Once again we were blessed to spend the Holiday Season in Texas in the company of great friends and our family.
You can check a glimpse of it by looking at our pictures on Flickr
We wish that all of you had a wonderful holiday season as well. May God bless you and your loved ones and may this New Year bring you more blessings!
Our New Year's resolution is to keep this blog updated since it is the best way to keep in touch with all you our family and friends. We lead very busy lives but never busy enough to welcome your phone calls or emails, so please let us know how you've been doing as well. We really love to hear from all of you!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Isabella's Christmas Pageant
Isabella had her first public performance last Sunday. She performed "Go tell it on the Mountain" with her pre-school class.
See photos on Flickr.
See photos on Flickr.
Alexander and The Soldiers of Rock
During Alexander's second Rock 'n Roll performance, his band "The Soldiers Of Rock" played the Green Day Song "When I Come Around."
They sported their new Band T-Shirt created by the singer's mom.
They sported their new Band T-Shirt created by the singer's mom.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
One Laptop Per Child
This is the ultra cool little $100 (actually $188) laptop.
Check out the video:
One Laptop Per Child - David Pogue - NYTimes.com
Add to My Profile | More Videos
If you're interested go to http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php.
But beware: the laptops can only be purchased until Nov 26th, 2007.
Check out the video:
One Laptop Per Child - David Pogue - NYTimes.com
Add to My Profile | More Videos
If you're interested go to http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php.
But beware: the laptops can only be purchased until Nov 26th, 2007.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Brain Stew - Alexander's first rock concert
Check out this video of Alexander's first rock band concert. His band "Soldiers of Rock" played the Green Day tune Brain Stew.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Many in makeshift shelters in Peru
From: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352513409&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161
8.0-magnitude quake destroyed more than 85% of homes in city
PISCO, Peru
An unforgiving wind lashes Juan Escate as he huddles next to a bonfire with his three children, chilling him as he ponders how to fulfill his wife’s dying plea.
Last week’s magnitude-8.0 earthquake wrecked Escate’s home on the outskirts of Pisco, burying his wife Doris in rubble as she rushed their 16-year-old daughter to safety.
“Promise me you’ll take care of my children,” were his wife’s last words, he says.
The earthquake drove Escate and thousands of others in this impoverished port city on Peru’s central coast into crudely constructed shelters. Icy ocean winds carry sand from the beaches and people keep watch all night against thieves.
Adults say they are given a handful of rice with some potatoes at midday. Children are given hot oatmeal for breakfast. Civil Defense has distributed tents to some survivors, but most are still in makeshift shelters near their homes.
Escate’s eyes are fixed on a giant pot of steaming rice and potatoes. The food is not for him and his hungry neighbors but for the soldiers protecting the homeless families from robbers — aid is more valuable now than personal belongings.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. My children were left without a mother, and I have to take care of them alone,” said Escate, his hands callused from years as a garbage collector. The 16-year-old daughter survived but suffered a fractured hip and is in a Lima hospital.
“She doesn’t know her mother has left us,” he said.
More than 85 percent of the homes here were destroyed and at least 340 people were killed in this city of 90,000, Civil Defense officials said. Overall, the earthquake killed 514 in several cities, the Civil Defense said.
Wrapped in thick, scratchy blankets, survivors listen to the sound of the fire that burns on one of the few street corners in the San Clemente district not blocked by rubble.
Juan Camasca, 37, said that 50 of his neighbors were lucky enough to be given a small piece of chicken after one of the community members slaughtered his animals to feed them.
He said that life is hardest on the outskirts of Pisco, where aid is pouring in and is available in more than 10 points throughout the city, but passing by those just outside.
“The aid came for three days after the earthquake,” Camasca said. “They gave us water, hot water even, but they stopped coming.” He said he watched his friends unsuccessfully try to flag down trucks full of food.
