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4 dead, 1 hurt in fire in Philippines
MANILA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A fire gutted at least 15 houses in a residential area in Lucena City in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, early Friday, killing four people and injuring one, police said. In a spot report, Lucena city police identified the four fatalities, including one 72-year-old and one 65-year-old, and two others aged 18 and 8, who were all living together in one of the burned houses......»»
Talisay City fire: P3M worth of properties lost, 1 firefighter injured
CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least P3 million worth of properties went up in smoke after fire hit a residential area in Sitio Libra, Purok Kamonggay, Barangay Poblacion, Talisay City, Cebu on Wednesday morning. The fire alarm was raised at 8:10 a.m., according to a report by the Talisay City Fire Station. It burned around.....»»
Saturday night fire burns homes in Brgy Carreta, Cebu City
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu (Updated) – A still undetermined number of homes were burned in a Saturday night fire that broke out in a residential area in Barangay Carreta, Cebu City. In a report, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) said that the blaze affected homes in Sitio Kalapukan that is located.....»»
Huge blaze razes Zambo village
ZAMBOANGA CITY — A five-hour huge fire of still undetermined origin razed to ground an estimated 130 houses made of semi-concrete to light materials in Barangay Arena Blanco here and displaced an estimated 700 people. Zamboanga City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Dr. Elmier Apolinario on Monday reported that there were no casualties and wounded persons logged during the incident. Initial reports disclosed that the fire broke out at about 8:39 a.m. on Monday at Sitio Campung Landang and Sibictul in the village of Arena Blanco. Fire trucks from all over the city fire sub-stations rushed to Arena Blanco to help other firemen combat the fire and even private water tankers also rushed to the scene to supply water to firetrucks to continue putting out the fire and prevent it from scattering further in the village. “Initially we have listed about 130 houses all made of light materials that were burned and about 700 were displaced due to the incident,” Apolinario said. “The figure is just the initial in our records. Tagging of names of the fire victims is still ongoing and we feel that more than 700 people were affected by the huge fire.” Zamboanga City firemen were able to control the fire at about 10:41 a.m. and subsequently declared a fire out at 12: 55 p.m.. Apolinario said the fire has razed an area of about two hectares lot in the village, sending all the victims initially to an evacuation center of the village. It was observed that fire trucks were having difficulty yesterday reaching the burning site due to the many road repairs being undertaken by the city government leading to Barangay Arena Blanco. The post Huge blaze razes Zambo village appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Greek fires rage unabated for a week
Greek firefighters struggled on Friday to contain scores of blazes stretching nationwide -- the largest fires in the European Union this year. The biggest fire front was in the Evros region close to the Turkish border, near the northern port city of Alexandroupoli, where a mega blaze that erupted on Saturday raged untamed. "Unfortunately Evros is the most active part of all the fronts we are facing at the moment and perhaps the most difficult section that we will face today," fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state television ERT on Friday. The fire was consuming the Dadia forest, one of the major areas in Europe for birds of prey. The Alexandroupoli wildfires are now the largest in the EU on record for 2023 and the second largest since 2000, according to the bloc. The bodies of 19 people believed to be migrants, two of them children, were found in the area this week. "At the moment there is no big active front on Mount Parnitha," near Athens, Artopios said. A third large fire was still blazing in Boeotia, north of Athens, but the conditions were improved. A shepherd lost his life in the fires in this area on Monday. Authorities blamed arsonists for the multiple fronts that have emerged simultaneously in the country during the past few days. Artopios said investigations into the arsons now involve thed national intelligence service and the fire prevention department. A very high fire risk is forecast on Friday for central Greece and Athens. Fires had scorched more than 120,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) of land across Greece in 2023 until Wednesday, according to estimates from the National Observatory. This year's burned land area is three times larger than the average annually since 2006, according to the European Observatory of Forest Fires. nks/ach © Agence France-Presse Add to cart Print Download The post Greek fires rage unabated for a week appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Western Canada wildfires force tens of thousands to flee
Officials in western Canada's British Columbia implored tens of thousands of residents to heed warnings and evacuate Saturday as "severe and fast-changing" wildfires threatened large parts of the scenic Okanagan Valley, including the city of Kelowna. The situation in the popular boating and hiking destination was "highly dynamic," said Bowinn Ma, the province's minister of emergency management. Around 30,000 people were under evacuation orders while another 36,000 were under alert to be ready to flee, she said. "We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued," Ma said at an afternoon news conference. "They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave." Kelowna, a city of 150,000, was choked with thick smoke as it became the latest population center hit in a summer of dramatic wildfires across Canada that has left millions of acres scorched. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had spoken with British Columbia Premier David Eby about the "rapidly evolving and incredibly devastating wildfire situation" and pledged federal resources in responding to the disaster. Blazes far away in the neighboring Northwest Territories have meanwhile prompted the evacuation of regional capital Yellowknife, leaving the remote city of some 20,000 largely a ghost town. Winds have been fanning the wildfires toward Yellowknife, but Saturday saw some relief after overnight rain brought a sharp dip in temperatures. Since the evacuation was ordered Wednesday, most people have fled by road with several thousand taking emergency flights, Northwest Territories environment minister Shane Thompson said Saturday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "Approximately 1,000 essential staff remaining in the city and surrounding area," he added. Those crews were remaining to erect defenses from the flames, while water bombers have been seen flying low over the city, with the Canadian military also helping out. - 'Incredible' exodus - Tony Whitford, a former commissioner for the Northwest Territories and a longtime resident of Yellowknife, arrived in the city of Calgary on one of the first flights out and gave the evacuation high marks. "My compliments to them all," Whitford, who is 82 and wheelchair-bound, said of the organizers. "It's so complex -- 20,000 people -- it's incredible. It went smoothly." Several towns and Indigenous communities were evacuated earlier. The exodus from Yellowknife means half the population of the near-Arctic territory has been displaced. The ongoing fires have caused "terrible loss," Trudeau told reporters after meeting Yellowknife evacuees Friday as they arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, with no idea when they may return home. Martha Kanatsiak, who has lived in Yellowknife for 28 years, arrived late Friday in Calgary. "I'm okay, but I feel sad and depressed and worried. I never saw something like this," the 59-year-old Inuit retiree told AFP. Some 40 flights carrying around 3,500 passengers from Yellowknife have arrived in Calgary, said officials in the city, which has made nearly 500 hotel rooms available. - Northwest US threat - In British Columbia, blazes have already destroyed several properties in West Kelowna, separated by Okanagan Lake from its larger, eponymous neighbor. Among them is the Lake Okanagan Resort, according