USA Catastrophe: Latest - Kebakaran Hutan di California

amazed

Taufan Ike musnahkan Houston

LEBUH raya ini dipenuhi pelbagai serpihan akibat Taufan Ike yang melanda Seabrook, Texas, semalam.

Bencana di bandar keempat terbesar AS turut lumpuhkan pusat minyak

HOUSTON: Taufan Ike semalam menuju ke utara selepas melanda Texas sehingga membanjirkan kawasan bandar tepi pantai, memutuskan bekalan kuasa dan melumpuhkan pusat minyak di Houston, Amerika Syarikat (AS).

Sementara itu, harga petrol di kebanyakan tempat di Amerika melonjak kepada AS$5 segelen berikutan kebimbangan taufan berkenaan mungkin memusnahkan kemudahan penapisan minyak di Texas.

Ribut besar itu meninggalkan kesan kemusnahan teruk di beberapa negeri teluk dan pihak berkuasa memulakan penilaian kemusnahan yang sebelum ini dianggarkan akan mencecah berbilion dolar.

Setakat ini pihak berkuasa di Louisiana dan Texas melaporkan kemungkinan empat orang menjadi mangsa korban taufan itu.

Ike yang melumpuhkan satu pertiga daripada pengeluaran minyak mentah Amerika dan keupayaan penapis minyak, melanda Galveston dan membinasakan Houston iaitu bandar keempat terbesar di Amerika.


a memecahkan cermin tingkap bangunan pencakar langit dan memenuhi jalan dengan kaca dan serpihan, mencabut hentian bas dan mengoyakkan kepingan logam bangunan.

"Taufan ini membinasakan seluruh kawasan Texas dan Louisiana," kata pentadbir Agensi Pengurusan Kecemasan Persekutuan, David Paulison.

Industri insurans meramalkan Ike akan menyebabkan tuntutan kemusnahan bernilai antara AS$8 bilion (RM27.62 bilion) hingga AS$18 bilion (RM62.14 bilion).

Kira-kira dua juta penduduk berpindah sebelum Ike melanda awal kelmarin dan pihak berkuasa menyarankan penduduk menjauhi kawasan itu buat sementara itu.
"Kami tidak mahu penduduk pulang lagi, sumber terhad dan masih tiada bekalan elektrik," kata Datuk Bandar Friendswood, David Smith.

Ribut itu semakin lemah dan bergerak ke barat Arkansas dan menuju laluan utara dan dijangka membawa hujan lebat ke Kanada.

Setiausaha Keselamatan Dalam Negeri, Michael Chertoff, berkata sekurang-kurangnya 940 orang sudah diselamatkan sehingga kini tetapi tiada pengesahan kematian diterima.

"Kami khuatir mungkin ada yang gagal menyelamatkan diri," katanya. � Reuters/ AP




goodlord what a disaster kat houston sana!!.. .  at this moment people kat houston wish they were at somewhere else ler..!!

derose83

Hurricane Ike sparks biggest Texas rescue


By Ed Stoddard


HOUSTON (Reuters) -Rescue teams scoured rubble and searched flooded homes on Sunday in a huge rescue effort after Hurricane Ike cut a swathe of destruction through Texas,knocking out power for millions of people.


State and local officials urged the federal government to speed relief efforts,complaining that crucial supplies like ice and water were arriving too slowly.Some 2 million people fled the region ahead of the storm while about 2,000 were rescued from flooded areas.


"We expect FEMA to deliver these supplies, and we will hold them accountable,"a visibly frustrated Houston Mayor Bill White told a televised news conference,referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.


Ike plowed a destructive path through the state after slamming into the Texas coastearly on Saturday, shredding the island city of Galveston and moving inland topound Houston, the heart of the U.S. oil industry.


Reuters energy correspondent Erwin Seba reported that 12 of the 15 Texas oil refineriesshut as a precaution showed no visible signs of flooding or damage -- a signfuel production could resume more quickly than initially thought. However poweroutages could still hinder their resumption.


Clean-upoperations continued in the debris-strewn streets of Houston but there was nochance that the city, a bustling energy center, would be back to business asusual on Monday. The two major airports servicing the city were to reopen on alimited basis after closing on Friday.


Over  4 million people, several refineries and many businesses remained without powerwhile most gas stations in the area were shut. Restoration, relief and rescueefforts were hampered by downed trees and other damage but flood waters werereceding in some areas.


