Humanitarian aid flown in to “Action Against Hunger”, Dubai

Vital equipment to support NGO’s worldwide programmes
Cargo to arrive in A380 on the way to the Dubai airshow

An Airbus A380 arriving for the Dubai Airshow will carry with it eight tonnes of humanitarian aid. The delivery, facilitated by the Airbus Corporate Foundation, a non-commercial arm of the leading aircraft manufacturer, and its partners, will boost crucial stocks at Action Against Hunger’s hub in the emirate – strategically located to serve a global effort.


Founded in France in 1979, Action Against Hunger is recognised as one of the most important humanitarian organisations combating hunger and malnutrition worldwide. It is an issue that affects approximately one billion people across the globe, with most lacking access to clean water leading to disease and malnutrition, and remains the largest single contributor to child mortality. Today’s delivery of water purification equipment, more than 50 cubic metres, the equivalent of two 20’ standard sea freight containers, to the non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) Dubai base is central to its efforts.

Tom Enders, Head of the Airbus Corporate Foundation and President and CEO of Airbus, said: “Thanks to all our partners, the Airbus Corporate Foundation has been able to support Action Against Hunger by transporting vital emergency sanitation equipment to one of the key storage hubs. This is a great example of how aviation, being a key enabler of global economic and social development and an essential resource for humanitarian efforts, can help in a very tangible way. We hope this to be the start of a long-term partnership between both our organisations.”

Action Against Hunger is increasing stocks at its Dubai base to capitalise on the emirate’s strategic location from which to serve a coordinated global effort in response to emergency situations elsewhere in the world. The non-profit, non-religious organisation has established an international network to deliver life-saving programmes in some 45 countries, specialising in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster and chronic food insecurity. A primary concern of these projects is to facilitate the provision of – and access to – safe water through programmes that currently reach four million people each year.

Erland Egiziano, Logistics Director Action Against Hunger, said: “More than one billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. These issues are the root cause of many infections that lead to sickness and ultimately malnutrition and are responsible for 2.2 million preventable deaths each year – mostly among children. In our efforts to eliminate hunger, clean water is as essential as food. The equipment being delivered today by the Airbus Corporate Foundation is vital in restoring dignity, self-sufficiency and independence for vulnerable communities and saving the lives of children and their families throughout the world.”

The Airbus Corporate Foundation was established in December 2008 to support humanitarian causes through good will flights, youth development in the communities in which it operates, and environmental issues in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Notes to editors
About the Airbus Corporate Foundation

Airbus has established the Airbus Corporate Foundation aimed at facilitating charitable activities worldwide under one roof within an international network of employees, associations and international organizations. The Airbus Corporate Foundation started its operation on 1st December, 2008 with Airbus president and CEO Tom Enders being appointed President of its Board of Directors.

Social responsibility coupled with a greater responsibility to take care of the environment has been at the heart of the Airbus business activities for a long time. Starting off with a budget of 2,5 million euros, the ACF focuses its support on the three themes of humanitarian and community support, youth development and the environment.

More information on the Airbus Corporate Foundation can be found at www.airbus.com
About Action Against Hunger

More information on Action against Hunger can be found at www.actioncontrelafaim.org/english/

Manheim Asia Pacific Wins “Service Provider of the Year” at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards

Manheim Asia Pacific has been awarded “Service Provider of the Year” at the prestigious Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2009.

The award was accepted by Simon Moran, Vice President of Manheim Asia Pacific.

“The Asia Insurance Review is the regions preeminent publication and trusted journal of the Insurance community and we are honoured and delighted to win this prestigious award. It is an outstanding recognition for the company which commenced operations in Thailand in 2001. Since then, we have worked hard to set new standards for service levels in the industry and the award is fantastic recognition of our success. I would like to thank all our staff for their professionalism and dedication to customer service excellence that has made this achievement possible”.

Manheim Asia Pacific was selected from a number of high profile companies competing for the honour of receiving the award. Introducing a new standard for auto insurers’ resale of salvage units in Thailand, the firm has successfully reduced losses for insurers and was recognised for making an outstanding contribution for insurers across Thailand.

Manheim has responded to the needs of the market it serves by providing a dedicated salvage auction for the resale of accident- damaged vehicles. Finely-tuned marketing and a thorough understanding of parts, wrecking and repair markets have led to a significant reduction in losses for the insurer, the judging panel noted.

Around 70% of insurers in Thailand now use Manheim Thailand for their resale of salvage units. Direct sales of salvage units to a limited number of buyers via methods such as tender, lucky draw, and private and contractual agreements are in the process of being dismantled.

By introducing these services, Manheim has reset the industry pricing structure for the resale of salvage in Thailand. Many buyers were excluded from previous sales methods due to the size and dominating nature of some wholesalers and parts wreckers. Insurers in Thailand were paying 30% pre-accident value for any vehicle deemed written off. With its implementation of remarketing systems, Manheim has delivered an average of 43% in 2008, and 42% year-to-date 2009. The initiative accounts for almost 100% growth in returns for insurers for the sale of accident-damaged vehicles.

Under the scheme, auction efficiency is upwards of 80% sold per event, with large crowds of buyers in attendance both at the auctions or online. Manheim offers flexibility for sellers through the availability of online sales channels for vehicles in remote locations where transportation costs may outweigh asset value.

Funds are collected by Manheim in three business days and paid to insurers in four working days. Coupled with savings from land and storage costs and decreased theft of parts due to differing standards of security, Manheim has made an outstanding contribution for all insurers in the country.

Photo show: Simon Moran, Vice President of Manheim Asia Pacific (left) accepting the highly regarded Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2009 as Service Provider of the Year from Simon Machell, Chief Executive, Aviva Asia
About Manheim Asia Pacific

Manheim Asia Pacific is part of the Manheim group of companies and benefits from belonging to an organisation with over 60 years of remarketing experience. Manheim Asia Pacific can support customers in Thailand with all their used vehicle remarketing needs and can offer tailor made remarketing and logistical solutions.

Manheim Asia Pacific offers a breadth of services, including transportation co-ordination, secure storage with 24/7 security, valuation prior to sale, national remarketing, voice auction and online sales, collection of proceeds, reconciliation of tax commitments to local authorities, remittance of funds for auto salvage in Thailand, results analysis and consulting, and disaster recovery services.