to local media, which is known for having hosted high-profile politicians such as British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Eby on Saturday announced an emergency order halting non-essential visits to the area. The order, which bans visitors from checking in at hotels and other temporary accommodations, covers Kelowna and the nearby towns of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon as well as Osoyoos near the US border. "If you are currently in accommodations in these areas, we are asking you to voluntarily check out early and free up those spaces for evacuees and responders," Ma added. Meanwhile across the border in the United States, several thousand people were forced to flee wildfires in Washington state, with at least one death reported, local media said. An evacuation was ordered for Medical Lake, a town outside Spokane and next to a US Air Force base, while a section of the vital I-90 highway was closed, authorities said. Canada is experiencing a record-setting wildfire season, with official estimates of over 14 million hectares (34.6 million acres) already burned -- roughly the size of Greece and almost twice the area of the last record of 7.3 million hectares. Four people have died so far. Scientists say human-caused global warming is exacerbating natural hazards, making them both more frequent and more deadly. bfm/bbk/des/acb The post Western Canada wildfires force tens of thousands to flee appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Targeted Christians found shelter with Muslims during Pakistan rampage
Pastor Javed Bhatti was roused from his sleep by the mosque's loudspeaker -- not the usual Islamic call to prayer, but a thundering call to protest against alleged blasphemy by Christians. Instinctively, he gathered his family and ran to the street, where fellow Christians were already spilling from their homes into narrow alleyways. "Some were running barefoot and some fled in rickshaws. There was chaos everywhere," he told AFP on Thursday, a day after hundreds of Muslim men rampaged through the streets, burning homes and churches. "The children were shouting, 'Run, run, the clerics are coming! They will attack us'," his sister Naila Bhatti added. Blasphemy is a flashpoint issue in Pakistan, where vigilante mobs have killed people accused of insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. Christians make up around two percent of the population and occupy one of the lowest rungs in Pakistani society. More than 5,000 live in the Christian quarter in Jaranwala, most of them sanitary workers on meagre wages who occupy cramped homes shared by up to 18 relatives. As panic spread across the neighborhood, Muslims also rushed to the streets to warn and shelter their neighbors. "The crowd came from outside (this area), but the local Muslims here helped us and tried to save us," Pastor Bhatti said. Tariq Rasool, in the same narrow street as Bhatti, said Muslims had quickly pinned Koranic verses on the doors of Christian homes in the hope they would be spared the violence. "Two women were running. I opened the door of my house for them and let them inside. They were very worried but I consoled them," the 58-year-old Muslim told AFP. The mob swelled in size and anger throughout the day, with hundreds at its peak rioting through the streets. By nightfall, at least four churches and a dozen houses and shops had been burned and ransacked, according to an AFP team at the scene. Imran Qadri, a bearded Muslim, opened his home to two Christian women. "They are still inside our house. My family helped them, provided them with food and they spent the night with us," Qadri said, standing alongside Bhatti. Parveen Bibi fled with her eight family members after being woken up by her young children screaming: "Muslims are coming to burn our houses!" "We took rickshaws to the home of our Muslim neighbors. The door was open and we all went inside. I was accompanied by women, my two daughters-in-law and children. The women said, 'You are safe here, don't worry'," she explained tearfully, standing in the rubble of her home. Several Christians who returned to their houses on Thursday to survey the damage told AFP that more than 300 people had fled in the initial hours of the riot, but hundreds more evacuated at night and on Thursday to stay with relatives in other towns. Police have arrested more than 100 people allegedly linked to the violence and are searching for two Christian brothers accused of desecrating the Koran. Though the mob has dispersed and hundreds of police now guard the neighborhood, many are too fearful to return home yet. For Pastor Bhatti, returning has brought more pain for his family: "My own house was destroyed. This was our entire life's earnings. Now how will we live here again?" The post Targeted Christians found shelter with Muslims during Pakistan rampage appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hawaii fire death toll nears 100, and anger grows
The death toll in Hawaii from the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century ticked towards 100 Sunday, fueling criticism that government inaction contributed to the heavy loss of life. At least 96 people were confirmed to have died as of Sunday night, but officials warned the figure was likely to rise as recovery crews with cadaver dogs work their way through hundreds of homes and burned-out vehicles in Lahaina. The historic coastal town on the island of Maui was almost destroyed by the fast-moving inferno early Wednesday morning, with survivors saying there had been no warnings. When asked Sunday why none of the island's sirens had been activated, Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono said she would wait for the results of an investigation announced by the state's attorney general. "I'm not going to make any excuses for this tragedy," Hirono, a Democrat, told CNN's "State of the Union." "We are really focused, as far as I'm concerned, on the need for rescue, and, sadly, the location of more bodies." More than 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed as the fire tore through Lahaina, according to official estimates, wreaking $5.5 billion in damage and leaving thousands homeless. "The remains we're finding are from a fire that melted metal," said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier. "When we pick up the remains... they fall apart." That was making identification difficult, he added, appealing for those with missing relatives to give DNA samples that might speed up the process. Pelletier said cadaver dogs still had a vast area to search in the hunt for what could still be hundreds of people who are unaccounted for. "We're going as fast as we can. But just so you know, three percent -- that's what's been searched with the dogs," he said. Questions over alert system The wildfire is the deadliest in the United States since 1918, when 453 people died in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to nonprofit research group the National Fire Protection Association. The death toll surpassed 2018's Camp Fire in California, which virtually wiped the small town of Paradise off the map and killed 86 people. Questions are being asked about how prepared authorities were for the catastrophe, despite the islands' exposure to natural hazards such as tsunamis, earthquakes and violent storms. In its emergency management plan last year, the State of Hawaii described the risk wildfires posed to people as being "low." Yet the layers of warning that are intended to buffer a citizenry if disaster strikes appear not to have operated. Maui suffered numerous power outages during the crisis, preventing many residents from receiving emergency alerts on their cell phones. No emergency sirens sounded and many Lahaina residents spoke of learning about the blaze from neighbors running down the street or seeing it for themselves. "The mountain behind us caught on fire and nobody told us jack," resident Vilma Reed, 63, told AFP. "You know when we found that there was a fire? When it was across the street from us." Reed, whose house was destroyed by the blaze, said she was dependent on handouts and the kindness of strangers, and was sleeping in a car with her daughter, grandson and two cats. The New York Times reported Sunday that firefighters sent to tackle the flames found some hydrants had run dry. "There was just no water in the hydrants," the paper quoted firefighter Keahi Ho as saying. Roadblocks The congregation of Grace Baptist Church, which was leveled in the blaze, gathered Sunday in a coffee shop in Kahului for two hours of solace. Pastor Arza Brown led the service in his sandals, the only shoes that survived the blaze that destroyed his house. But the trappings of ministry were far from his mind as he comforted fellow evacuees. "That's one thing about getting together today -- just to be with each other and encourage each other," he said. For some survivors, the difficult days after the tragedy were being worsened by what they see as official intransigence, with roadblocks preventing them from getting back to their homes. Maui police said the public would not be allowed into Lahaina while safety assessments and searches were ongoing -- even some of those who could prove they lived there. Maui's fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest. Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. Scientists say human-caused global warming is exacerbating natural hazards, making them both more likely and more deadly. The post Hawaii fire death toll nears 100, and anger grows appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hawaii fire death toll hits 55, expected to rise
