Earthquakes & volcanoes

[waltky]

Ecuador quake death toll rises to 350...

Ecuador earthquake: Death toll jumps as search continues
Mon, 18 Apr - The number of people killed in a powerful earthquake that struck Ecuador over the weekend has risen to about 350, the government says.

There have been desperate scenes as rescuers and family members searched for survivors, often with bare hands. Teams from Switzerland, Spain and several Latin American countries have arrived to join the search effort. More than 2,000 people were injured in the quake, Ecuador's most powerful in decades, which hit its Pacific coast. Earlier, President Rafael Correa warned that the death toll was likely to rise, and said there were still people alive under the rubble of collapsed buildings. He said it was the biggest tragedy to hit Ecuador in the past seven decades.

President Correa visited some of the people affected by the disaster after cutting short a visit to Italy to return to his home country. "I fear that figure will go up because we keep on removing rubble," a shaken Mr Correa said in a televised address. "There are signs of life in the rubble, and that is being prioritised." The president warned that the quake will cost Ecuador billions of dollars. It comes at a time when the oil-producing country is already reeling from the slump in global crude prices.

Correspondents say that while the country's energy industry survived the quake mostly intact - the main refinery of Esmeraldas was closed as a precaution - exports of bananas, flowers, cocoa beans and fish could be delayed because of impassable roads and hold-ups at ports. Foreign Minister Guillaume Long praised those nations which had contributed to the rescue effort. He tweeted (in Spanish) that as many as 120 mobile rescue teams would be on the ground by Tuesday morning.

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In quake-devastated Ecuador, loss piles up amid the rubble
Apr 18,`16) -- It was supposed to be a family reunion to celebrate a young relative's start of college. But the gathering ended in tragedy when a collapsing building crushed 17-year-old Sayira Quinde, her mother, father and toddler brother in their rusting Chevy Blazer.

A grief-stricken aunt, Johana Estupinan, now is making the longest journey of her life in a funeral hearse to the town of Esmeraldas, where she will bury her loved ones and break the news of the loss to her sister's three now-orphaned children. As Ecuador digs out from its strongest earthquake in decades, tales of devastating loss are everywhere amid the rubble. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake left a trail of ruin along Ecuador's normally placid Pacific Ocean coast, buckling highways, knocking down an air traffic control tower and flattening homes and buildings. At least 350 people died, including two Canadians, and thousands are homeless. President Rafael Correa said early Monday that the death toll would "surely rise, and in a considerable way." "The Ecuadorean spirit knows how to move forward, and will know how to overcome these very difficult moments," Correa said.

Portoviejo, a provincial capital of nearly 300,000, was among the hardest hit, with the town's mayor reporting at least 100 deaths. The Quinde family drove there from their home hours north up the coast to drop off Sayira at Estupinan's house a week before she was to start classes at a public university on a scholarship to study medicine. "She was my favorite niece," Estupinan said, emotionally torn apart after waiting at the city's morgue for hours. "I thought I was getting a daughter for the six years it was going to take her to earn a degree." "I never thought my life would be destroyed in a minute," she added.

Rubble from a collapsed building lays on the ground in Tarqui, the business district of Manta, Ecuador, Sunday, April 17, 2016. A powerful, 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador's central coast on Saturday, killing hundreds.

Estupinan watched as her loved ones were loaded onto a truck-sized hearse for the nighttime drive, the three older ones in dark mahogany coffins and 8-month-old Matias in a casket painted white. "It was supposed to be a short moment of family happiness but it converted into a tragedy," she said. She hoped to bury her relatives in Esmeraldas on Monday, but devastation there is also severe and she worried about whether the hearse could make it along roads ripped apart by the quake.

The Saturday night quake knocked out power in many parts along the coast and some who fled to higher ground fearing a tsunami had no home to return to, or feared structures still standing might collapse. The country's Geophysics Institute said it recorded 230 aftershocks, some strong, as of Sunday night. In the hardest hit towns and fishing villages, nearly all buildings were flattened.

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[waltky]

Wonder if it's related to the earthquake in Ecuador?...

Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano erupts 5 times after quiet week
April 19, 2016 Mexico's - Popocatépetl volcano erupted on Monday, launching ash and burning rocks into the air and showering the city of Puebla with hot ashes. At least five eruptions were reported.