Globally Manheim has 135 operating locations in 19 countries and in 2009 will handle some twelve million vehicles facilitating transactions worth an estimated 60 billion dollars.
www.manheimthailand.com

Flood victims get royal relief

       Officials have distributed royal relief supplies to flood victims in severely drenched Yala as the province and its neighbours begin the process of recovery.
       Their Majesties the King and Queen have asked the Thai Red Cross Society to distribute food and other necessities to 75 households in tambon Taling Chan in Yala's Bannang Sata district, where five villagers have died during heavy flooding, Yala governor Krisada Boonrat said.
       A villager was also reported dead in Raman district, officials said.
       Bannang Sata is one of eight districts in Yala where 33,297 villagers have watched their neighbourhoods flood, a spokesman from Yala's flood response unit said.
       In Yala's Muang municipality, the water level in the Pattani River has gradually subsided since Saturday night, but it is still higher than its connecting canal Bae Moh, causing overflows in nearby communities, mayor Pongsak Yingchoncharoen said.
       Once the water level is lower than in Bae Moh, he said, a floodgate in the canal could function again and would help rapidly drain water from the inundated areas.
       In Narathiwat, the rain stopped two days ago, but villages and farmland in 13 districts remain under water.
       Officials expect the floods to recede soon if there is no more rain.
       There have been 114,235 affected villagers in these districts, according to Narathiwat's office of disaster prevention and mitigation.
       More than 20,000 rai of farmland and 126 roads have been damaged by the floods, officials said.
       Rescue workers yesterday retrieved the bodies of eight villagers in Si Sakhon district who had been killed by a mudslide during the rainfall on Friday.
       The province tried to drain water from flooded areas, but its work in some areas is causing problems for villagers who have fish farms.
       More than 300 households in Narathiwat's Muang municipality who raise grouper fish, locally known as pla kao ,in Kok Kian canal and the Bang Nara River have complained the fresh water has killed their fish.
       The problem has plunged many villagers into huge debt as they could not sell fish to pay their debts, said fish raiser Kariya Jeyi.
       In Trang, floods have gradually receded in some areas, but officials are still alert to possible mudslides and flash floods if rain, brought by the northeastern monsoon, hits the South again.

Magnificent seven

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.

A colossal quake "may hit Sumatra"

       A colossal earthquake may hit Indonesia's Sumatra island within 30 years, triggering a tsunami and making last month's deadly quake look tiny by comparison, a geologist has warned.
       Kerry Sieh, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said the next big quake would last more than six times as long as the 7.6 magnitude quake which struck western Sumatra on Sept 30,levelling the city of Padang.
       "We expect it will be about a magnitude 8.8, plus or minus 0.1," Mr Sieh, an American professor, said at a presentation on Wednesday at the Nanyang Technological University, where the observatory is located. He said last month's Sumatra quake lasted about 45 seconds.
       "This one will last about five minutes,"Mr Sieh said."The 7.6 is very, very small,minuscule compared to the great earthquakes."
       The official death toll reached 1,115 on Wednesday but many more are feared dead after villages were turned into mass graves. Around 100,000 houses are estimated to have been destroyed, leaving around 500,000 people homeless.
       Based on historical earthquake trends from analysis of coral specimens from the region, last month's quake was just a precursor, Mr Sieh said.
       Likening the pressures under the affected fault to a coiled spring, Mr Sieh said the recent quake "had really very little effect in terms of relieving the spring" which will unleash pent-up energy maybe within the next 30 years.
       "If you're a parent who has a child,you have to expect that child's going to experience that earthquake and the tsunami," he added. A massive tsunami hit Indonesia and other countries in the Indian Ocean rim in 2004, killing about 220,000 people.

Staying afloat

       Cars sink and pedestrians are marooned as the heaviest rains in two decades hit Bangkok
       The misery of traffic jams left Bangkok drivers wishing they could swap their cars for boats yesterday, as the capital's roads disappeared under water. The long and heavy downpour brought the biggest spike in rainwater levels for more than two decades.
       Bailing out
       After driving her husband to work along Srinakarin Road at 1.30pm, housewife Naphaphorn Chuenprasaeng witnessed one driver baling water from his brokendown car with a cup. "It was shocking to see the floodwaters so high. I saw dozens of breakdowns."
       "The journey from Bang Na to my home on Patthanakan 65 took two hours. Normally, it's only 30 minutes."
       Fon, a resident of the Thippawan community on Thepharak Road, said the flood level rose to 30 centimetres, forcing her to stay at home. The community was inundated from 7am until well into the afternoon.
       "The whole area looks like a canal. I had no customers at my restaurant as a result. In the past, floodwaters have subsided after a few hours - never before has the community been flooded for so long," Fon said.
       Never-ending journey
       Noon, a company employee in Bang Na district, said she left home in Lad Prao district for her office at 11.30am. "Usually, my commute by bus takes an hour and a half but it took almost four hours today. I've never seen floods as high in the three years of travelling to this office. In places the water was waist deep."
       She added that she witnessed pedestrians literally marooned on islands created by the rising waters.
       Students at Ramkhamhaeng University 2 had to hitch up skirts and trousers and paddle through kneedeep water to get to exam halls. At 1.30pm, the traffic around the university was gridlocked.
       Narong Airasubkunakorn, director of the city's Information Drainage Technology Department confirmed the rain had been the heaviest in 25 years. Other roads that suffered jams as a result were Sukhumvit, Rama 3, Rama 4, Rama 9, Phitsanulok, Lat Phrao, Ratchadaphisek, Ngarmwong wan and Vibhavadi and Rajdamnoen Avenue.

STRUGGLE TO REACH LANDSLIDE SURVIVORS

       Search and rescue teams yesterday struggled to reach areas of the northern Philippines cut off by storm-triggered landslides and flooding that have left more than 600 people dead, officials said.
       In the heavily-damaged northern province of Pangasinan, manty towns remained under water while landslides had virtually cut off mountainous communities from rescuers, disaster relief officials said.
       Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the government had sent tonnes of food, medicines and clothes to a military base in the north but delivery to affected communities was slow.
       "There is a significant number of people affected," she said. "Our problem is getting to them."
       She said helicopters have been dropping food packs in Pangasinan, a province of 2.5 million that has been submerged in deep waters for the past three days.
       Four US military helicopters were due to airlift 10 tonnes of food to Baguio, a popular mountain resort that has been isolated after deadly landslides triggered by tropical storm Parma, spokesman Captain Jorge Escatell said. "It's going to be an allday mission... we are trying to get some help out there," he said.
       There have given varying reports of casualties, but the police in the Cordillera Administrative Region, which includes Baguio and several provinces hit with deadly landslides, said the death toll there alone climbed to 275 as more bodies were dug up from landslides yesterday.
       The National Disaster Coordinating Council in Manila however placed the official toll at 193 from Parma, which finally blew out into the South China Sea late on Friday after pummelling northern Luzon for a week. Altogether the death toll from Parma and tropical storm Ketsana, which killed 337 in Manila and surrounding areas, now stands at over 636, with fears the toll could rise, officials said.
       Ketsana triggered the worst follding in Manila and nearby areas in four decades on September 26, and many areas still remain follded two weeks later. Both storms affected over six million people, with over 300,000 people remaining in evacuation camps.

