The world buckled by storms and earthquakes

Yesterday, Hurricane Dean strengthened to level 5, beginning to devastate the coast of Mexico with wind gusts of over 250km / g and downpour. Thousands of tourists have to leave seaside resorts, seek refuge due to the rough seas.

The Mexican government has to shut down more than 400 oil and gas platforms, reducing 2.65 million barrels of crude oil a day. Mexican President Felipe Calderon had to shorten his trip to Canada to return to the emergency situation with tens of thousands of evacuees.

At the strongest level, equivalent to 2005 hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Dean reduced the intensity to level 3 when it landed on the Yucatan Peninsula, southwestern Mexico. Earlier the storm swept through many Caribbean islands, killing 12 people and causing great devastation.

Flooding washed away houses in North Korea - (Photo: AFP)

In China, Typhoon Sepat continues to penetrate the mainland, devastating localities, killing at least 33 people and leaving 14 missing. The local meteorological agency predicts the storm will continue to rage in Jiangxi province within two days.

The International Red Cross is calling on the international community to help the DPRK overcome its flood consequences. The situation is getting worse than Pyongyang's previous announcements. At least 220 people were killed or missing, 300,000 were evacuated, 46,580 houses were destroyed, about 11% of agricultural areas, equivalent to 450,000 tons of food, were lost. Floods and landslides also destroyed many bridges and roads, collapsing about 300 mines, blocking 43 railway traffic points. South Korea, the US, Australia, some UN agencies . announced emergency aid for food and essential goods to North Korea.

In the United States, more than 20 people in the Midwest and southern states died of floods. Many highways are closed and some localities have declared a state of emergency.

* An earthquake of 5.9 Richter scale shook Papua, Indonesia, early morning 21-8. Earlier, another 6.2 Richter earthquake occurred in North Sulawesi province. There is no information about damage yet. Besides the Karangetang earthquake, North Sulawesi, began spraying lava and hot air, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living in the vicinity.

SN