At least three bodies were found in the island city of Galveston which sustainedsome of the worst damage of the storm. The scale of destruction became apparentas authorities allowed more people to return.


The downtown area, containing the few buildings that survived a hurricane in 1900 that killed thousands, was under a layer of foul smelling mud and sewage.


'LIKEA WAR ZONE'


"It looks like a war zone. Everything is gone. It's heartbreaking," said Susan Rybick, a retiree driving the sea front with her husband John.


The hurricane swamped Galveston as it crashed ashore on Saturday and hammered Houston, 50 miles (85 km) inland, shattering skyscraper windows, showering streets with debris, tearing up trees and damaging buildings.


"It's pretty obvious there was substantial and long-term damage done to GalvestonIsland," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said after flying over the historic coastal community.


The sea wall protecting Galveston was piled high with wreckage. The hurricane'swinds lifted houses off their foundations and pushed boats and cars around theisland.


"Do not come back to Galveston, you cannot live here at this time," Lyda AnnThomas, told reporters. The city has no water, no power and no gasoline, shesaid.


As people complained about the lack of food, water and ice in the sweltering humidity, a rift emerged between federal and local officials over delays inaid.


U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledged a delay in distribution but said 80 trucks carrying food and ice would arrive Sunday night.


Local media reported that many relief distribution centers were expected to be up and running on Monday morning.


TheBush  administration came under heavy fire for its botched relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.


President George W. Bush, who will visit his home state on Tuesday, said it was too earlyto determine the damage to U.S. energy infrastructure. The storm also halted crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, representing a quarter of U.S.output.


The U.S. Coast Guard said the storm damaged some offshore oil production facilities but did not yet know the extent.


Authorities in Houston, the fourth most populous U.S. city, ordered a weeklong dusk to dawn curfew because of flooding and downed power lines. Power outages could last forweeks.


Damage assessment has barely begun but early estimates suggest the bill could rise to$18 billion.


Ike triggered the biggest disruption to U.S. energy supplies in three years and sent gas prices higher. But U.S. crude oil futures dropped more than $1.59 toas low as $99.59 a barrel on Sunday as traders shrugged off supply concerns.


(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor on Galveston, Erwin Seba in Port Arthur, James Vicini in Washingtonand Eileen O'Grady, Chris Baltimore and Bruce Nichols in Houston)

amazed

Di Amerika Syarikat pula, dua gempa bumi berukuran 2.5 dan 3.0 pada skala Richter menggegarkan Texas dan Oklahoma semalam.

Gempa bumi itu dilaporkan berlaku pada 11.25 malam dan 12.01 pagi.

Jurucakap USGS, Randy Baldwin berkata, tiada laporan kerosakan diterima dan gegaran susulan dijangka berlaku untuk beberapa hari akan datang.

- Agensi

amazed

Kebakaran hutan, 4 cedera, 500 rumah terbakar

ANGGOTA bomba berusaha mengawal api yang telah memusnahkan banyak harta benda di Yorba Linda, California, Amerika Syarikat, semalam.

LOS ANGELES 16 Nov. – Beratus-ratus rumah terbakar dan beribu-ribu penduduk terpaksa berpindah semalam, apabila angin kencang menyebabkan kebakaran hutan semakin marak di selatan California.

Lebih 500 rumah dari satu kawasan perumahan mudah alih di Sylmar hangus dan kira-kira 10,000 penghuninya terpaksa dipindahkan, apabila api merebak berhampiran bandar Los Angeles.

Kebakaran itu, disifatkan sebagai yang paling buruk dalam tempoh separuh abad.

Api yang mula marak sejak kelmarin di kawasan yang ramai penduduk di daerah Sylmar, menyebabkan anggota bomba berusaha keras memadamkan api di kawasan kediaman yang ramai diduduki selebriti di Montecito, 160 kilometer ke utara Los Angeles.

Montecito menjadi terkenal apabila ramai artis terkemuka seperti Oprah Winfrey, pelakon Micheal Douglas, Jeff Bridges dan Rob Lowe memiliki aset mewah di kawasan ini.

Kebakaran itu juga telah memusnahkan hampir 20 buah rumah di bandar Yirba Linda dan Corona, di tenggara Los Angeles, menyebabkan beberapa jalan utama terpaksa ditutup.

Angin selaju 130 kilometer sejam telah menyebabkan api semakin marak sehingga membakar kawasan hutan seluas 2,630 hektar.

