Beijing -- A road crash in northwest China over the weekend has left five people injured -- or winterbeaten, in fact.
Two heavy-duty trucks bumped into each other at 10:00 a.m. Saturday on state highway No. 312 in the juncture area between Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The accident left at least 2,000 diesel trucks in a standstill and many drivers found them unable to restart their engines in the freezing weather.
By 5:00 p.m., the temperature had dropped to minus 22 degrees Celsius and five drivers were frostbitten. [...]
The town was just one of the areas to suffer the sudden temperature drops in northern China.
Thousands of villagers are being evacuated from their homes in the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu today amid fears of an imminent volcanic explosion.
Nairobi -- An earthquake struck the Lake Tanganyika area in central Africa on Monday, prompting workers to evacuate offices in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Venice was mopping up yesterday after widespread flooding, following stormy weather, in much of its historic centre.
Tourists had to wade through 20cm (7.9in) of water in St Mark's Square, which one man, above, traversed by canoe. In some areas, the water covered raised walkways designed to overcome floods. The problem was caused by downpours and a high tide, but city officials said it was unusual to experience such a deluge this early in the winter.
Tokyo - A moderate earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit southern Japan Sunday, the meteorological agency said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Tokyo - A strong offshore earthquake rocked northern Japan late Friday night, the countryยs meteorological agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no tsunami warning was issued.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii -- About 44 acres of coastline collapsed into the ocean this week, setting loose a glowing stream of lava that shot out from the newly exposed cliffside 45 feet above the water.
Aid operations are now starting to assist the thousands displaced by this weeks eruption of the volcano Mount Karthala in Comoros. More than a third of the population of Grande Comore may have been displaced by the eruption, which mainly caused damages to water reservoirs, agriculture and livestock on the main Comoran island.
A strong earthquake rocked northern Japan on Friday, the meteorological agency said. No tsunami warning was issued.
The quake with preliminary magnitude 6.4 struck at 10:17 p.m. and was centered off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, according to the agency.
Muzaffarabad, Pakistan - More than 700 people ย- many suffering from pneumonia and hypothermia -ย were treated at hospitals Wednesday as winter descends on Pakistani Kashmir and the millions who lost their homes in last month's earthquake.
Media reports said eight people have died in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir due to the bad weather, and doctors said the situation could worsen in the coming weeks if arrangements are not quickly made to provide winterized shelters to quake survivors.
