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Here is a list of 10 major oil spills in history that caused severe oil pollution and irreparable damage to the ecosystem. 1. Amoco Cadiz - The Amoco Cadiz ran aground on Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, France on March 16, 1978 due to stormy weather. Approximately 200 miles of the coastline was polluted as the entire cargo of 68.7 million gallons of oil was spilled into the sea.
Arabian Gulf Spills - About 900 million barrels of oil spilled into the Arabian Gulf as the Iraqi army destroyed tankers, oil terminals, and oil wells in Kuwait during the Gulf war in January 1991, resulting in one of the largest oil spill disasters ever.
3. Exxon Valdez - In what is regarded as the largest oil spill disaster in American history, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil. The clean up alone cost $2.5 billion. 4. Ixtoc I - The exploratory well blew out on June 3, 1979 in the Gulf of Mexico and by the time the well was brought under control, 140 million gallons of oil had spilled.
This is rated as No. 2 on the list of worst oil spill incidents on record. 5. Burmah Agate - The Burmah Agate collided with the Mimosa in Galveston harbor on November 1, 1979 to cause one of the most infamous marine oil spills. 6. Atlantic Empress - The Greek oil tanker Atlantic Empress was involved in two major oil spills when it collided with the Aegean Captain off Trinidad and Tobago during a tropical rainstorm on July 19, 1979.
The spills together are the largest ship-based spill and the fourth largest total oil spill in history. 7. Argo Oil Merchant - On December 15, 1976 the Argo Merchant ran aground on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts spilling 7.7 million US gallons of fuel oil, enough to heat 18,000 homes for a year. 8. Prestige Oil Spill - The largest environmental disaster ever in Spain, the sinking of the oil tanker Prestige off the Galician coast on November 13, 2002 caused considerable damage to the local fishing industry.
9. Barge Bouchard 155 - Three ships, the barge Bouchard 155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255, collided in Tampa Bay, Florida, on August 10, 1993. The Bouchard 155 alone spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No.6 fuel oil. 10. Southeast Queensland - The cleanup efforts were estimated at a staggering A$100,000 dollars a day in one of the recent oil spill disasters, which occurred on March 11, 2009 off the coast of southeast Queensland.
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While the Titanic is definitely the most famous maritime disaster it is actually not the largest one in the sad history of maritime disasters. Canada also holds a sad record in this history. The infamous Halifax explosion that devastated the city of Halifax, is currently the largest non-nuclear man-made accidental explosion in the history of mankind with the highest death doll of about 2,000 people killed and estimated over 9,000 people were injured. While many people say that maritime disasters are one of the most dangerous, the Halifax Explosion is the one that shows how dangerous they can really be.
The tragedy occurred on December 6, 1917 at the time of the First World War. The SS Mont-Blanc, a cargo ship that was chartered by the government to carry munitions to Europe collided with unloaded Norwegian ship Imo, chartered by the Commission for Relief in Belgium to carry relief supplies.
While Imo was unloaded at the moment, the SS Mont-Blanc was fully loaded with wartime explosives. The collision itself occurred at 8.40, at 8.50 Mont-Blanc caught fire, drifted toward the peers and exploded fifteen minutes later. The explosion was equivalent to roughly 3 kilotons of TNT, which is actually one fifth of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, which had estimated power of 15 kilotons.
The fireball rose over 1.2 miles into the air and the explosion obliterated all the buildings and structures within 2 square kilometers including buildings in the communities of Richmond and Dartmouth. The explosion also caused an 18 meter high tsunami that covered the harbor.
It is impossible to tell what the reason of the explosion was, most probably it was criminal negligence be the crew members of one of the ships. Like many other disasters this one has a very good ground for investigation and even trial, but the devastating power of the explosion was so huge that there is literally no one left to sue.
As for the legal side of such navigation problems as the Halifax explosion, it would be regulated by the Canadian criminal code, because it occurred in the Canadian waters. As for the Maritime Laws in general there are two types of law – Admiralty Law (Maritime Law) and Law of the Sea. The Admiralty Law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses.
Because the ships that roam the oceans and seas can belong to various companies and countries this law is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans.
The main matters that it deals with are: marine commerce, marine navigation, shipping, sailors, the transportation of passengers and goods by sea and also a number of land based commercial activities that are maritime in character.
The Law of the Sea is a body of public international law and has another scope of problems. It is dealing with navigational rights, mineral rights, and jurisdiction over coastal waters and international law governing relationships between nations.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people around the world -- 34 million more than died from the First World War in progress alongside it. Unlike the seasonal flu, a pandemic flu is one for which there is little or no human immunity.
And instead of targeting the weak or old, the 1918 flu was particularly deadly among the young and healthy. According to molecular pathologist Jeffrey Taubenberger, almost half of all flu deaths that year were among 20- to 40-year-olds. Their immune systems essentially overreacted, destroying their lungs in an attempt to get to the virus.
Though dubbed the Spanish flu, after millions of early deaths in Spain, the geographic origin of the disease remains unknown. Some hypothesize that it may have been circulating around the world for a few years before developing into a pandemic in 1918.
The first confirmed outbreak in the United States, if not the world, was at an army base in northeastern Kansas on March 11, 1918. Just hours after the first soldier reported sick, dozens more began pouring into the infirmary. By the end of the day, hundreds of soldiers had fallen ill. Within a week 500 had come down with the fever.
The flu quickly spread across the country, where 2 million troops were mobilizing for the war in Europe. The soldiers carried the flu with them when they shipped out, introducing the virus to France, England, Germany and Spain. "King George's Grand Fleet could not even put to sea for three weeks in May, with 10,313 men sick," reports Gina Kolata in her book Flu.
The virus jumped to China, India, Japan and the rest of Asia. By summer it seemed to have played itself out. Then, in late August, the flu re-emerged in Boston. This time it was even more deadly. Some people reportedly dropped dead on the street; others managed to hold on for days.
By the first week of September, an average of 100 people died every day at Camp Devens. "We have lost an outrageous number of Nurses and Drs., and the little town of Ayer is a sight," wrote one of the camp's doctors. "It takes special trains to carry away the dead. For several days there were no coffins and the bodies piled up something fierce; we used to go down to the morgue (which is just back of my ward) and look at the boys laid out in long rows. It beats any sight they ever had in France after a battle."
By the end of September, 50,000 people in Massachusetts had been infected with the flu. In Philadelphia, 635 people became ill after a large public gathering to raise money for the war. The city tried to staunch the spread by ordering all churches, schools and theaters closed, but by the first week of October, 289 people had died in a single day. In New York, the death tally for one day was 851. San Francisco reported cases, as did Chicago, where there were so many deaths that the city banned funerals "The morgues were packed almost to the ceiling with bodies stacked one on top of another.
The morticians worked day and night," wrote Navy nurse Josie Brown, who was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago. "You could never turn around without seeing a big red truck loaded with caskets for the train station so bodies could be sent home. We didn't have the time to treat them. We didn't take temperatures; we didn't even have time to take blood pressure.
We would give them a little hot whisky toddy; that's about all we had time to do. They would have terrific nosebleeds with it. Sometimes the blood would just shoot across the room. You had to get out of the way or someone's nose would bleed all over you." No place was immune to the disease, though government officials tried their best to protect residents.
When ministers in Seattle complained that their churches were shuttered, the mayor retorted, "Religion that won't keep for two weeks, is not worth having." In Ogden, Utah, officials sealed off the town -- no one could go in or out without a doctor's note. In Alaska, the governor closed the ports and posted U.S. marshals to guard them. Even that didn't work: In Nome, just south of the Arctic Circle, 176 of 300 Alaska Natives died.
The British luxury passenger liner Titanic sank on April 14-15, 1912, en route to New York City from Southampton, Eng., during its maiden voyage. The vessel sank with a loss of about 1,500 lives at a point about 400 miles (640 km) south of Newfoundland. The great ship, at that time the largest and most luxurious afloat, was designed and built by William Pirrie's Belfast firm Harland and Wolff to service the highly competitive Atlantic Ferry route.
It had a double-bottomed hull that was divided into 16 presumably watertight compartments. Because four of these could be flooded without endangering the liner's buoyancy, it was considered unsinkable. Shortly before midnight on April 14, the ship collided with an iceberg; five of its watertight compartments were ruptured, causing the ship to sink at 2:20 AM April 15.
Inquiries held in the United States and Great Britain alleged that the Leyland liner Californian, which was less than 20 miles (32 km) away all night, could have aided the stricken vessel had its radio operator been on duty and thereby received the Titanic's distress signals. Only the arrival of the Cunard liner Carpathia 1 hour and 20 minutes after the Titanic went down prevented further loss of life in the icy waters.
Titanic construction began in March 31, 1909 in Belfast, Ireland and was the project of White Star Liners and was built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard. Length of the Titanic construction spanned about three years and cost nearly $7.5 million to build. A technological marvel of its time, the Titanic contained eighteen water tight containers fitted with steel doors designed to close within 25 seconds in order to keep water out of the ship's interior.
Construction of the Titanic took the work of about 3000 laborers and nearly 3 million rivets. White Star had also constructed a smaller version of the Titanic called the Olympic just a year earlier. Both ships were designed to be the most luxurious ocean liners in operation at the time.
On the Titanic's maiden voyage, the ship embarked from Southampton, England destined for New York on April 10, 1912. With the passengers all aboard waving to loved ones from the port-side rails, the most luxurious cruise liner set sail for the U.S. The sheer power of the vessel was enough to snap the moorings of the vessel called New York with the amount of water the Titanic displaced.