A terrifying wildfire that left a historic Hawaiian town in charred ruins has killed at least 55 people, authorities said Thursday, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the US state's history. Brushfires on the west coast of Hawaii's Maui island -- fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. The flames moved so quickly that many were caught off-guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean in a desperate bid to escape. "It really looks like somebody came along and just bombed the whole town. It's completely devastated," said Canadian Brandon Wilson, who had traveled to Hawaii with his wife to celebrate their 25th anniversary, but was at the airport trying to get them a flight out. "It was really hard to see," he said, teary-eyed. "You feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods." The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest. Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. "What we've seen today has been catastrophic... likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history," Governor Josh Green said. "In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island," he said earlier in the day, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state. "This time, it's very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that." Maui County officials said just after 9:00 pm Thursday (0700 GMT Friday) that fatalities stood at 55, and firefighters were still battling the blaze in the town that served as the Hawaiian kingdom's capital in the early 19th century. Pictures taken by an AFP photographer who flew over Lahaina showed it had been reduced to blackened, smoking ruins. The burned skeletons of trees still stand, rising above the ashes of the buildings to which they once offered shelter. Green said 80 percent of the town was gone. "Buildings that we've all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed," he said. Thousands have been left homeless and Green said a massive operation was swinging into action to find accommodation. "We are going to need to house thousands of people," he told a press conference. "That will mean reaching out to all of our hotels and those in the community to ask people to rent extra rooms at their property." President Joe Biden on Thursday declared the fires a "major disaster" and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, with rebuilding expected to take years. 'Bodies in the water' US Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames as they tore through Lahaina. Kirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of dense smoke, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water. "It was a really rapidly developing scene and pretty harrowing for the victims that had to jump into the water," she added. For resident Kekoa Lansford, the horror was far from over. "We still get dead bodies in the water floating and on the seawall," Lansford told CBS. "We have been pulling people out... We're trying to save people's lives, and I feel like we are not getting the help we need." Green said around 1,700 buildings were believed to have been affected by the blaze. "With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time," Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. "In the days ahead, we will be stronger as a... community," he added, "as we rebuild with resilience and aloha." Evacuations Thousands of people have already been evacuated from Maui, with 1,400 people waiting at the main airport in Kahului overnight, hoping to get out. Maui County has asked visitors to leave "as soon as possible," and organized buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport. The island hosts around a third of all the visitors who holiday in the state, and their dollars are vital for the local economy. At the airport in Kahului, Lorraina Peterson said she had been stuck for days without food or power, and was now looking at a lengthy wait for a flight. "I don't know if we'll be able to get a hotel room, or we'll have to sleep here on the floor," she said. With a hurricane passing to the south of Hawaii, high winds fueled flames that consumed dry vegetation. Thomas Smith, a professor with the London School of Economics, said that while wildfires are not uncommon in Hawaii, the blazes this year "are burning a greater area than usual, and the fire behavior is extreme, with fast spread rates and large flames." As global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are projected to become more frequent, with increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns creating ideal conditions for bush or forest fires. The post Hawaii fire death toll hits 55, expected to rise appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Thousands flee Greek island fires as southern US swelters
Around 30,000 people were moved to safety on the Greek island of Rhodes where a wildfire burned on Saturday, while people in the southern United States struggled under a record-breaking heatwave. Tens of millions of people have been suffering through intense heat this summer and the world looks set for its hottest July on record. As temperature records tumble, experts have pointed to climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels, arguing that global warming is playing a key role in the devastating heat. On the Mediterranean island of Rhodes, where a wildfire has been blazing for days, boats carried 2,000 people to safety from beaches in the east of the popular tourist island. Greek fire service spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis told Skai TV: "This is not a fire that will be over tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. It'll be troubling us for days." Three coastguard ships led more than 30 private vessels in the evacuation, while a Greek navy boat was heading to the area. Island officials arranged for dozens of buses to take people to safety, but where fires had cut off road access, others had to walk. Authorities have opened up gyms, schools and hotel conference centers to serve as makeshift accommodation, while firefighters battle the blaze. In Athens, the foreign ministry said it had activated its crisis management unit to facilitate the evacuation of foreign citizens due to the ongoing forest fires. Greece is fighting dozens of forest fires 11 days into a heatwave that has seen temperatures soaring above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Meteorologists have warned it could be the longest hot spell the country has ever seen. - 80 million Americans sweltering - Across the southern United States, about 80 million Americans will swelter in temperatures of 41C and above this weekend, the National Weather Service said. The southwestern city of Phoenix, Arizona hit 46C on Saturday, extending a record-breaking streak to 22 consecutive days of highs above 43C. Tourists have been flocking to Death Valley National Park, which straddles California and Nevada, to post selfies with a temperature display outside the visitor centre. Many are hoping to see it break a world record of 56.7C, which was set in July 1913 but was likely the result of a faulty measurement, according to several meteorologists. Further north, in Canada, which has been suffering wildfires that left Montreal blanketed in smog, torrential rain hit the eastern province of Nova Scotia, cutting off roads and threatening to burst a dam. Four people were reported missing, including two children who had been in a car engulfed by flood waters. