War, Sars, power failure, next up...

[dagger]

Isabel

Note where the projected path of the story takes it.

Which of the 10 plagues is this one?

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ftp/graphics/AT13/refresh/AL1303W5+GIF/081203W5.gif

[Guest AME]

Hurricane Isabel still churning toward land

The east coasts of the United States and Canada are bracing for what has the potential to be a natural disaster: Hurricane Isabel. The Category Four storm is churning in the Atlantic and is expected to make landfall between North Carolina and New Jersey as early as Thursday.

Right now, it has winds of just under 250 kilometres per hour -- almost a Category Five storm, which is the worst kind. And experts are warning the storm isn't likely to lose steam before it hits later this week. Computer models predict weather conditions over the east coast of the U.S. should prevent Isabel from turning back out to sea and missing land, hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said.

"Landfall along the U.S mid-Atlantic coast somewhere between North Carolina and New Jersey between four or five days (Thursday or Friday) is appearing more and more likely," Stewart said.

"Little or no significant weakening is expected to occur until after landfall occurs," she added.

Environment Canada forecaster David Phillips says the hurricane may not be felt in Atlantic Canada, but could hit central Canada by Friday. He figures it'll wind up crossing in to southern Ontario.

"Clearly it's a big one. It is in fact likely to be a catastrophic kind of storm," Phillips told CTV News.

Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, says it has the potential to cause a lot of deaths and massive damage.

The last Category Five Atlantic hurricane was "Mitch'' in 1998, which killed about 11,000 people in Central America.

Isabel is on a track eerily parallel to Hurricane "Hazel'' almost 50 years ago. It ripped through Ontario in October of 1954, killing about 80.

Forecasters note that hurricanes can be unpredictable, and long-range forecasts have large possibilities for error. Still, South Carolina is on an elevated alert status. In coastal Georgia, the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency urged residents to review their hurricane plans.

In Washington, D.C., emergency officials were working on acquiring additional sandbags, and planned to meet with other department and critical services leaders Monday, said Peter LaPorte, director of the Emergency Management Agency.

"We're going to take a proactive approach Monday into Tuesday," LaPorte said. "One, of public education campaign and two, take some steps with some of the government services. Then we're going to pray."

While the Atlantic region usually bears the brunt of hurricanes in Canada, this time around the central part of the country may have to stand ready. The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

[Guest AME]

Here's hoping you and your's are safe and sound.

Brett

S. Korea cleans up after deadly typhoon Maemi

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea — Soldiers and rescue workers fanned out across South Korea on Sunday after the worst typhoon in a century caused widespread destruction and claimed at least 85 lives. Dozens of others were feared dead.

South Korea set aside more than $1 billion for recovery from Typhoon Maemi, which roared into the country with 135 mph winds Friday night, wreaking havoc before dissipating in the Sea of Japan early Sunday.

Maemi was so intense that shipping containers were lifted in the air, gigantic cranes toppled and even an evacuated cruise ship tipped over in Busan, South Korea's main port. An offshore storage facility for Exxon Mobil Corp. plowed into an oil tanker being built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for a German company. Both were damaged.

The typhoon also triggered landslides that derailed a train, uprooted trees and downed power lines. Some 110,000 households were still without electricity Sunday. At least 82 moored fishing boats and other vessels were destroyed.

Residents struggled to salvage what was left of their battered homes Sunday.

"I am trying to save at least a cup here, but nobody seems to be around to help me," Ahn Kyung-ja, a housewife walking around her damaged home, told the YTN cable news network.

Of about 25,000 people who fled their homes to seek shelter, about 7,000 remained in schools and public facilities Sunday, their homes still uninhabitable.

Bulldozers rammed at heavy rocks blocking sections of highways. In many places, overturned cars drifted in streets that looked like rivers.

President Roh Moo-hyun toured Busan, the country's second largest city and worst-hit urban area.

"Although some functions have been paralyzed, let's try to set a new record in normalizing the distribution of goods," he said.

Orange uniformed relief workers joined soldiers in olive green fatigues to shovel sludge from the streets. Residents used kitchen utensils to scoop water out of their homes.

The government's anti-disaster center said 85 people were confirmed killed and 30 others missing and feared dead.

Maemi - Korean for 'cicada' - was the most powerful ever to hit South Korea since weather officials began keeping records in 1904.

Earlier Sunday, the government said it will spend at least $1.2 billion for relief and recovery work.

The disaster office said 26,108 acres of farmland, including rice fields and orchards, were flooded ahead of the fall harvest season, raising concerns that the price of rice - the country's staple food - may rise significantly.

South Korea is usually hit by several typhoons each summer and early fall. In September last year, Typhoon Rusa left at least 119 dead. The deadliest typhoon ever to hit South Korea was Sara, which killed 849 people in 1959.

[Guest Stone]

Has anyone told management that a storm is coming? Has anyone checked the fuel in the standby generator?

[Maranatha]

If you're so concerned, maybe you should tell them, and ensure that they know. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

[Guest Pete Jensen]

Check out NOAA's 5 day forcast... right over YYZ...it is just a forcast though and hurricanes tend to loose alot of steam when they hit land.

Here's hoping this thing veers gretly east and stays away from shore !

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_astorm13+shtml/151458.shtml?

[BoomerPete]

Hey, thanks for the kind thought Brett!

I was actually all safe and sound in YVR when Maemi rolled in, but a buddy did have his hotel window blown out (or in?) down in Busan.

I got back to Korea yesterday. All is calm in Seoul, but the aftermath on the East coast looks pretty extensive.

Good luck to those of you out east with Isabel. The radarsat shots of that one look really mean.

Pete