Japan's Child Population is at a Record Low, OH NO!

Summary: Japan's child population remains on a decline and the number has been dropping for 33 years straight. Japan's lost 160,000 children under the age of fifteen in the last year. Many are worried because predictions are that the child population will continue to decline as well as the number of births. Many factors are being blamed for this constant decline: strict immigration policy, gender inequality, and even a lack of interest in not only having children.

Analysis: In Japan, this could be a major conflict because who is going to be the future of Japan? The fact that Japan has more adults than children could mean that when these adults pass on, about half of the population will be gone because more than half of the population is adults.

Sources: http://rt.com/news/156872-japan-children-population-decline/
Kim Kyung-Hoon
Published on: May 5th, 2014

Monsoons are to blame

Definition of monsoon: In the Arabian Sea traveling between Africa, India and South-East Asia, Monsoon is a major weather phenomenon in India (and the subcontinent) for the influence it casts on the lives of its inhabitants for centuries. Monsoon in India can be categorized into two branches based on their spatial spread over the sub-continent:

   Summary: India should be expecting less monsoons this year if El Niño  gains strength during the four-month monsoon season. A strong El Nino, marked by a warming of the sea surface on the Pacific Ocean, can cause severe drought in Australia, Southeast Asia and India, while drenching other parts of the world such as the U.S. Midwest and Brazil in rains.

Analysis: This could be bad news for India because they rely on agriculture very much, so their crops could die if the amount of rain declines. 

Sources: 

Blog- http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/04/23/india-monsoon-idINKBN0D90IX20140423

Definition- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon_of_South_Asia

 Written by:  Ratnajyoti Dutta

Date: April 23rd 

Kurdish People Call Out for Independence from Iraq

Kurdish People Call Out for Independence from Iraq

Background: Kurdish people are an ethnic group in Western Asia, including parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Summary: The main Kurdish parties have raised their concern about going independent, complaining about  Baghdad’s repeated breaches of the Iraqi constitution. In the meantime, some have said they would seek to change the nature of relations with Iraq from federalism into a confederation, as a way to end the historical troubled relations with successive government in Baghdad.



Analysis: In my opinion it is a smart idea that the Kurdish people are trying to create a better bond with Iraq, because they can now have more allies on their side to help them campaign for independence. Also, they deserve their independence because for a very long time, the Kurdish people have always showed the world that they are peaceful and can create a safe haven in the Middle East.

Sources:
Written By: RUDAW
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/13042014
Date Written: April 12th, 2014

South Asia Needs to Spend 2.5 million by 2020

South Asia Needs to Spend 2.5 million by 2020

Summary:
South Asia owes 2.5 million dollars for infrastructure according to World Bank by 2020 to bring its power, roads, and water supplies up to the standard need for their growing population.
They say the region, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, could address its "enormous" infrastructure needs by tapping private and public sector funds. The main reason everyone in the community is so eager to pay the dues is because some haven't had sanitary water supply in years. They feel as though they aren't being taken care of or thought about.


Analysis:
I think that South Asia needs to really work hard on paying the debt because South Asia needs to really keep a look out on their sanitary problems or disease will end up coming through and wiping everyone out. Their population is so big that germs and disease spread super fast, so South Asia needs to pay attention on the number of deaths, and diseases so they can get a fast grasp on the community.'


source:
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/wn/newsworld.php?id=1027524
author:
Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malays
date of article:
April 3rd, 2014

A New Life, After Years in an Israel Prison

Burqua,  West Bank — Muqdad Salah is a man in a hurry. He had just gotten out of prison after killing a man, Israel Tenenbaum, a survivor of the holocaust.      Salah and Tenebaum's daughter have recently met up and had many questions ready for Salah. Things like, " Did my father suffer," or " Did he see you standing over him?" Salah, aside from feeling at ease that Tenebaum's daughter has found the courage to talk to him, wants to start a family but feels as though he doesn't have the freedom to do so. At his own wedding he had to check min with authority over certain periods of time. He wants to travel, to see the world, to have his own freedom but feels as though he can't have that with his record as a criminal. 