The Titanic sailed to Cherbourg in France and later to Queenstown in Ireland to pick up additional passengers. There were 1320 passengers and 907 crew. The first few days were uneventful and Captain John Smith continued to increase speed day by day.
When we talk about urban legends, it is difficult to ignore the Bermuda Triangle (aka the Devil's Triangle), - approximately 1.3 million sq mi area of the North Atlantic Ocean, notorious for the allegedly mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft.
The Bermuda Triangle is a textbook example of how natural events can be given a hue of the supernatural, and turned into a full-fledged hoax - with a little creativity and a gullible audience at your disposal. The myth of the Bermuda Triangle has come into existence over the course of the last few decades, and that is obvious because such myths seldom originate overnight; but instead gradually develop over the course of several years... and sometimes centuries.
Right from the disappearance of the 165m long USS Cyclops, which vanished without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle in March 1918, to the Flight 19 incident, wherein five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers (and a Mariner aircraft) disappeared in December 1945, this region has some of the most unbelievable events to its credit. But as they say, "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't," a little bit of investigation and you realize that the so-called Bermuda Triangle mystery is nothing, but a box full of exaggerated claims.
The Flight 19 incident, for instance, turned out to be a simple case of human error, wherein the pilots lost the track of their position due to bad weather, kept circling over the ocean, and eventually went down when their fuel tanks became empty. Similarly, if you note that the Mariner aircraft, which went as a part of the search and rescue operation, and eventually disappeared, was notorious for technical snags, you realize that its disappearance was not at all mysterious.
We don't really need to resort to some paranormal phenomenon or blame the aliens for these disappearances, when we have obvious reasons, like rough weather prevailing in the tropical waters (USS Cyclops incident) and human error , at our disposal.
The number of actual disappearances in the Triangle is not at all surprising, if you take into consideration the size of the demarcated Bermuda Triangle area in the North Atlantic, the fact that it lies in the tropical waters wherein rough weather, typically characterized by the presence of thunderstorms and water spouts, is not a rare phenomenon, the presence of the jet streams, easterlies and the Gulf stream in this region and the heavy flow of traffic that this region is subjected to. More importantly, these natural explanations also help us do away with the theories of methane hydrates and magnetic forces which sound scientific, but are actually baseless.
So how did the Bermuda Triangle phenomenon come into existence and, more importantly, how did it become so popular if there is nothing mysterious about it? This so-called mystery began with a series of articles that were published in various newspapers and magazines in the 1950s, and was further fueled by several books and documentaries which followed throughout the 20th century into the 21st.
But obviously, the authors didn't make any attempt to investigate the incidents that they were speaking about. If they had done so, they would have known that the demarcated region of the North Atlantic Ocean was as dangerous as any other part of the Tropics. So who were these people who contributed to the mystery.... or should we say the hoax of the Bermuda Triangle?
It is not possible to pinpoint one individual in particular with many people contributing to the rise of this myth. However, there do exist some people who had a major role to play in its rise. One such person was E. V. W. Jones, whose article titled 'Sea's Puzzles still Baffle Men in Pushbutton Age' put the Bermuda Triangle into the spotlight. In this article, which was written for Associated Press (AP) and published in the Miami Herald on 17th September, 1950, Jones spoke about the mysterious region in the North Atlantic wherein ships and aircraft disappeared without leaving any trace.
To support his claim, he enlisted some accidents which occurred in this part of the Atlantic between 1945 and 1950 - including the disappearance of five torpedo planes which took off from the Navy's Fort Lauderdale air station on 5th December, 1945 (Flight 19 incident), a British airliner (the Ariel), and a British plane (the Star Tiger). In 1952, yet another article about the mysterious disappearances of vessels and aircraft in the North Atlantic appeared - this time in the October issue of the Fate magazine, a United States based magazine about paranormal phenomena.
In the article titled 'Sea Mystery at Our Back Door', author George X. Sand linked the disappearances of airplanes and ships to the supernatural, thus becoming the first person to put forth the concept of supernatural mysteries in the Bermuda Triangle - and make it sound all the more mysterious. It was this very article by Sand which introduced the world to the demarcated region between Florida, Puerto Rico, and the islands of Bermuda, which we know today as the 'Bermuda Triangle'.
While a few more articles giving brief accounts of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle followed over the course of time, the alleged mystery once again shot to fame in 1962 with an article that was published in the American Legion Magazine.
The article, titled 'The Lost Patrol' by Allen W. Eckert, stressed on the Flight 19 incident i.e. the 1945 incident involving the five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers wherein 14 people lost their lives. In his article, Eckert published what were believed to be the last words of the flight leader, wherein he said:
"we are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white" Alongside the disappearance of these five planes, Eckert also stressed on the disappearance of the Mariner aircraft which was sent as a part of the search and rescue mission. All this information contributed to the popularity of the Devil's Triangle.
Though neither Jones, nor Eckert, made any attempt to reveal that the five TBM Avenger bombers which disappeared were on a training mission or that the Mariner aircraft was notorious for technical snags it experienced frequently. If they had, the Flight 19 incident would have been reduced to yet another aviation disaster, instead of the trademark Bermuda Triangle incident which features in virtually every write-up and documentary about the Triangle today. As with any other mystery, even the Bermuda Triangle mystery continued to sensationalize with time. Contributions by Vincent Gaddis and Charles Berlitz.
In February 1964, Argosy - a magazine of masterpiece fiction, published an article titled 'The Deadly Bermuda Triangle' which was written by Vincent Gaddis. In his article, Gaddis cited a pattern of strange events in this region.
It was Vincent Gaddis who coined the phrase 'Bermuda Triangle'. In 1965, Gaddis published his research on the Triangle in form of a book titled the 'Invisible Horizons: True Mysteries of the Sea'. In this book, Gaddis enlisted nine separate accidents which occurred in this region, with extensive details about each of them.
Flight 19 undertook a routine navigation and combat training exercise in TBM-type aircraft. The assignment was called "Navigation problem No. 1", a combination of bombing and navigation, which other flights had completed or were scheduled to undertake that day. The flight leader was United States Navy Lieutenant Charles Carroll Taylor, who had about 2,500 flying hours, mostly in aircraft of this type, while his trainee pilots had 300 total, and 60 flight hours in the Avenger. Taylor had recently arrived from NAS Miami where he had also been a VTB instructor. The student pilots had recently completed other training missions in the area where the flight was to take place.
They were US Marine Captains Edward Joseph Powers and George William Stivers, US Marine Second Lieutenant Forrest James Gerber and USN Ensign Joseph Tipton Bossi; their callsigns start with 'Fox Tair'. The aircraft were four TBM-1Cs, BuNo 45714, 'FT3', BuNo 46094, 'FT36', BuNo 46325, 'FT81', BuNo 73209, 'FT117', and one TBM-3, BuNo 23307, 'FT28'. Each aircraft was fully fueled, and during pre-flight checks it was discovered they were all missing clocks. Navigation of the route was intended to teach dead reckoning principles, which involved calculating among other things elapsed time.
The apparent lack of timekeeping equipment was not a cause for concern as it was assumed each man had his own watch. Takeoff was scheduled for 13:45 local time, but the late arrival of Taylor delayed departure until 14:10. Weather at NAS Fort Lauderdale was described as "favorable, sea state moderate to rough." Taylor was supervising the mission, and a trainee pilot had the role of leader out front. Called "Naval Air Station, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, navigation problem No. 1," the exercise involved three different legs, but the actual flight should have flown four.
After take off, they flew on heading 091° (almost due east) for 56 nmi (64 mi; 104 km) until reaching Hen and Chickens Shoals where low level bombing practice was carried out. The flight was to continue on that heading for another 67 nmi (77 mi; 124 km) before turning onto a course of 346° for 73 nmi (84 mi; 135 km), in the process over-flying Grand Bahama island.
The next scheduled turn was to a heading of 241° to fly 120 nmi (140 mi; 220 km) at the end of which the exercise was completed and the Avengers would turn left to then return to NAS Ft. Lauderdale. Flight 19's scheduled navigation exercise on December 5, 1945. 1. Leave NAS Fort Lauderdale 14:10 on heading 091°, drop bombs at Hen and Chickens shoals (B) until about 15:00 then continue on heading 091° for 73 nautical miles (140 km) Turn left to heading 346° and fly 73 nautical miles (140 km). 3. Turn left to heading 241° for 120 nautical miles (220 km) to end exercise north of NAS Fort Lauderdale. 4. 17:50 radio triangulation establishes flight's position to within 50 nautical miles (93 km) of 29°N 79°W and their last reported course, 270°. 5. PBM Mariner leaves NAS Banana River 19:27. 6. 19:50 Mariner explodes near 28°N 80°W.
Radio conversations between the pilots were overheard by base and other aircraft in the area. The practice bombing operation was carried out because at about 15:00 a pilot requested and was given permission to drop his last bomb. Forty minutes later, another flight instructor, Lieutenant Robert F. Cox in FT-74, forming up with his group of students for the same mission, received an unidentified transmission. An unidentified crew member asked Powers, one of the students, for his compass reading. Powers replied: "I don't know where we are.
We must have got lost after that last turn." Cox then transmitted; "This is FT-74, plane or boat calling 'Powers' please identify yourself so someone can help you." The response after a few moments was a request from the others in the flight for suggestions. FT-74 tried again and a man identified as FT-28 (Taylor) came on. "FT-28, this is FT-74, what is your trouble?" "Both of my compasses are out", Taylor replied, "and I am trying to find Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I am over land but it's broken.
