to lobby individual members of the House, reminding them that Central American countries have committed troops and other resources to fight the U.S. War on Terror. Other Republican leaders have been using the party's traditional pro-business message and linking it to homeland security issues.

"Trade creates jobs and lifts people out of poverty and there's nothing like a stable society to fight terrorism and strengthen democracy, freedom and rule of law," Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, reportedly said at a news conference Tuesday.

But the opposition disagrees. CAFTA is "a bad deal for Central Americans and also for Latinos in this community... (with CAFTA) the exploitation of workers will continue in Central America," Democrat Representative Hilda Solis of Los Angeles said. Her views are common among Democrats, who are overwhelmingly against the treaty.

According to opponents of CAFTA, the current trend of American jobs being sent to foreign countries, particularly in the information technology sector, would greatly expand under the treaty.

"This will be a vote in the middle of the night. They'll keep the vote open for several hours, in violation of the rules. If it passes, it will be by fewer than five votes," predicted Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, according to a Washington Post report.

Sources [edit]

Jim Abrams. "Bush lobbies Republicans on CAFTA bill" — Associated Press, July 26, 2005
"Bush presses for CAFTA as DeLay predicts win" — Reuters, July 26, 2005
Katherine M. Skiba. "Tight vote expected in trade pact" — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 26, 2005
Paul Blustein and Mike Allen. "CAFTA's Upshot More Political Than Economic" — Washington Post, July 26, 2005

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Magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Costa Rican coast, tsunami warnings issued

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Sources [edit]

Hurricane Ida comes ashore in Nicaragua

Sources [edit]

Swine flu: recent developments worldwide

Australia [edit]

Brazil [edit]

Canada [edit]

Chile [edit]

New Zealand [edit]

Philippines [edit]

Russia [edit]

Turkey [edit]

United Kingdom [edit]

United States [edit]

Vietnam [edit]

Related news [edit]

Sources [edit]

External links [edit]

Strongest earthquake in 150 years hits Costa Rica

Related news [edit]

Sources [edit]

Hurricane Felix makes landfall in Nicaragua

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Hurricane Beta makes landfall in Nicaragua

Sources [edit]

CAFTA faces tough vote in U.S. House

Sources [edit]