Philippine workers rush to clear mountain roads

       Rescuers dug out six survivors and more bodies buried under landslides that killed at least 225 people in the storm-soaked northern Philippines, as workers rushed yesterday to clear mountain roads to aid relief efforts.
       US military helicopters were on standby to help the Philippine air force deliver aid to areas cut off by road as flooded highways hampered the search for people trapped in houses buried by mud. Several choppers flew over areas yesterday where US troops planned to conduct medical missions and deliver supplies.
       The rain-triggered landslides late on Thursday and early Friday were the latest natural disaster to hit the Philippines,bringing to more than 600 the total death toll of back-to-back storms that began pummelling the main island of Luzon on Sept 26, causing the worst flooding in more than 40 years.
       Rescue operations were centred on two vast areas - the severely flooded Pangasinan province northwest of Manila, and a swath covering the worst landslide-hit provinces of Benguet,Mountain Province and the resort city of Baguio, where most deaths occurred.
       A 17-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble in his home in Baguio late on Friday, and five others were pulled out alive in Mountain Province, said regional civil defence official Olive Luces.
       Yesterday, only more bodies were pulled from under tons of mud and rocks,but Ms Luces said,"We are hopeful that we will get more people alive."
       She said local officials reported 152 bodies have so far been recovered in Benguet and 23 in Mountain Province in the country's Cordillera region on the main Philippine island of Luzon after landslides. She corrected an earlier figure of 60 bodies recovered in Baguio city,saying officials reported only 50 had been found.
       Aside from the 197 who died in the landslides late on Thursday and early Friday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said 51 people from eight other provinces also were killed after Typhoon Parma made landfall on Oct 3,weakened into a tropical depression and dumped more rain as it lingered over the northern region for about 10 days.
       A week earlier, Tropical Storm Ketsana left 337 people dead in the worst floods to hit Manila and nearby provinces in four decades.
       The sun was peeking through the clouds over Baguio and volunteers, mostly miners, were taking advantage of the relatively good weather to step up the search for survivors, Ms Luces said. She also called on local communities to help clear debris blocking the roads.
       Army engineers were trying to remove mounds of mud and boulders on one road to Baguio. The regional centre has been isolated since Thursday's landslides.The Public Works Department was clearing debris on another highway to the city, but a 25-metre section of that mountain road had been washed away, cutting off all traffic, she said.
       Mayor Artemio Galwan of La Trinidad township in Benguet province said 78 bodies have been recovered there. He appealed for shovels and other tools as well as portable spotlights to allow volunteers to continue digging at night.

RUN-OFF AND HIGH SEAS THREATEN CHAO PHYA LEVELS

       The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is keeping watch on twin flood threats to the Chao Phya River - approaching run-off from flooding in the North and, on October 18-20, heavy inflows of sea water, which could lift river levels by up to 2.20 metres.
       BMA governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra led city executives yesterday on an inspection of the Chao Phya at Ratchawong pier and Klong Bangkok Noi.
       They found the city's water level had already risen by 20cm-30cm, following the release of 2,500 cubic metres of water from the Chao Phya dam. Records showed the river had risen by 1.8 metres at Memorial Bridge.
       Sukhumbhand warned that from October 18 to 20 there would be massive inflows of sea water to the river, especially on Tuesday October 20, which will see the highest inflows. However the river's flood level should not exceed 2.2m.
       The BMA has piled up 4.2 million sandbags to form seven-kilometre-long flood barriers on both sides of the river where permanent flood barriers are not yet built - but should be in place by late next year.
       Local officials have been ordered to be ready to help the 28 communities in nine districts that are most at risk. The public can call for flood information on the BMA hotline 1555 around the clock, he said.
       In Angthong, where floods affected 300 families and 2,000 rai of farmlands in Muang and Pa Moke districts, residents of Muang district's tambon Ban Id have gone fishing, following news that some Pho Thong district residents caught two giant 100-kilogram catfish on Wednesday night.
       In Pa Moke district, flood water had risen 11cm since Wednesday and the Chao Phya River there was 50cm above its banks. In Muang district it was 7.20m deep and 30cm below the river banks.
       The Chao Phya dam released 2,092 cubic metres of water per second yesterday, slightly less than the day before. The local irrigation authority has opened the sludge gate to Klong Bang Kaew, causing the canal to overflow and cover the Asia Highway in 80cm-deep water.
       Up north, the weather on top of Ang Khang and Inthanon mountain in Chiang Mai is getting cooler. The lowest temperature was between 12 and 15 degrees Celsius.

Padang calls off search for survivors

       The search for survivors was called off yesterday in the earthquake-hit capital of Indonesia's West Sumatra province, as people stopped aid convoys and took supplies by force in desperation due to the scarcity of help, officials and aid workers said.
       "The search has been halted in Padang, but in other areas it is continuing," said Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the National Agency for Disaster Management. Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, is one of six districts badly hit by the earthquake.
       Hotels, schools, and government buildings were among the structures damaged by the quake.
       Mr Kardono said workers in Padang had been ordered to clear the rubble of collapsed buildings, where many were believed trapped, and collect bodies.
       Meanwhile, desperate survivors in Padang Pariaman, a district near the provincial capital hard hit by the quake,hijacked aid convoys and took away supplies, a doctor working in the area, Ridwan Gustiana, said.
       "There's a lot of anger among survivors because they have not received any assistance," said the doctor, who worked with the Ibu Foundation aid group.
       Meanwhile, health officials are racing to prevent outbreaks of disease in quakeaffected areas.
       Heavy rain soaked quake-hit areas yesterday morning, wiping dust from the air but bringing more misery to those whose homes were destroyed in last week's 7.6-magnitude earthquake.
       The head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre, Rustam Pakaya, estimated the death toll at more than 1,200.
       "Our health officials are monitoring closely the health of the survivors and the environmental conditions," he said.
       "We have sprayed disinfectants in quake-affected areas to prevent the spread of diseases."
       Many victims were believed to be still trapped under collapsed buildings or buried by landslides triggered by the earthquake, Mr Pakaya said, adding the Health Ministry had sent shipments of 13 tons of baby food in the form of biscuits and 1,000 body bags.

Govt struggles to re-open schools after deadly floods

       Efforts to open schools in Manila for the first time since deadly floods descended into chaos yesterday,with some remaining under water and others occupied by homeless survivors with nowhere else to go.
       The situation at schools in the worsthit parts of the Philippine capital reflected wider problems in the government's response to the disaster, nine days after the heaviest rains in more than 40 years killed nearly 300 people.
       As students were turned away from schools, mountains of debris were festering around Manila, and more than 300,000 people remained in evacuation centres. One part of the city's outskirts was expected to be submerged into the new year.
       "We were instructed to resume classes today but look around, the situation will likely not allow it," said Eliza Servesa,assistant principal at H. Bautista Elementary School in suburban Marikina.
       Only three students in mismatched uniforms and carrying books salvaged from the floods arrived for morning classes, whereas before the disaster the school bustled with 3,500 children.
       Marikina was hit hard by tropical storm Ketsana, which produced flood waters that rose 6m high and washed away entire neighbourhoods along river banks.Nearly 3.9 million people were affected.In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the government closed all schools in Manila for one week and allowed many of them to become makeshift evacuation centres for people whose homes were flooded or destroyed.
       Late last week, almost 700,000 people were seeking refuge in such shelters.The government said yesterday that 319,000 people in these shelters still had nowhere else to go.
       At the H. Bautista Elementary School,many of the nearly 5,000 people who initially sheltered there had already left,but between 300 and 500 remained.
       "We can't force them to leave. That is against humanitarian principles," Ms Servesa said.
       At the nearby Santa Elena High School,only about 20% of its 5,000 students showed up. Principal Elizalde Cena sent them home at midday as teaching was impossible in the mud-filled classrooms.
       "All our records were lost. I have yet to begin doing a proper accounting of my students," Ms Cena said.
       Pateros mayor Joey Medina has ordered its 10 public schools to resume classes tomorrow,"to give our school and local government officials sufficient time to clean up and ensure the safety of the returning students".