I am sure I'm in the Keys but I don't know how far down and I don't know how to get to Fort Lauderdale." FT-74 informed the NAS that aircraft were lost, then advised Taylor to put the sun on his port wing and fly north up the coast to Fort Lauderdale.
Base operations then asked if the flight leader's aircraft was equipped with a standard YG (IFF transmitter), which could be used to triangulate the flight's position, but the message was not acknowledged by FT-28. (Later he would indicate that his transmitter was activated.)
Instead, at 16:45, FT-28 radioed: "We are heading 030 degrees for 45 minutes, then we will fly north to make sure we are not over the Gulf of Mexico." During this time no bearings could be made on the flight, and IFF could not be picked up. Taylor was told to broadcast on 4805 kilocycles. This order was not acknowledged so he was asked to switch to 3,000 kilocycles, the search and rescue frequency.
Taylor replied – "I cannot switch frequencies. I must keep my planes intact." At 16:56, Taylor was again asked to turn on his transmitter for YG if he had one. He did not acknowledge but a few minutes later advised his flight "Change course to 090 degrees (due east) for 10 minutes." About the same time someone in the flight said "Dammit, if we could just fly west we would get home; head west, dammit."
This difference of opinion later led to questions about why the students did not simply head west on their own. It has been explained that this can be attributed to military discipline. As the weather deteriorated, radio contact became intermittent, and it was believed that the five aircraft were actually by that time more than 200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km) out to sea east of the Florida peninsula.
Taylor radioed "We'll fly 270 degrees west until landfall or running out of gas" and requested a weather check at 17:24. By 17:50 several land-based radio stations had triangulated Flight 19's position as being within a 100 nmi (120 mi; 190 km) radius of 29°N 79°W; Flight 19 was north of the Bahamas and well off the coast of central Florida, but nobody transmitted this information on an open, repetitive basis. At 18:04, Taylor radioed to his flight "Holding 270, we didn't fly far enough east, we may as well just turn around and fly east again".
By that time, the weather had deteriorated even more and the sun had since set. Around 18:20, Taylor's last message was received. (It's also been reported that Taylor's last message was received at 7:04 pm.) He was heard saying "All planes close up tight ... we'll have to ditch unless landfall ... when the first plane drops below 10 gallons, we all go down together." At the same time, in the same area, SS Empire Viscount, a British-flagged tanker, radioed that she was in heavy seas and high winds northeast of the Bahamas, where Flight 19 was about to ditch.
While the 'Invisible Horizons: True Mysteries of the Sea', written by Vincent Gaddis, was the first book on Bermuda Triangle, it was eventually followed by numerous other books, including the 'Limbo of the Lost' by John Wallace Spencer in 1969, 'The Devil's Triangle' and 'The Devil's Triangle 2' by Richard Winer in 1974 and 1975 respectively, and 'Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery' by Gian J. Quasar in 2003.
While all these books, and a documentary released in 1971, did contribute to the popularity of the Bermuda Triangle hoax, the credit for actually sensationalizing this hoax to an extent that the whole world took a note of it goes to Charles Berlitz.
It was Charles Berlitz's 1974 bestseller, 'The Bermuda Triangle', which gave this mystery a serious boost, such that instantaneously the whole world was aware of this place which gobbled gigantic ships and aircraft - even before the crew realized what was happening.
No other work on Bermuda Triangle was as sensational as that of Berlitz. Right from Christopher Columbus' log records, wherein Columbus speaks about unusual events he experienced, to the Flight 19 incident and other recent incidents, Simply put, Berlitz's book had everything required to make Bermuda Triangle a worldwide sensation - which it actually did, but only until Larry Kusche came into the picture.
In 1975, the Bermuda Triangle once again shot to fame with the release of Larry Kusche's critical take on this mystery - 'The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved'. Unlike the previous authors like Charles Berlitz and Vincent Gaddis, Larry left no stones unturned and investigated all the claims that were made by them. In his book, Larry cites: "the legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism."
Larry noticed a 'strange' pattern wherein ships which never left the port, aircraft which never took off and accidents which happened in some other part of the Atlantic, found a place in these books about the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Loopholes like Berlitz going to the extent of attributing the disappearance of Mary Celeste to the Devil's Triangle, when this ship never passed through the region, made it clear that there was nothing unusual.
It may come as a surprise for many but the radio transmissions of Flight 19 leader, which have become an integral part of the sensational literature on the Bermuda triangle, are not even mentioned in the official reports of the Navy Board of Investigation.
The myth of the Bermuda Triangle became even more evident with the U.S. Navy refusing to identify any such region in the Atlantic, and oceanographers citing that accidents in this region were not at all rare as a result of weather conditions prevailing here. Interestingly, the Bermuda Triangle is not the only place which is notorious for such disappearances of ships and aircraft.
The Dragon's Triangle, off the coast of Japan, is also known for such mysterious disappearances of military vessels and aircraft. While that may not be intriguing any more, the fact that even this region owes its popularity to none other than Charles Berlitz and his storytelling, surely is! By Abhijit Naik.
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 has been in the news lately not only because of its 0nehundredth anniversary, but also because of Hurricane "Katrina" and the destruction of large parts of New Orleans. Within days of "Katrina" the Washington Post - and many other papers alike - referred to the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871, the Galveston hurricane of 1900, and most prominently the San Francisco earthquake to prove the point that "ravaged cities stand their ground" in America. Cities are like the mythical Phoenix, which is featured in San Francisco's city seal.
They have been resurrected in the past and, therefore, the argument goes, the outlook for New Orleans is anything but gloomy.Historians in Europe and the United States who have looked at cities and their response to disasters more closely in recent years, certainly would agree with this conclusion. Cities "are among humankind's most durable artifacts." But where does this remarkable ability of cities to survive come from; an ability, by the way, which applies to cities in the United States and around the world.
In modern history, in the United States the destruction of big cities has been caused almost exclusively by natural disasters and accidents, in Europe the reason for destruction has often been war, whereas Asian countries experienced both. Does this make a difference?
Finally, is it really possible to predict the future of New Orleans and other disaster-stricken cities or would we be neglecting unique aspects that fostered the rebuilding of cities in the past but may not do so today?
The San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 The California earthquake of April 18, 1906 ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Today, its importance comes more from the wealth of scientific knowledge derived from it than from its sheer size. Rupturing the northernmost 296 miles (477 kilometers) of the San Andreas fault from northwest of San Juan Bautista to the triple junction at Cape Mendocino, the earthquake confounded contemporary geologists with its large, horizontal displacements and great rupture length.
Indeed, the significance of the fault and recognition of its large cumulative offset would not be fully appreciated until the advent of plate tectonics more than half a century later. Analysis of the 1906 displacements and strain in the surrounding crust led Reid (1910) to formulate his elastic-rebound theory of the earthquake source, which remains today the principal model of the earthquake cycle.
At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicentre near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds.
The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. The highest Modified Mercalli Intensities (MMI's) of VII to IX paralleled the length of the rupture, extending as far as 80 kilometers inland from the fault trace.
One important characteristic of the shaking intensity noted in Lawson's (1908) report was the clear correlation of intensity with underlying geologic conditions. Areas situated in sediment-filled valleys sustained stronger shaking than nearby bedrock sites, and the strongest shaking occurred in areas where ground reclaimed from San Francisco Bay failed in the earthquake. Modern seismic-zonation practice accounts for the differences in seismic hazard posed by varying geologic conditions.
As a basic reference about the earthquake and the damage it caused, geologic observations of the fault rupture and shaking effects, and other consequences of the earthquake, the Lawson (1908) report remains the authoritative work, as well as arguably the most important study of a single earthquake. In the public's mind, this earthquake is perhaps remembered most for the fire it spawned in San Francisco, giving it the somewhat misleading appellation of the "San Francisco earthquake".
Shaking damage, however, was equally severe in many other places along the fault rupture. The frequently quoted value of 700 deaths caused by the earthquake and fire is now believed to underestimate the total loss of life by a factor of 3 or 4. Most of the fatalities occurred in San Francisco, and 189 were reported elsewhere.
A single severe earthquake in 1976, for example, was responsible for the death of 700,000 people in China. It is estimated that earthquakes caused some two million deaths in the twentieth century alone. Earthquakes differ from natural catastrophes such as hurricanes and floods as well as from man made disasters like war because they occur entirely without warning.
The sudden movement of the earth, of the very foundation of human existence, calls the security of this existence into question in unique fashion. Earthquakes leave people with no time for preparation. They are of short duration: often, just a few moments are sufficient to do as much destruction as warfare might in days or even weeks.
They put societies in an extraordinary situation in which established political, social, economic, and cultural structures are put to a severe test. Such was the situation on April 18, 1906, On that Wednesday morning, the earth moved an average of ten feet horizontally and three feet vertically along a 300-mile stretch of the San Andreas fault. Although it is now estimated that the quake measured 8.3 on the Richter scale, damage in the city was initially limited.
There were many collapsed chimneys and broken windows, and numerous buildings lost their façades or roofs, but the majority of buildings survived the tremor. Light wooden houses appear to have held up just as well as the new downtown skyscrapers built of reinforced concrete, but still, about 5,000 houses were immediately destroyed. For the most part, they were either located on "made ground" – filled-in swamp land along the bay – or poorly constructed.
The earthquake had destroyed San Francisco's obsolete underground water mains – hydrants throughout the city were useless. Within a few hours, the fires, spreading to the north and south west from the city center, had become an immense conflagration. One block after another was reduced to ash and rubble. Attempts to halt the flames at major streets failed repeatedly. Before the day was over, much of the city center had to be given up as lost.
