China, Philippines on top of Asian countries worst hit by disasters in 2012

The Philippines is placed second only to China in the list of countries in Asia worst hit by disasters during the year, according to a report released recently by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

The UNISDR said the Philippines had the second most number of disasters in the first 10 months of the year with 16 recorded disasters, next only to China with 18 recorded calamities.

The report, however, covered disasters that struck the region only from January to October this year and did not include typhoon "Pablo" (international code name "Bopha") that devastated a wide swathe in the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Dec. 4 and left more than 1,000 dead and another 800 missing.

According to the report, the toll on the economy of the calamities that occurred in Asia in 2012 exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars and that future disasters may represent a serious threat to the region's otherwise healthy economies.

A total of 83 disasters hit Asia from January to October of this year, leaving some 3,103 people killed and some 15.1 billion U.S. dollars in damages. About 64.5 million people were affected by these disasters across the region.

The UNISDR said Asia accounted for more than half the total disaster-related deaths in the world, 74 percent of affected people and a third of the economic toll due to natural calamities in the first 10 months of the year.

The report said that in 2012 floods were the most frequent disaster occurring in Asia (44 percent) and had the highest human and economic impact. Floods accounted for 54 percent of the death toll in Asia, 78 percent of people affected and 56 percent of all economic damages in the region.

According to the report, Pakistan suffered large-scale loss of life from floods for the third successive year as 480 people died in floods between August and October. Floods in China (June-July) affected over 17 million people and caused the highest economic losses of 4.8 billion U.S. dollars.

In southern, south-eastern and eastern Asia, 83 disasters caused 3,103 deaths, affected a total of 64.5 million people and triggered 15.1 billion U.S. dollars in damages in 2012, the report said.

Globally, the UNISDR said, these three regions accounted for 57 percent of the total deaths, 74 percent of the affected people and 34 percent of the total economic damages caused by disasters in the first 10 months of 2012.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which was hit by severe flooding in July, topped the count with 13.3 million affected residents while Sri Lanka, which suffered quakes and storms this year, had 8.6 million people exposed to disasters.

British risk consultancy Maplecroft, in its assessment of 197 countries worldwide, also said that the Philippines, Bangladesh and Myanmar headed the list of 10 countries whose economies were most vulnerable to catastrophes or having "extreme risk" category.

Only one other country, the Caribbean state of Dominican Republic, falls into this category.

The other countries in the top 10 were India, Vietnam, Honduras, Laos, Haiti and Nicaragua.

Maplecroft's "Nature Hazards Risk Atlas" looks at the impact of natural disasters on a country relative to its economy, taking into account preparedness to deal with such events and social ability to rebound.

The ADB has also released its own study saying that Asia must act now to pave the way for green, resource-friendly cities or face a bleak and environmentally degraded future.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://www.china.org.cn/environment/2012-12/27/content_27531101.htm

Czech investigation of post-war violent events in Dobronin closed

The Czech police have closed their more than two-year enquiry into the alleged post-war violence of Czechs against local Germans in the Dobronin village near Jihlava, the police told CTK today, adding that only those harmed in this case will be acquainted with the results.

Pavel Penaz, from the regional police directorate, said the police cannot comment on the course or the result of the investigation.

"The regional state attorney has reserved the providing of information on the case for herself," Penaz said.

The police checked the case of human remains uncovered in the Budinka and U Viaduktu localities near Dobronin for more than two years.

In Budinka, the remains of local Germans who allegedly fell victims to Czech violence at the end of WWII, were taken out from a mass grave in August 2010. Anthropologists then said the bodies of at least 13 people, aged from 30 to 60, were buried in Budinka.

The cause of their death is unclear. According to some information, they were beaten to death by shovels and hoes, but anthropologists have not confirmed this.

The police investigated the case on suspicion of murder.

Remains of another three people were uncovered in Dobronin's U Viaduktu locality.

All remains were sent for an analysis to the Anthropological Institute in Brno and for DNA tests to the Criminology Institute in Prague.

The uncovering of the human remains stirred strong emotions in Dobronin. The remains were ceremonially buried at the Jihlava cemetery this September.

According to the media's previous information, the last possible witness of the Dobronin May 1945 events died in the hospital in the regional centre Jihlava in early 2011. According to the police, the witness was questioned but his information could not be taken for relevant in view of his high age and the way he presented his testimony.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-investigation-of-post-war-violent-events-in-dobronin-closed/882226

Gipuzkoa wants to exhume Basque fighters killed in Spain´s Civil War

The city of Donosita-San Sebastian and the Diputacion (provincial government) of Guipuzkoa want to exhume the bodies of around 100 gudaris, or Basque fighters, who were killed in the Spanish province of Asturias in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.

The plan, presented by the mayor of Donostia-San Sebastian Karlos Izagirre and Guipuzkoa provincial deputy Martin Garitano, both from the pro-independence coalition Bildu, is part of a 50,000 euro project to remember Basque victims of the Spanish Civil war 1936-1939.