Penguasa Bandar Los Angeles, Zev Yaroslavsky berkata, kebakaran yang hanya 10 peratus dapat dipadamkan itu merupakan yang terburuk sejak kebakaran pada tahun 1961 di kawasan mewah Bel Air yang memusnahkan hampir 480 buah rumah.

Ketua Jabatan Polis Los Angeles, William Bratton menyifatkan kemusnahan daripada kebakaran kali ini adalah yang paling teruk.

Lebih 1,100 anggota bomba yang menggunakan helikopter, jentolak dan pelbagai jenis mesin berusaha keras memadamkan kebakaran tersebut.
Setakat ini, empat orang termasuk tiga anggota bomba cedera dalam kebakaran ini.

Menurut Bratton, kebakaran ini menimbulkan kebimbangan banyak kenderaan akan terperangkap dalam api.

Berikutan cuaca kering menyebabkan seluruh California mudah diancam kebakaran hutan di tambah lagi dengan angin dari Santa Ana.
– AFP

amazed

Kebakaran: 800 rumah hangus di California

LOS ANGELES 17 Nov. – Kebakaran hutan yang semakin merebak di California memasuki hari ke empat semalam, menyebabkan beribu-ribu penduduk hilang kediaman mereka apabila lebih 800 buah rumah hangus dijilat api.

Kebanyakan rumah yang hangus melibatkan rumah agam bernilai jutaan dolar dan rumah mudah alih kos sederhana.

Api semakin marak ditiup angin kencang sejak Khamis lalu.

Arahan untuk mengosongkan rumah telah dikeluarkan kepada sekurang-kurangnya 50,000 penduduk apabila 14,400 hektar kawasan hutan hangus dijilat api yang merebak dari Santa Barbara ke tenggara Los Angeles.

Setakat ini, 11 orang dilaporkan cedera akibat kebakaran hutan ini.

Timbalan Ketua Jabatan Polis Los Angeles, Micheal Moore berkata, sebanyak 30 peratus rumah mudah alih telah diperiksa semalam dan tiada sebarang kematian ditemui.

Jabatan Bomba Los Angeles pula melaporkan mereka berjaya mengawal 40 peratus kebakaran di kawasan seluas 4,000 hektar, walaupun terpaksa bertarung dengan tiupan angin kencang.

Punca kebakaran sehingga kini masih tidak diketahui.

Gabenor California, Arnold Schwarzenegger yang terpaksa mengisytiharkan darurat di kawasan terjejas pada taklimat dengan pihak berkuasa memberitahu bahawa mereka sedang berhadapan dengan perfect storm.

“Dengan kebakaran di sana sini, maka kita berhadapan perfect storm dengan tiupan angin kencang, suhu panas yang tinggi dan cuaca yang sangat kering,” katanya.

Anggota bomba ditambah sehingga 3,700 orang yang menggunakan helikopter, jentolak dan pelbagai mesin untuk mengawal api daripada merebak.

– AFP

dexa

Lima korban salji di Amerika Syarikat


PENDUDUK meredah salji tebal
di East Village, New York, semalam. - AFP


NEW YORK 3 Mac - Salji tebal ekoran ribut kuat yang melanda kawasan timur pantai Amerika Syarikat (AS) semalam, meragut lima nyawa, selain menyebabkan sekolah-sekolah ditutup dan menjejaskan sistem trafik udara dan pengangkutan awam.

Menurut Pusat Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan, litupan salji lebih 30 sentimeter yang melanda timur laut Connecticut, Massachusetts dan New Hampshire telah melumpuhkan aliran trafik udara dan lalu lintas di negeri-negeri yang terlibat.

"Lima orang terbunuh apabila terlibat dalam satu kemalangan jalan raya di sini, termasuk seorang wanita yang sarat mengandung di Boston," lapor sebuah laman web thebostonchannel.com.

Menurut Pusat Pentadbiran Persekutuan, penerbangan ke LaLaGuardia, New York dari lapangan terbang Philadelphia, telah ditangguhkan selama 45 minit dan membatalkan semua penerbangan awal pagi semalam.

Sekolah-sekolah ditutup di Bostan dan New York dan dibuka lewat di Washington.

Di Massachusetts, salji menyebabkan para pekerja mengambil cuti pagi ini bagi mengelakkan menggunakan kereta sendiri.

Christopher Vaccaro daripada Pusat Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan, memberitahu agensi berita AFP bahawa, salji tebal dan ribut kuat itu menyebabkan keadaan yang tidak selamat untuk penduduk di Pantai Atlantik.