SLUM DWELLERS WILL BEAR THE BRUNT OF NATURE'S WRATH

       YESTERDAY I met with a group of nearly 2,000 slum dwellers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Burma, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Thailand. They came to the United Nations Escap Building to present me with a petition demanding that their right to shelter be respected.
       This group represents just some of the 500 million slum dwellers who live in Asia and the Pacific and comprise 40 per cent of all who live in our region's cities. If present trends continue in the next decade, another 230 million people will be forced to live in conditions that lack access to adequate shelter, sanitation services and clean water.
       The poor also often have no choice but to live on marginal lands, prone to flooding and landslides, in flimsy shelters and overcrowded settlements that expose them to other hazards. Of the thousands being reported dead or missing following last week's series of disasters, it should come as no surprise that many will be the poor and vulnerable from these types of settlements.
       It is almost unprecedented for any region to experience so many disasters over such a short period of time. From the Philippines - which was hit by the one-two punch of Typhoon Ketsana and Typhoon Parma - and the flooding in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, to the earthquakes that rocked Indonesia and The tsunami that struck the Samoas and Tonga, the resulting loss of lives, casualties and destruction to property is heartbreaking.
       These disasters are a brutal reminder that climate change will only increase the magnitude and frequency of weather-related disasters. Just this year, India has been suffering its worst drought in nearly 40 years, while in August, Taiwan lost nearly 800 people to Typhoon Morakot. Asia and the Pacific overall has experienced over 80 per cent of the global casualties related to extreme weather events over the past seven years. We can only expect these types of disasters to get worse if meaningful action on climate change is not taken.
       This connection between the plight of slum dwellers and the effects of climate change was readily apparent to another group yesterday. Just prior to the slum dwellers' march, hundreds of people concerned about climate change assembled in front of the United Nations Escap Building as negotiators continued to seek consensus on sealing a deal in Copenhagen that takes into account the concerns of developing countries. These marchers exchanged flags with members of the Four Regions Slum Network in a symbolic gesture meant to highlight the link between the two issues.
       Watching these demonstrators only reinforced in me the urgency with which we need tackle these two inextricably linked challenges - overcoming poverty and combating climate change - facing most developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Failure to tackle one will undermine the efforts to deal with the other. So while not all of the natural disasters of the last week can be linked to climate change, they do underscore the need for an agreement that is both environmentally friendly and development oriented.
       The world is at a historical turning point and must respond appropriately. Firstly, we must not roll back the gains made in the fight against climate change and erode the progress achieved through the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Consensus.
       Secondly, the recent spate of calamities reminds us that Asia and the Pacific is the world's disaster hot spot. A person living in the region is four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than someone living in Africa, and 25 times more likely than someone living in Europe or North America. We need to improve our region's disaster preparedness. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested in risks associated with disaster, four to seven dollars can be saved. Investing in disaster risk reduction and prevention measures is not only a moral imperative, it is financially smart.
       The poor and vulnerable will always be the ones who suffer most in disasters. Only 1 in 5 people in our region have access to comprehensive healthcare coverage, posing an obstacle to recovery in the aftermath of such tragedies. But the poor are not just victims. They can also be agents of change if development is to be inclusive and sustainable. There are several wonderful examples in Asia and the Pacific that show when the poor are mobilised and given the opportunity and support, they can change not only their own destiny, but also our cities, towns, and indeed, our societies, to become more sustainable and resilient.
       The climate-change talks must result in meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a range of adaptation measures that assist the poor and vulnerable. They must include provisions for disaster risk reduction and prevention measures that help reduce, and in some cases avoid, the tragic loss of life and property we are witnessing. Officials in Indonesia were quoted as saying they lacked the necessary heavy equipment to dig through the rubble and recover buried victims. As a result, the hopes of those missing loved ones diminishes with each passing day and the death toll rises.
       It is clear that developing countries do not have the capacity or resources to respond to the challenges of climate change on their own. They will need access to new technologies, funding and skill development from the international community if they are to both mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change. Yet Mother Nature is not waiting for a bureaucratic resolution, and she does not accept compromises. We must set aside our differences if an agreement is to be reached this December in Copenhagen that protects the ecosystems upon which all our lives depend. The march of our region's slum dwellers is a vivid reminder of who will be the first to suffer if we do not act now.

INDONESIA CALLS OFF QUAKE RESCUE EFFORT

       Indonesia called off the search for survivors in the quak-hit city of Padang yesterday as officials sought to contain the risk of disease caused by thousands of trapped bodies.
       Local officials and foreign specialists who rushed to Indonesia's Sumatra isalnd after Wednesday's devastating 7.6-magnitude earth-quake said the aid effort had swithced to relief and rebuilding.
       The United Nations has said that at least 1,100 people were killed in the disaster, but estimates of the final toll range up to 5,000.
       "The effort to find survivors in Padang was stopped last night but they are still going on outside Padang," Indonesian disaster management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said.
       Swiss Rescue spokesman Michel Mercier said that his 115-strongteam was packing up and preparing to go home.
       "Nobody from the teams weknow found a survivor, unfortunately. We recovered six bodies," he said.
       Foreign aid and emergency teams continued to pour into Padang, bringing tonnes of vital medical supplies, drinking water and food for the tens of thousands of people made homeless by the quake.
       rubbe in the city of 1 million people on the west coast of Sumatra island was being scoured for the vast number of bodies interred in the wreckage.
       Police helicopter pilots said that driving rain was hampering missions to ferry supplies and medical equipment to remote villages that have been obliterated by landslides.
       Health officials said they were racing against time to prevent outbreaks of disease cause by decomposing bodies and a lack of clean water.
       "There is a concern that dirty water supplies can spread skin disease and other kinds of diseases. Flies on dead bodies can also spred bacteria to people," Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya said.
       Most buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed, including hospitals and schools.
       There were signs yesterday that the city was taking its first tentative steps on the long path to recovery.
       Restaurants were reopening and teachers said they were trying to resume classes. "I have been ordered by the governor to open the school again today, but only 60 students came out of 800," Padang teacher Karmila Suryani said.

4m sandbags ready for Bangkok "Floods"

       Four million sandbags have been prepared as temporary embankment walls to cope with coming floods in Bangkok at the peak of this month's wet season, a deputy Bangkok governor said yesterday.
       The sandbags will be utilised to prevent flooding at 15 locations most prone to flash foods, said Phornthep Techapaiboon. Flood drainage operations and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's BEST rapid-response teams are also on standby to help with emergency flooding, he added.
       Water level in canals have been kept at a low level to cope with high rainwater volume, he said. "We expect the drainage of extra water flowing to the Chao Phya River and to the Gulf of Thailand estuary will be fast enough to cope with the rainwater volume," he added.
       The 15 roads and locations at greatest risk of flash floods are Chan, Sri Ayutthaya, Soi Sukhumvit 39, 49, 66 and 103, Lat Phrao, Nawamin, Ratchaphisek road at Robinson mall and at Lat Phrao intersection, Phetchaburi road from Banthad Thong to Ratchathewi roads, Nikhom Makkasan, Rama VI, Phetkasem, Yen Arkas, Sri Nakharin and Sanam Chai-Maha Raj road.
       The water catchment areas are still capable of holding another 50 per cent of the current maximum capacity. If the maximum rainwater volume reaches 1,800 mm, from the current rate at 1,600, it will be a record for the past 30 years, said Phornthep.