Historians says tens of thousands of victims of the Civil War and the repression under General Francisco Franco that followed still lie unidentified in mass graves around Spain. The matter of exhumations is still controversial in Spain more 70 years after the Civil War.

The project unveiled by Izagirre and Garitano includes the exhumation of fighters of a Basque brigade killed by Franco´s troops while they fought under the orders of Candido Saseta, whose remains were found in the village of Areces in Asturias.

The remains of Saseta, commander in chief of the Basque militias, were exhumed in 2008 and reburied with honours in his hometown of Hondarribia.

Izagirre said more than 100 fighters are believed buried in mass graves in Areces, most of them from Guipuzkoa. About 20 are from Donostia-San Sebastian, he said.

Most of them belonged to the Eusko Indarra battalion and were members of the ANV party who "dreamt with the freedom of Euskal Herria," he said.

Marina Bidasoro, director of Gipuzkoa´s Historic Memory and Human Rights department, said they have been in touch with local authorities in Asturias, and said the exhumations could start in February.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://www.eitb.com/en/news/politics/detail/1210722/spanish-civil-war--gipuzkoa-wants-exhume-basque-fighters/

Dead bodies of 100 tsunami victims still in Karapitiya hospital

Dead bodies of 100 tsunami victims are still in the mortuary of the Karapitiya hospital, said its director DR Shelton Perera.

These are bodies hitherto unidentified and have been deposited in the mortuary for the past eight years. Perera said that they are still in an identifiable condition.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://www.srilankanews.lk/news/general-news/1448-dead-bodies-of-100-tsunami-victims-still-in-karapitiya-hospital

Storm leaves 6 dead in central Philippines

A late season storm has left at least six people dead in separate incidents in the central Philippines but has spared a southern region that was devastated by a typhoon that killed more than 1,000 people weeks earlier.

The national disaster agency said in a report Thursday that three people died when a tree fell on their house in Eastern Samar province, where Tropical Storm Wukong made landfall on Christmas Day. Three others drowned in Iloilo province.

Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos said disaster officials were still investigating the death of man earlier reported killed in a landslide. He said it's possible that the man actually was beaten up and pushed off a ravine.

The storm has weakened into a low pressure area over the South China Sea off Palawan province, southwest of Manila.

"The worst is over," Ramos said.

Officials said heavy rain on mountains surrounding Kalibo, the capital of Aklan province on Panay Island, caused a river running through the city to overflow and triggered a flash flood late Wednesday. No casualties were reported but many houses near the river appeared to suffer damage, said Efren Trinidad, executive assistant to Kalibo Mayor William Lachica.

The flooding was aggravated by the high tide, preventing the river from emptying most of the water into the sea, Trinidad said. He said canals were blocked by heavy silt brought down from the nearby hills.

The city is the gateway to the famous island resort of Boracay, which was not affected.

"As we were conducting rescue operations, flights were coming in because the weather was fine. The moon was shining while we were being flooded. It was ironic," Trinidad said, explaining that rains fell mostly over the mountains.

It was the 17th storm to hit the country this year.

Typhoon Bopha lashed the main southern island of Mindanao early this month, killing at least 1,067 people and leaving more than 800 missing. It triggered flash floods laden with mud, boulders and uprooted trees that rampaged through farming communities, wiping out entire villages, according to the Civil Defense Office.

It reported Thursday that Bopha caused nearly 37 billion pesos ($902 million) in damage to agriculture, private property and infrastructure, making it one of the worst storms to hit the country in recent years.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://www.wkrn.com/story/20429991/storm-leaves-4-dead-in-central-philippines

Bodies of 8 victims of fireworks unit blast cremated

Bodies of eight victims of Parakkallur fireworks unit explosion were cremated separately in their villages on Wednesday with high police security to avoid any untoward incidents.

"While bodies of Shanthi Saravanan (40), owner of the fireworks unit and her son S Suriya (10) were cremated in Parakkallur village, K Sivagami (40), K Deepa (12), Kesavan (13), Thangam (50), Eswari (35) and Vijaya (33) were cremated at Vellar and Senkattur Pirivu Valavu villages respectively," said V Mahalingam, local village head for 18 settlements in the locality, including Parakkallur.

"We were planning to cremate all the victims at one place but relatives of the deceased wanted to be cremated in their villages. So, we cremated them in their own villages after performing final rituals," Mahalingam added.

"All the bodies were handed over to the relatives on Wednesday afternoon after the post-mortem conducted at the Salem government hospital," sources said.

"Two police constables were deployed for each body until the crematorium," said a police officer.

Meanwhile, Salem district superintendent of police Ashwin M Kotnis visited the blast spot along with the deputy controller of explosives from Vellore district.