"Ia terlalu hampir dengan pantai untuk membawa salji lebat ke bandar koridor jauh di pedalaman," katanya. - AFP

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kawan saya kat new york cerita -  bad winter this year
depa kena shovel snow..  banyak la sangat.. nak keluar rumah pun
tak boleh....
kat KL dengan banjirnya... usa dengan salji... macam2 dengan
global warming ni -

amazed

Saturday May 9, 2009
Fierce California wildfire burns into fourth night
By Lucy Nicholson
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Reuters) - A California wildfire burned for a fourth day on Friday above the seaside town of Santa Barbara as firefighters battled flames that have damaged or destroyed 80 homes.

A firefighter douses hot spots in a home burned in the Jesusita fire in Santa Barbara, California May 8, 2009. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)

Another 3,500 homes and about 100 businesses remained in immediate jeopardy from the so-called Jesusita fire, which had blackened more than 8,600 acres in the foothills above the picturesque community, according to an update by the Santa Barbara Fire Department late on Friday. It destroyed 80 homes and forced thousands of people to flee.

No civilian casualties have been reported so far but the blaze has injured 11 firefighters, three of them hospitalized with burns and smoke inhalation.

Crews battling days of hot, dry erratic winds have made little progress in controlling the firestorm.
The most dangerous time of day has proven to be nightfall, when the hot, unpredictable "sundowner" winds pick up and fan the flames through steep canyons into neighborhoods of multimillion-dollar homes.

'THE WIND COULD CHANGE'

"We have an onshore condition and when the air is coming off the ocean the humidity is fairly high and pushes the fire back away from the community," Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin told a late-afternoon news conference.

"And both of those things are good for now but the predictions are that the sundowner condition is still there," Franklin said. "The wind could change and blow the fire downhill."

As of Friday evening, about 21,000 area residents were under a mandatory evacuation order with another 10,000 warned that they should be ready to get out at a moment's notice, county officials said.

That amounts to more than half of the population of Santa Barbara, located 90 miles (145 km) northwest of Los Angeles.
"Right now, if you are not evacuated in the Santa Barbara area, you are sheltering evacuees," city Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio told Reporters. "This has affected the entire community."

He said fire crews fought a heroic battle to keep the blaze from pushing southward through a key park and into the city proper while other teams scrambled to put out roof fires at the edge of town.

Supermodel-turned clothing designer Kathy Ireland was among those who had to flee the fire.

"Santa Barbara fires ... We are OK!" she wrote on her Twitter page on Friday afternoon. "Being evacuated, pls pray for all! Finding place 2stay .. will be in touch when can Thanks! God bless you."

The area's last major brush fire, in November, destroyed more than 200 homes in Santa Barbara and nearby communities. That blaze was blamed on a bonfire started by local students. The latest fire remains under investigation.

amazed

Evacuations grow as Los Angeles area fire ragesBy Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wildfire raged in the mountains north of Los Angeles on Saturday, sending up huge plumes of purple-gray smoke and prompting the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes on the northeastern edge of the city.

A pickup truck and a horse trailer are seen as smoke rises from the Station Fire in the La Canada Flintridge area of Los Angeles, California August 29, 2009. (REUTERS/Gene Blevins)

The fire, which had scorched nearly 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) by late afternoon, also threatened key telecommunications facilities, including TV and radio transmission towers.


The blaze, which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in the San Gabriel Mountains near the exclusive suburb of La Canada Flintridge, was spreading toward homes from Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley by late on Saturday.

Residents in the northernmost reaches of Glendale and La Crescenta were told to get out of their homes on Saturday afternoon, as the mandatory evacuation zone reached the eastern limits of the city of Los Angeles.

Evacuation zones included a hilltop subdivision just across a canyon from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon and was just 5 percent contained as of early Saturday, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Mark Savage.

Firefighters were trying to keep the blaze from reaching Mount Wilson, which houses key television and radio transmitters, as well as towers that handle emergency services dispatches.

SERIOUS INJURY, CABINS BURNED

In the mountains, one person was badly burned when power lines fell on a ranger station in Big Tujunga Canyon. The victim, who was not identified, was airlifted out of the freshly evacuated canyon, home to 75 cabins and numerous campgrounds, local media reported.

Up to 34 of those cabins have been destroyed by fire in the canyon, according to Angeles National Forest spokeswoman Randi Jorgensen.

"This is a very dangerous situation that we are in right now," said U.S. Forest Service fire boss Mike Dietrich. "We had overnight growth up toward the La Canada area, which has prompted additional evacuations there."