Larger buildings – including the Palace Hotel where the famous singer Enrico Caruso had spent the night until the earthquake woke him at five in the morning – had their own supplies of water, but once those supplies were exhausted the buildings could not be saved.
Nor could smaller brick and cement buildings, which had been considered fireproof but now fell victim to the wooden structures that stood adjacent to them. Between Wednesday and Saturday morning, the fire destroyed 28,000 buildings and caused up to 500 million dollars in damages. Among the losses were the new city hall – the largest building in the country west of Chicago.
Despite their small size, all thunderstorms are dangerous. Every thunderstorm produces lightning, which kills more people each year than tornadoes and hurricanes. Heavy rain from thunderstorms can lead to flash flooding. Strong winds, hail, and tornadoes are also dangers associated with some thunderstorms. High winds from thunderstorms can cause damage to homes, overturn vehicles, and blow down trees and utility poles, causing widespread power outages.
Many strong thunderstorms produce hail. Large hail, and the glass it may break, can injure people and animals. Hail can be smaller than a pea, or as large as a softball, and can be very destructive to automobiles, glass surfaces (skylights and windows), roofs, plants, and crops. Downbursts and straight-line winds associated with thunderstorms can produce winds of 100 to 150 miles (161 to 241 kilometers) per hour—enough to flip cars, vans, and pickup trucks. The resulting damage can equal the damage of most tornadoes.
Lightning is a major threat during a thunderstorm. Lightning produces thunder in a thunderstorm and is very unpredictable, increasing the risk to individuals and property. According to the National Weather Service, lightning kills on average more than 70 people and injures at least 300 others each year in the United States. While only about 10 percent of those struck are killed, the large majority of the 90 percent who survive suffer long-term injuries, such as memory loss, dizziness, muscle spasms, depression, and fatigue.
Lightning also causes about $5 billion in economic loss each year in the United States. Lightning often strikes outside the area of heavy rain and may occur as far as 10 miles (16 kilometers) from any rainfall. Heat lightning is actually lightning from a thunderstorm too far away for thunder to be heard. You are in danger from lightning if you can hear thunder.
Because light travels so much faster than sound, lightning flashes can sometimes be seen long before the resulting thunder is heard. When the lightning and thunder occur very close to one another, the lightning is striking nearby. To estimate the number of miles you are from a thunderstorm, count the number of seconds between a flash of lightning and the next clap of thunder.
Divide this number by five. More than 50 percent of lightning deaths occur after the thunderstorm has passed. The National Weather Service encourages you to practice the 30/30 lightning safety rule: If the time between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder is less than 30 seconds.
More than one million earthquakes occur on the earth every year. A large majority of earthquakes will go unnoticed by most people because of their slight magnitude. On the other hand, some earthquakes are very strong and cause considerable damage. According to the distance from the earthquake epicentre, we have local earthquakes (in the region of the quake), near earthquakes (less than 1.000 km away), remote earthquakes (roughly up to 10.000 km), and so on.
Concerning the magnitude, the earthquakes are described as slight, moderate, great, and very great (global (catastrophe). In the past, people believed that an earthquake was a sign from gods, bringing punishment or announcing the end of the world.
However, earthquakes are natural movements of the earth's surface. When they occur on the ocean floor, they are called ocean or submarine earthquakes. Ground motion is produced by seismic waves, which transmit the tension generated in the interior of the earth. The tension is generated for many years as a result of gradual deformation of rocks, and finally produces fracturing of a part of the earth's mantle.The place where the shocks originate is called hypocentre. Directly above the hypocentre, on the surface, is the epicentre.
Concentric vibrations spread from the hypocentre throughout the earth's body. These are the earthquakes or seismic waves. "Seismos" is a Greek word meaning shock. The strongest shocks are found near the epicentre. They are measured and evaluated by instruments and observation. The most important instrument for measuring and studying earthquakes is the seismograph. It registers the generated waves.In order to obtain the most exact results, a seismograph (after its installation) should have a minimal contact with the earth's surface, otherwise it may register permanent earth movements.
The seismographs are therefore isolated from underground movements by being hung on springs or joints. The distance from the hypo-centre is determined using seismic travel-time curve. This is done by compiling the data concerning the moment of the arrival of various types of waves at various times recorded by a number of seismographic sites.
The distance from the epicentre is then calculated based on the available information. Today, all this is done using the most advanced computer technology. Once the epicentre is located, the intensity of the quake is measured in units of magnitude.
This scale was developed in 1935 by a Californian seismologist, Charles Richter. Measuring of the intensity of the earthquake on the basis of the observed shocks, which provides information concerning its subjective force, is done using Mercalli scale. When we look closely at regions where many earthquakes have occurred in recent years, we see that region which is most prone to earthquakes is at the edges of the continental plates of South and North America, the region of the Pacific Ocean, South Asia, and southern Europe.
The north of Europe, the interior of Australia, and Africa, as well as some oceans (with the exception of the ocean ridges) are almost free of earthquakes. As yet, there is no single explanation for shocks occurring in plates, where the earth's crust is considered stable.
It is assumed that the stress on the edges of these plates generates pressure in the middle of these formations, which may cause earthquakes at "weak points." Earthquake hypocentres are most common in the depths of 0 to 70 kilometres. Less common are earthquakes having hypocentres in great depths, of up to 700 kilometres. These occur mainly where due to slow drift of the tectonic plates the crust of plate edges is pushed down, as is the case, for example, of the South American Andes.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was built in the wooded marshlands of northern Ukraine, approximately 80 miles north of Kiev. It's first reactor went online in 1977, the second in 1978, third in 1981, and fourth in 1983; two more were planned for construction. A small town, Pripyat, was also built near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to house the workers and their families. On April 25, 1986, reactor four was going to be shut down for some routine maintenance.
During the shutdown, technicians were also going to run a test. The test was to determine whether, in case of a power outage, the turbines could produce enough energy to keep the cooling system running until the backup generators came online. The shutdown and test began at 1 a.m. on April 25th. To get accurate results from the test, the operators turned off several of the safety systems, which turned out to be a disastrous decision. In the middle of the test, the shutdown had to be delayed nine hours because of a high demand for power in Kiev.
The shutdown and test continued again at 11:10 p.m. on the night of April 25th. Just after 1 a.m. on April 26th, the reactor's power dropped suddenly, causing a potentially dangerous situation. The operators tried to compensate for the low power but the reactor went out of control. If the safety systems had remained on, they would have fixed the problem; however, they were not. The reactor exploded at 1:23 a.m. The world discovered the accident two days later, on April 28th, when operators of the Swedish Forsmark nuclear power plant in Stockholm registered unusually high radiation levels near their plant.
When other plants around Europe began to register similar high radiation readings, they contacted the Soviet Union to find out what had happened. The Soviets denied any knowledge about a nuclear disaster until 9 p.m. on April 28th, when they announced to the world that one of the reactors had been "damaged." While trying to keep the nuclear disaster a secret, the Soviets were also trying to clean it up. At first they poured water on the many fires, then they tried to put them out with sand and lead and then nitrogen.
It took nearly two weeks to put the fires out. Citizens in the nearby towns were told to stay indoors. Pripyat was evacuated on April 27th, the day after the disaster had begun; the town of Chernobyl wasn't evacuated until May 2, six days after the explosion.
Physical clean-up of the area continued. Contaminated topsoil was placed into sealed barrels and radiated water contained. Soviet engineers also encased the remains of the fourth reactor in a large, concrete sarcophagus to prevent additional radiation leakage. The sarcophagus, constructed quickly and in dangerous conditions, had already begun to crumble by 1997.
An international consortium has begun to retrofit the encasing, expected to be completed in 2007.It is estimated that the radiation from the Chernobyl disaster was 100 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thirty-one people died shortly after the explosion, but thousands more will die from the long-term effects of radiation.
On 28 January,1986 the Challenger space shuttle blew up 73 seconds after launch. Seven lives and three billion dollars worth of equipment was lost. The Challenger accident was the result of a faulty sealing system which allowed exhaust flames from the Solid-Fuel Rocket Boosters (SRB) to vent directly on the external tank, rupturing the tank and causing the explosion. NASA identified the failure due to the improper sealing of the O-rings, the giant black rubber loops that help seal the segments of the SRBs.
The O-ring is made of a fluoroelastomer, which seals the joint between two solid rocket booster sections. An elastomer is a material that can be deformed dramatically and recover its shape completely. A rubber band is an example of an elastomer. In almost half of the shuttle flights there was O-ring erosion in the booster field joints. The launch took place in untested temperature conditions and in spite of serious warnings on the part of the engineers of Thiokol, the company that manufactured the SRBs.
The sequence of events that led to the unfortunate events is examined in order to draw the necessary conclusions. NASA was very anxious to proceed with the launch for a variety of reasons including, economic considerations and political pressure. To justify its budget NASA had scheduled a large number of missions in 1986.
It was vital for the Challenger to be launched so that there would be enough time to refurbish the launch pad to prepare it for the next launch. The European Space Agency was providing added competition and there was political pressure for the Challenger to be in space when the president of the US gave the State of the Union address.
nsect swarms are the #9 natural disaster. Scientists who analyze fossil records suspect that long ago, insects ruled the earth and devoured everything in their path. An "explosion" (or swarm) involves a vast increase in the number of insect pests, the most common pests being locusts, mosquitoes, butterflies, moths, beetles, bugs, bees, and dragonflies. No one knows the exact reason for such events, but rising global temperatures are implicated. Insect populations increase when temperatures rise rapidly.
