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14 Stories

September 2008
- China Landslide Kills 34, Traps Hundreds
  
  Associated Press | Sep 9, 08 5:54 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rescuers are frantically searching through rubble for survivors of a landslide in northern China that killed at least 34 people, the AP reports. Hundreds are feared missing after a reservoir of mining waste collapsed in the northern province of Shanxi, sending a wall of thick sludge sweeping through a valley and burying buildings. The mine owner and eight others have been detained. More »
  
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  China • disaster • coal mine • disaster zones • landslide • mine disasters
July 2008
- US Military Showing Softer Side
  
  Boston Globe | Jul 28, 08 2:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Despite recent focus on shooting wars, the Defense Department has tweaked the core mission of US armed forces to promote “soft power,” such as humanitarian aid, the Boston Globe reports. Some civilian onlookers say the foreign policy is “out of whack,” and “too dominated by the military.” One Pacific commander says his job, “more often than not,” is to provide aid. More »
  
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  Department of Defense • disaster zones • humanitarian aid • medical care • US military aid • international aid
June 2008
- Emergency Declared in Calif. Fires
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 29, 08 9:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Bush declared a region stretching from Nevada to the Pacific Ocean a federal disaster area, the Los Angeles Times reports, as more than 1,000 fires raged across northern California. Some 17,000 firefighters are battling the blazes, which threaten 6,800 homes. “We don’t have any of the fires under control,” said a state fire department spokeswoman. More »
  
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  George W. Bush • California • Nevada • wildfires • firefighters • FEMA • California wildfires • disaster zones • Big Sur
- Burma Aid Delays Less Deadly Than Feared
  
  New York Times | Jun 18, 08 5:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Delays in getting help to cyclone survivors in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta have not caused the catastrophe initially feared, according to aid workers. Hardy villagers have managed to survive on fish and coconuts, helped by aid from private Burmese citizens and monks, reports the New York Times . Expected massive outbreaks of disease have not occurred—but aid workers warn that many are still at risk. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • Cyclone Nargis • cyclone • junta • aid • disaster zones • Irrawaddy Delta • Doctors Without Borders
- Draining Quake Lake Floods China Town
  
  Reuters | Jun 10, 08 6:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A town devastated by the Sichuan earthquake was flooded today as soldiers worked to drain a dangerous quake lake, reports Reuters. Water whooshed into Beichuan after explosives and missiles were used to blast holes in the dam created by the earthquake. Some 250,000 people downstream had already been evacuated. More »
  
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  earthquake • flood • China earthquake • Sichuan province • disaster zones • dam • Tangjiashan
- 5.3 Aftershock Shakes Sichuan
  
  Associated Press | Jun 5, 08 4:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Another strong aftershock has rattled China's quake-devastated Sichuan province amid increased concerns about lake floodwaters, reports AP. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries from the 5.3 tremblor, which came as authorities began evacuating people downstream from a lake formed by last month's quake. The water level in the "quake lake" is rising, putting over a million survivors at risk from flooding. More »
  
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  China • earthquake • China earthquake • evacuation • Sichuan province • aftershock • disaster zones
- Blocked US Ships Will Abandon Myanmar Aid
  
  Reuters | Jun 4, 08 6:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US warships laden with aid for Burmese cyclone survivors will sail out of the region tomorrow still carrying their loads, Reuters reports. Burma's military junta has refused 15 requests to allow American forces to deliver aid supplies to the disaster zone, according to the admiral in charge of the operation. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • Cyclone Nargis • aid • relief • military junta • disaster zones • Irrawaddy Delta • warship
May 2008
- Burma Rips 'Chocolate Bar' Aid; US Ships Threaten to Sail
  
  Reuters | May 29, 08 6:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burma's military junta ripped international cyclone relief efforts today, slamming demands for access to the disaster zone and proclaiming "The people from Irrawaddy can survive without chocolate bars donated by foreign countries," Reuters reports. The slam comes a day after a US admiral threatened to yank warships from the region if the junta wouldn't let in the aid they carried. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • Cyclone Nargis • cyclone • relief • military junta • disaster zones • Irrawaddy Delta
- Burma Agrees to Accept All Aid
  
  Bloomberg | May 23, 08 5:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burma has agreed to let international disaster relief workers into the country to help with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, Bloomberg reports. The junta's about-face came after UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who flew in yesterday, met the nation's reclusive military leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. The UN hopes to ramp up operations in the Irrawaddy Delta, where over a million cyclone survivors are thought to be in urgent need of assistance. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • Cyclone Nargis • cyclone • relief • Ban Ki-Moon • military junta • disaster zones • Irrawaddy Delta • aid workers • Than Shwe
- Huge Aftershock Rattles China
  
  Reuters | May 16, 08 7:47 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A powerful aftershock struck today near the epicenter of this week's earthquake, wreaking more havoc as China struggled to bury its dead and care for thousands of homeless and hungry survivors, Reuters reports. Rescuers continued their search amid the rubble, but hope dimmed as the official death toll rose to more than 22,000. It is expected to exceed 50,000. More »
  
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  China • earthquake • Hu Jintao • aftershock • disaster zones
- Troops Race Clock to Save Chinese Buried Alive
  
  Reuters | May 14, 08 4:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China has rushed 50,000 more troops to Sichuan province to help dig for earthquake survivors before time runs out, Reuters reports. Tens of thousands of people are still buried under rubble from Monday's devastating 7.9 quake. Rescuers reaching the hardest-hit areas say the destruction is worse than feared, with the death toll now at 20,000 and likely to keep climbing. "Time is life," said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who's overseeing operations. More »
  
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  China • earthquake • rescue • China earthquake • Sichuan province • disaster zones • People's Liberation Army
- Grief Turns to Fury For Quake Survivors
  
  Guardian (UK) | May 13, 08 10:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As rescue efforts continue in western China, the mood among survivors of the earthquake has transformed from grief to fury: at the military, at builders, and above all at the government. In Dujiangyan, where several hundreds pupils died when a school collapsed, the Guardian reports that residents tried to push through military police and begged Western media to circulate their stories. More »
  
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  China • earthquake • disaster • Sichuan province • disaster zones
- Quake Buries Nearly 19,000 in 1 Town
  
  CNN | May 13, 08 7:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nearly 19,000 people are reported buried in rubble in just one Chinese town, the state media said today, as the death toll from yesterday's 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province climbed to 12,000. Overwhelmed rescuers worked frantically to rescue as many as possible, impeded by rain and mudslides, while hundreds of children still beneath a collapsed school have been given up for dead, reports the New York Times . More »
  
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  China • earthquake • Sichuan province • disaster zones • Wen Jiabao
January 2008
- Floods Swamp Eastern Australia
  
  BBC | Jan 8, 08 9:29 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Thousands on the east coast of Australia have been isolated by flooding from heavy rains, the BBC reports. Thunderstorms and overflowing rivers have battered the northeast parts of New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, and the southern parts of Queensland; both have been declared natural disaster zones. The government has begun relief operations, dropping food by helicopter. More »
  
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  Australia • flood • natural disaster • disaster zones • Queensland • New South Wales