The historic city of Puebla, which lies 25 miles east of Popocatépetl in central Mexico, was covered in ash, forcing the airport to close.

Volcanic activity has increased in the past month at Popocatépetl, about 43 miles southeast of Mexico City. But activity had decreased for nearly a week before Monday's eruptions. There were eight eruptions recorded in Popocatépetl in the week prior to Monday, but there were 31 eruptions in the six days prior to that week.

The environmental alert level was raised in March to the second degree out of three, meaning nearby residents should be prepared to evacuate. The alert level was not raised after Monday's eruption, which saw no accompanying tremors.

Officials have warned nearby residents to avoid the area, adding that low-level to intermediate-level explosive activity is expected.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...?spt=sec&or=tn

[waltky]

Ecuador to tax rich to fund quake relief...

Ecuador quake: Millionaires to be taxed more to pay for relief
Thu, 21 Apr 2016 - Ecuador's President introduces new measures to pay for rebuilding after Saturday's earthquake, including a one-off tax on millionaires.

At least 570 people are now known have died after the magnitude-7.8 quake. The cost of rebuilding could be as high as $3bn (£2.1bn), President Rafael Correa said. Even before the earthquake struck, the World Bank had predicted Ecuador's economy would shrink by as much as 2.0% this year. Oil-rich Ecuador has suffered because of falling oil prices in recent months. Left-leaning President Correa said all levels of society would be expected to contribute to rebuilding funds, even if they did not live in the worst-hit Pacific region.

Among the measures he announced in a televised address late on Wednesday:

* The sales tax is to be increased from 12% to 14% for one year only;
* People with more than $1m in assets is to pay a one-time sum equivalent to 0.9% of their wealth;
* Anyone who earns more than $1,000 a month is to pay the equivalent of one day's pay; anyone getting more than $2,000 pays two days and so on, up to $5,000 a month and five days' worth
* Unspecified state assets to be sold

"Society is built with institutionalised commitment, with organised collective action," Mr Correa said. "This is how a modern society responds to this kind of disaster and the way each Ecuadorian, within his ability, contributes to the recovery of his own motherland."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36098633

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Ecuador: As death toll nears 500, rescuers fighting against clock to uncover more survivors
April 19, 2016 -- Search and rescue teams in Ecuador are intensifying efforts to find survivors amid the rising death toll from the recent 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which is expected to keep growing.

At least 480 people died in Saturday's earthquake, officials said Tuesday, and another 2,500 were injured. The toll is expected to rise again, as more than 1,700 are still missing. In Manta, rescuers are searching the rubble of a three-story hotel where 30 people were staying when the quake struck. A dozen have been pulled out alive, so far. Three people were also pulled from a flattened shopping center there on Tuesday. One of the survivors told emergency personnel there may be as many as 20 more buried beneath the wreckage. "She's my only sister, my older sister, and we hope she's still alive," a 16-year-old girl told CBS News of her missing sister.

Peruvian rescuers look for survivors of an earthquake in the Tarqui Neigborhood in Manta, Ecuador on Monday. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake has killed at least 480 people

Vinicio Alvarado, head of Ecuador's labor department, warned that volunteers attempting to help may also become endangered if they are not properly supplied and supported. More than 13,500 emergency workers have already been deployed; about 400 have come from neighboring South American countries. Countries that have sent rescuers and aid include Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela and Peru. The United Nations said it was preparing a major aid drop-off, and the European Union said it released more than $1 million in humanitarian aid to help those affected. About 200 people died in coastal Manabi province, the most affected area. Six of Ecuador's 24 provinces are under a state of emergency.

Peruvian rescuers look for survivors of an earthquake in the Tarqui neighborhood in Manta, Ecuador, on Monday. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed at least 480 people and rescuers are escalating efforts to find and save people who may be trapped in rubble.

Aftershocks have been felt in Ecuador for days. One aftershock measured 5.1 magnitude. Some families are sleeping out in the streets because they fear additional devastating aftershocks might topple more buildings. Ecuador's interior ministry has closed nightclubs in affected areas and the national soccer federation has suspended the Ecuadorian championship tournament until further notice.