Last week, a 6-week-old infant died of pneumonia after sleeping with her family outside their home in Canete. Family members were worried that the house would topple over from one of the strong aftershocks, which continued for days. They said that humanitarian aid did not reach them.
President Alan Garcia said last week that electricity had been restored in much of the devastated region. But large areas of Pisco remain without lights. Bonfires illuminate the shadows in the tent cities on its outskirts. The government has said that rebuilding coastal towns will cost about $220 million.
8.0-magnitude quake destroyed more than 85% of homes in city
PISCO, Peru
An unforgiving wind lashes Juan Escate as he huddles next to a bonfire with his three children, chilling him as he ponders how to fulfill his wife’s dying plea.
Last week’s magnitude-8.0 earthquake wrecked Escate’s home on the outskirts of Pisco, burying his wife Doris in rubble as she rushed their 16-year-old daughter to safety.
“Promise me you’ll take care of my children,” were his wife’s last words, he says.
The earthquake drove Escate and thousands of others in this impoverished port city on Peru’s central coast into crudely constructed shelters. Icy ocean winds carry sand from the beaches and people keep watch all night against thieves.
Adults say they are given a handful of rice with some potatoes at midday. Children are given hot oatmeal for breakfast. Civil Defense has distributed tents to some survivors, but most are still in makeshift shelters near their homes.
Escate’s eyes are fixed on a giant pot of steaming rice and potatoes. The food is not for him and his hungry neighbors but for the soldiers protecting the homeless families from robbers — aid is more valuable now than personal belongings.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. My children were left without a mother, and I have to take care of them alone,” said Escate, his hands callused from years as a garbage collector. The 16-year-old daughter survived but suffered a fractured hip and is in a Lima hospital.
“She doesn’t know her mother has left us,” he said.
More than 85 percent of the homes here were destroyed and at least 340 people were killed in this city of 90,000, Civil Defense officials said. Overall, the earthquake killed 514 in several cities, the Civil Defense said.
Wrapped in thick, scratchy blankets, survivors listen to the sound of the fire that burns on one of the few street corners in the San Clemente district not blocked by rubble.
Juan Camasca, 37, said that 50 of his neighbors were lucky enough to be given a small piece of chicken after one of the community members slaughtered his animals to feed them.
He said that life is hardest on the outskirts of Pisco, where aid is pouring in and is available in more than 10 points throughout the city, but passing by those just outside.
“The aid came for three days after the earthquake,” Camasca said. “They gave us water, hot water even, but they stopped coming.” He said he watched his friends unsuccessfully try to flag down trucks full of food.
Last week, a 6-week-old infant died of pneumonia after sleeping with her family outside their home in Canete. Family members were worried that the house would topple over from one of the strong aftershocks, which continued for days. They said that humanitarian aid did not reach them.
President Alan Garcia said last week that electricity had been restored in much of the devastated region. But large areas of Pisco remain without lights. Bonfires illuminate the shadows in the tent cities on its outskirts. The government has said that rebuilding coastal towns will cost about $220 million.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Government's earthquake relief in Peru not enough
From: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0820/p07s02-woam.htm
Government's earthquake relief in Peru not enough, say experts
Relief experts say that local aid delivery is falling short.
By Lucien O. Chauvin | Correpondent
Pisco, Peru
Manuel Doroteo was on the road this weekend, leaving what was left of his home here on the Peruvian coast after it was leveled by last week's magnitude 8 earthquake.
Mr. Doroteo remained in Pisco, the city hit hardest by the quake, when the rest of his family quickly relocated 140 miles north to the capital, Lima. But after going a few days without water or electricity and sleeping in a tent, Doroteo decided to pack up and join the family.
"This has been like a terror movie. There is nothing and I got tired of waiting for water to arrive. The government handed out beans and rice, but people have no way of cooking them," he said, waiting at three-hour traffic jam to get past a section of highway knocked out by the earthquake.
