Accidents and Natural Disasters

The week wasn't particularly pleasant with misfortune playing a large role in many tragedies.

Accidents

We begin the week with the world looking on as it was feared nearly 700 people had drowned off the coast of Libya after a human smuggling vessel sunk with the only progress being the captain and his crew being arrested. The EU held an emergency meeting regarding the tragedy however the outcome has been criticized as been inadequate. Elsewhere in the world 7 people were reported dead and 17 trapped in a flooded coal mine in China.

Older tragedies made news with robot's at the Fukushima nuclear power plant capturing images of a strange green glow and even further back to one of histories most notorious accidents one of the remnants, a deckchair from the Titanic, was sold for $190,000.

Natural Disasters

Mother nature proved a destructive force earlier in the week with Tsunami warnings raised for Japan's southern Okinawa island after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the Easter Taiwan. Another earthquake, 6.3 magnitude, was recorded between Nelson and Kaikoura in New Zealand's south island. However nature wasn't done with the Calbuco volcano erupting and sending plumes of smoke and ash into the atmosphere in southern Chile forcing evacuations of surrounding areas.

On the biological front new warnings were raised after it was discovered that Ebola, now thought to be under control, could still be spread by sex with the CDC asking previous victims to abstain from sex. Good news also followed on the Ebola front when a monkey was cured with a new experimental drug along with more good news of a clinical trial coming to an end offering a malaria vaccine. Meanwhile in Iowa 5 million hens are to be euthanized after a bird flu outbreak. We end the week with man doing as much damage to nature with the deteriorating quality of air in China under more scrutiny over the last few months as the second largest economy continues to plow ahead but it's not alone with growing economy Delhi claiming the most polluted air.

A week of Death, Destruction and Foreboding

It's been a week where Mother Nature's devastating reach took it's toll and men tried to match her destructive power.

Nature

An earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile with a magnitude of 8.2 triggering a tsunami warning. A 7.6 aftershock hit Chile the following day.

An outbreak of Ebola has been reported in Guinea with 63 people reported dead. Liberia has also confirmed cases of Ebola while Senegal and other neighbouring countries have closed their borders to prevent the spread of the disease.

A mudslide in Washington has officially killed 27 people with 19 victims positively identified. Along with the human lives many pets and livestock have also been lost.

A UN panel on Climate Change warns that global temperatures will likely be "severe, pervasive, and irreversible" in coming years. 7 Key findings in the report summary span only 44 pages with full chapters providing in depth details.

Man

Both Korea's traded fire over a sea border after South Korea warned North Korea of immediate retaliation if any ordinance was fired across the border. North Korea had declared a no-go area in disputed waters warning South Korea that it would be using live fire while conducting drills.

Another shooting took place at Fort Hood with 4 people killed, including the gunman, and 14 injured. President Obama has vowed to get to the bottom of the shooting.

A Senate report claims the CIA mislead the US and that the "enhanced interrogations" contributed almost nothing in the fight against al-Qaeda. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to declassify portions of the report on the CIA's torture program.

The Philippines has filed a case after a Chinese navy vessel tried to prevent a Philippine supply boat from delivering supplies to a disputed island. The confrontation was captured on film by reporters on board the Philippine boat.

Natural Disasters

The world has taken a beating recently with various natural disaster wreaking havoc.

Typhoon Haiyan

Footage from within the storm shows the power of the water as it forces its way into every building tearing down any barriers. After typhoon Haiyan made landfall there were initial estimates of 10,000 people killed

The UN stepped in to co-ordinate relief efforts with many nations, including the US and Britain, sending help.

Nearly 200 bodies had been lined up outside Tacloban City Hall awaiting burial. Survivors lucky enough to survive the initial disaster faced new threats with food and water growing even more scarce and over 49,000 people waiting to receive rice. As people grew more desperate 8 were killed while storming a government rice warehouse.

People have begun trying to rebuild their lives from the wreckage salvaging what they can.

Climate change was back on the agenda since the typhoon with AID agencies warning of more disaster if governments don't act soon.

Floods

Heavy rains in central Vietnam have resulted in 41 people reported dead and over 80,000 people forced from their homes.

Tornado's

6 people were killed as multiple tornado's ripped through Illinois on Sunday. A local game between Bears-Ravens game was abandoned with fans fleeing the area.

Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

Since the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan in 2011 the crippled nuclear power plant had been surviving on borrowed time. This week it was announced that fuel rods would begin to be removed in a step toward full cleanup.