Rebuilding after the devastating earthquake will cost billions of dollars, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said this week. Alvarado said his agency will gather a "package of economic measures" to properly bring relief to affected areas. President Barack Obama spoke to Correa by telephone Tuesday to relay condolences from the United States, which has a disaster assistance team on the ground in Ecuador.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...?spt=sec&or=tn

[waltky]

Strong aftershock hits Ecuador...

Strong quake hits disaster-stricken Ecuador
Thu Apr 21, 2016 - A powerful earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude struck off Ecuador's disaster-stricken coast on Thursday, as survivors of an earlier deadly quake that killed 587 people clamored for food, water and medicine in parts of the disaster zone.

The latest quake hit about 100 km (62 miles) north-northwest of Portoviejo and at a depth of 10 km (six miles), said the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage and there was no tsunami warning. President Rafael Correa said on Twitter that three aftershocks were registered on Thursday night, adding "have strength!". Saturday's deadly quake was a massive 7.8 magnitude. "We're trying to survive. We need food," said Galo Garcia, a 65-year-old lawyer as he waited in line for water from a truck in beachside village of San Jacinto. "There's nothing in the shops. We're eating the vegetables we grow." A crowd nearby chanted, "We want food."

An aerial view is seen of Pedernales, after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast.

Correa's socialist government, facing a mammoth rebuilding task at a time of greatly reduced oil revenues in the OPEC nation, said there was no lack of supplies, just problems with distribution that should be quickly resolved. The government quickly moved supplies to the main towns and set up shelters for more than 25,000 people in soccer stadiums and airports, but shattered roads have impeded the operation. On streets near Pedernales, one of the worst-hit towns, children from rural areas held signs begging for food. Many people left villages to seek help, and those who stayed behind felt the pinch. "All of us here have been marginalized. The others are receiving things, but we're not," said Darwin Gachila, 33, as he cradled his baby daughter, flanked by his wife and two other children in the small village of Cojimies.

A woman receives donations from volunteers in Manta, after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast

A government official at a food storage point outside the town of Pedernales asked a supplicant, Jose Gregorio Basulor, 55, to stay calm. "I can be patient but not the children!" he shouted back. "They are crying." Interior Minister Jose Serrano, speaking from an aid convoy nearby, stressed that the government was focusing on house-by-house distribution to ensure no one was overlooked.

RECONSTRUCTION

[waltky]

Ecuador earthquake toll rises to 646

Ecuador declares national mourning as quake death toll rises to 646
Sat, 23 Apr 2016 - A week after Ecuador's devastating earthquake, President Rafael Correa announces eight days of national mourning as death toll rises to 646.

President Correa said that another 130 people were still missing. He announced eight days of national mourning for the victims of the worst tragedy to hit the South American nation in decades. The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Ecuadorean coast on 16 April, injuring thousands and destroying many towns.

Residents in the Ecuadorean town of Pedernales

'National tragedy'

"These have been sad days for the homeland. The country is in crisis," Mr Correa said on his weekly Saturday television broadcast. Mr Correa praised the 27 countries who sent rescue teams over the past week and said that 113 people had been rescued alive from the rubble. "This is an amazing figure, which made all this effort worthwhile," he added. Mr Correa also announced that "in the next few hours" he would sign a decree declaring eight days of national mourning. "It has been a national tragedy, but we will recover," said Mr Correa. More than 12,000 people were treated over the past week across the country for injuries caused by the earthquake, said Mr Correa. Foreign nationals from the UK, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic have been confirmed among the dead.

Rebuilding costs

Major international and aid organisations, including the World Food Programme, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), Oxfam and Save the Children have sent help. The cost of rebuilding could be up to $3bn (£2.1bn), President Rafael Correa said during a visit to the worst-affected region. The World Bank has agreed to lend $150m (£105m) to help Ecuador cope with the financial costs of the quake. The tragedy comes at a time when the oil-producing country is already reeling from the slump in global crude prices. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had struck at a fairly shallow depth of 19.2km (12 miles), about 27km (17 miles) from Muisne in a sparsely populated area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36122648

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Ecuador Death Toll Rises to 654, Over 100 Rescued
Apr 23 2016 — The death toll from Ecuador's devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake last week has risen to 654 people, the country's emergency management authority said on Saturday.

