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Raging Bolivia river sweeps away bus, killing 34
La Paz (AFP) Jan 30, 2011 At least 34 people were killed when a river in southeastern Bolivia burst its banks, sweeping away a passenger bus and a truck, authorities said Sunday. Bodies have been washing up on the banks of the Mollepunku River since the incident late Friday near the town of Pampahuasi, 700 kilometers (435 miles) southeast of the Andean nation's capital La Paz, police said. The passenger bus had been carrying 39 people, and regional police commander Iver Marquez said the truck was carrying two people at the time of the accident, indicating the final death toll may rise. Firefighters were on the scene recovering bodies and locating any survivors, Marquez said.
earlier related report Since the floods began on Wednesday, "the death toll has risen to 10 and three people are still missing," said Saad al-Tuwaijri, quoted by the state news agency SPA. Emergency services mounted a major rescue operation in Jeddah on Wednesday as water levels rose rapidly in Saudi Arabia's commercial capital where flooding killed 123 people in 2009. After the November 2009 floods in Jeddah, the king sought legal action against officials and contractors for alleged corruption, mismanagement of real estate and land planning that exacerbated the floods. The inability of Jeddah's infrastructure to drain the waters and uncontrolled construction in and around the city were blamed for the high number of victims. Thousands of families lost their homes as 10,785 buildings were destroyed, a survey found.
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Australians face flood recovery tax Sydney (AFP) Jan 27, 2011 Australia unveiled a flood tax on higher earners Thursday as Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned the deluge would shave 0.5 points off GDP in fiscal 2010 and cost Aus$5.6 billion for recovery. Gillard said the record inundation, which crippled the mining and farming state of Queensland this month, "may prove to be the most expensive natural disaster our nation has ever seen", with coal mines ... read more |
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