Thai PM pledges flood relief as fight for Bangkok goes on

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pledged more than US$4 billion (RM12.47 billion) today to help Thailand recover from the worst floods in half a century, as workers slowed the flow of water threatening the commercial heart of the capital, Bangkok.

Evacuation orders have spread to a third of Bangkok’s districts, mostly in the north of the densely populated city of 12 million people, since late October, as floodwater strewn with trash slowly seeps in from northern and northeastern provinces.

As Floods Drag on in Thailand, Displaced Grow Restless

As Floods Drag on in Thailand, Displaced Grow Restless Ron Corben | Bangkok In Thailand, local aid groups are calling on authorities to better manage and support local communities that are struggling to cope after spending weeks under ...

Thai flood frustration grows, Cabinet eyes recovery

Airplanes are reflected in flood waters in Bangkok’s domestic Don Muang airport at dawn on November 1, 2011. Nearly 400 people have been killed in months of floods that have disrupted the lives of more than 2 million. Don Muang, used by budget airlines for domestic flights and by private planes, has been closed since Oct. 25.


Anger mounted among victims of Thailand’s catastrophic floods today as water flooded new neighbourhoods as it made its way to sea and the government plotted a recovery aimed at securing the long-term confidence of investors.

The floods began in July and have devastated large parts of the central Chao Phraya river basin, killed nearly 400 people and disrupted the lives of more than 2 million.

Inner Bangkok, protected by a network of dikes and sandbag walls, survived peak tides on the weekend and remains mostly dry.

Another Tornado Reported, This One in Massachusetts

Residents of Springfield, Mass., sought cover Wednesday after a warning about another possible tornado. An earlier storm damaged buildings, toppled trees and caused numerous injuries

The National Weather Service says experts are preparing to go out and assess the severity of a severe weather system that has spawned apparent tornadoes and caused heavy damage in several Massachusetts communities.At least two tornadoes struck Springfield, Massachusetts, and numerous other communities in the western part of the state Wednesday, leaving behind "many injuries" and extensive damage, the state's governor said.

Deadly tornadoes churn across Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas

At least 15 people died in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma in the latest round of severe weather to strike the US heartland, authorities said Wednesday, in what has already become a historic spring storm season.

Joplin deaths rise, more twisters in US Midwest

The death toll from a monster tornado that savaged Joplin, Missouri, rose to 125 today after an overnight search turned up more bodies but no new survivors, authorities said.

The tornado that wrecked up to a third of the city of 50,000 on Sunday was upgraded to an EF-5, or the highest rating possible on the Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado power and intensity. It had been rated an EF-4.

Search teams using dogs and heavy equipment pressed on through a harsh night of more stormy weather amid the wreckage of homes, business, schools and churches.

Heathrow boss is shamed into giving up his bonus as it is revealed airport 'failed' to order enough de-icer to cope with heavy snow

BAA chief Colin Matthews faced calls to relinquish his bonus amid continued chaos and delays

Heathrow's chief executive relinquished his bonus today amid claims bosses 'failed' to buy enough de-icer, ruining Christmas getaway plans for more than a million people.

The world's busiest airport has drawn widespread criticism after holidaymakers were left to sleep on cold terminal floors during the festive period as thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed.

Furious airlines have now hit out at Heathrow's owners BAA, insisting the company did not stock up on enough de-icing fluid to keep its two runways open.

Boss Colin Matthews later bowed to calls to relinquish his six-figure bonus.

Snow is cleared from the southern runway. The airport has turned down an offer of help from the Army

Snow ploughs clear the southern runway at Heathrow, as travel chaos continues at the London airport

Passengers sleep on the hard floor of Terminal 3 as flights are cancelled or delayed by bad weather

Europe travel chaos eases but pain remains

A British Airways aircraft lands as another taxis for take off at Heathrow Airport in west London December 21, 2010. Airline and international train services were limping back towards normal in parts of Europe today.

Airline and international train services were limping back towards normal in parts of Europe today, but the lingering effects of ice and snow that caused widespread chaos still weighed on schedules.

The disruptions to airlines and high-speed trains in continental Europe, and linking Britain to the continent, created travel chaos for tens of thousands of travellers in the busy Christmas period following heavy weekend snowfalls.

They also brought calls for legislation to force airports to deal more effectively with snow and other bad weather.

Heathrow travellers tell Christmas tales of woe

Airline passengers lie on the floor in Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport in west London yesterday, December 20, 2010

Angry Christmas travellers, stranded by snow and ice at London’s Heathrow, criticised airline and airport officials yesterday for failing to keep them informed and leaving them to sleep in terminal buildings.

Student Michael McGouldrich-Secilia, a 24-year-old from Pittsburgh, had been stuck at Heathrow since Saturday after snow forced the cancellation of his flight to Toronto in Canada.

“I was at terminal three for the last two nights. All I had was a mat and one of those silver insulator things (foil blankets),” he said.

“No one will give me any information,” he added, lying on a yellow plastic temporary bed covered by a blanket and clothes.

The airport was closed over the weekend after a snowstorm grounded flights. Only one of two runways was operating yesterday, adding to the frustration of travellers trying to get away for Christmas holidays.

The airport, operated by Spanish-owned BAA, told passengers not to turn up at terminals one and three because of overcrowding yesterday.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he understood travellers’ frustration.

Super typhoon hits Philippines as Asia braces itself for worst storm of the year

A super typhoon with 140mph winds hit the Philippines today in the worst storm to hit the country in years.

Typhoon Megi hit the northern Isabela province at shortly before 6am UK time.

Thousands of villagers fled to safety amid fears that rice harvests could also be wiped out by the ensuing floods.

