Tropical Storm Kyle strengthens in Atlantic

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Kyle has strengthened as it churns through the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda.

The storm's maximum sustained winds have increased to 50 mph Thursday night. Forecasters say the storm could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moves north.

It's centered about 555 miles south of Bermuda and is moving near 13 mph.

Forecasters expect the storm to continue moving north and strengthen over the next couple of days. Track Tropical Storm Kyle's path

Kyle is the 11th named storm this season in the Atlantic.

source

September 27, 2008 -- Updated 0534 GMT (1334 HKT)

Argentina grapples with fierce drought

Story Highlights
* Prolonged lack of rainfall placing Argentina's cattle at risk
* So far, less than one-third usual rainfall has fallen in South American country
* Extended strikes by farmers protesting export-tax hike has hurt farming sector

Read full story

Death toll from Vietnam floods rises to 41

Story Highlights
* Typhoon Hagupit has caused Vietnam at least $65 million in damage
* At least five people still missing and feared dead in the storm
* Storm has washed away more than 1,000 houses and damaged 10,000 more
* Torrential downpours have eased and floodwaters have receded in most areas

Read full story

Typhoon floods, kills 0:45
Several people are dead in nothern Vietnam from flooding caused by Typhoon Hagupit.

Laura churns in Atlantic

Story Highlights
* Laura's maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph
* Subtropical storms draw energy from the atmosphere and the ocean surface
* Subtropical storms can also become hurricanes

MIAMI (AP) -- The National Hurricane Center says Subtropical Storm Laura is keeping its strength as it churns through the north central Atlantic, far from land.

read on

Flooding in Algerian desert claims 30 lives

Story Highlights
* NEW: Army deployed to prevent looting; food, tents blankets being sent
* Torrential rains caused flash floods in Sahara Desert; dozens injured
* Hundreds rescued by helicopter; 600 houses destroyed
* Rains inundated town of Ghardaia on Tuesday and Wednesday

Read full story

Earthquake rattles Afghanistan

Story Highlights
* No immediate reports of casualties or serious damage
* Afghanistan has had four quakes since 2002 that have been fatal
* A March 2002 quake registered 7.4-magnitude and killed 166 people
* An earthquake in 2004 killed three, and another quake in 2005 killed five

Read on

Kyrgyzstan: Quake kills 58

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- A powerful earthquake struck the mountains of Central Asia, killing 58 people and destroying more than 100 buildings in a village in southern Kyrgyzstan, emergency officials said Monday.

Read on

Asteroid to be harmless fireball over Earth

Story Highlights
# An asteroid will burn up in the atmosphere Monday night over northern Africa
# The asteroid, spotted Monday, will enter the upper atmosphere about 10:46 p.m. ET
# It poses no threat to aircraft or people on the ground, but should create a fireball

Read on

Mexico eyes storms off both coasts

Story Highlights
* Tropical Storm Marco, off the eastern coast, expected to make landfall overnight
* Marco's maximum sustained winds clocked near 65 mph, with higher gusts.
* Hurricane Norbert formed off the western coast of Mexico late Monday

Read on

Hurricane Norbert batters Mexico

PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) -- Hurricane Norbert is roaring onto Mexico's southern Baja California Peninsula with torrential rains and screaming winds.

Earthquake kills 12 in Chechnya

Story Highlights
* Magnitude 5.3 quake damages roads, buildings, officials say
* More than 100 people reported injured
* British Virgin Islands also shaken, apparently without casualties

Read full story

Magnitude 7.1 quake strikes Tonga

(CNN) -- A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the South Pacific islands of Tonga Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The quake was centered 95 miles (about 150 km) east-southeast of Nuku'Alofa and 1,240 miles (about 2000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand, the USGS said.

It occurred at 6:10 p.m. local time (1:10 a.m. ET).

The National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami is expected as a result of the temblor.

The Kingdom of Tonga is made up of 171 islands, according to the U.S. State Department. Of those, only 48 are inhabited.

source

Paper: Governor says at least a dozen dead in Yemen flooding

(CNN) -- At least a dozen people have been reported dead and tens of thousands have evacuated an area of Yemen due to flooding, a local official told the Yemen Post on Friday.