Last Saturday's quake, the worst in nearly seven decades, injured around 16,600 people and left 58 missing along the country's ravaged Pacific coast. One hundred and thirteen people were rescued from damaged buildings. "These have been sad days for the homeland," President Rafael Correa said during his weekly television broadcast earlier on Saturday. "The country is in crisis." Several strong tremors and more than 700 aftershocks have continued to shake the country since the major quake, sparking momentary panic but little additional damage. Tremors are expected to continue for several weeks.

With close to 7,000 buildings destroyed, more than 25,000 people were living in shelters. Some 14,000 security personnel were keeping order in quake-hit areas, with only sporadic looting reported. Survivors in the quake zone were receiving food, water and medicine from the government and scores of foreign aid workers, although Correa has acknowledged that bad roads delayed aid reaching some communities.

A man recovers cables to recycle, amid the debris of a destroyed building one week after the devastating earthquake in Pedernales, Ecuador

Correa's leftist government, facing mammoth rebuilding at a time of greatly reduced oil revenues for the OPEC country, has said it would temporarily increase some taxes, offer assets for sale and possibly issue bonds abroad to fund reconstruction. Congress will begin debate on the tax proposal on Tuesday.

Correa has estimated damage at $2 billion to $3 billion. Lower oil revenue has already left the country of 16 million people facing near-zero growth and lower investment. The country's private banking association said on Saturday its member banks would defer payments on credit cards, loans and mortgages for clients in the quake zone for three months, to help reconstruction efforts.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ec...escued-n561131

[waltky]

Flames n' fire, an' vapors of smoke...

Volcano erupts in western Indonesia, killing 6 people
Sunday, May 22, 2016 — Rescuers have found more bodies after a volcano erupted in western Indonesia, raising the death toll to six, an official said Sunday.

Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province blasted volcanic ash as high as 3 kilometers (2 miles) into the sky on Saturday, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said ash tumbled down the slopes as far as 4.5 kilometers (3 miles) westward into a river. All the victims of Saturday's eruption were working on their farms in the village of Gamber, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the slope, or within the danger area.

Rescuers rush to help villagers to evacuate their homes following the eruption of Mt. Sinabung in Gamber village, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Photos taken on Sunday showed evidence of pyroclastic flows, a fast-moving cloud of hot volcanic gases, rocks and ash, in the village. Dead and injured animals lie on the ground, around them scorched homes and smoky vegetation. Soldiers were setting up roadblocks and people were carrying their belongings and leading farm animals to safety. Nugroho said soldiers, police, and rescuers from disaster combatting agencies, as well as volunteers and villagers, were searching for more possible victims.

The mountain had been dormant for four centuries before reviving in 2010, killing two people. An eruption in 2014 killed 16 people. Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/world...-6-7936832.php

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Volcano ash covers Costa Rica towns
Sat, 21 May 2016 - A volcano erupts in central Costa Rica, belching smoke and ash up to 3,000m (9,840ft) into the air and choking nearby communities.

Hundreds of people have gone to hospital, complaining of breathing difficulties and skin problems. Some schools were shut and some flights into the country cancelled or diverted.

People in the capital San Jose, about 45km (30 miles) west of the Turrialba volcano, said layers of ash had coated buildings and cars and there was a fierce smell of sulphur.

Smoke rises from the Turrialba volcano.

Costa Rica's National Emergencies Commission has advised people to wear masks and tight clothing to protect their lungs and skin. "It seems to me to be the strongest (Turrialba) eruption in the past six years," volcanologist Gino Gonzalez told reporters. Costa Rica is home to dozens of volcanoes, but most of them are dormant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36348904

[waltky]

Popocatépetl erupts causing 3 magnitude earthquake...

Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano eruption causes 3-magnitude earthquake
Aug. 31, 2016 -- Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention on Wednesday said an eruption at the Popocatépetl volcano caused a 3-magnitude earthquake.

The temblor occurred at 1:11 p.m. Tuesday. The epicenter was in the southeast section of the volcano. "These earthquakes are part of a swarm or train of volcano tectonic earthquakes that began last Monday," the disaster prevention center, or CENAPRED, said in Wednesday's statement. "At the time of this report there have been counted 366 of these earthquakes."