400,000 HIT BY FLOODS CAUSED BY KETSANA

       Almost 400,000 people in 16 provinces were affected by flooding and torrential rain caused by the storm Ketsana, according to a public safety report released yesterday.
       In addition to one death reported at an unknown location, there had also been an outbreak of "pink eye" among about 50 residents out of some 300 households in Kalasin's Muang district. The disease had also spread to cattle.
       But village head Praphas Phoowongkot said the 'pink eye' had been contained after an inspection by public health officials, who gave medication to those affected. Children were being kept away from adults to reduce the risk of the disease spreading.
       A report released by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said 394,752 people in 105,155 households in 87 districts in 16 provinces had been hit by flooding. Some 103 homes, 574 roads, 22 bridges and 133,253 rai of farmland had been damaged.
       The situation has returned to normal in five provinces: Ranong, Nakhon Sawan, Lop Buri, Loei and Phetchabun.
       The latest province hit by Ketsana was Kalasin, with 19,462 rai of farmland and 1,032 roads inundated, provincial governor Wiroj Jiwarangsan said.
       Water levels at Lam Patao Dam and 18 other reservoirs were at about 90 per cent capacity but still safe, he said, adding that flooding should subside within two weeks if there was no more heavy rain.
       In Tak, survival kits were being readied for 7,000 people in 13 villages in Mae Ramat district, after a bridge that links them to the outside world was cut by a flood. People could manage on existing supplies for another two days, district chief Phoomichai Taphankaew said.
       A makeshift suspension bridge was being built to give temporary access or to evacuate people if their situation got worse, he said.

Flooded homes get relief

       Foundations under royal patronage have been handing out emergency relief bags to victims of floods in downtown Chaiyaphum.
       The bags were given to 2,000 families most affected by the floods in the northeastern province.
       The bags were donated by the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation under His Majesty the King's patronage and the Princess Pa Foundation under Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha.
       The floods were caused by run-off from the Lam Pathao reservoir in Kaeng Khro district, and are now receding after inundating downtown areas for the past few days.
       Chaiyaphum's city mayor, Banyong Kiatkongchoochai, yesterday handed out the bags on behalf of the foundations.
       The council worked pumps around the clock to drain water from the city centre. Council staff are on the lookout for crocodiles which escaped from flooded farms.
       In the eastern province of Rayong,persistent heavy rain at the weekend has triggered a mudslide which damaged communities around Wat Nong Wa in tambon Makhamkoo of Nikhom Phatthana district. Residents said the mudslide appeared to have weakened the foundations of the temple wall, which they feared could collapse on to nearby homes.

Quakes, volcanoes, tsunamis on way

       Earthquakes,volcanic eruptions, giant landslides and tsunamis may become more frequent as global warming changes the Earth's crust,scientists said on Wednesday.
       Climate-linked geological changes may also trigger "methane burps", the release of a potent greenhouse gas, currently stored in solid form under melting permafrost and the seabed, in quantities greater than all the carbon dioxide (CO
       2)in our air today.
       "Climate change doesn't just affect the atmosphere and the oceans but the Earth's crust as well. The whole Earth is an interactive system," Professor Bill McGuire of University College London said at the first major conference of scientists researching the changing climate's effects on geological hazards.
       "In the political community people are almost completely unaware of any geological aspects to climate change."
       The vulcanologists, seismologists,glaciologists, climatologists and landslide experts at the meeting have looked to the past to predict future changes, particularly to climate upheaval at the end of the last ice age 12,000 years ago.
       "When the ice is lost, the Earth's crust bounces back up again and that triggers earthquakes, which trigger submarine landslides, which cause tsunamis," said Mr McGuire, who organised the threeday conference.
       David Pyle of Oxford University said small changes in the mass of the Earth's surface seem to affect volcanic activity in general, not just in places where ice receded after a cold spell. Weather patterns also seem to affect volcanic activity - not just the other way round,he told the conference. Behind him was a slide of a dazzlingly bright orange paint-ing,London Sunset After Krakatau,1883 - referring to a huge Asian volcanic eruption whose effects were seen and felt around the world.
       Volcanoes can spew vast amounts of ash, sulphur, carbon dioxide and water into the upper atmosphere, reflecting sunlight and sometimes cooling the Earth for a couple of years.
       But too many eruptions, too close together, may have the opposite effect and quicken global warming, said US vulcanologist Peter Ward.
       "Prior to man, the most abrupt climate change was initiated by volcanoes, but now man has taken over. Understanding why and how volcanoes did it will help man figure out what to do," he said.
       Speakers were careful to point out that many findings still amounted only to hypotheses, but said evidence appeared to be mounting that the world could be in for shocks on a vast scale.
       Tony Song of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California warned of the vast power of recently discovered "glacial earthquakes" in which glacial ice mass crashes downwards like an enormous landslide. In the West Antarctic, ice piled more than 1.5km above sea level is being undermined in places by water seeping in underneath.
       "Our experiments show that glacial earthquakes can generate far more powerful tsunamis than undersea earthquakes with similar magnitude,"said Mr Song."Several high-latitude regions, such as Chile, New Zealand and Canadian Newfoundland are particularly at risk." He said ice sheets appeared to be disintegrating much more rapidly than thought and said glacial earthquake tsunamis were "low-probability but highrisk". Mr McGuire said the possible geological hazards were alarming enough,but just one small part of a scary picture if man-made CO
       2emissions were not stabilised in around the next five years.
       "Added to all the rest of the mayhem and chaos, these things would just be the icing on the cake," he said.