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 active wildfires were burning across Canada, with 11.3 million hectares scorched this season by the deadly blazes. Across the border in the US state of Washington, a wildfire burned more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) in less than a day. - Hottest month - July 2023 is on track to be the hottest month -- not only since records began, but also in "hundreds, if not thousands, of years", said leading NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt. The effects cannot be attributed solely to the El Nino weather pattern, which "has really only just emerged" and isn't expected to strengthen until later in the year, he added. El Nino is associated with the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Schmidt said the trend of extreme heat was expected to persist, "and the reason why we think that's going to continue, is because we continue to put greenhouse gases into the atmosphere". The exceptional temperatures in Greece also meant key tourist sites such as the Acropolis closed during the hottest part of the day. A 46-year-old man was reported to have succumbed to heatstroke on the central Greek island of Evia after being admitted to Chalkida hospital. Staff there said cardio-respiratory failure following exposure to high temperatures appeared to have been the cause. Emergency health officials told the state broadcaster they had admitted at least 38 heatstroke patients in the last three days, while hospitals were also seeing cases of fainting and other heat-related conditions. Greece is just one of many countries battling a prolonged spell of extreme heat around the globe in recent days. burs/jj/acb © Agence France-Presse The post Thousands flee Greek island fires as southern US swelters appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mercury hits new highs as heat waves scorch the globe
Temperatures reached new highs on Monday as heatwaves and wildfires scorched swathes of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 children close to a Greek seaside resort. Health authorities have sounded alarms from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and shelter from the burning sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming. Near Athens, a forest fire flared in strong winds by the popular beach town of Loutraki where the mayor said holiday camps for youngsters had come under threat. "We have saved 1,200 children who were in the holiday camps," said mayor Giorgos Gkionis. Emergency services were also battling wildfires in Kouvaras and the resorts of Lagonissi, Anavyssos and Saronida near Athens. Several homes were burned in the area, according to footage from public broadcaster ERT. "The extreme weather ... is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies," said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. "This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible." 'We thought we'd escape' In Rome, where temperatures hit a near-record 39C on Monday, American Colman Peavy could not believe the heat as he sipped a cappuccino at a cafe with his wife Ana at the start of a two-week vacation. "We're from Texas and it's really hot there, we thought we would escape the heat but it's even hotter here," said the 30-year-old. It was already the world's hottest June on record, according to the EU weather monitoring service, and July looks to be readying to challenge its own record. China reported a new high for mid-July in the northwest of the country, where temperatures reached 52.2C in the Xinjiang region's village of Sanbao, breaking the previous high of 50.6C set six years ago. Heatstroke alerts had been issued in 32 out of Japan's 47 prefectures, mainly in central and southwestern regions. At least 60 people were treated for heatstroke, media reported, including 51 taken to hospital in Tokyo. In Cyprus, where temperatures are expected to remain above 40C through Thursday, a 90-year-old man died as a result of heatstroke and three other seniors were hospitalised, health officials said. 'Oppressive' US heat In western and southern US states, which are used to high temperatures, more than 80 million people were under advisories as a "widespread and oppressive" heatwave roasted the region. California's Death Valley, often among the hottest places on Earth, reached a near-record 52C Sunday afternoon. In Arizona, state capital Phoenix tied its record of 18 consecutive days above 43C (109F), as temperatures hit 45C (113F) early Monday afternoon. The US National Weather Service predicts similar highs at least through Sunday, while warning of overnight lows remaining dangerously elevated, above 32C (90F). "We're used to 110, 112 (degrees Fahrenheit)... But not the streaks," Nancy Leonard, a 64-year-old retiree from the nearby suburb of Peoria, told AFP. "You just have to adapt." In Southern California, several wildfires have ignited over the past few days in rural areas east of Los Angeles. The biggest, named the Rabbit Fire, had burned nearly 8,000 acres and was 35 percent contained on Monday morning, according to authorities. In neighbouring Canada, 882 wildfires were active on Monday, including 579 considered out of control, authorities said. Smoke from the fires has descended on the United States again, prompting air quality alerts across much of the northeast. Historic highs forecast In Europe, Italians were warned to prepare for "the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time", with a red alert issued for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence. Spain enjoyed little reprieve with temperatures of 47C in the southern town of Villarrobledo. Along with the heat, parts of Asia have also been battered by torrential rain. South Korea's president vowed Monday to "completely overhaul" the country's approach to extreme weather, after at least 40 people were killed in recent flooding and landslides during monsoon rains, which are forecast to continue through Wednesday. The post Mercury hits new highs as heat waves scorch the globe appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Canada wildfires have burned over 10 mn hectares this year
Canadian wildfires have burned more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) this year, a record-breaking figure that has surpassed scientists' most pessimistic predictions, government data showed Saturday. The prior all-time high occurred in 1989 when 7.3 million hectares were burned over the course of an entire year, according to national figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The area burned this year, in just six and a half months, is roughly equivalent to the size of Portugal or Iceland. In total, 4,088 fires have occurred since January, including many blazes that have scorched hundreds of thousands of hectares. More than 150,000 people have been displaced, and a 19-year-old firefighter died Thursday. "We're dealing with immense areas," Colonel Philippe Sansa, who heads a detachment of French firefighters deployed in hard-hit northern Quebec, told AFP. "The fire we're managing is 65 kilometers (40 miles) long, which poses enormous organizational challenges." Sansa said his team, in France, would be able to deploy far more firefighters and helicopters on a blaze 100 times smaller. The majority of fires have occurred far from inhabited areas -- but they still have serious consequences for the environment. "We find ourselves this year with figures that are worse than our most pessimistic scenarios," Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Canada's natural resources ministry, told AFP. "What has been completely crazy is that there has been no respite since the beginning of May," he said. As of Saturday, there were 906 active fires in the country, including 570 deemed out of control -- with no province spared. The dire situation has shifted across the country in recent months: In May, at the beginning of the wildfire season, Alberta in the west was the center of attention, with unprecedented blazes. Several weeks later, Nova Scotia, an Atlantic province with a mild climate, took up the baton, followed by Quebec, where huge fires created plumes of smoke that even blanketed parts of the United States. Since the beginning of July, the situation has taken a dramatic turn in British Columbia, with more than 250 fires starting in just three days last week, mostly triggered by lightning. Much of Canada is suffering from severe drought, with months of below-average rainfall and warm temperatures. The country is warming faster than the rest of the planet because of its geography, and has been confronted with extreme weather events whose intensity and frequency have increased due to climate change, scientists say. The vast green ring of forests in the planet's northern regions -- including Canada -- is vital to the Earth's health. And given the density of underbrush, wildfires in the north can liberate far more carbon per area burned than some other ecosystems -- thereby further contributing to the planet's warming, in a vicious circle. The post Canada wildfires have burned over 10 mn hectares this year appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Record heatwaves sweep the world from US to Japan via Europe
