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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Nepal Army gets emergency bridge kits
by Richard Tomkins
Parsippany, N.J. (UPI) Jul 21, 2013


Magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits off Japan's northeast coast: USGS
Tokyo (AFP) July 20, 2014 - A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's northeast coast early Monday morning, the US Geological Survey said.

The agency said the quake struck at 02:32am (1732 GMT Sunday) in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 70 kilometres (44 miles) north east of Japan's Hokkaido island, close to the disputed Russian-administered Kuril Islands.

There were no immediate reports of damage. USGS had earlier given the quake a slightly higher 6.6 magnitude and a shallower 60 kilometre depth reading.

The epicentre lay closest to Russian territory, 94 kilometres from the town of Kuril'isk. The nearest Japanese city, Nemuro was located 291 kilometres away from the epicentre.

The Kuril islands are at the heart of a long running territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.

They were seized by Soviet troops in the final days of World War II. Tokyo has insisted on the return of all four islands, which are known as the South Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.

Japan's islands are situated at the conjuncture of several tectonic plates and experience a number of relatively violent quakes every year.

But thanks to strict building codes, even powerful quakes that might wreak havoc in other countries frequently pass without causing much damage.

In May, a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook buildings in the Japanese capital Tokyo, injuring 17 people.

Ready to assemble roadway bridges by Acrow Bridge have been supplied to Nepal by the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command.

The modular bridges supplied part of USASAC's program to help Nepal respond national emergencies, such as landslides, avalanches, earthquakes and floods, the company said.

"All over the world, Acrow bridges connect people to the necessities they need to return to normal life or to enrich and sustain their daily health and wellbeing," said Bill Killeen, president and chief executive officer of Acrow. "We are proud to provide a solution that works well in a variety of situations and delivers immediate benefits to surrounding communities."

Acrow bridges are assembled from steel bridge components. They are more than 76 yards long and five yards wide. The company said their bridges feature a load capacity of as much 120 tons and can be assembled rapidly using minimal equipment.

Training on the use of the bridge system has been provided to Nepalese military personnel at the company facility in New Jersey.

Death toll rises, blackouts remain in Philippines after typhoon
Manila (AFP) July 21, 2014 - The death toll is still rising and hundreds of thousands of homes are without power five days after Typhoon Rammasun's rampage through the Philippines, authorities said Monday.

Reports of fatalities from the typhoon, which struck the archipelago on July 16, continued to come in from isolated areas, bringing the number of dead to 97, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a statement.

Officials have said most were killed by falling trees and debris or knocked down by the storm's powerful winds. Six people, most of them fishermen who went out to sea, also remained missing, the council said.

The Department of Energy said power had been restored to many areas but about 280,000 households in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces were still without electricity.

Other provinces that felt the storm's fury also had only partial electrical service as power companies struggled to repair tens of thousands of toppled electrical poles, said department spokeswoman May Militante.

The Manila Electric Co., which distributes power to the capital and surrounding areas, hopes to have electricity restored to virtually all affected areas by Wednesday, the department said.

But areas outside the capital region may not get power back till the end of the month, Militante warned.

However the country will likely be spared the fury of Typhoon Matmo.

It approached the archipelago over the weekend but now appears likely not to hit land but to move northwest towards Taiwan, the government weather station said.

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Related Links
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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Death toll rises, blackouts remain in Philippines after typhoon
Manila (AFP) July 21, 2014
The death toll is still rising and hundreds of thousands of homes are without power five days after Typhoon Rammasun's rampage through the Philippines, authorities said Monday. Reports of fatalities from the typhoon, which struck the archipelago on July 16, continued to come in from isolated areas, bringing the number of dead to 97, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ... read more


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