African water disaster

       The only piece of furniture that survived the most recent flood in Fatou Dione's house is her bed. It's propped up on cinderblocks and hovers just above the water lapping at the walls of her bedroom.
       The water stands more than 30cm deep throughout her house. She shakes off her wet feet each time she climbs into her bed. To keep it dry, she tries to place her feet on the same spot so that only one corner of her mattress becomes moist.
       Torrential rains have lashed Africa's western coast for the past three months,killing 159 people and flooding the homes and businesses of over 600,000 others,according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs.
       They include the patients of one of Burkina Faso's largest hospitals who had to be carried out on gurneys after water invaded the wards. They include those living on the banks of a river in northern Niger, whose homes were swept away when a dike burst under the weight of the rain. And they also include tens of thousands of people like Dione whose homes took on a foot or less of water and whose ordeals are not a priority for the country's overwhelmed emergency response teams.
       While the rains have been extreme,people are also to blame, said Col Singhane Diagne, spokesman for the country's firefighters. The home where Dione lives should never have been built, he said.During the droughts of the 1970s, people began illegally building houses in the low-lying marshes that surround Dakar,the Senegalese capital. When the drought ended and the rains returned, these bowlshaped neighbourhoods began to flood.
       "Every year we pump the same houses.Not just once. Over and over. You pump the water out - and it comes right back.Like a boomerang," says Diagne."These people need to leave."
       Among the six countries where the flooding has been most severe - Senegal,Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Burkina Faso,Niger, and Ghana - the neighbourhoods most affected are the poor ones. Typically these communities are the result of urban sprawl, built without municipal approval,using unsafe materials. In Ouagadougou,the hard-hit capital of Burkina Faso,many of the flooded homes were made of nothing more than clay.
       In Senegal, the government has built a satellite community of around 150 homes outside the flood plain, but the homes are already nearly full. The UN estimates that just in Senegal,264,000 people have been affected by flooding.And although many families say their homes flood every year, they say that they do not have the money to move.
       As the rain continues to come down,families are waging individual battles with water. About 32km away from Fass Mbao, in the flooded suburb of Tivaouane,37-year-old Mansour Ndiaye tries to scoop water into a bucket using a large sponge. The courtyard to his family's home is a pool. He had managed to dry out the hallway of his family's home by the time the afternoon rain started."I'm doing the best I can," he said.
       His elderly neighbour, Assane Sock,had spent the day before carrying buckets out of his house. The water seeped back in overnight. He spends the afternoon looking for pieces of wood and stones to try to elevate his furniture and his Singer sewing machine. He's a tailor, he explained. And he can't sew if his clients' clothes are trailing in the water.
       "I live like a fish," he said."I eat in the water. I sleep in the water. And now I work in the water."
       Limited aid is being distributed to the most affected regions. The World Food Programme hopes to give out food rations to 125,000 people, including in Rosso, the small community on the banks of the Senegal River in southern Mauritania.
       The water was so deep in some neighbourhoods that people were forced to swim out.
       "I lost my entire house. All of my furniture. All of my things. We swam for 45 minutes to get out of the flooded area," said 54-year-old Marieme Fall in Rosso.
       Even as the aid begins to arrive, the rain continues to fall. On a recent evening in Fass Mbao,40-year-old Saliba Ndiaye was hurrying to get home. The duncoloured water on the main road came up to her hips. As she pushed her way through, it started to pour again. She was soaked by the time she pushed open the door to her house, where her six young children were waiting. Unlike her neighbours, her floors are dry, even though rain sprays in through a hole in the roof.
       She grabbed her baby and pulled him close, his dry body smack against her soaked, brown shirt. He nursed, oblivious to his wet mother."We've learned to live with the water," she said.

FLOODS SWEEP THROUGH NAN KILLING 4

       The "worst forest flood in 30 years" swept through Huai Mon Village in Nan's Muang district on Sunday night, isolating 128 households and killing four people.
       A flood victim's body was found yesterday in Si Sa Ket's Prang Ku district.
       Flood damage caused Huai Mon School to suspend classes.
       Local authorities helped evacuate some 1,000 residents to higher ground, transfer their possessions away from the floodwaters and provide them with drinking water. Anucha Salaisuthee, a villager in his 30s, said the flood came after two hours of downpours.
       The currents were so fast and strong that many had to run for their lives and couldn't move their belongings to safer places.
       "This is the worst forest flood in 30 years. I've never seen a flood like this before," he added.
       Another villager, Jintana Saelee, 19, said she thought the cause of the flood was the soil's inability to absorb water |due to pig farms and corn plantations.
       While authorities were assessing flood damage for a "disaster zone" declaration, Nan Disaster Prevention chief Thawat Petchwira said he urged officials to watch for more flooding around the clock as rain clouds still hung over the area.
       The body of Sakhon Kosilp, 21, who was washed away on Saturday at Huai Hong Rakam in Si Sa Ket's Prang Ku district, was found lodged in a tree.
       Si Sa Ket Governor Raphi Phongbuppakit reported that 5,315 residents of 10 villages in Tambon Khok Jan in Uthumporn Pisai district were affected by the flood, while 18 roads were damaged and six state offices and schools were forced to close temporarily.

Earthquake hits Venezuela, damaging homes

       A strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook major oil exporter Venezuela on Saturday, causing panic in the capital, Caracas, and injuring at least seven people when houses in the countryside collapsed.
       The quake, the strongest in the South American nation in years, hit at about 3.40pm local time. It knocked out power in several regions.
       The head of Venezuela's emergency services, Luis Diaz Curbelo, said the quake was felt across the country, but the northwestern state of Falcon was the hardest hit with seven people hurt and some buildings damaged. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was 36km north-northeast of Puerto Cabello,one of the nation's main oil ports. There was no damage to any oil installations,a source at the state oil company said.
       In Caracas several people were slightly hurt when thousands of shoppers stampeded out of one of the city's largest malls. In the countryside, the walls of some houses collapsed.
       Residents of apartment blocks gathered in public spaces in case of aftershocks, which were reported in some regions.

Taiwan PM quits over typhoon

       Taiwan's premier resigned yesterday amid strong criticism of the government's slow response to the most devastating storm to hit the island in 50 years, and the president immediately named a senior official from the ruling party to replace him.
       Liu Chao-shiuan said he was leaving office because his cabinet had completed the initial stage of rehabilitation work after Typhoon Morakot slammed into the island during Aug 8-9 and left an estimated 670 people dead.
       "I have completed my duties at this phase," said Mr Liu, who has held his post since Ma Ying-jeou became president in May 2008.
       Mr Liu's move sets the stage for the entire cabinet to resign. Mr Liu said that would happen on Thursday.
       Mr Ma named Nationalist Party secretary-general Wu Den-yih, 61, to replace Mr Liu.
       Mr Wu is a veteran lawmaker with a reputation as a skilled political manoeuvrer.He previously served eight years as mayor of Kaohsiung - Taiwan's second-largest city - and before that was chief executive of Nantou county,also in the south of the island.
       Mr Wu's nomination by the president does not require approval from Taiwan's legislature.
       Mr Wu said he will name new cabinet members in a few days after discussing the line-up with Mr Ma.
       "We will unite and strive with our best efforts to shoulder the difficult task
       ahead," he told reporters.
       Another former lawmaker Chu Li-lun,48, was named by Mr Ma as vice-premier.Mr Chu has served as chief executive of Taoyuan county in suburban Taipei since 2001.
       Presidential spokesman Wang Yu-chi said Mr Chu,who has a background in finance and business management, could oversee the island's economic development, which has been hard hit by the global financial crisis.
       Mr Wu, an elected official experienced in local politics, could complement Mr Ma, a legal expert by training who is often seen as being distant and aloof,said Shih Cheng-feng, a political scientist with National Dong Hwa University.
       "Wu could help ease mounting grievances about the rescue effort, but he might not implement bold reforms that could be seen as a threat to Ma,"Mr Shih said.
       Typhoon Morakot, which dumped one metre of rain in some locations,triggered massive flooding and mudslides in and around some 40 villages in southern Taiwan.
       Critics blamed the heavy casualties on government inefficiency, saying authorities should have ordered residents in the area to evacuate their homes long before the storm hit. The government has also come under criticism for rejecting initial offers of foreign aid and for failing to immediately deploy troops to help with rescue operations.
       Opinion polls in Morakot's wake showed support for Mr Ma and Mr Liu plunging to below 20%- a drop of 20-30 points in only a matter of months.Even Mr Ma's Nationalist allies demanded acabinet reshuffle,acknowledging overwhelming public unease with the government.