Record heat is forecast around the world from the United States, where tens of millions are battling dangerously high temperatures, to Europe and Japan, in the latest example of the threat from global warming. Italy faces weekend predictions of historic highs with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna, and Florence. The meteo center warned Italians to prepare for "the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time". The thermometer is likely to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Rome by Monday and even 43C on Tuesday, smashing the record of 40.5C set in August 2007. The islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt under temperatures as high as 48C, the European Space Agency warned -- "potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe". Greece is also roasting. "Parts of the country could see highs as much as 44C on Saturday," according to the national weather service EMY. The central city of Thebes sweated under 44.2C on Friday. The Acropolis, Athens's top tourist attraction, will on Sunday close during the hottest hours for the third day running. In France, high temperatures and resulting drought are posing a threat to the farming industry, earning Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau criticism from climatologists on Saturday for having brushed aside conditions as "normal enough for summer". June was the second-hottest on record in France, according to the national weather agency, and several areas of the country have been under a heatwave alert since Tuesday. There is little reprieve ahead for Spain, as its meteorological agency warned Saturday that a new heatwave Monday through Wednesday will bring temperatures above 40C to the Canary Islands and the southern Andalusia region. Killer rains Parts of eastern Japan are also expected to reach 38 to 39C on Sunday and Monday, with the meteorological agency warning temperatures could hit previous records. Meanwhile, the northern city of Akita saw more rain in half a day than is typical for the whole month of July, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported. The downpours also triggered at least one landslide, forcing 9,000 people to evacuate their homes. Torrential rains described by the meteorological agency as the "heaviest rain ever experienced" have also hit southern Japan in recent weeks, leaving at least 11 people dead. Relentless monsoon rains have reportedly killed at least 90 people in northern India, after burning heat. The Yamuna River running through the capital New Delhi has reached a record high of 208.66 meters, more than a meter over the flood top set in 1978, threatening low-lying neighborhoods in the megacity of more than 20 million people. Major flooding and landslides are common during India's monsoons, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity. Americans are watching as a powerful heatwave grip stretches from California to Texas, with its peak expected this weekend. In Arizona, one of the hardest-hit states, residents face a daily endurance marathon against the sun. State capital Phoenix recorded 15 straight days above 109F (43C), with Saturday expected to reach well above that mark. Deadly danger Authorities have been sounding the alarm, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to be wary of dehydration. The Las Vegas weather service warned that assuming high temperatures naturally come with the area's desert climate was "a DANGEROUS mindset! This heatwave is NOT typical desert heat". "Now the most intense period is beginning," it added, as the weekend arrived with record highs threatening on Sunday. California's Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, is also likely to register new peaks Sunday, with the mercury possibly rising to 130F (54C). Southern California is fighting numerous wildfires, including one in Riverside County that has burned more than 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) and prompted evacuation orders. Further north, the Canadian government reported that wildfires burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares this year, with more damage expected as the summer drags on. Morocco may be used to hot weather, but it was slated for above-average temperatures this weekend with highs of 47C in some provinces -- more typical of August than July -- sparking concerns for water shortages, the meteorological service said. River Tigris shrinking Water-scarce Jordan was forced to dump 214 tonnes of water on a wildfire that broke out in the Ajloun forest in the north amid a heatwave, the army said. In Iraq, where scorching summers are common, along with power cuts, Wissam Abed told AFP he cools off from Baghdad's brutal summer by swimming in the Tigris river. But as Iraqi rivers dry up, so does the age-old pastime. With temperatures near 50C and wind whipping through the city like a hair dryer, Abed stood in the middle of the river, but the water only comes up to his waist. "I live here... like my grandfather did before me. Year after year, the water situation gets worse," said the 37-year-old. While it can be difficult to attribute a particular weather event to climate change, scientists insist global warming -- linked to dependence on fossil fuels -- is behind the multiplication and intensification of heat waves in the world. The heatwaves come after the EU's climate monitoring service said the world saw its hottest June on record last month. The post Record heatwaves sweep the world from US to Japan via Europe appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Fear, grief after 41 dead in ‘brutal’ Uganda school attack
Grieving families buried their dead in western Uganda on Sunday while others searched desperately for missing loved ones after militants killed dozens of students in a "brutal" school attack. Officials say at least 41 people, mostly students, were massacred Friday in the worst attack of its kind in Uganda since 2010. President Yoweri Museveni, in his first statement since the attack, vowed to hunt the militants "into extinction". Victims were hacked, shot and burned in the late-night raid on Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, which lies less than two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pope Francis offered a prayer on Sunday for "the young student victims of the brutal attack" that has shocked Uganda and drawn condemnation from around the globe. Ugandan authorities have blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia based in DR Congo, and are pursuing the attackers who fled back toward the border with six abductees. "Their action -- the desperate, cowardly, terrorist action -- will not save them," said Museveni. Fifteen others from the community, including five girls, were still missing, said Eriphaz Muhindi, chairman of Kasese district, which shares a long and forested border with DR Congo. - 'Great pain' - Families desperate for news waited all night in the cold outside a mortuary in nearby Bwera. Those able to identify loved ones embraced and wept as they took away the bodies in coffins. "We flocked (to) the hospital and found many bodies -- of boys and girls, some cut with pangas (machetes), others hit with hammers on the head," Roti Masereka, a farmer, told AFP. He left with the body of his brother -- 35-year-old Mbusa Kirurihandi, a security guard at the school -- and his 17-year-old son. But a third son, aged 15, is missing, and the family is distraught. "Today we have buried two bodies, the father and his son. But we are still looking for the missing child," he said. The government said Sunday it would assist with funeral arrangements and support the injured. Seventeen victims were burned