Like many of the nearly 100,000 people forced from their homes by Peru's worst earthquake in 37 years, Doroteo faults the government for not doing enough to get aid to victims.
Indeed, the sight of people standing in long lines for water and blankets, complaining that they are being neglected, belies the massive amount of aid and the frenetic pace at which President Alan Garcia and ministers have managed the crisis. The federal government has succeeded in getting plenty of aid to the areas hit hardest, but its centralized control of the crisis has hampered the speed of aid delivery to individuals on the ground, say relief experts. The government blames distribution delays on the scale of the damage to infrastructure in the wake of the earthquake and its aftershocks.
"No matter what we do, people will complain. This is understandable, because they are living through a tragedy and want assistance," says Women's Issues and Social Development Minister Virginia Borra, who is coordinating the arrival of supplies and overseeing state-sponsored soup kitchens and daycare centers. "We are proving aid, but they want more."
President Garcia takes charge
The president has set up his command post in Pisco, holding cabinet meetings, handing out orders to relief workers, and taking the time to check in on a child born in the midst of the rubble.
Hundreds of tons of food, clothing, and supplies have been airlifted and driven into Pisco, a clearing house for aid for the rest of the Ica department, where more than 500 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured. There were 19 cargo planes and transport helicopters lined up at one point at the city's small airport on Saturday, unloading supplies from foreign governments and international organizations.
Emergency decrees signed by Mr. Garcia are providing families of the dead with caskets and $300 for funeral arrangements. People whose homes were destroyed or seriously damaged will receive $1,900 in seed money to start rebuilding. Other decrees have eased customs rules to make incoming aid move more quickly, and controls over spending have loosened to facilitate the rebuilding process. Foreign aid workers say the problem is not a lack of supplies or government will, but the decision to put federal politicians in charge of logistical operations.
"There is not a lack of resources, but tremendous bottlenecks in getting aid to people who need it," says Aaron Skrocki, who manages emergency programs for US-based Catholic Relief Services.
Replacing local officials with ministers
"Local authorities, the ones who know the area best, and titular head of the civil defense system, have no role. They have been replaced by ministers," said Frank Boeren, of relief specialist with Oxfam International.
Government authorities say the criticism is unwarranted. They fault the slow pace with the magnitude of the damage.
Nearly 80 percent of homes in the Pisco area are in ruins. Of 91 government-run daycare centers in the city, only one remains standing, and most schools are destroyed or damaged. The Pan-American Highway, which connects Peru's major cities along the coast, will require costly repairs in several sections.
The government has opened 14 temporary shelters in Pisco and seven in Chincha, and plans to add a few more to get people out of tents or away from their crumbled and unsafe homes.
Authorities are also facing a security threat from mobs that have attacked aid convoys to steal supplies. There have also been incidents of looting in Pisco and nearby towns.
"Security is the principal concern at this point," said Defense Minister Allan Wagner.
President Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting, but concerns have been magnified by claims that some of the violence is coming at the hands of more than 600 inmates who walked out of the Tambo de Mora prison in the nearby town of Chincha after some of its walls collapsed. Only a handful of the convicts have been rearrested.
The back-and-forth argument over emergency aid is likely to sharpen as the dust settles and the reconstruction phase gets under way.
The task will be daunting. A helicopter fly-over of the zone shows a swath of destruction stretching nearly 200 miles down the coast and into the foothills of the Andean mountain range. The most significant damage is in coastal areas and stretches inland to towns located around 1,000 feet above sea level.
"We have walked nearly every street in Pisco and there is not one where the homes are intact," says Alex Falconi, a regional government inspector. "We are talking about total reconstruction."
Government's earthquake relief in Peru not enough, say experts
Relief experts say that local aid delivery is falling short.
By Lucien O. Chauvin | Correpondent
Pisco, Peru
Manuel Doroteo was on the road this weekend, leaving what was left of his home here on the Peruvian coast after it was leveled by last week's magnitude 8 earthquake.