Warmer weather in northern climates leads to insect migration up from the tropics. Insects migrate in search of food, and rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere make leaves less nutritious because they contain less proteins, so consequently, insects are forced to eat more to acquire the nutrients they need.
The photo at right is of the Canary Islands (off the NW coast of Africa) which in 2004 was invaded by an estimated 100 million hungry locusts, prompting authorities to order massive evacuations. In many countries, locusts are the primary cause of starvation, and worldwide, bee stings and spider bites kill more people every year than non-insect bites, such as snakes which kill about 90,000 people a year.
Hurricanes are products of the tropical ocean and atmosphere. Powered by heat from the sea, they are steered by the easterly trade winds and the temperate westerlies as well as by their own ferocious energy. Around their core, winds grow with great velocity, generating violent seas.
Moving ashore, they sweep the ocean inward while spawning tornadoes and producing torrential rains and floods. Each year on average, ten tropical storms (of which six become hurricanes) develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico.
Many of these remain over the ocean. However, about five hurricanes strike the United States coastline every 3 years. Of these five, two will be major hurricanes (category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)
In the eastern Pacific, hurricanes begin forming by mid-May, while in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, hurricane development starts in June. For the United States, the peak hurricane threat exists from mid-August to late October although the official hurricane season extends through November. Over other parts of the world, such as the western Pacific, hurricanes can occur year-round. Developing hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. The addition of moisture by evaporation from the sea surface powers them like giant heat engines.
The process by which a disturbance forms and subsequently strengthens into a hurricane depends on at least three conditions. Warm waters and moisture are mentioned above. The third condition is a wind pattern near the ocean surface that spirals air inward. Bands of thunderstorms form, allowing the air to warm further and rise higher into the atmosphere. If the winds at these higher levels are relatively light, this structure can remain intact and allow for additional strengthening.
The center, or eye, of a hurricane is relatively calm. The most violent activity takes place in the area immediately around the eye, called the eyewall. At the top of the eyewall (about 50,000 feet), most of the air is propelled outward, increasing the air's upward motion. Some of the air, however, moves inward and sinks into the eye, creating a cloud-free area.
Storm surge is a large dome of water often 50 to 100 miles wide that sweeps across the coastline near where a hurricane makes landfall. The surge of high water topped by waves is devastating. The stronger the hurricane and the shallower the offshore water, the higher the surge will be. Along the immediate coast, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property.
If the storm surge arrives at the same time as the high tide, the water height will be even greater. The storm tide is the combination of the storm surge and the normal astronomical tide. Hurricane-force winds, 74 mph or more, can destroy poorly constructed buildings and mobile homes.
Debris, such as signs, roofing material, siding, and small items left outside, become flying missiles in hurricanes. Winds often stay above hurricane strength well inland. Hurricane Hugo (1989) battered Charlotte, North Carolina (which is about 175 miles inland), with gusts to near 100 mph, downing trees and power lines and causing massive disruption.
Hurricanes also produce tornadoes, which add to the hurricane's destructive power. These tornadoes most often occur in thunderstorms embedded in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane. However, they can also occur near the eyewall.
Tornadoes are nature's most violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornado's can cause fatalities and devastate a neighbourhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunder-storm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. A cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.
In its earliest stages, tornadoes are said to stem from thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are formed within three distinct stages, the first being the cumulus-stage. Certain atmospheric conditions which are present during the thunderstorm, such as moisture in the unstable air and some sort of lifting force, creates atmospheric instability.
Unstable air, which is warm and moist, rises when a lifting mechanism is present. Surface heating, which acts as the primary lifting force, heats the air near the ground. The air, in turn, becomes buoyant and begins to rise, otherwise known as an updraft. These updrafts, warm, moist swells of rising air, eventually begin to cool.
We have all recently been under immense shock on what has happened in some of the regions of Asia last December 26, 2004, just a day after a joyous Christmas Celebration on the paradise-like place of Phuket and on the island of Sri Lanka. It was a great tragedy with the toll of dead people reaching about 135,000 now and left many of people injured, homeless and struggling to survive.
Here are some of the facts that you may want to know about Tsunamis: - Before the first wave of the tsunami hits, the shoreline recedes tremendously and it may even expose the sea or ocean floor and leave a bounty of fishes dry.
If you happen to see this, never let your curiosity get the better of you and immediately run to higher ground. - A tsunami can be a series of waves and mostly the first wave is the less intense of all. - Tsunamis only affect shallow waters or coastal areas. When tsunamis hit the deep areas of water, it just comes off as an average big ocean wave.
The Physics of tsunamis indicate that as it travels into shallow water, its height increases even reaching up to a hundred meters (100 m) in height in extreme cases. - Earthquakes are not the only causes of Tsunami, Tsunamis can also be generated from meteorites falling on a large body of water, a volcanic eruption, landslide or from any occurrence that displaces a large amount of water. - Animals domestic or wild can almost detect approaching tsunamis.
As observed from the Tsunami that hit last Dec. 26, 2004, the statistics of animals that were affected by the Tsunami were very very small and even negligible compared to the human casualties. Scientist and animal experts attribute this to the keen, attuned and sensitive senses of animals as compared to humans. - Tsunamis can also be earlier detected with a Tsunameter, a device that can detect an approaching Tidal Wave. Unfortunately, only a few countries could afford this device. Sri Lanka has considered of acquiring one but that project was not pushed through.
These are just a few facts that you may want to know about Tsunamis. Tsunamis are deadly and may cause destruction of lives, properties, and even an entire place. The best weapon against this kind of unprecedented and unstoppable occurrence is a well educated and well informed public so that even if properties may get washed away, lives may still be saved.
The 1964 Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake and the resulting tsunami struck without warning on Good Friday, March 27. It was a quiet spring day in Anchorage, a holiday. Temperatures were seasonably mild with a moderate amount of snow on the ground.
Children had the day off from school, and customer traffic in the stores downtown was light. Many residents were preparing or enjoying dinner at home. At 5:36 p.m. a major earthquake began to shake the ground, and the earth beneath Southcentral Alaska moved in waves for the next four long minutes.
Parents and children slipped, stumbled and fell on shifting floors in a panicked effort to get outdoors to escape breaking windows. Two inch cracks appeared in the ground in many places. Roads wrinkled and split and Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage broke apart and collapsed 10 feet or more.
The Government Hill Elementary School twisted, shifted and became unusable in a moment. The outside wall of the J.C. Penney building crashed to the street. In the Turnagain residential district the ground liquefied like quicksand, slid away, and swallowed up 75 or more homes. The four minute earthquake released the energy roughly equivalent to 10 million times the force of an atomic bomb.
The mass of the earth and ocean absorbed most of the force, but manmade structures in the area could not absorb the rest of the force without suffering massive damage. Total property damage was estimated at $500 million.Anchorage was crippled as gas lines and water lines were severed abruptly. Residents resorted to melting snow for water while awaiting repairs. Four days later students returned to available schools as life in Anchorage began to recover.
Hindenburg's three-day transatlantic crossing that began on Monday evening, 3 May 1936 was uneventful but for bad weather that seemed to dog the journey. At midnight, the Hindenburg encountered its first storm over the North Sea, and by predawn, it had risen from its usual cruising altitude of 800 to 1,000 feet (244-305 meters) to 2,100 feet (640 meters) to fly above the storms as it followed the English Channel. Midday Tuesday saw the Hindenburg resume a normal cruising altitude as it passed southwest of Ireland, but again encountered strong headwinds heading out over the Atlantic.
Wednesday passed uneventfully enough as the Hindenburg sailed within 808 miles (1,300 km) of Newfoundland, Canada. Reportedly, Captain Lehmann spent some time that evening in the lounge playing his accordion for passengers.
The next day, 6 May 1936 at roughly 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the great shadow of the Hindenburg slipped over New York City as it majestically crisscrossed the city. The international passengers were treated to views of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Harlem, the Bronx and a baseball game in progress between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets field.
While the Hindenburg had the option to land at 4:00 p.m., a lightening storm in the area caused Commander Pruss to opt for a scenic ride up the Eastern seaboard instead, hoping weather conditions would improve before having to set down. As hoped, the sky began clearing, and at 7:00 p.m. the mighty Hindenburg approached the Naval airbase in Lakehurst, New Jersey to set down. A crowd of reporters, dignitaries and well-wishers were on hand for the newsworthy event.
The starboard bow mooring rope dropped to the ground 260 feet (79 meters) below at 7:23 p.m., just as witnesses saw a blue arc forward of the tail fin, followed by a huge fiery explosion. Flames engulfed the entire rear of the Hindenburg and the airship began falling, stern first, to the ground. Fire shot across the ship's skin, fueled by the hydrogen within, as the nose of the bow shot flames skyward, following the stern down. Ground crews below ran for their lives with the colossal fiery ship swallowing the sky above.
Many passengers and crew of the Hindenburg frantically leapt for their lives through broken windows, some attempting to slide down mooring ropes as the unbelievable catastrophe unfolded. No sooner had the gigantic ship collapsed into a fiery heap, than ground crews ran back into towering smoke and flames to help escaping passengers that rode the Hindenburg to the ground. Many people were pulled from the wreckage on fire, while others miraculously escaped unharmed. The entire disaster took place in just 32 seconds.
The famine in Ethiopia 1984-1985 is considered one of the most devastating famines in the history of mankind. There were actually two famines, both of which were equally destructive, during this period - one in the northern region and one in the southern region. The famine in the north was mainly due to the government's callous carelessness and the famine in the south was mainly due to the failure of short rains at that time.