beyond recognition when the attackers set a dormitory ablaze, frustrating efforts to identify the dead and account for the missing. Muhindi said they had been taken away for DNA testing, a process that could take some time. "This is a great pain to their families," he told AFP. - 'They wore military camouflage' - Officials said 37 students were killed -- 17 in the torched men's dormitory, and 20 female students who ran but were hacked to death. Elias Kule, an 18-year-old survivor, said the boys locked their dormitory door when they heard gunshots and saw armed men entering the school. "They wore military camouflage. Each had a hammer, a hoe, knives, pangas (machetes) and guns with magazines," he told AFP. He said the attackers started firing through the windows and doors, hitting at least one student, before lobbing a "bomb" into the dormitory that started a fire. "I ran out of oxygen, I covered my mouth and nose with a cloth... I got blood and smeared myself on the head and ears to claim I was dead," he said, waiting until the coast was clear to escape. Four non-students, including the security guard Kirurihandi, were also killed. - 'Appalling act' - The African Union, France and the United States, a close ally of Uganda, offered their condolences and condemned the bloodshed. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: "Those responsible for this appalling act must be brought to justice." Questions have been raised about how the attackers managed to evade detection in a border region with a heavy military presence. Major General Dick Olum told AFP that intelligence suggested the presence of the ADF in the area at least two days before the attack, and an investigation would be needed to establish what went wrong. Uganda and DR Congo launched a joint offensive in 2021 to drive the ADF out of their Congolese strongholds, but the measures have failed to blunt the group's violence. Originally insurgents in Uganda, the ADF gained a foothold in eastern DRC in the 1990s and have since been accused of killing thousands of civilians. The Islamic State group claims the ADF as its Central African affiliate. Attacks in Uganda are rare but in June 1998, 80 students were burnt to death in their dormitories in an ADF raid on Kichwamba Technical Institute near the DR Congo border. More than 100 students were abducted. The attack was the deadliest in Uganda since 2010, when 76 people were killed in twin bombings in Kampala by the Somalia-based group Al-Shabaab. gm-np/bp © Agence France-Presse The post Fear, grief after 41 dead in ‘brutal’ Uganda school attack appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Facing unprecedented fire season, Canada confronts logistical challenge
Larger and more powerful wildfires than ever have scorched millions of hectares of Canadian forests and displaced tens of thousands of residents. With so many fires out of control and no relief in sight, the nation is facing a logistical nightmare. After an early start, it is on course to be the worst wildfire season on record as hot, dry conditions are forecast to continue through August. "The distribution of fires from coast to coast this year is unusual," said Michael Norton, an official with Canada's Natural Resources ministry. "At this time of year, fires usually occur only on one side of the country at a time, most often in the West." But in the last month fires have erupted in almost every province across Canada. As a consequence, Canada has had to juggle resources and call in reinforcements from abroad, including more than 1,000 firefighters from Australia, the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Spain and Portugal. How is the fight to tame fires organized? Canada's 10 provinces are each responsible for managing wildfires, with help from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec have also asked Ottawa to send in the military. Additionally, 1,000 new firefighters are being trained to deploy this summer, and the military's firefighting capabilities are being expanded. They face an arduous task: "When a big fire is burning, it is impossible for the firefighters to make a direct attack," explains Marc-Andre Parisien, a specialist in fire risk management. And then "sending water bombers to douse flames 30 meters high is like spitting on a campfire, it is ineffective," he said. One solution is to use controlled burns to halt advancing blazes, but with big fires, "only a big rain" will extinguish them. What are the logistical challenges? Quebec notably has struggled to fight all of the many fires burning in the province at once, due to a lack of resources. "With the current hands, we can fight about 40 fires at a time, but 150 fires are burning," Quebec Premier Francois Legault told a news conference this week. The focus has been to try to save lives and the mostly urban properties under threat. Canada has an aging fleet of 55 water bomber aircraft. "But it's getting more and more difficult to maintain them due to the age of this fleet," which is now 50 years old, said John Gradek, head of McGill University's aviation management program. With half of the fleet in poor condition, and with more extreme weather expected in the years to come, another 75 water bombers are urgently needed, he estimated. How do you prepare for new normal? In a typical year, about 7,500 wildfires burn more than 2.5 million hectares of forests in Canada. So far this year, 2,293 fires have already burned more than 3.8 million hectares. The amount of burned forest area is projected to double by 2050. Wildfires researcher Yan Boulanger noted, "for each degree increase in temperature in the boreal forest, expect the size of fires to triple." Canada is warming faster than the rest of the planet, according to climatologists. This May was one of the warmest on record. And eastern Canada sweltered under an early heatwave in June. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged: "Our resources are stretched." "There is no doubt that in coming years we will have to reflect seriously on how we can equip ourselves to deal with this new reality. We will be facing more and more extreme weather events," he said. Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said Canada is looking to acquire additional equipment and water bombers. Parliament is also considering upping tax credits for volunteer firefighters to entice more to join their ranks. An estimated 15,000 more are needed. Many experts also called for updated building codes for rural construction -- requiring fire-proof roofs on cottages, for example -- and even planting less-flammable trees. "You need to have a buffer zone between the wooded area and your town site. And so if a fire starts raging, it'll run out of fuel by the time it gets to your front porch," said climatologist Dave Phillips. Ottawa is also tapping Indigenous knowledge and practices used to fight wildfires for millennia. The post Facing unprecedented fire season, Canada confronts logistical challenge appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Taj Mahal’ of Negros Occidental
“Ancient ruins,” said Mary Jo Arnoldi, chair of the anthropology department at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, “give us a connection to the past that’s visceral. This was a real place, and you can walk through it.” This could be why Raymund Javellana, the man who wanted The Ruins, which is listed by oddee.com as “one 12 most fascinating ruins of the world,” restored to its former glory. The Ruins was a mansion built in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. “I am so glad that it was not destroyed completely. With the blessings of The Lord, we were able to restore the mansion itself. I challenge people who keep on destroying the old structures to please stop and make some good use of it,” Javellana said when he accepted the award for The Ruins as Best Destination (Heritage Sites category) at the first Choose Philippines Awards in 2016. Javellana is the great-grandson of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, the Negrense sugar baron who built the mansion for love. How the mansion came to be Love, goes a famous song, comes from the most unexpected places. This is what happened to Mariano Ledesma Lacson, a sugar baron from Negros. The most-sought after bachelor was visiting Hong Kong with a friend when he met Maria Braga, a Portuguese lady from Macau and daughter of a ship captain. Smitten by her beauty, he courted her earnestly until she said yes. To make the long story short, they got married