Southern California Edison, the utility that supplies power to the region, said it had de-energized two major power lines because of the fire.

Edison spokesman Gil Alexander said the outages were not affecting the utility's ability to service customers.

The city of La Canada Flintridge said 164 houses near a country club were blacked out until it was safe for Edison crews to enter the area.

A National Weather Service spokesman said the agency's automated Los Angeles radio station went off the air at midday due to burned power lines.

Angeles National Forest spokesman Robert Brady said on Friday that it could take a week to contain the flames, which have been helped by hot, dry weather with temperatures higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).

"If there was one silver lining, there are no Santa Ana winds predicted at this point," Dietrich said.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Monterey counties due to wildfires that had burned 13,000 acres (5,200 hectares).

Acting Governor John Garamendi on Saturday added northern California's Mariposa County to the emergency list after a wildfire there consumed about 3,400 acres (1,376 hectares), also threatening homes and closing roads.

amazed

Kebakaran ancam 10,000 rumah di LA31/08/2009

LOS ANGELES 31 Ogos - Kebakaran hutan di kawasan pergunungan Los Angeles marak ke arah utara dalam tempoh semalam memaksa pemindahan penduduk dan mengancam kira-kira 10,000 kediaman.

Penduduk di pekan kecil Acton terpaksa berpindah tatkala kebakaran selama empat hari itu menghala ke arah Lembah Antelope.

Menurut jurucakap bomba, kebakaran itu telah memusnahkan lebih 142 kilometer persegi belukar kering di bahagian barat Hutan Negara Angeles. - AP

amazed

2 korban hutan LA terbakar

Anggota bomba wilayah Los Angeles bertungkus-lumus memadamkan kebakaran di kawasan Acton di Los Angeles, California semalam. - Reuters

LOS ANGELES 31 Ogos - Kebakaran hutan di sini semakin marak hari ini dengan dua kematian pertama dilaporkan, manakala tiga mangsa lagi cedera, selain mengancam beribu-ribu rumah kediaman.

Dua orang anggota bomba terkorban di selatan bandar Acton, apabila kenderaan yang mereka naiki terbabas lalu bergolek ke bawah lereng gunung, kata jurucakap bomba, Mike Bryant.

Satu kebakaran hutan sepanjang 30 kilometer, terbakar tanpa kawalan di sepanjang rabung di kawasan yang berpenduduk di utara Los Angeles. Hanya lima peratus daripada kebakaran itu dapat dikawal setakat ini.

Perkhidmatan Hutan Amerika Syarikat (AS) berkata, sehingga tengah hari semalam kebakaran itu telah memusnahkan 14,000 hektar hutan.

Akhbar Los Angeles Times memetik beberapa pegawai bomba sebagai berkata, kebakaran lewat semalam semakin mendekati balai cerap solar bersejarah dan menara transmisi televisyen di Mount Wilson.

Anggota bomba telah membersihkan semak-samun di sekeliling fasiliti tersebut, namun pegawai khuatir untuk meninggalkan anggotanya di gunung tersebut kerana laluan menyelamatkan diri yang terhad.

Gabenor California, Arnold Schwarzenegger melawat kebakaran di Station di Los Angeles dan diberi penerangan ringkas mengenai usaha memadam kebakaran di seluruh negeri dan beliau memberi kata-kata semangat kepada beribu-ribu anggota bomba bagi mengawal api besar yang mengancam 12,000 rumah dan 2,500 bangunan lain termasuk 500 bangunan perniagaan.

Menurut laporan media, pihak berkuasa telah mengarahkan penduduk di Crown Valley, Soledad Canyon dan Aliso Canyon supaya berpindah ke tempat selamat.

Api kebakaran di Station kini mengancam Acton yang menempatkan komuniti yang berjumlah 3,000 orang di bahagian utara San Gabriel Range. - AFP

amazed

ANGGOTA bomba bersiap sedia menghadapi gumpalan api yang sedang marak di lereng bukit belakang kediaman, di La Crescenta, California, hari ini. Api yang tidak terkawal telah memusnahkan lebih daripada 105,000 ekar hutan dan memaksa beribu-ribu penduduk sekitar berpindah apabila 12,000 buah rumah terancam. Pembakaran hutan itu telah didakwa meragut dua nyawa anggota bomba serta memusnahkan 21 buah rumah dan 105 ribu ekar tanah rentung. - Foto AFP