Analysis: Although I do understand that because Salah has been in prison for a long period of time and feels as though he has paid his dues, he still needs to be watched. We don't know specific reasons as of why Salah killed Tenebaum, but we do know it had something to do with Salah wanting peace in the world. Which is actually very contradictory because Salah killed someone, but besides that whether you killed someone for a "good" reason it doesn't matter, he still murdered someone and should be tree acted as though he has. He should get no special treatment or freedom because he wasn't meaning any harm but world peace. He may have payed his dues, but he is still a criminal and has a record.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/world/middleeast/remaking-a-life-after-years-in-an-israeli-prison.html

Russia Hints at Using Iran Talks as an Excuse

Summary: Concern is growing that the escalating anger between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine crisis has something to do with the nuclear talks in Iran. Russia's delegate,   Sergei A. Ryabkov, hinted in comments on Wednesday night that Russia might link the Ukraine and Iran issues as part of its own diplomatic leverage with the United States and European Union. He quotes," We wouldn’t like to use these talks as an element of the game of raising the stakes, taking into account the sentiments in some European capitals, Brussels and Washington, But if they force us into that, we will take retaliatory measures here as well. The historic importance of what happened in the last weeks and days regarding the restoration of historical justice and reunification of Crimea with Russia is incomparable to what we are dealing with in the Iranian issue.”


Analysis: My feelings on the concern that the anger between the U.S and Russia over the Ukraine crisis having something to do with nuclear talks is that Russia should not be using another situation as an excuse for their situation. They are covering up certain details by blaming it on something else which is also making them more involved in something that has nothing to do with them. I think that U.S and Russia should pay attention to their problem at hand and take care of one situation at a time.

Blog link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/world/middleeast/russia-hints-at-using-iran-talks-as-leverage.html?_r=0

 

The Clock is Ticking

summary: Ghana hospital is given 14 days to find the five missing babies gone missing recently in February. Seven people have been charged with the five missing newborns gone missing. One of the five mothers whose baby was taken, Suwaiba Mumuni, has threatened to press charges if her baby was not found within the two- week deadline. Staff at the hospital, said they often felt overwhelmed and there were inadequate resources to deal with demand. Eventually, seven people were charged with the crime of kidnapping. We aren't sure exactly why the seven criminals wanted the babies, but the mothers are determined to find out. 

analysis: I believe that there could have been more done to find the babies and investigate. In the article it also said that the mothers were told to give their babies to attendants. Why wouldn't the doctors/ staff actually realize that their patients babies were gone and they weren't the ones who took them. Or, did the hospital have something to do with the kidnappings, because, since the parents can not take their newborn babies home with them immediately, that would put the hospital as the responsible people for the children. So, I feel as though the parents should really investigate what the hospital is doing, because they also let the criminals into the hospital to take the babies. If the mothers really look into to this they could save future mothers and newborns. 

Warnings of ethnic Central African Republic cleansing

     In Dakar, Senegal tens of thousands of  Muslims have been forced by Christian militias to flee the Central African Republic. Human rights groups and the top United Nations officials characterized this as de facto ethnic cleansing.

        Entire neighborhoods in the capital, Bangui, have been emptied because of the attacks by the Christian militias. What's up also been chased in large numbers from town in the provinces. As little shops have been looted and burned, mosques have been demolished, and homes inhabited by Muslims destroyed. The anti- balaka Christian militias turned into a violent, undisciplined gang apparently focused on revenge attack against Muslim civilians over the little rule of Seleka. It's been going on since December and hundreds have been killed. Government officials are trying to keep the peace between the two sides by making peacekeeping operations but  human rights groups do not have a clear picture of who their leaders are, whether they have a chain of command, and whether they the often gruesome attacks against Muslims.

        The anti-the balaka group often you are a list and necklaces a supernatural protection against attacks. Often armed with AK-47s, daggers or machetes, and many other dangerous weapons. Dispersed in the population these vigilante fires have proved impossible for the French forces or their African peacekeeping counterparts, 5,500 strong, to move out.

        The lynching of a suspected Seleka rebel by soldiers last week immediately after speech by the country's new interim president, which gathered everyone together to hear, created violence by anti-Balaka of forces the victim was life and stoned to death and cut up with daggers and machetes and what remained of his body was burned. Amnesty international to the killing of at least 100 Muslims on January 18 in Bossemptélé, western part of country, as one of the worst attacks by anti- balaka forces to date. Many women and old men were Among the victims, Amnesty said. About fifteen percent of the country population of about 4 million was Muslim.