Popocatépetl is about 43 miles southeast of Mexico City. CENAPRED in March raised the environmental alert level to the second degree out of three, meaning nearby residents should be prepared to evacuate.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...?spt=sec&or=tn

[waltky]

Popocatépetl spews lava fragments more than half a mile away from its crater...

Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano spews lava fragments
May 19, 2017 -- Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention said the Popocatépetl volcano launched incandescent lava fragments more than half a mile away from its crater.

The disaster prevention center, or CENAPRED, on Thursday said Popocatépetl erupted 19 times in the prior 24 hours, had 82 volcanic plumes and had five volcano tectonic earthquakes -- measuring in magnitudes 1.5, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4 and 1.3 , respectively.

CENAPRED also said it recorded 20 minutes of a low-amplitude harmonic tremor, as well as a plume mostly of water vapor and gas with low ash content that lasted nearly three hours and rose up to 1.2 miles.

Popocatépetl was dormant for decades before it erupted in 1994. Since then, minor volcanic activity have been part of daily life for residents living in nearby towns.

Popocatépetl is about 43 miles southeast of Mexico City. Nearby residents are under CENAPRED's Yellow Alert Phase Two -- the medium warning prior to the Red Alert, which usually prompts evacuations.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...&utm_medium=18

[waltky]

Can we afford to with the damage of two hurricanes?...

Will the U.S. help after Mexico's most powerful earthquake in a century?
September 8, 2017 • In the short time between the immense flooding in Texas wrought by Hurricane Harvey and the destruction to come in Florida wrought by Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful earthquakes in Mexico's history rocked the country.

Mexico City, more than 600 miles away, shook amid the tremors. The death toll has surpassed 30 and continues to climb as Mexico, too, prepares for a hurricane — Katia, Category 2, expected to slam into Mexico's east coast on Saturday. The Mexican government will stretch itself as it tries to ensure the safety of its citizens, and it's perhaps worth wondering whether its neighboring government to the north will lend a hand. The United States, as noted earlier, is handling the aftermath of one unprecedented disaster (Harvey) while trying to ready itself for yet another potentially unprecedented disaster (Irma). It, too, will stretch itself ying to ensure the safety of its citizens.

But in the wake of Harvey's catastrophic flooding, the Mexican government offered its assistance to Texas even while President Donald Trump again insisted Mexico would pay for his wall along the border between the two countries. On Aug. 27, the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations office released a statement rebuking Trump, but concluded by offering help to anyone in the U.S. reeling from Harvey: "The Government of Mexico takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States for the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and reports that we have offered the US government all the help and cooperation that can be provided by the different Mexican government agencies to deal with the impacts of this natural disaster, as must good neighbors in times of difficulty."

The Mexican government, in contact with the State Department and the government of Texas, reportedly offered to help residents affected by Harvey in the same way the nation's government helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, which rocked Louisiana and other states in 2005. Texas Governor Greg Abbott accepted the offer. Following Katrina, Mexican soldiers found themselves on U.S. soil for the first time in more than 150 years. They stayed for three weeks in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to The Washington Post, where they delivered about 184,000 tons of supplies, and around 170,000 meals.

A State Department spokesperson wrote in an email that Mexico hasn't requested aid following the earthquake, but that the U.S. government is "in close contact with Mexican authorities as we monitor the situation." "In addition to Mexico, we are monitoring the situation in Guatemala and El Salvador closely regarding earthquake and tsunami-related impacts," the spokesperson wrote. Trump has so far not publicly spoken about potential aid to Mexico, and, yes, that means no tweets, either. President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, however, tweeted his thanks to friendly nations and leaders for their solidarity and support. Maybe that tweet is genuine. Maybe it's a subtweet. Maybe both.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-help-me...231608450.html

[stjames1_53]

Can we afford to with the damage of two hurricanes?...

Will the U.S. help after Mexico's most powerful earthquake in a century?
September 8, 2017 • In the short time between the immense flooding in Texas wrought by Hurricane Harvey and the destruction to come in Florida wrought by Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful earthquakes in Mexico's history rocked the country.

some how, some way, Gore will connect this to man-made climate change/global warming.
The changes of the earth is still a work-in-progress. Man must suffer under it, because there's no other choice
Whenever there's events such as this, it is hard to imagine the cost of recovery.
The banks are going to get richer............