The reign of the Derg is widely considered the most important cause of the famine in Ethiopia 1984. When the Derg was in control, there were insurgencies in as many as fourteen of the country's administrative regions. A lot of local groups were competing against each other to take control of the country during this period. So, in order to put an end to all these insurgencies, the Derg started to kill the 'suspected' enemies of the government.
This period (1977 to 1978) is called the Red Terror during which hundreds of thousands of people were killed systematically by the Derg. It won't be farfetched to say that the seeds of the famine in Ethiopia 1984 were deliberately sown during the Red Terror. During this period, the AMC (Agricultural Marketing Corporation), a corporation set up by the Derg, started extracting food from the peasants in the rural areas to feed the urban population.
This move was a direct result of the nationwide unrest among the urban population thanks to the insurgencies. The Derg tried to pacify the urban population by giving food grains at very cheap prices. However, this turned out to be a disaster for the rural population, especially the peasantry. The Derg fixed a very low price for food grains and this turned out to be a disincentive to production in the rural areas. The farmers, who were supposed to give their share of food grains to the AMC, bought grains in the open market amassing a lot of debts.
One of the most heinous moves of the Derg was the restriction of non-agricultural activities. Thanks to this shocking move, the farmers were not able to engage in non-agricultural activities such as migrant labor and petty trading.
As a result, they were not able to supplement their poor income. During this period, nearly 500,000 farmers lost a significant part of their income which led to a collapse in state run commercial farms. All these things led to the famine in Ethiopia 1984 in the northern part of the country. In the mid eighties, things were chaotic in Ethiopia.
The local insurgencies, the total failure of crops, and the Derg's reckless attitude led to a major humanitarian crisis during the aftermath of the famine in Ethiopia 1984. Nearly six million people were dependant on relief food and waterborne diseases and hunger deaths were rampant.
During this time, the international community severely criticized the government and a lot of relief organizations offered food to the affected people. The people who lived in the famine-hit part of the country were moved to the southern part.
The famine in Ethiopia 1984 affected nearly eight million people. The estimated death toll is over one million. A lot of historians called it a 'Biblical famine in the 20th century'. A lot of countries including the U.S., the Soviet Union, Germany, Poland, Canada, and Switzerland were involved in the humanitarian response to the famine.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was one of the greatest ocean disasters in modern day history. The problems caused by the spill were too great for even the large company to hide under a market umbrella. The spill happened years ago, but it still remains a popular topic because of its effects on the environment. The Exxon Valdez oil happened in 1989 on March 24, near Alaska in the Prince William Sound. It was one of the worst environmental disasters that had a human cause.
Over 10 million gallons of oil spilled into the environment and the location made it difficult for clean up crews to reach the area. Before workers reached the scene, over 11,000 square miles were affected. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill gives more details on the overview, as does Remembering the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The Exxon Valdez ship left around 9 pm on March 23 of that year.
The ship was forced to move around because of ice in the area. Two met steering the ship apparently started a 12 hour ship without first getting the proper amount of time off. The captain requested permission to move the ship again because of ice and moved it again, where it hit Bligh Reef. The Reef cracked the hull of the ship, causing the oil to spill out. Had the captain kept the ship on course, the problem wouldn't have occurred.
The cause is discussed at History & Facts and The Encyclopedia of Earth. A large amount of problems caused by the oil spill were caused by the cleanup measures. Oil was pushed into the water and also pushed off microbial organisms such as plankton. Other animals depended on those organisms for survival, but they were destroyed during the cleanup.
A large amount of oil stayed on the coastline where it still sits today. Hundreds of thousands of animals died right away including sea otters, seabirds, bald eagles, harbor seals and orcas. Many animals continued to die later or experience health problems. The company couldn't hide the problems under their umbrellas though they did try. Oil Spills and NOAA Fisheries focuses on the impacts. The spill led to several different cleanup measures.
A private company arrived first and used a mixture that caused the oil to slide off the surface of objects and mix with the water. They didn't have enough of the product so they were called back. A second cleanup measure involved using an explosion to reduce the amount of oil, but was called off because of bad weather. The company brought it mechanical equipment, but it only worked for a short period of time before becoming clogged. High pressure water hoses forced the oil off the shore and into the water. The Anchorage Daily News and Prince William Sound discuss the clean up measures.
The aftermath is carefully looked at by NOAA and Exxon Valdez the Aftermath. Exxon Mobile claimed that no harmful effects were shown on the environment, though other studies dispute this fact. They claim that the oil spilled still causes problems today in the animal population. Exxon Mobile lost a lawsuit totaling $287 million for damages and several billion dollars in punitive damages.
A further investigation into the case found that the master of the ship was quite possibly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. They also discovered that the crew and the Coast Guard were both partly at fault.
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which specified that any vessel involved in an oil spill couldn't operate in Prince William Sound, came about as result of the spill. The Exxon Valdez was repaired and is still in use today.
Hillsborough Stadium Football Disaster, 15 April 1989 At the FA Cup semi final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest which was held at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989 a tragedy unfolded that involved the death of many Liverpool supporters. As the kick-off time approached there was an increasing crush outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles.
To avoid injury, the police decided to open an exit gate to let more fans into the stadium. This resulted in a major influx of fans into an already crowded part of the ground, causing many to be crushed against security and crush barriers on the terraces in the West Stand. 96 of them died from their injuries.
An inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Taylor, published its findings (known as the Taylor report) in August 1989 and January 1990. It outlined the events of that day and made a number of recommendations on football stadium design. Copies of the reports are available in the Local Studies and the Arts and Social Sciences libraries in Sheffield Central Library.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy there was considerable controversy over the way some newspapers reported the events and also in the conduct of the South Yorkshire Police.
Asteroid impacts are the #10 natural disaster. Sure, the big impact events only happen about every 14,000 years, and the planet killers only come around every 300 million years, but stuff falling out of the sky happens all the time (most of it from nature). 500 meteorites strike the Earth's surface every year. At least ten, big near-misses from big asteroids have occurred during 1994-2007.
A large object striking Earth would inject huge quantities of dust into the stratosphere, depress temperatures around the globe, and lead to massive crop loss and the possible breakdown of society. The death toll might be in the billions.
Outer space, it turns out, is pretty crowded with a lot of junk. NASA and groups like the Catalina Sky Survey estimate that there are at least 900 "Potentially Hazardous Asteroids" out there threatening earth at present. In addition, there are an estimated 7000 "Near Earth Objects" travelling about in space.
Even a near-miss is significant because it almost always creates some degree of electromagnetic interference in the Earth's magnetosphere, sometimes triggering natural disasters, fire storms, and unknown effects. Advance warning may be zero in some cases.
Just a few words to say thank you, for all the images and text you have kindly sent in, it is very much appreciated, having said that, if an image or some text is copyrighted, and you wish for it to be removed we will remove it A.S.A.P. © Copyright 2003-2017 PastReunited.com, No animals were harmed in the making of this site although a few contributors were recycled.


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Businesses cut back on their inventories by a larger-than-expected amount in September, a possible sign of falling confidence in the face of a worsening economic slump.
The Commerce Department said Friday that business inventories dropped by 0.2 percent in September. It was the first decline since March 2007 and the biggest drop in more than three years, since inventories fell by 0.3 percent in July 2005.
Economists had expected inventories would be unchanged in September. The big decline could be an indication that businesses are trying to cut back in the face of weakening consumer demand.
The 0.2 percent overall drop in inventories followed a 0.2 percent rise in August, and reflected a 0.7 percent cutback in inventories held by manufacturers and a 0.1 percent drop in wholesale inventories. Inventories held by retailers rose 0.2 percent in September.
Inventories are closely watched as signals of business confidence. When businesses are reducing their stockpiles because they are worried about future sales, it can further depress overall economic growth.
The overall economy slid at an annual rate of 0.3 percent in the July-September quarter and economists believe the decline in the current October-December period will be even sharper.
Many are worried that the severe financial crisis has pushed the country into what will turn out to be the deepest recession since 1981-82.

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'' Our ancestors taught us Shipibo art and we have to continue to value our culture up through today'' Isabel Silvano Sandoval, Shipibo artist
Welcome to Koshi Nomabo, the Alianza Arkana shop. This means 'Strong Women' in the native language of the Shipibo.
This shop has been a dream of ours for many years. We are close friends with many female Shipibo artists - all of these women sell their art as the main source of income for their families. By sharing their work with the world, we are creating a sustainable way of helping create an income for them, supporting the wider diffusion of Shipibo culture and raising funds for our projects.
As far as we know, this is the only non-commercial site selling Shipibo art in which all money is reinvested with the Shipibo. We are paying a full, fair price for every piece. We are then selling the artworks at standard Western prices. The profit will be going half to Alianza Arkana to support our projects and half to purchasing more artesanías from the women.
Please note that all our prices include a flat rate of $25 USD for shipping anywhere in the world.
If you want to learn more about our work, please click here.


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So what the array does is convert infrared radiation, photons, into electrons. And silicon chips can all understand electrons. They have no understanding of photons. We take those electrons and convert them into voltage, and the voltage that we get is proportional to the incoming radiation, the quantity of the photons that came in.
NTB: How does this model differ from other infrared sensors or past QWIP arrays?
Jhabvala: For past QWIP arrays, I think, this is the largest format. It has the largest number of pixels, in our case, a million, that have been made in this broad band, in this 8 to 12 micron region. We don't think anybody has done that. That is the first difference.