        In the meantime the United States nations began one of the largest ever food airlifts on Wednesday sending 82 tons of rice into Benewah on the first of about 25 flights as food stocks in the capital dwindled
       

Stray dog danger

SOCHI, Russia:,Sochi's stray dogs keep popping up in unwanted places, this time on the cross-country skiing track.

In another incident that highlights the possibility of the uncontrolled animals interrupting an Olympic event, a dog was filmed by a Russian website barking at skiers at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon center during Thursday's training session. As skiers turned their heads in surprise, the dog walked alongside the track while three security guards watched a few meters away.

Pelle Johansson, a Swedish newspaper journalist who was by the finish area at the time, said the dog later walked down into the stadium, where a number of skiers were training, and marked his territory next to the main bleachers.

''He stayed out of the skiers' way,'' Johansson said Friday. ''He was very calm.''

Thousands of stray dogs live in and around Sochi, and have already been spotted in the Olympic Stadium, inside security zones and even in a hotel. Local organizers declined to give details on their measures for preventing a similar incident during a race, but said any dogs found on an Olympic venue are captured and given a full veterinary check, then released if healthy.

U.S. cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, one of the favorites in the women's individual sprint, said she hasn't seen any dogs during her training sessions - ''or any other wildlife'' - and wasn't worried they might interrupt the races.

''I grew up in Alaska where you have to be prepared for a moose running out of the forest,'' Randall said. ''So I feel like I'm ready for anything.''

Many people are complaining that they can smell " death" as in the deaths of the dogs but many have also indeed said that though the stray dogs are stray they aren't bothering any tourists because they are dead. While others feel there is another way to go about getting rid of the dogs rather than just killing them. One woman said that she saw two stray dogs laying in the sun outside of her hotel room and they weren't dead they were left there to die in the hot sun, she felt it was a inappropriate way to get rid of the dogs and was highly upset that they didn't take care of the fact that they were in front of the left to die. 

While many to send Russia saying that they are trying their best to clean up, many people feel as though there's more that can be done- not only for sanitary reasons but for safety.

Russians hope for a new turn out!

MOSCOW — After almost a decade without any top-level women’s figure skaters, Russia suddenly has more than it can use. Discovered in distant provinces and aging rinks, trained by the country’s leading coaches and eyeing one another’s every move, the skaters have a surprising leader in Julia Lipnitskaia, the newly crowned European champion. Only 15, Lipnitskaia is two years younger than her Olympic teammate, Adelina Sotnikova, and much younger than the top medal contenders.Over the past year, Lipnitskaia and Sotnikova emerged from an intense competition for the two places on Russia’s Olympic team from a talent pool that includes Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, 17, and two more 15-year-olds, Anna Pogorilaya and Elena Radionova. And while the pressure is intense on all Russian athletes to succeed in Sochi, the skaters’ rapid rise has some observers contemplating one prize the country has never won at the Olympics: a gold medal in women’s singles.

“There were two, then three, and now there’s already really a lot of competitors, and so Russian figure skating is blossoming,” said Tuktamysheva, rolling through Moscow on a bus after a training session. “In order to be selected, you need to be able to do the more complicated moves, and so that was a sort of stimulus from the very beginning”

Sotnikova, who won Russia’s national championship at age 12, said: “It’s competitive at every stage. All the girls watch each other.”

The exceptional competition for places has raised the level of all the skaters, giving Russia a good chance for an Olympic medal. Although not expected to beat the favorites, South Korea’s Kim Yu-na and Japan’s Mao Asada, who are both 24, the young Russians are strong contenders for at least a bronze. Russia has won only two medals in the event at the Games, and never the gold. They are hoping this year will be a completely different turnout. 

Shrinking Arctic Sea Ice Means Scorching US Summers

Thirty years of shrinking Arctic sea ice has boosted extreme summer weather, including heat waves and drought, in the United States and elsewhere, according to a study published on December 8thThe new study — based on satellite tracking of sea ice, snow cover and weather trends since 1979 links the Arctic's warming climate to shifting weather patterns in the Northern Hemisp"The results of our new study provide further support and evidence for rapid Arctic warming contributing to the observed increased frequency and intensity of heat waves," said study co-author Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at Rutgers University.


Scientific opinion is still divided on whether the rollicking jet stream is truly linked to climate change or may simply be the result of natural variability, according to a commentary also published today in Nature Climate Change by James Overland, a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. Part of the problem comes from the paucity of data, because scientists have only 30 years of Arctic observations to use in their analysis.
"Skeptics remain unconvinced that Arctic/midlatitude linkages are proven, and this work will do little to change their viewpoint," Overland wrote. "There is insufficient data to formally resolve the debate on whether these events are purely random or if their occurrence is enhanced by Arctic changes."

