Disaster strikes
According to a story posted by CNN, waters are beginning to recede in Marikina City, suburban Manila, but not before affecting 1.8 residents.
Monday closed a weekend of torrential rainfall caused by Typhoon Ketsana that brought the heaviest rain that region has seen in more than four decades. Officials are reporting that at least 240 people are dead.
CNN is also reporting that firefighters continue to battle yet another California wildfire — this time in Ventura County. As of yesterday, the blaze had consumed more than 16,000 acres and had nearly doubled in size in the last 24 hours. There are 1,831 firefighters at work and eight have suffered minor smoke- and heat-related injuries.
In Georgia, congressmen, federal officials, and Vice President Joe Biden presented a news conference alongside the American Red Cross after President Obama declared a major disaster.
CNN reports that local storms have dumped 22 inches of rain in the region and is blamed for the deaths of at least nine people and about $250 million in damages.
In Bhutan at least ten people have been killed after an earthquake hit the Himalayan region, reports BBC. The quake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale damaged monasteries and collapsed homes. People panicked in the wake of tremors in Guwahati, the capital of India’s north-eastern state of Assam, but the epicentre was just inside Bhutan’s border with India and 180km (115 miles) east of the capital Thimphu. The quake was felt as far away as Bangladesh and Tibet.
ReliefWeb.int lists natural disasters of the last month as:
- Typhoon Ketsana – Sep 2009
- Haiti: Floods and Mudslides – Sep 2009
- Bhutan: Earthquake – Sep 2009
- West Africa: Floods – Jul 2009
- Typhoon Koppu – Sep 2009
- Mexico: Floods – Sep 2009
- Tropical Storm Mujigae – Sep 2009
- Georgia: Earthquake – Sep 2009
- Turkey: Floods – Sep 2009
- Chad: Floods – Sep 2009
- Guinea: Floods – Sep 2009
- Liberia: Floods – Sep 2009
- Gambia: Floods – Sep 2009
- Mali: Floods – Sep 2009
- Sri Lanka: Dengue Outbreak – Sep 2009
- Niger: Floods – Sep 2009
- Indonesia: Earthquake – Sep 2009
- Burkina Faso: Floods – Sep 2009
- Guatemala: Food Insecurity – Sep 2009
- Hurricane Jimena – Sep 2009
2009 is winding down, but the hurricane season of our southern border is just winding up. Brace yourself.