Deadly LA wildfire creeps deeper into forest

       The ferocious wildfire burning north of Los Angeles has turned into a creeping giant, steadily chewing through thick and dry brush on its eastern flank. Crews have reported good progress,but the blaze that has already claimed the lives of two firefighters was far from being fully contained.
       Investigators, meanwhile, were working to find the arsonist responsible for the huge wildfire that has burned through 624sq km of the Angeles National Forest.It was 42% contained on Friday.
       More than 76 homes and dozens of other structures have been destroyed.
       Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger offered a $100,000(3.4 million baht) reward last week for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprit.
       In the rugged terrain of the San Gabriel Wilderness, fire officials relied on aerial water drops to slow the flames and the backbreaking work of hand crews to build fire lines. While flames inched down steep canyons, crews defended a cluster of church camps and a bar along the Angeles Crest Highway.
       The weather forecast called for cooler temperatures and higher humidity.
       At least a dozen investigators are working to analyse clues found at a charred hillside, including incendiary material found there. Officials said the fire was arson, but were still trying to learn who was responsible and understand how it was set.
       "We are in the early stages, just beginning to put things together," said Los Angeles County sheriff Lieutenant Liam Gallagher, who is heading the murder investigation.
       "Firefighters losing their lives in the line of duty is an added incentive, but we work every case to the fullest," Lt Gallagher added.
       Near a large shade tree where crews get their twice daily briefings, firefighters set up a makeshift memorial for Captain Tedmund Hall and Specialist Arnaldo Quinones. The fallen firefighters had helped save about 60 members of an inmate fire crew as flames approached their camp.
       They set a backfire that allowed the rest of the group to reach safety. The pair died when their truck plunged 240m down a steep mountain road.
       Most wildfires are caused by human activity, and government statistics show that people were faulted for 5,208 wildfires in Southern California in 2008, the highest number since at least 2001.
       Between 2006 and 2008, Southern California was the only region of the US to see a significant jump in the number of wildfires blamed on people.
       Still, very few of the forest fires lead to criminal or civil cases. The US Forest Service recorded nearly 400 arson wildfires since 2005, records show.
       The number of firefighters assigned to the Station fire continued to grow to more than 5,244, and a mini-city sprung up at a park in the Lake View Terrace neighbourhood, complete with rows of showers, a mess hall that served firefighters 5,000-plus calorie meals each day and souvenir T-shirt vendors.
       The cost of fighting the fire was estimated at $37 million so far.

Earthquake kills dozens of Indonesians

       Rescue workers on Indonesia's Java island searched by hand yesterday for dozens of people trapped by a major 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 57, officials said.
       Police and soldiers were called in to help find people buried in their homes by earthquake-triggered landslides in a village in Cianjur district south of the capital Jakarta after the quake.
       Dozens of people were trapped under rubble, dirt and boulders in Cikangkareng village while over 5,000 people had been displaced by the quake, Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya said.
       Disaster management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said widespread damage in the lush, crowded area was hampering rescue efforts.
       "So far we are digging them out manually with hoes," Mr Kardono said. In the village, the quake caused landslides that stripped hillsides bare and buried homes.
       Police, rescue workers and residents used their bare hands and improvised tools to uncover the dirt-covered bodies of people and livestock from underneath piles of rocks and earth.
       "The village is in a valley and the landslide buried a dozen houses about 20m under. You can't see the roofs at all, everything is completely buried. The chance of anyone surviving is very, very small," Mr Kardono said.
       President Susilo Yudhoyono and top ministers travelled to the disaster site.
       "What's important now is being responsive to the emergency, to save lives and to bury those who died," Mr Yudhoyono was quoted as saying.
       Officials said the worst damage from the earthquake, which struck off the south coast of Java at around 3pm on Wednesday was in the districts of Cianjur,Garut and Tasikmalaya in West Java province. Mariani, a hospital worker in Tasikmalaya, said medics treated 43 people.
       "Two of them, a 43-year-old woman and a seven-year-old boy, died from serious head injuries after they were crushed under a collapsed wall. Their bodies were all covered with blood,"she said."The hospital floors shook so hard yesterday and patients and staff were shouting 'Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!' as we rushed to get all the bedridden patients out of the building."
       The quake was also felt strongly in Jakarta,200km from the epicentre, where panicked residents poured out of swaying office towers, shopping malls and homes as the tremors hit and at least one person was killed.
       Disaster agency official Maman Susanto said around 18,000 buildings were damaged in the quake, which was also felt in other Indonesian islands,including Bali and Sumatra.
       Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his country had offered assistance to neighbouring Indonesia to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake.
       The West Java provincial administration promised to allocate 90 billion rupiah (310 million baht) of recovery aid,according to the Koran Tempo newspaper, while Mr Yudhoyono promised an additional five billion rupiah.
       Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency issued a tsunami warning after the quake but cancelled it when it became clear there was no danger.
       Agency technical chief Suharjono said aftershocks were continuing but were unlikely to cause serious damage.
       "They are of a smaller magnitude.They are not frequent and are about 5.0-magnitude. People won't feel their impact," he said.
       A 7.7-magnitude quake triggered a tsunami off southern Java in 2006, killing 596 people and displacing about 74,000.
       A massive quake off the coast of the island of Sumatra in 2004 triggered a catastrophic tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people around Asia.

Hurricane Jimena weakens as it hits Mexico

       Hurricane Jimena weakened yesterday after slamming Mexico's Baja California peninsula with howling winds and drenching the Los Cabos resort area where tourists took refuge in boarded-up hotels.
       The storm's force eased as it neared land but the US National Hurricane Center said a hurricane warning remained in effect for the northern part of the peninsula and "preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion".
       The centre said Jimena was now a Category 2 storm with winds of 165kph and stronger gusts, after it dropped from an extremely dangerous Category 4 and then to Category 3.
       Jimena was about 110km southsoutheast of Cabo San Lazaro and moving north-northwest at 20kph.
       Sheets of rain poured from dark grey skies as Jimena's winds buffeted the tip of the peninsula, home to world-class golf courses, yachting marinas and fivestar hotels.