and he brought her to his ancestral house in Talisay, where they raised their family together. Children came after one another: Victoria, Rafael (who later became the governor of Negros Occidental), Mercedes, Natividad, Sofia, Felipe (who became a mayor of Talisay), Consolacion, Angelina, Ramon and Eduardo. Maria was pregnant with their 11th child when she slipped in the bathroom. She was bleeding; her condition was so precarious that traveling outside of the house was out of question. Mariano summoned some of his men to get a resident doctor from a nearby town. He told them to use a horse-drawn carriage, then the fastest mode of transportation. It was the 1920s and it took two days to traverse the various sugar farms to Silay. By the time the doctor arrived, on the fourth day, Maria and her child were dead. Mariano was so devastated, he went into a depression for a time m. Yet knowing he still had children needing his attention, he began to focus instead on building a house in memory of his beloved wife. He consulted his father-in-law about the idea, who fully supported his plans. Being a ship captain, he brought in many items from Europe and China — ranging from machuca or handmade custom cement tiles, chandeliers and china wares. He even brought with him some construction workers from China just to help build the mansion. A local builder was entrusted to make the design and building specifications. Mariano asked his son Felipe to supervise the project and ensure an A-grade mixture of concrete was precisely poured. The marble-like effect of high-grade concrete can be felt by touching the posts and walls of what remains now of the mansion. The entire property has a floor area of 900 square meters: 450 sq.m. upstairs and the same on the lower ground. Ten rooms occupied the mansion: eight for children, a Master’s bedroom and a family room. The house was of Italianate architecture as evidenced by its neo-Romanesque columns all around. “Since the engineer was a Filipino, it is believed the design came from that of Maria’s ancestral mansion which was given by her father to Mariano as sample,” an inflight magazine said. “The imprimatur of Maria’s father, a ship captain, is now clear from the shell-inspired décor all around the top edges of the mansion – the same ones that identified the homes of ship captains in New England at that time.” It took about three years to finish the Don Mariano Lacson Mansion. Because it was built out of a husband’s devotion to his wife, Javellana likens it to the Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife. The initials engraved on every post of the mansion — two Ms facing each other — stand for Mariano and Maria. [caption id="attachment_134716" align="aligncenter" width="525"] The two M's facing each other stand for Mariano and Maria.[/caption] At that time, the mansion was the largest residential structure ever built in the area. It was constructed at the center of a 440-hectare farm. The Lacson family lived in the mansion happily, but it was not “ever after” as Japanese forces invaded the country in December 1941 after Japan’s declaration of war upon the United States, which controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important military bases. In anticipation of the war, the Lacson family fled their home. They left behind all their furniture, china wares, home décor and some personal belongings, locked up the place and left a caretaker to watch over the mansion. The soldiers of the US Armed Forces in the Far East came to the place. Sensing that it might be used as headquarters of the Japanese troops, it was decided that it would be burned just like other big houses in the area. While it took three years to build the mansion, it took only three days to consume all of its roofs, ceilings, two-inch wooden floors, doors and windows, which were all made of hardwood of tindalo, narra and kamagong. Still, the three-day inferno was not able to flatten the whole mansion. Thanks to its oversize steel bars and the meticulous way of pouring A-grade mixture of concrete, the skeletal frame remains. The four-tiered fountain in front of what remains of the mansion makes it a perfect replica of the ancient homes with spacious gardens – like those you see in the old city of Savannah, Georgia in the United States. Joy Gallera Malaga, an independent writer who visited the place, wrote: “And most likely you would appreciate the mansion even if it was already reduced to its skeletal frame, or maybe it is its present condition that adds to its character and beauty. That’s the charm of old structures; it invites you to engage in an experience just by being there, getting to know it better through the stories it continues to tell.” [caption id="attachment_134715" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Water fountain.[/caption] Love and legacy Filipinos would have never seen The Ruins – which was abandoned for 67 years! – had it not been for Javellana. He is the son of Ramon, who was the son of Mercedes, the daughter of Mariano. Raymund had a travel agency in Manila when his mother requested him to come back to Negros and help her manage their sugar plantations. He now settles in Silay but in one of his trips to Talisay, he saw the abandoned mansion, which is located in Hacienda Sta. Maria. He decided to make it one of the province’s tourist attractions. Although people were not too keen about the idea, Javellana pursued his plans. In January 2008, he opened The Ruins to the public. People flocked to the place. Aside from being a tourist attraction, The Ruins is fast becoming a favorite venue for weddings and photo shoots. It was a good Javellana, inspired by his father and their forebears, kept his dream alive, never giving up on it. That’s love. The post ‘Taj Mahal’ of Negros Occidental appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Why we need to save our coral reefs
“Coral damage feared as vessel grounded,” said the headline of a recent issue of Daily Tribune. “Extensive damage to the coral reefs that serve as a marine habitat is feared with the incident raising concerns anew about the environmental impact of mining in the country,” the news report stated. Three days after the sinking of the MT Princess Empress tanker off Naujan, Occidental Mindoro in February this year, the resulting oil slick reached the shores of the coastal towns of Naujan, Pola and Pinamalayan. “Among the coastal sites that may be at risk are several marine protected areas, including but not limited to the reefs in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, amounting to some 1,100 hectares of coral reefs,” said the bulletin issued by the University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Science Marine Science Institute. According to the United Nations Environment Program, oil, a complex mixture of many chemicals, can kill corals, depending on species and exposure. Once soil comes into contact with corals, it can kill them or impede their reproduction, growth, behavior and development. Various threats Oil spills are not the only incidents that threaten the country’s coral reefs. Most of these threats are caused by human activities. As marine scientist Don McAllister, who once studied the cost of coral reef destruction in the country, lamented: “Nowhere else in the world are coral reefs abused as much as the reefs in the Philippines.” Sedimentation — the process of soils settling to the bottom of the sea — is said to be the most important single cause of reef degradation. Sediments that wash over reefs have a number of negative effects on corals, marine scientists claim. Deforestation is the most common source of sediments. “When trees are cut down and the underbrush burned, the mountainsides become bare and the soil are defenseless against strong wind and rain,” said the Coral Research Project of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. “During rains, runoff carries eroded soil down to the rivers that deposit it in the sea.” On its website, the BFAR singled out destructive fishing techniques as among the largest contributors to reef degradation. “Muro-ami, a technique that involved sending a line of divers to depths of 10-30 meters with metal weights to knock on corals in order to drive fish out and into waiting nets, was extremely damaging to reefs, leading to its ban in 1986,” the BFAR reported. But that’s just one. “Rampant blast fishing and sedimentation from land-based sources have destroyed 70 percent of fisheries within 15 square kilometers of the shore