However, "the potential for an Arctic influence remains high, given the outlook for further declines in summer sea ice and snow cover over the next few decades, and Arctic amplification of global temperatures," Overland added. "Expected responses from Arctic impacts may be emerging."

Honduras Votes for President

Hondurans choose a new president and congress today as the world's highest rate of violent crimes hurts the economic growth due to the former president, Manuel Zelaya. Polls show the race in a statistical tie between the ruling National Party’s Juan Orlando Hernandez, 45, and Zelaya’s wife, Xiomara Castro Both candidates vowed that they would improve the safety of their citizens after an increase in murders due to drug gangs linked to Mexican cartels.

Castro, 54, is seeking to break a century-long grip on the presidential palace by the country’s two traditional parties. She has tapped into frustration from the coup, during which she led protests to have her husband returned from bannishment. Hernandez led the national assembly when Zelaya was driven out for backing a vote to change the constitution.

“It’s going to be difficult for whoever wins to govern,” said Geoff Thale, director of the Washington Office on Latin America.

 Economic growth in the $19 billion economy has slowed to an average 3.2 percent per year since the 2009 coup, compared with a 5.7 percent average in the four years before, according to the International Monetary Fund. The final opinion poll showed a tie between Hernandez, with 28 percent support, and Castro with 27 percent.
Investors wary of Zelaya’s former alliance with late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have fueled a rally in Honduran bonds since September as polls showed Hernandez gaining on Castro, who led earlier this year.

Honduras dollar bonds have returned 2.5 percent this month, compared with a 2.9 percent decline in Latin American debt over the same period.

5 Jobs inching towards extinction, and who will their replacement be?

It is a fact of life, not everything will last, from food to jobs. Some figure this out the hard way by losing what they know best, their jobs. There are many jobs inching towards extinction, but these five are the most known ones. It is effecting people all over the world today, but mostly the United States. Starting with number 1, Desktop publishing. One of the places using it are brick-and-mortar bookstores who are almost as rare as aliens. Newspapers are closing down or laying off entire departments. And desktop publishers are the ones who design the layouts for these dying industries. Many of the employees of different bookstores are saying that it is no surprise, the need for desktop publishers is one in a million and software is now more powerful than ever making it easier for regular everyday people to utilize desktop publishing. The next best job to take its place is graphic designing. At first glance, the two are similar except for one is graphic designing and the other is desktop publishing.

The second job nearing towards extinction are reporter and correspondent. Getting the Sunday paper is now very uncommon and the reporters and correspondents who inform us of the daily news are beginning to lose their jobs. Many people of this profession say it is mostly because of the internet, many blogs and social cites are a source to the world now because technology is the next big thing. The latest and greatest job taking over this profession is public relationships specialist. Just as the reporters, the specialists deal with the public, yet mostly work with Organizations to maintain there public image.

The third job is Computer Repairing, computer repairers fix computer systems and hardware, but unfortunately, as technology advances, these professionals are getting left behind.
"When people owned their computers for 6 or 7 years, then the repairman was necessary," Galdwin, a computer programmer says. "Today, with the majority of computers sold costing less than $500, and most of them laptops that offer little or no upgradability, most people simply buy a new one every few years instead of repairing them." If people were to actually call someone, nowadays they would call a computer programmer.

The fourth job is floral designer. They are the creative master minds behind the making of flower arrangements. Though they do beautiful work these places are a lot more inconvenient than walking over to a grocery store where flower arrangements are also sold. Convenience is now the most important thing in Americans, we are lazy and cheap. The newest job pertaining to this type of profession would be an event planner. There job includes floral designing if the event calls for it, but they are detailed and focused enough to do it themselves without hiring a separate person.

The fifth and final job is a file clerk. Paper trails - every company has one. File clerks are used to managing companies' mountains of documents. Again, technology is beating them up, so many records are now held electronically and are easier to manage. Technology strikes again! Most of the jobs relating to file clerks are Medical Records and Health information technicians. They use a lot of technology to file in different medical files and organize them for specific patients with specific diseases.

These jobs may not be gone, but they are on the fence. They are working hard to stay a float but what they don't realize is that other business are beating them on the charts. Hopefully they update their jobs to better ours.

