6 dead, 9 missing in tropical storm in Philippines Published on Oct 26, 2012

Published on Oct 26, 2012

The skyline of downtown Manila is shrouded in cloud and haze, brought on by Tropical storm Son-Tinh along Manila Bay on October 25, 2012. The tropical storm has left six people dead and nine missing in the Philippines and is heading toward Vietnam and southern China. -- PHOTO: AFP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A tropical storm has left six people dead and nine missing in the Philippines and is heading toward Vietnam and southern China.

Civil Defence chief Mr Benito Ramos says the fatalities include an 88-year-old woman who died of hypothermia and a 77-year-old man hit by a falling tree, both in the central Philippines.

More than 30,000 people stranded at seaports and airports were expected to resume their journeys after storm warnings were lifted on Friday and floodwaters began subsiding.

The Philippine weather bureau says Tropical Storm Son-Tinh entered the country early Wednesday. It was located about 440 kilometres west of northern Zambales province at noon on Friday, moving at 22 kilometres per hour. It had sustained maximum winds of 90 kph.

Hurricane Sandy kills 3 so far, heads to Bahamas

Published on Oct 25, 2012

The US-based National Hurricane Center said the storm was packing winds of up to 165 kmph as it moved north, near the top of the category two range on the five-rung Saffir-Simpson wind scale.

Forecasters predicted the storm would weaken somewhat over the next 48 hours. But Sandy remains a hurricane as it passes over the Bahamas, according to the NHC's 1500 GMT (11pm Singapore time) advisory.

Heavy rains and strong winds were already being felt in some areas of the archipelago on Thursday, with the full impact of the storm expected to start hitting within the next few hours, the Bahamian newspaper The Nassau Guardian reported.

All public schools and government offices were closed on Thursday as a precautionary measure, but emergency personnel remained on duty, the paper said.

Prime Minster Perry Christie warned residents on Wednesday to get ready for the storm, advising businesses, including banks, to stay shut through Friday, according to the Guardian.

"My government stands ready to assist residents who may be impacted in the projected areas. I impress upon you to secure yourselves and your property," he told the House of Assembly.

The hurricane plowed across Jamaica and Haiti on Wednesday, dumping heavy rains, downing power lines, and forcing hundreds of people to seek emergency shelter.

Jamaican paper The Gleaner reported a 74-year-old person was killed when a boulder rolled onto a house, while in Haiti, a woman drowned trying to cross a swollen river in Camp-Perrin and another died in the small town of Coteaux, a regional senator told AFP.

Jamaica's electricity provider said some 70 per cent of its customers were without power due to the high winds and torrential rain, and police had ordered a 48-hour curfew in an effort to deter looters.

Haiti was on "red alert" with all schools closed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the storm moved away from Cuba on Thursday morning, with no immediate reports of loss of life.

The hurricane also brought rough weather to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where terror suspects are held.

The Pentagon said a preliminary hearing at Guantanamo involving the alleged Al-Qaeda mastermind of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 was delayed until Thursday due to the storm.The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov 30.

US base in Guantanamo cleans up after hurricane

Published on Oct 26, 2012

The storm knocked out power to much of the base, damaged roofs and windows on some of the older buildings and damaged a marina and tore several small, private recreational boats loose from their moorings. There were no injuries, said Kelly Wirfel, a spokeswoman for the base, which has a population of about 5,500.

The storm also forced the cancellation of the final day of what was supposed to be a three-day hearing on pretrial motions involving the Guantanamo prisoner who is charged with orchestrating the 2000 attack on the US Navy destroyer USS Cole. The hearing is tentatively scheduled to resume in December.

There was no damage to the prison buildings that hold 166 prisoners, said Navy Capt. Robert Durand, a spokesman for the detention center.

Earthquake hits southern Italy, hospital evacuated

Published on Oct 26, 2012

People who were evacuated from the hospital wait in a rescue center of Mormanno, southern Italy, after a earthquake early on Oct 26, 2012. An elderly man died of a heart attack when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit the southern Italian province of Cosenza early on Friday, also forcing the evacuation of a local hospital. -- PHOTO: AFP

ROME (REUTERS) - A magnitude 5 earthquake struck north of Cosenza in southern Italy early on Friday and a hospital was evacuated after cracks were found in its structure.

The quake hit at five minutes past midnight about 6.3 km underground, north of Cosenza in the Pollino mountains area on the border of the southern regions of Calabria and Basilicata. At least 14 other tremors followed the initial earthquake.

A hospital in the small town of Mormanno was evacuated as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported, an Italian police official said.

Italian news agencies reported scenes of panic in the hospital and said many inhabitants of Mormanno and surrounding towns had come out in the streets. Police and fire fighters are surveying the area for further damage, officials said.

Elderly man dies as earthquake hits southern Italy

Published on Oct 26, 2012

The 84-year-old victim suffered heart failure when the quake struck the province of Cosenza and was dead before the emergency services could reach him.

No injuries have been reported but several buildings have been damaged. A local hospital was also evacuated and schools closed as a precautionary measure. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake, with a 5.3 magnitude, at a depth of 3.8 kms, had its epicentre six kilometres south east of Mormanno town in the Calabria region.

"Some plaster fell, a crack appeared in the stairway, we came down in a panic to the streets using our mobile phones for light," Mormanno bed-and-breakfast owner Giuseppina Capalbi told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. Many homes in the town centre suffered damage and police said it would take some hours to evaluate the scale of the problem, as local officials decided to close schools.

"There was a lot of panic, but happily there are no injured," Mormanno mayor Guglielmo Armentano told Ansa.

"In our historic centre, there are some damaged buildings. As a precaution we have evacuated the hospital," he added.