in the Philippines, which were some of the most productive habitats in the world,” the BFAR said. Cyanide fishing, employed since 1962 to collect aquarium fish, is another destructive fishing method, while coastal development, farming, aquaculture and land-cover change have also threatened the country’s coral reef ecosystem. Aside from human activities, natural causes of destruction among coral reefs also occur. These include extremely low tide, high temperature of surface water, predation and the mechanical action of currents and waves. Climate change is increasing the ocean’s temperature. The result: Coral bleaching. Explains John Ryan of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute: “When subjected to extreme stress, they jettison the colorful algae they live in symbiosis with, exposing the white skeleton of dead coral beneath a single layer of clear living tissue. If the stress persists, the coral dies.” Marine rainforests Coral reefs are the marine equivalent of rainforests and considered one of the planet’s essential life-support systems. These “biological wonders,” as American environmental author Don Hinrichsen called them, are among the largest and oldest living communities of plants and animals on earth, having evolved between 200 and 450 million years ago. The Philippines holds one of the most extensive coral reefs in the world with a sprawling area of 27,000 square kilometers strategically located in Palawan (37.8 percent), Sulu (27.8 percent), Visayas (21.7 percent), Northern Luzon (7.6 percent), Central and Southern Mindanao (3.2 percent) and the Turtle Islands (1.7 percent). There are about 400 species of reef-forming corals in the country, comparable with those found in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Coral reefs provide habitat for a large variety of marine life, including various sponges, oysters, clams, crabs, sea stars, sea urchins and many species of fish. They are also linked ecologically to nearby seagrass, mangrove and mudflat communities. Coral reefs are so valued because they serve as a center of activity for marine life. The World Atlas of Coral Reefs, compiled by the United Nations Environment Program, reported that 97 percent of reefs in the Philippines are under threat. And Reef Check, an international organization assessing the health of reefs in 82 countries, stated that only five percent of the country’s coral reefs are in “excellent condition.” These are the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Palawan, Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Apo Reef in Puerto Galera, Mindoro and Verde Island Passage off Batangas. “Despite its high biodiversity, the Philippines’ reefs are very badly damaged. It’s one of the worst-damaged in the world, on average,” said George Hodgson, founder of the California-based organization. The Philippine government has introduced many laws in an attempt to protect and save coral reefs from annihilation. But the government cannot do it alone; help from individuals is also needed to save the coral reefs. “We are the stewards of our nation’s resources,” Guerrero said. “We should take care of our national heritage so that future generations can enjoy them. Let’s do our best to save our coral reefs. Our children’s children will thank us for the effort.” The post Why we need to save our coral reefs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Over a dozen alleged gang members stoned, burned alive in Haiti
More than a dozen suspected gang members were stoned and burned alive on Monday by residents in Port-au-Prince, police and witnesses said, as the UN warned that insecurity in the Haitian capital has reached levels similar to countries at war. "During a search of a minibus in which there were armed individuals, the police confiscated weapons and other equipment. In addition, more than a dozen individuals traveling in this vehicle were unfortunately lynched by members of the population," the police said in a statement. The police did not specify the exact number of victims, nor expand upon the circumstances in which they lost custody of the suspects, who were murdered by residents of the district called Canape-Vert. The violence had started before dawn, when gang members burst into several residential areas of the capital, looting homes and attacking residents, according to witnesses. "It was the sound of projectiles that woke us up this morning. It was 3:00 a.m. the gangs invaded us. There were shots, shots," a resident of the neighboring district of Turgeau told AFP. "If the gangs come to invade us, we will defend ourselves, we too have our own weapons, we have our machetes, we will take their weapons, we will not flee," said another resident. "Mothers who want to protect their children can send them elsewhere," he added. In fact, dozens of families left the neighborhoods caught in the spiral of violence on Monday, AFP journalists confirmed. Men, women, and children fled the scene on foot, carrying a few personal belongings in bags or bundles. At least three other suspected gang members were killed and then burned at midday, according to photos and videos that were shared online. The latest grisly killings came as the United Nations released a report highlighting the surge in murders and kidnappings in the country. Armed gangs "continued to compete to expand their territorial control throughout the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, spreading to previously unaffected neighborhoods," said the report, from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "With the high number of fatalities and increasing areas under the control of armed gangs, insecurity in the capital has reached levels comparable to countries in armed conflict," it added. The number of reported homicides in Haiti rose in recent months by 21 percent, from 673 in the last quarter of 2022 to 815 between 1 January and 31 March this year. The number of reported kidnappings soared by 63 percent, from 391 to 637. "The people of Haiti continue to suffer one of the worst human rights crises in decades and a major humanitarian emergency," the report said. Clashes among gangs and with police have "become more violent and more frequent," claiming many civilian lives, it added. The human rights situation of people living in gang-controlled areas "remains appallingly poor" and conditions in areas newly targeted by gangs have "worsened significantly," according to the report. The document highlighted the dire situation for residents of Cite Soleil, along the capital's waterfront, where snipers have shot passersby on the street from rooftops. "The inhabitants feel besieged. They can no longer leave their homes for fear of armed violence and the terror imposed by the gangs," the UN humanitarian coordinator for Haiti said in a separate statement on Sunday. Between 14 and 19 April, clashes between rival gangs left nearly 70 people dead, including 18 women and at least two children, the statement added. "I reiterate the urgent need for the deployment of an international specialized armed force," Guterres said in Monday's report. Guterres in October relayed a call for help from Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, asking the Security Council to send assistance to help police restore order. While some countries have indicated a willingness to participate, none have come forward to take the lead. The post Over a dozen alleged gang members stoned, burned alive in Haiti appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
IN PHOTOS: Aftermath of Mambaling fire
CEBU CITY, Philippines—An afternoon fire burned houses in a densely populated area in Sitiio Mangga, Barangay Mambaling, here on Wednesday afternoon, April 19. The fire raged for almost an hour, the Cebu City Fire Station reported. READ: Hour-long Mambaling fire leaves over 200 homeless, 1 injured A total of 35 houses went up in smoke […] The post IN PHOTOS: Aftermath of Mambaling fire appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Gas lamp accident may have caused huge Looc fire
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The owner of the house where the massive fire in Brgy. Looc, Mandaue City allegedly started denied allegations that the incident was intentional. The fire that hit a densely populated area in Sitio Paradise late Tuesday night, November 22, 2022, and burned down at least 250 houses reportedly started at the house of […] The post Gas lamp accident may have caused huge Looc fire appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»