"Now I can move on." Said as a demolition crew picked up what was left of his home. One 

year after Hurricane Sandy Staten Island waterfront neighborhood know as Ocean Breeze, 

residents begin to pick up their lives and put them back together- with the help of an angel. 

CNN's Evelio Contreras first met Carol Mittelsdorf shortly after the storm and chronicles her 

story. CNN interviewed many different stories of how they survived. On woman, Diane 

EFfler, has lived in Ocean Breeze all her life. They took bungalos and made them as homes 

to survive. She says "I don't have any relatives left here anymore. I'm going to take the 

buyout. I'm 70 years old. I have two houses still standing and the one house, which is totally 

gone. I'm starting over again. It's like the storm wiped out my entire previous history and it's 

like being reborn." They are unknown on the timing of rebuilding the area. Not many people 

live their now, a woman rented a place next to her destroyed home, one man lives in a 

trailer. Other families live in taller, rebuilt homes. The rest of the buildings have either been 

demolished or are completely empty. Most families are trying to do the most for their 

communities by helping out neighbors, friends, and families. They say that building the 

home is easy compared to losing all the amazing memories that were destroyed. People are 

saying that they won't rebuild in a different location but that they will stay and show that they 

aren't leaving until someone begins to care and help. Many families feel as though no one is 

caring enough. Jean Laurie says "We need attention. We need to get everybody around 

here to see what's really going on. This is true life. This is real stuff that's going on. They p


have to walk a mile in our shoes. They're not." The residents are feeling ignored, 

unappreciated, and forgotten. In this situation people just need someone to be there for 

them and help them through their time of loss. 

Ocean breeze needs an angel

                "Now I can move on." Said as a demolition crew picked up what was left of his home. One year after Hurricane Sandy Staten Island waterfront neighborhood know as Ocean Breeze, residents begin to pick up their lives and put them back together- with the help of an angel.  CNN's Evelio Contreras first met Carol Mittelsdorf shortly after the storm and chronicles her story. CNN interviewed many different stories of how they survived.
        One woman, Diane EFfler, has lived in Ocean Breeze all her life. They took bungalos and made them as homes to survive. She says "I don't have any relatives left here anymore. I'm going to take the buyout. I'm 70 years old. I have two houses still standing and the one house, which is totally gone. I'm starting over again. It's like the storm wiped out my entire previous history and it's like being reborn." They are unknown on the timing of rebuilding the area. Not many people live their now, a woman rented a place next to her destroyed home, one man lives in a trailer. Other families live in taller, rebuilt homes. The rest of the buildings have either been demolished or are completely empty. Most families are trying to do the most for their communities by helping out neighbors, friends, and families. They say that building the home is easy compared to losing all the amazing memories that were destroyed. People are saying that they won't rebuild in a different location but that they will stay and show that they aren't leaving until someone begins to care and help. Many families feel as though no one is caring enough. Jean Laurie says  "We need attention. We need to get everybody around here to see what's really going on. This is true life. This is real stuff that's going on. They have to walk a mile in our shoes. They're not." The residents are feeling ignored,  unappreciated, and forgotten. In this situation people just need someone to be there for them and help them through their time of loss.

Government insane shutdown fund

The economy may have gotten away with the economic catastrophe by raising debt and opening the government, but it didn’t hide the political debacle. The main question of the situation is how much the government shutdown will cost the economy?

According to an estimate from Standard & Poor’s, it will cost about $24 billion dollars. The financial services company said the shutdown, which ended with a deal late Wednesday night after 16 days, took $24 billion out of the U.S. economy, and reduced projected fourth-quarter GDP growth from 3 percent to 2.4 percent. The following are some of the economic costs:

About $3.1 billion in lost government services, according to the research firm HIS, $152 million per day in lost travel spending, according to the U.S. Travel Association, $76 million per day lost because of National Parks being shut down, according to the National Park Service, $217 million per day in lost federal and contractor wages in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area alone. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers bore the economic brunt of the shutdown. Federal workers will receive back-pay under the deal, but contractors will probably not get their lost wages. The stall in cash-flow could affect spending during the holiday shopping season. But small businesses also suffered from frozen government contracts and stalled business loans. Tourism suffered from closed national parks, and military families had to cope without childcare and other services.