Weather helps California firefighters

       Firefighters took advantage of a turn in the weather on Tuesday to gain ground against the enormous wildfire burning for a week above Los Angeles, saying they hoped to drive the flames away from historic Mount Wilson, a key telecommunications site.
       But while higher humidity and cooler temperatures helped crews make their first significant headway against the fire - achieving 22% containment, up from 5% on Monday - officials warned that it was too early to believe that they had the upper hand.
       The blaze already has charred 51,000 hectares, an area nearly the size of Chicago, destroyed at least 62 homes, and is still capable of terrible destruction,fire commander Mike Dietrich said.
       Two firefighters were killed in the fire on Sunday, and at least three civilians have been injured.
       "If I were in a boxing match I think we are even today," Mr Dietrich said."This fire still has a lot of potential and it's a very big animal out there."
       The outbreak of wildfires across California was burning through cash at a rate that alarmed leaders in Sacramento,who are grappling with a still-growing state budget deficit.
       As of Monday, just two months into the fiscal year and before the state's usual fire season had begun, California had already spent over half of its annual firefighting budget.
       The Station Fire alone, roaring out of control since last Wednesday though the San Gabriel Mountains of Angeles National Forest, has cost $14 million to fight so far. A flare-up along the fire's southwestern flank still threatened some foothill neighbourhoods just inside Los Angeles city limits, and fire commanders said it would probably take another two weeks to fully contain the blaze.
       But with 3,600 people on the fire lines, Mr Dietrich said the overall growth of the blaze slowed for the first time on Tuesday and that he was a lot more optimistic.
       "Substantial progress has been made," he said."The weather has helped us, certainly. I do not believe that we have totally turned the corner. The fire has laid down but it could be a very angry fire again."
       Officials said that for the first time they were feeling confident about their ability to save structures atop Mount Wilson, a hub for broadcast towers and other telecommunications equipment,as well as home to a historic observatory.
       Flames around the peak had eased,and fire crews were sent back to the site around dawn on Tuesday, days after they were withdrawn for fear of being engulfed.
       Meteorologists say the change in weather was due mostly to wind patterns pulling in more damp air from northern Mexico and the Baja region, a phenomenon called monsoonal moisture. They said there may also be a slight benefit from excess moisture associated with Hurricane Jimena off Mexico's coast.
       "It's a huge difference," fire captain Art Burgess, with a crew mopping up hot spots near one neighbourhood, said of the higher humidity.
       Residents who stayed put despite evacuation orders looked on as dozens of firefighters, backed by bulldozers and an aerial assault from water-dropping helicopters, quickly halted flames creeping down a steep slope at the end of their street.
       "They did such a wonderful job,"said Carissa Totalca,55, a nurse who has lived in the area for years."I've never seen them in action before."
       The weather change is a mixed blessing, though, posing the potential for gusty winds and dry lightning strikes that could ignite new blazes in dense,drought-parched brush.
       Moist air also kept smoke from the fire closer to the ground, making it more difficult to fight with aircraft in some spots.

Baja residents brace for Hurricane Jimena

       Hurricane Jimena, a dangerous Category 4 storm off Mexico's Pacific Coast, was on track to batter resorts on the Baja California peninsula today, the US National Hurricane Center said.
       Jimena, a small but powerful hurricane that has intensified quickly since it formed early on Saturday, was packing 230kph winds with higher gusts, and the Mexican government issued a hurricane watch for southern Baja California.A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible with 36 hours.
       According to the five-step SaffirSimpson intensity scale, Category 4 hurricanes are "extremely dangerous" and can cause devastating damage if they hit land. The hurricane centre said people located in central Baja California peninsula and western mainland Mexico should also monitor the storm's progress because more watches could be issued.
       Jimena was a safe distance from shore but set to gather steam and brush the upscale resort of Los Cabos today, when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)is scheduled to hold a meeting there to discuss tax havens. It was not clear whether the meeting would be cancelled.
       OECD head Angel Gurria was due to attend the meeting today and tomorrow with officials from about 70 OECD and non-OECD countries.
       The weather was sunny with blue skies and a light breeze in southern Baja California on Sunday and remained calm as night fell. People living in Cabos stocked up on food and drinking water and filled cars and generators with fuel.
       "I'm a little nervous about this one because my husband is out of town and it will be my first hurricane alone," said Christy Dobson, an 11-year resident of Los Cabos originally fromOklahoma, as she snatched up cases of water and nonperishables at a supermarket with her two small daughters.
       Californian Lynn Perre, who owns a condo in Los Cabos, and her mother Beverly Boyer decided to cut short their vacation and fly out yesterday.
       "I'm nervous and frightened," said Ms Boyer."This is a Category 4 storm that is going to hit."
       The Baja California peninsula is a sparsely populated strip of desert, mountain ranges and shrublands, but coastal resorts like Los Cabos and La Paz are big vacation spots.
       The length of the peninsula is popular with US campervan enthusiasts, nature lovers, surfers, sports fishermen and retirees. Baja California state's civil protection director Jose Gajon said they were making preparations.
       Yesterday, Jimena was 395km southwest of Cabo Corrientes, near Puerto Vallarta, and 635km south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The storm was moving northwest, roughly parallel to the coastline, at 13kph with hurricaneforce winds extending outward up to 45km from its centre.
       Mexico has no oil installations in the Pacific and for the time being ports in the area remained open.
       Jimena is the second hurricane of the 2009 eastern Pacific season to brush close to Mexico after Andres pounded the southern Pacific coast in June, flooding the resort city of Acapulco and sweeping a fisherman to his death.
       On Sunday, Tropical Storm Kevin gathering strength far out in the Pacific,around 1,430km southwest of Los Cabos,but it was expected to weaken by today.
       Some locals are betting that Jimena would also fizzle out.
       "We haven't been told we should be worried," said Ruben Guzman, who works at boutique hotel Cabo Surf on the edge of Los Cabos."These hurricanes often veer away before they hit."

Tropical Storm Danny heads for US, Canada

       Tropical Storm Danny formed in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Bahamas on Wednesday and set a course that could take it near the northeastern US states as a hurricane by the weekend.
       The fourth tropical storm of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season posed no foreseeable threat to the Gulf of Mexico oil wells and on its most likely track was expected to stay well out to sea for the next few days, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
       Danny's first approach to land is likely to come early tomorrow, when it would be off the vulnerable coastal islands of North Carolina. By tomorrow afternoon it was expected to be nearing the coast around Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as a Category 1 hurricane. Canada's Atlantic provinces, drenched at the weekend by Hurricane Bill, look to be a target again.
       Danny's expected track will take it farther to the west than Bill, putting New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador all in the danger zone.
       Bill, which killed two US people,passed close to eastern Canada's oil,natural gas and refinery operations but did not cause major damage.
       Tropical storms and hurricanes are tracked by energy traders concerned about disruption.

Taiwanese president approves visit by Dalai Lama

       Taiwan President Ma Yingjeou yesterday approved a visit next week by the Dalai Lama to the typhoon-hit island in a move analysts say could damage Taipei's efforts to improve ties with China.
       "We have decided to the Dalai Lama's visit to pray for the souls of the deceased and seek blessings for the survivors of the typhoon," Ma told reporters.
       The Dalai Lama, whom Beijing has accused of trying to split Tibet from China and reacts angrily to any country or territory hosting him, said last year that he wanted to visit Taiwan but Ma said then that the timing was not right.
       The visit is likely to be greeted with consternation in Beijing because China regards Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force, if necessary.
       The Dalai Lama is expected to see the south of the island after it was battered by a devastating typhoon two weeks ago which left 463 people dead.
       "Ma risks undoing the goodwill he has built up with China by meeting the Dalai Lama," said George Tsai, a China expert at the Taipeibased Chinese Culture University.
       In Beijing, China's Taiwan Affairs Office declined to comment on the visit.