Yemen Post Editor Hakim al-Masmari said about 3,500 families -- roughly 22,000 people -- have fled Hadramout, citing Hadramout Gov. Salem Ahmed al-Khanbashi.

Some evacuees are being taken to schools, but the schools can accommodate only 10 percent of the evacuees, al-Khanbashi told al-Masmari, leaving the rest without shelter at the moment.

The government has promised to send tents as emergency shelter, he said.

Saba, the Yemen News Agency, said 48 people had been reported killed or missing.

read on

Police: Dozens dead in Pakistan quake
Dozens -- as many as 70 -- are dead after after a strong earthquake strikes Pakistan early Wednesday, local police say. The quake struck the western region of the country at about 11 p.m. Tuesday GMT, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. full story

7 killed in Tibet's 'worst snowstorm'

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- At least seven people have been found dead after "the worst snowstorm on record in Tibet," China's state-run news agency reported Friday.

About 1,350 people were rescued in Lhunze County -- another 300 were trapped -- after nearly five feet (1.5 meters) of snow blanketed much of Tibet this week.
advertisement

The storm caused buildings to collapse, blocked roads and killed about 144,000 head of cattle, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.

The seven people who died either froze to death or were killed as a result of collapsing buildings, and one person is still missing, China Daily said

source

47 dead, missing in Vietnam floods

Story Highlights
* Rainfall, which began Thursday, is the heaviest in 24 years
* The bad weather is expected to last another two days
* Last month, floods triggered by Typhoon Hagupit killed 37 in northern Vietnam

read full story

Paloma becomes hurricane in Caribbean

Story Highlights
* NEW: Hurricane Paloma expected to strengthen, forecasters say
* NEW: Warning issued for Cayman Islands
* NEW: People in Cuba, Jamaica should monitor storm's progress, forecasters say

read story

Deadly landslide smothers Indonesian village

Story Highlights
* NEW: Rescue crews have recovered five bodies; 10 people are missing
* NEW: Authorities have evacuated 351 people
* Mud tumbled from hills surrounding a village in West Java province
* Landslide followed days of torrential rain that inundated more than 50 homes

Read full story

Actor on destroyed home: 'It's amazing, it's just gone'

Story Highlights
* Christopher Lloyd's home one of dozens destroyed by California wildfires
* Lloyd: "Rebuilding would be -- it's too much. You can't rebuild that"
* Lloyd: Having home destroyed brings "different awareness" than watching on TV

Read full story

Big earthquake strikes off Indonesian coast

Story Highlights
* U.S. geological agency says a magnitude 6.8 quake struck off Sumatra, Indonesia
* Second quake measured soon after; no reports of damage or injuries
* No tsunami alert because quakes were below magnitude 7.0
* In Bengkulu, people ran out of their homes and gathered in open spaces

Read full story

More flood victims found in Brazil

Story Highlights
* "I've never seen anything like this," Brazil's president says
* More than 109 killed, 19 missing in southern Brazil, report says
* Flooding leaves nearly 79,000 homeless, civil defense officials say
* Most of deaths and damage have been in Santa Catarina state

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Search and rescue officials found nine bodies Saturday, bringing the death toll from flooding in southern Brazil to 109, the state news agency said.

Officials say 19 people remain missing.

Nearly 79,000 residents have been left homeless, said the state-run Agencia Brasil.

The state of Santa Catarina has been hardest-hit, and the government has declared 14 cities disaster areas, the news agency said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva surveyed some of the flooded areas from the air this week and proclaimed the disaster one of the worst in the country's history.

"I've never seen anything like this," Lula said Thursday.

He said he was releasing $1.97 billion reais ($854 million U.S. dollars) in aid to the afflicted areas, most notably to Santa Catarina.

About 1.5 million people -- one-fourth of the population -- have been affected.

The tragedy also is having an economic effect, with bridges, roads, houses and buildings destroyed. The federation of industries said the closing of the port in the Santa Catarina city of Itajai is costing $33 million a day.

The port is the major terminal for frozen goods in Brazil and second in the transport of containers, Agencia Brasil said.

Port Superintendent Arnaldo Schmitt said that part of the terminal could be in operation in two weeks.

source