Eye of the storm: Typhoon Megi approaches the northern Philippines. It is also set to hit China and Vietnam

Super typhoon Megi 'biggest in 20 years'

The roof flies off a house as super typhoon Megi hits Ilagan City, Isabela province, northern Philippines. (Reuters: Stringer ) The Philippines has declared a state of calamity in a northern province after super typhoon Megi made landfall..

Raw Video: Earl Causes Flooding in Buxton, NC-Earl Soaks NC Coast, Heads for New England-High Alert: Hurricane Earl makes US landfall

Fear 110mph Hurricane Earl could sideswipe New York, Boston and Cape Cod

New York is last night bracing itself for the worst storm in 19 years.

Winds gusting up to 110mph were expected to lash the north-east of the U.S. as Hurricane Earl grew larger than California and was due to hit the mainland.

In anticipation of the high winds and 30ft waves that will flood homes, cause power cuts and delay flights, the state issued a storm warning.

Putting on a brave face: The Wood and Rollins families say they will ride out the storm in this rented beach house in Avon, North Carolina

Three killed as Typhoon Kompasu tears through South Korea

Three people were killed and millions of pounds of damaged caused after the strongest tornado in 15 years tore through Seoul.

Powerful gusts ripped over power lines and forced the cancellation of scores of international flights after the tropical storm hit South Korea this morning.

An 80-year-old man died after being hit by a flying roof tile and a 37-year-old businessman was killed on his way to work by a falling branch, the National Emergency Management Agency said.

Spectacular: The NASA satellite image shows Typhoon Kompasu - the seventh storm to affect the region this season - as it moves northwards

Powerful: The typhoon, the strongest to hit the Korean peninsula in 15 years, killed three people

200ft-long cedar among dozens of tree trunks scattered across beach after storm

More than 200ft long and 13ft around the trunk, this is one piece of wood that nobody will be throwing along the beach for the dog to fetch.

The giant western red cedar was one of dozens of trees washed up at La Push, a small community in Washington State on the U.S. west coast.

Tropical storm Bonnie forces BP to suspend relief well drilling

BP's efforts to finish relief oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico have been set back.

The approaching tropical storm Bonnie has forced BP to temporarily suspend drilling on its relief well in the Gulf of Mexico. Work to permanently plug the oil giant's leaking Macondo oil well, that has spewed more than 4m barrels of oil into the gulf, could be held up for up two weeks.

Oman toll from Phet storm rises to 16 as life returns to normal

The death toll from the havoc caused by tropical cyclone Phet in Oman over the past two days rose to 16 as life is slowly returning to normal, local media reports said.

Rain stopped and skies were relatively clear over the capital, Muscat, as the sultanate's rescue teams were working to reopen roads, restore electricity and repair water pipes, Malik bin Suleiman al-Mamari, chairman of the National Committee Civil Defense (NCCD), was quoted by Oman Tribune as saying.

Storm blows a 200ft hole in Guatemala City, swallowing a building

Sink hole: This incredible picture shows a 200ft-deep hole in an intersection in downtown Guatemala City. In the top left of the intersection stood a three-storey building



Lucky escape: Neighbouring buildings are left untouched after torrential rain led to this huge crater forming in the capital. The area has been closed off and evacuated

Ash threat: Officials blame mudslides and sink holes in the capital on poor drainage, due to ash from the Pacaya volcano blocking drains. The volcano erupted last week, laying a blanket of ash on everything - including the runway at Guatemala City's international airport



At least one man was killed and others are missing after a three-storey building fell into a 200ft-deep sink hole in Guatemala City.

Tropical storm Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific season, slammed into Guatemala and neighbouring El Salvador at the weekend, dumping more than three feet of rain in the region.

Tropical storm kills 99 as it rages across Central America

Villagers watch the overflowing Choluteca River after heavy rains in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The storm has so far claimed the lives of 83 people in Central America

The storm swept in from the Pacific on Saturday and struck near Guatamala's border with Mexico, bringing with it torrential rains and winds of up to 45mph. Vast stretches of farm land in this area of south-western Guatemala lie under water

With flood waters up to his waist, a man walks in the middle of a street in Honduras where the storm killed one man. Stretching from southern Mexico to Nicaragua, the storm-ravaged area has killed 83 people so far

Two sisters make their way through flood waters in the Guatemalan town of Amatitlan close to Lake Amatitlan. Torrential rains from Agatha - the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season - pounded an area stretching from southern Mexico nearly to Nicaragua killing 99 people

A tropical storm raging across Central America has triggered landslides and flooding killing at least 99 people.

Torrential rains from Agatha - the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season - pounded an area stretching from southern Mexico nearly to Nicaragua.

The worst hit country was Guatemala where 82 died with nine deaths reported in El Salvador and one in Honduras.
Agatha swept in from the Pacific on Saturday and struck near Guatamala's border with Mexico, bringing with it torrential rains and winds of up to 45mph.

Powerful tornado leaves 10 dead Mississippi counties devastated as storm tears through South

Residents sift through debris in a destroyed home near Yazoo City, Miss., on Saturday after a tornado passed through. Gov. Haley Barbour said there was "utter obliteration" in parts of Yazoo County.

A massive tornado ripped through the southeast U.S. on Saturday, killing at least 10 people in Mississippi and injuring more than a dozen. Scores of homes were splintered, vehicles were overturned and roads were blocked by toppled trees.

Gov. Haley Barbour said there was "utter obliteration" in parts of Yazoo County, an area known for cotton, catfish, blues music and picturesque hills rising from the flat Mississippi Delta.

Barber became tearful when he described the devastation in Yazoo City, his hometown. "We still have people trapped in houses and cars," he said at an impromptu news conference.

"It reminds me of Katrina," he said, recalling the devastating 2005 hurricane.

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