Luckily, the government is beginning to figure this entire thing out. Across the country, the work and play of daily life, stalled for more than two weeks, resumed at federal offices, public parks, research projects and community programs. Museums opened their doors. Federal money for preschool programs started flowing again. Scientists at the South Pole began ramping up their work.

The government is now trying out how to solve the tragedy across America, for now they are enjoying the fact that businesses are able to make money again, “We had a lot of vandalism of infrastructure,” Bonnie Clarfield, a supervisory park ranger says. “People were frustrated, and they were taking it out on the rangers. We were doing our jobs, and they were taking it out on the messengers. I feel great today. No one’s been mad at me.”

            Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou has taken over the presidential duties while President Fernandez, 60, recovers from surgery. President Fernandez was diagnosed with a brain hematoma after hitting her head back in August. Fernandez was released from the hospital on Sunday, October 13, just five days after the surgery, but is on strict rest for thirty days. She will be monitored closely during her recovery at the Olivos presidential house. The surgery comes at an important time with the midterm election on October 27^th being so close and the court battle with Argentina’s holdout creditors. President Fernandez was campaigning when she became ill. The midterm election will determine whether her alliance will keep control of Congress during her last two years in power.  Argentine spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro says the president” is in an excellent mood. ”A subdural hematoma is a blood clot on the brain’s surface located beneath its outer covering of the dura. In people over 60, a brain injury can cause blood vessels to tear and blood to clot. Fernandez had her thyroid glands removed last year after being diagnosed with cancer.

Homeless, but not Hopeless

Larry Mainor, veteran in Atlanta, left the armed forces and spent years on the streets. He had no home, food, or money, but one thing he did have was drugs. He is not the only one though, Minor is one of hundreds of homeless veterans and other homeless people in Atlanta. No need to worry though, they are now being helped by an Atlanta initiative aimed towards getting people off the streets and in their own homes. The city has already found homes for over 700 people including Mainor. He says, “I just got sick and tired of living a life of drugs and alcohol.”

               According to a point- in- time count in January, there are 6,000 hopeless people live in metro Atlanta. Atlanta’s “Unsheltered No More” initiative is focused first and foremost on getting the homeless off the streets and then providing them with any services and other help they may need. Last year, the city partnered with the 100,000 Homes Campaign to try to house 100 people in 100 days, their goal was beaten with 131 homeless people sheltered. Many of the people housed though the city’s recent initiatives were found through a volunteer- driven homeless registry created in January. The registry serves to identify and prioritize the city’s most vulnerable citizens for housing.

               As for Mainor, he’s overcome his alcohol and drug addictions. He says "Instead of me trying to find some drugs and alcohol when I wake up in the morning-time, now when I wake up in the morning-time, I can think about the positive things in life.  It tells me that Larry is somebody now. It tells me that the last four years of trying to live a normal life is paying off." He is building off skills to be a cook in the military, Mainor recently graduated from Atlanta Technical College’s culinary arts program, where he also me his fiancée. The two are now making pkans to open a bakery and catering business.

                                              Tropical Disaster: Hurricane Ingrid

                                                              Tea Devereaux- 9/19/13

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24098184

                Fourteen confirmed deaths, 1,000 homes destroyed, twenty highways damaged, and much more, all from one storm. Hurricane Ingrid made landfall near the town of La Pesca in Tamaulipas on Monday. The boisterous winds and storm reaching a maximum of 55 km/h is said to dump as much as 38 centimeters (15 inches) of rain over parts of Eastern Mexico. Ingrid arrived one day after tropical storm Manuel hit Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Manuel was expected to dump up to 10 to 15 inches of rain over parts of Guerrero and Michoacan states, with maximums of 25 inches possible in some isolated areas. Rains of 5 to 10 inches were possible in the states of Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit. Authorities said the rains presented a dangerous threat in mountains, where flash floods and mudslides were possible.

 

The results of this calamity were disastrous. State oil company Pemex said it had evacuated three platforms off the coast of Tamaulipas and closed two dozen wells in the area. Cars have been drug away in fast- flowing floodwaters, airports have been closed, and more than 20,000 homes have lost power. Eleven people were confirmed to have died there and three more people were found dead in landlines in surrounding Guerrero state, even a truck crash on a slippery mountain highway drenched in rain. Government ministers have been dispatched to the most affected regions.  This baleful storm has affected many and is said to drop by Tuesday, lets hope that doesn't change.