The second is, we are not sure if there are competing technologies. Can't say for sure one way or the other, but my search shows that there are not other technologies. For example, MerCad Telluride, indium antimonide, and a whole range of silicon-based detectors that respond to the infrared, but we're not aware of any of them that have been made in a 1 K-by-1 K 8 to 12 micron responsivity format. So that is how it differs from other technologies.
It differs from what we have done in the past by being the first time we've had a broad-band detector. We have made a 1 K-by-1 K narrow-band detector on the way to doing this. It was responsive from about 8 to 8.5 microns. Very narrow range. So you can only get one spectral point, basically, if you are looking at an object. This one, 8 to 12 microns, if you put on the appropriate filters, you can get many different spectral points of information on the same object with the same detector.
If you are looking at a star, a bright star, and you're looking at it at 8 to 8.4 microns, you'll see a nice picture of what that star looks like, a photograph. But that is all you'll be able to see. You won't be able to tell all the different compounds in that star, all the different molecules. You don't have enough spectral information, you aren't looking across enough of the spectrum. So it'd make a very pretty picture in that one wavelength, but if you wanted to know all the different compounds, all the different atoms, you'd have to look at it from 8 to 8.1, then 8.1 to 8.2, and then, say, 8.2 to 8.3 and then, what do you see? What do you see from 8.3 to 8.8? What do you see from 8 to 9? And so on and so forth, all the way up you'd be able to get a whole lot of different information because you are looking at a broad spectral region. That's the spectroscopy of it. And that is where the information is. It'll still make a nice photograph, but what you really want is to understand what the constituents are of that star.
If you want to look at an object on the Earth and try to ascertain it's temperature, you need at least two different wavelengths to do that, because you have two variables when you are trying to determine temperature of an object. So in this sense, this QWIP is far more versatile than the single-wavelength QWIPs.
NTB: What applications does infrared have?
Jhabvala: Any object in the entire Universe will emit radiation as the function of the temperature of that body. The hotter the body, the more radiation it will emit. Your eyeball is sensitive to only a very narrow portion of the spectrum, the visible spectrum. Objects have to get pretty darn hot before you can see it with your eyeball. You stick a poker in the fire-until that poker reaches about 900° C, it looks black. And then it starts to turn red. That color red that you see is the visible radiation coming off the poker because it is that hot.
But most objects aren't that hot. Now, that poker, when it is only 400° C, will be very hot to your finger, but to your eyeball, it looks just as if it were ice-cold. You can't tell the difference. Detectors, infrared detectors, can. They can tell the difference. It is because of that characteristic, that objects as a function of their temperature, will emit more and more radiation, infrared radiation, and then visible radiation, and then if you get is so hot, like the sun or even hotter, you get x-ray radiation. Infrared sensors are particularly sensitive to objects in what we call the thermal region, which is room temperature and a little hotter, they can tell the temperature of things around that your eyeball cannot.


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TPG Releases New Brand Video
TPG Branding & Graphics Releases New Brand Video
Branding & Graphics
It's been a great week in our new office, with our new branding. To celebrate our new brand, TPG's Branding & Graphics studio created a video showcasing our employees.
Take a glimpse inside the TPG atmosphere and see what makes our office different! Watch the video here.


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Learn about this topic in these articles:
...erection; ejaculatory impotence (or inhibited male orgasm), in which a man cannot achieve orgasm in the woman's vagina, although he can sustain an erection and may reach orgasm by other methods; and premature ejaculation, in which the man ejaculates before or immediately after entering the vagina.
Premature ejaculation is a common problem, especially for young males. Sometimes this is not the consequence of any psychological problem but the natural result of excessive tension in a male who has been sexually deprived. In such cases, more frequent coitus solves the problem. Premature ejaculation is difficult to define. The best definition is that offered by the American sexologists,...


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206 Park Court, Ridgeland, MS 39157Request info Add to list
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The front of the building has a nice brick exterior. The entrance to the front door has a unique curved wood wall and ceiling. All of the offices... show more »View Details
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206 Park Court is an office property for lease in Ridgeland, MS. The property currently has 2 office spaces for lease and is marketed by .
The property is located at a convenient location with easy access to Highway 51 and Interstate 55. This is a sought after location with mostly newer office/warehouse buildings in the area. The front of the building has a nice brick exterior. The entrance to the front door has a unique curved wood wall and ceiling. All of the offices are oversized and most of the offices have an exterior window. There is also a large conference room with an adjacent full kitchen. There is a large drive-in roll door that leads into the warehouse. There is warehouse space on the first floor with a mezzanine that leads to the second floor warehouse space. The entire second floor of the building is warehouse space with a concrete floor. A sprinkler system has been installed inside the entire building.
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Misconceptions about the Crusades are all too common. The Crusades are generally portrayed as a series of holy wars against Islam led by power-mad popes and fought by religious fanatics. They are supposed to have been the epitome of self-righteousness and intolerance, a black stain on the history of the Catholic Church in particular and Western civilization in general. A breed of proto-imperialists, the Crusaders introduced Western aggression to the peaceful Middle East and then deformed the enlightened Muslim culture, leaving it in ruins. For variations on this theme, one need not look far. See, for example, Steven Runciman's famous three-volume epic, History of the Crusades, or the BBC/A&E documentary, The Crusades, hosted by Terry Jones. Both are terrible history yet wonderfully entertaining.
So what is the truth about the Crusades? Scholars are still working some of that out. But much can already be said with certainty. For starters, the Crusades to the East were in every way defensive wars. They were a direct response to Muslim aggression—an attempt to turn back or defend against Muslim conquests of Christian lands.
Christians in the eleventh century were not paranoid fanatics. Muslims really were gunning for them. While Muslims can be peaceful, Islam was born in war and grew the same way. From the time of Mohammed, the means of Muslim expansion was always the sword. Muslim thought divides the world into two spheres, the Abode of Islam and the Abode of War. Christianity—and for that matter any other non-Muslim religion—has no abode. Christians and Jews can be tolerated within a Muslim state under Muslim rule. But, in traditional Islam, Christian and Jewish states must be destroyed and their lands conquered. When Mohammed was waging war against Mecca in the seventh century, Christianity was the dominant religion of power and wealth. As the faith of the Roman Empire, it spanned the entire Mediterranean, including the Middle East, where it was born. The Christian world, therefore, was a prime target for the earliest caliphs, and it would remain so for Muslim leaders for the next thousand years.
The Real History of the Crusades – By Prof. Thomas F. Madden
31 Tuesday Aug 2010
Posted Catholic History, Crusadesin


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Temporary Tattoos That Look Real/
Tattoos are more popular than ever -- and they're even more removable these days. But really? You need to be SURE you want that Celtic knot/butterfly/heart/cascade of stars before you go under the needle. Or, you can just turn to Temptu, a company that offers temporary tattoos with 2-5-day wearability. The best part? They look totally real -- not like the Cracker Jack box variety. With a unique, cosmetic-grade ink formula in true-tattoo color, the tattoo applies cleanly and evenly. Change up your ink every few days. It's like a new accessory!
The Girly Chic Kit ($25) includes the above-mentioned stars and butterflies, while the Zen Chic Kit ($25) is more flowers and fans and the Tribal Chic Kit ($25, pictured) has abstract style. There's even a limited-edition Dereon Kit by Tina Knowles ($16), and you can see Beyonce all inked up here.
If you're feeling the seasonal spirit, try the Holiday Glitz and Glam Kit ($30), which includes nine tattoo design sheets (3 sets of 3 distinct designs) and 20 tattoo application pads, plus gold and silver setting powders. Set a snowflake on your shoulder or wrap your ankle in festive bows!
And if you simply want a cool one-sheet of those temporary tattoos we all know and love, try Temptu's themed display cards (just $3 each), which include everything from dragons to endangered animals to cute little aliens.
Try Temptu Tattoos for fun, to practice for the real thing or to freak out your relatives around the holiday dinner table!


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From the event page:
"Restoring Resilience: Big Impacts Across Small Spaces" will focus on recovering ecosystem health at all scales, from backyards to landscapes, in the context of changing climate, biodiversity loss, invasive species, and the growing disconnect between society and nature. The conference will bring together 350-plus conservation practitioners and interested laypeople from across Ontario to connect with those working in the fields of invasive plants and ecosystem recovery, spreading the word on exciting new projects, innovations, and accomplishments. Building on the eloquent message of our keynote speaker, Doug Tallamy, in his book, "Bringing Nature Home," the event will especially emphasize "the why and the how" of restoring native biodiversity and habitat in the cities, towns and settled landscapes of Ontario.
|Lubmila Shkoda, photo credit.
The research is increasingly showing that residents in urban areas like Hamilton can play a major role in ensuring pollinators survive. Our project is an initiative that is based on this sort of research, and is designed to achieve high-priority species conservation.
According to the Urban Pollinators Project (Bristol University), half of Germany's entire bee fauna have been found in Berlin, 35% of British hoverfly species were sampled in a single Leicester garden and honeybees produce more honey in urban Birmingham than in the surrounding countryside.


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Marriage Equality Act a "vindication of the will of voters" says ICCL
- 29-08-2015
- Categorized in: Equality
Ireland's human rights watchdog, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has warmly welcomed the signature this evening (29 August 2015) of the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Act 2015 by the President of Ireland.
Together with colleagues from its partner organisations, the Gay & Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) and Marriage Equality, the ICCL led the winning YesEquality2015 referendum campaign.
ICCL Executive Director Mr Mark Kelly said:
"The President's decision today to sign into law the amendment of the Constitution opening full civil marriage to same sex couples is a vindication of the clearly-expressed wish of more than 1.2 million voters to live in a more equal Ireland. The ICCL warmly welcomes the fact that, following the recent dismissal by the Court of Appeal of spurious legal challenges to the landslide referendum result, marriage equality shall at last be the law of the land."