Ashwin said, "The deputy controller of explosives conducted a detailed investigation at the spot. He confirmed that the explosion had occurred only when the workers were drying the gun powder in the open place near the unit. Fire sparks might have erupted at that time and spread to the entire unit. One of the deceased, Deepa Kuppusamy, also confirmed this in her dying declaration to the Mettur judicial magistrate."

The SP said there were only six workers, including Shanthi, Sivagami, Thangam, Palaniappan, Eswari and Vijaya, working at the manufacturing unit on Tuesday morning. Around 12pm, the children Deepa, Suriya, Ammu, Sathiesh, Pavithra, Kesavan, Pasupathi and Manoj Kumar came to the unit to give lunch for their parents. The children were playing near the place where the gun powder was dried when the explosion took place, Ashwin said.

"This was informed by Deepa to the magistrate. Even we thought that the children were working there," the SP added.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Bodies-of-8-victims-of-fireworks-unit-blast-cremated/articleshow/17775700.cms

Kabul confirms deaths of 21 Afghan immigrants near Greece

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry December 25 confirmed that 21 Afghans died when a ship capsized off the Greek coast earlier this month, Radio Free Europe reported.

The boat, which was carrying illegal immigrants, set off from Turkey and capsized in stormy weather December 13. Women and children, including at least two toddlers, were among the victims.

Janan Musazai, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said 21 bodies were handed over to Afghan officials.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/newsbriefs/2012/12/26/newsbrief-19

Siachen disaster: Soldiers body recovered in Gayari

The body of one of the soldiers buried in the Siachen glacier following a massive avalanche on April 7 has been recovered.

On April 7, a total of 137 Pakistani soldiers and civilians were buried in Siachens Gayari sector after a military camp was hit by a massive avalanche.

Pakistani personnel and experts from Germany and Switzerland launched search and rescue operations following the incident.

The rescue officials working round the clock met first success on the 50th day when they recovered the body of one missing soldier.

The soldier was identified as Mohammad Hussain who belonged to village Shagar Thang near Skardu.

The body was shifted to CMH Goma while excavation work to find more bodies continued at seven different sites.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/112332-Siachen-disaster-Soldiers-body-recovered-in-Gayar

Seven killed in Embu accident

At least seven people died instantly and scores others were injured when a lorry rammed into a matatu (Slang for a 14 sitter passenger service bus) along Embu-Nairobi road a short distance from Embu town.

The impact of the lorry tossed the matatu about 50 metres from the spot where it was picking customers until it hit a tree which stopped it.

Among the dead was a pedestrian who was said to have been walking along the shoulders of the busy highway.

Eye witnesses said the lorry was heading down hill on a steep terrain and it appeared the driver was trying to hand start it when its brakes failed and gathered high speed before ramming into the Matatu.

They said the lorry's brakes failed after it failed to be hand started by the driver who was said to have been drunk at the time he attempted to start it.

The Matatu was picking passengers destined for Thika when the accident occurred.

The conductor of the ill fated Matatu Antony Mugendi said he was outsides calling for the passengers when the accident occurred and added that he could not ascertain the whereabouts of his driver.

The lorry is used for transporting animal feed but it could not be established which was its destination.

Eastern Provincial Traffic Enforcement officer Martin Asin said the lorry had been parked at Shell Petrol Station the previous night and in the morning failed to start.

Asin said the driver was assisted by some people to hand start the lorry at around 12.30pm, which then gained momentum because of the steep road but failed to start and thus could not brake.

“The matatu was picking customers on its way to Nairobi when the lorry rammed it from behind and pushed it some distance away,” said Asin.

He said it was not clear the number of people that were in the lorry but added that they arrested the driver and he was being held at the Embu Police Station.

He attributed the accident to break failure of the lorry while most of those dead were at the rear of the Matatu.

Although the injured were rushed to the nearby Embu Provincial General Hospital police had to transfer them to private medical institutions due to the ongoing nurse's strike leading to more deaths of the seriously injured ones.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000073772&story_title=Kenya-Seven-killed-in-Embu-grisly-accident

http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=79574

Thirteen dead in Ecuador bus accident

Thirteen people are dead and 37 others injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in a mountainous area of central Ecuador, officials say.

The governor of Tungurahua province, Lira Villalba, told reporters the bus went off the road between the provincial capital Ambato and the town of Pillaro on Wednesday. Initial investigations have shown brake failure was the likely cause.

About 40 people were aboard the bus at the time of the accident, the television network said.

The injured were taken to clinics in Ambato, Ecuavisa said.

Road accidents are a serious problem in Ecuador, with an annual average of 33 deaths per 100,000 residents - one of the highest mortality rates in Latin America.

Over the past four years, an average of about 4800 people have died each year in road accidents in the Andean nation - or 13 people a day, according to road safety watchdog group Justicia Vial.

Wednesday 26 December 2012

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/thirteen-dead-in-ecuador-bus-accident/story-fn3dxix6-1226543884105