Walter Jayawardene, ICCL Communications Manager
087 9981574


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- HubPages»
- Food and Cooking»
- Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes
How to make the perfect, moist Vegan Carrot Cake without eggs. Recipe.
Making a carrot cake without using eggs, milk or butter sounds hard, making a cake like that that doesn't taste dry and bland seems impossible but it doesn't have to be.
When my sixteen year old daughter decided to become a vegan my first reaction was panic, she loves cake and I couldn't find one vegan cake recipe in any of my cook books. My second reaction was worry that she wouldn't get enough nourishment to remain healthy. How would she cope without cheese, milk, butter and eggs? How could I, as her mother, provide her with decent vegan meals? I'll admit that I did try to talk her out of it, I guess I did overreact, just a bit.
She has been Vegan now for over a year and she is happy and healthy and I have learnt how to make the perfect vegan cake. So I thought I would share the recipe with you.
I did find vegan recipes on line and in books at the library. Some were simple and tasty but the vegan cake recipes all seemed too dry or too stodgy. After much trial and error and tweaking of ingredients, today, almost a year to the day when she first decided to become a vegan, I have made her a birthday cake that is just about the most perfect cake recipe I have made so far. It is slightly sticky, moist and the lemon frosting contrasts perfectly with the sweet interior. It looks great too but you will have to take my word for that as the cake was half eaten by the time I had fetched my camera! Seems the cake was almost as camera shy as my daughter.
Always use a very good vanilla essence, it really does make a big diffence.
8 oz (225g) grated carrot
3 oz (85g) dates 3oz (85g) dried cherries
5 oz (140g) SR white flour
5 oz (140g) SR wholemeal flour
6 oz (170g) light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
7 fl oz (200 ml) vegetable oil
7 fl oz (200 ml) water
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp good quality vanilla essence
8 oz (225g) icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence.
1tsp lemon juice
3 oz (115g) vegan margarine
Lemon zest to decorate
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
2. To make the cake, mix together all of the dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ones.
3. Bake for 40 minutes, then reduce oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3 and cook for another 35 - 40 minutes. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
4. To make the icing stir the sifted icing sugar and vanilla essence into the margarine with a wooden spoon mix this until it is quite smooth and a spread able consistency.
5. When the cake is completely cold remove it from the tin and place it on a serving plate. Spread the icing over the top and sides and then sprinkle the lemon zest over the icing to decorate.
This cake will keep very well for a couple of days if you keep it covered in a cool place but don't put it in the fridge as it goes rock hard.
Check out my blog for more great tasting vegan and vegetarian recipies, and for tips on maintaining a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.


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I first found Famous Dave's in the Twin Cities a few years ago. This one has the great BBQ, but lacks the ambience of the others. Rib Tips is my meal of chi=oice, which is a goo...
All reviews seem positive
In ShortFamous Dave's recipes began as a hobby for Dave Anderson, who opened his first 'cue shack in Hayward, Wisc., in 1994. Now a national phenomenon, the restaurants cater to diners who dig into finger-licking-tasty meat. The menu features chopped pork, Texas brisket, baby back ribs and fire-kissed chicken slathered with signature sauces like vinegary Georgia Mustard. Entrees, some of which arrive atop a garbage can lid, come with corn on the cob, drunken apples, baked beans or slaw.
From family friendly trips with kid friendly activities to local plumbers lawyers, spas, and contractors. Judy's Book has millions of listings and reviews for the best and not so great. Whether you're looking for a specific business or just trying to discover great places we make it easy. We're a family oriented site focusing on bringing trusted reviews and recommendations to moms and others. Green and Sustainable places are becoming more relevant to Judy's Book users, have a favorite place? Write a review and tell users why it's Green!


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ORC Attends 2016 ASHE Conference in Pittsburgh, PA; Continues to Establish Operation Presence in Western Pennsylvania
- Details
- Published: June 06, 2016
- Written by Catherine Colan Muth, CEO
Project Manager Ben Zera ready to "meet and greet" at Booth 601 at the 2016 ASHE conference in Pittsburgh, PA.
O. R. Colan Associates (ORC) recently attended the 2016 American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) Conference held in Pittsburgh, PA from May 19 – 22, 2016. Tracy Jones, Midwest Regional Vice President, and Benjamen Zera, Project Manager, represented ORC at booth 601. The location of this year's conference in Pittsburgh, PA provided the leadership of ORC's Midwest Region the ability to maintain and develop new relationships within this area.
"We've long valued our presence and partners in Western Pennsylvania," Ben Zera. "The ASHE conference in Pittsburgh was a great opportunity to connect with some old friends and partners and establish new relationships with potential partners."
ASHE has proved to be a valuable organization to ORC throughout the country, as it provides a platform to build relationships with engineering companies, private firms and government entities that have a need for exemplary land acquisition services.
O. R. Colan Associates, LLC, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, has operated nationally since 1969 (47 years) and is recognized as a leader in the field of real estate and right-of-way (ROW) acquisition and related services for public agencies and private clients.


text: PRAGUE, July 7 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================== Real-time economic data releases.................... Summary of economic data and forecasts........... Recently released economic data.................. Previous stories on Czech data............. **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: here#/2E/events-overview =========================NEWS=================================== TRUMP: President Donald Trump affirmed the U.S. commitment to the defence of NATO allies on Thursday in a Warsaw speech that gently criticized Russia, and he said Western civilization must stand up to "those who would subvert and destroy it". Story: Related stories: CEZ: Bulgaria's competition watchdog on Thursday accused the country's three foreign-owned power distributors of breaching competition rules by discriminating against independent traders and restricting electricity trading at freely negotiated prices. Story: Related stories: CARS: Czech new car sales rose 8.8 percent in the first half of this year to 144,451 vehicles, data compiled by the Car Importers Association showed. Story: Related stories: CEE FX POLL: Central Europe's growth and a probably kick-off in Czech monetary tightening could lift three of the region's five main currencies in the next 12 months, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. Story: Related stories: CEE MARKETS: Central European currencies and government bonds fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank left the door open to removing its bond-buying pledge in the minutes of its last meeting. Story: Related stories: ========================PRESS DIGEST============================ SLOVAKIA: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said the state won an arbitration case after a court rejected utility Slovenske Elektrarne's compensation claim in a case dating back to 2015. Hospodarske Noviny, page 3 TOBACCO: Some of Philip Morris International's European production will shift to its Czech factory , boosting output, as the group invests in iQOS production at those other factories. Hospodarske Noviny, page 13 LENDING: Bank lending grew 8.3 percent to the end of May surpassing 3 trillion crowns ($131.02 billion), central bank data showed. Pravo, page 17 (Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.) For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX For updates on CEE currencies TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets Prague Newsroom: +420 224 190 477 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ($1 = 22.8980 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Prague Newsroom)


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Nothing in your Cart? Forever spinning loading wheel? Light-box acting strange? All these problems and a lot more occur because your site is loading jQuery more than once.
Hello I'm Cameron and I have been helping people in support for about a month now; this issue is probably one of the most common problems that I get. So I thought I would write a decent explanation here of what is going wrong and how to fix it. So, if the front end of your site is acting strange (even if it is not, read this…) it could be because your site is including jQuery multiple times.
So how do I check?
- Open up the page that is giving you grief and view its source in your browser.
- Open up your browser's find/search window (Ctrl+F)
- type in jQuery' and view what highlighted text. You should see this as a group, since WP e-Commerce loads all javascript libraries.
- Now pay attention to the first line that loads the jQuery itself – the rest are jQuery plugins that require jQuery to be loaded first.
- Now keep looking though the source, if you see another line where jQuery is being loaded, (it doesn't matter about the version info) this will be your problem.
Why is this a problem?
As you probably know, the order in which scripts are loaded matters. As far as the computer is concerned, they are not separate, the browser will just read them as one long script, not as many small ones, so if another jQuery script is loaded it can really mess up the jQuery plugins that have already been loaded.
Ok I've determined that it is happening, but why is my site calling jQuery twice?
Generally, this happens because your theme or other plugins you are using are calling jQuery but are not calling it in the correct WordPress way.
WordPress has a function called wp_enqueue_script, which is the correct way to call jQuery (or any other commonly used script). What this function does is check if jQuery is already being used, and if so it doesn't call it again.
Ok, so where is this call being generated so I can delete it?
Well that depends if it is being called by your theme or by another active plug in. If it is being called in your theme it will most likely be in your header.php file or your footer.php file, so have a look for a line that looks like this (insert image)
Now the beginning of the line may look different but what is important is the jquery/jquery bit. So if you find that line delete it and use the wp_enqueue_script() function in your themes functions.php file.
If the call is coming from one of your plugins then it may be that the easiest thing to do is to turn off all your plugins and then turn them on one by one, each time checking your page source to see if that duplicate jQuery comes up. When you find the plugin causing the problem simply not deactivating it would be the easiest solution. However, if you really want to use the plugin it might be worthwhile contacting the plugin author and asking them to fix their plugin so that they include scripts correctly. Or, you could just try and find where it is being called using the technique described above.
Its also worth noting that even though jQuery is usually the script that is included twice, there could also be other scripts included twice that could be causing problems.
Another technique for finding duplicate scripts is by using the scripts section of Firebug plugin for Firefox. Just click on the script drop down and you can see a list of all the scripts that have been loaded in. From there you can check if there are any duplicates.
Hopes this helps