Mr. Doroteo remained in Pisco, the city hit hardest by the quake, when the rest of his family quickly relocated 140 miles north to the capital, Lima. But after going a few days without water or electricity and sleeping in a tent, Doroteo decided to pack up and join the family.
"This has been like a terror movie. There is nothing and I got tired of waiting for water to arrive. The government handed out beans and rice, but people have no way of cooking them," he said, waiting at three-hour traffic jam to get past a section of highway knocked out by the earthquake.
Like many of the nearly 100,000 people forced from their homes by Peru's worst earthquake in 37 years, Doroteo faults the government for not doing enough to get aid to victims.
Indeed, the sight of people standing in long lines for water and blankets, complaining that they are being neglected, belies the massive amount of aid and the frenetic pace at which President Alan Garcia and ministers have managed the crisis. The federal government has succeeded in getting plenty of aid to the areas hit hardest, but its centralized control of the crisis has hampered the speed of aid delivery to individuals on the ground, say relief experts. The government blames distribution delays on the scale of the damage to infrastructure in the wake of the earthquake and its aftershocks.
"No matter what we do, people will complain. This is understandable, because they are living through a tragedy and want assistance," says Women's Issues and Social Development Minister Virginia Borra, who is coordinating the arrival of supplies and overseeing state-sponsored soup kitchens and daycare centers. "We are proving aid, but they want more."
President Garcia takes charge
The president has set up his command post in Pisco, holding cabinet meetings, handing out orders to relief workers, and taking the time to check in on a child born in the midst of the rubble.
Hundreds of tons of food, clothing, and supplies have been airlifted and driven into Pisco, a clearing house for aid for the rest of the Ica department, where more than 500 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured. There were 19 cargo planes and transport helicopters lined up at one point at the city's small airport on Saturday, unloading supplies from foreign governments and international organizations.
Emergency decrees signed by Mr. Garcia are providing families of the dead with caskets and $300 for funeral arrangements. People whose homes were destroyed or seriously damaged will receive $1,900 in seed money to start rebuilding. Other decrees have eased customs rules to make incoming aid move more quickly, and controls over spending have loosened to facilitate the rebuilding process. Foreign aid workers say the problem is not a lack of supplies or government will, but the decision to put federal politicians in charge of logistical operations.
"There is not a lack of resources, but tremendous bottlenecks in getting aid to people who need it," says Aaron Skrocki, who manages emergency programs for US-based Catholic Relief Services.
Replacing local officials with ministers
"Local authorities, the ones who know the area best, and titular head of the civil defense system, have no role. They have been replaced by ministers," said Frank Boeren, of relief specialist with Oxfam International.
Government authorities say the criticism is unwarranted. They fault the slow pace with the magnitude of the damage.
Nearly 80 percent of homes in the Pisco area are in ruins. Of 91 government-run daycare centers in the city, only one remains standing, and most schools are destroyed or damaged. The Pan-American Highway, which connects Peru's major cities along the coast, will require costly repairs in several sections.
The government has opened 14 temporary shelters in Pisco and seven in Chincha, and plans to add a few more to get people out of tents or away from their crumbled and unsafe homes.
Authorities are also facing a security threat from mobs that have attacked aid convoys to steal supplies. There have also been incidents of looting in Pisco and nearby towns.
"Security is the principal concern at this point," said Defense Minister Allan Wagner.
President Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting, but concerns have been magnified by claims that some of the violence is coming at the hands of more than 600 inmates who walked out of the Tambo de Mora prison in the nearby town of Chincha after some of its walls collapsed. Only a handful of the convicts have been rearrested.
The back-and-forth argument over emergency aid is likely to sharpen as the dust settles and the reconstruction phase gets under way.
The task will be daunting. A helicopter fly-over of the zone shows a swath of destruction stretching nearly 200 miles down the coast and into the foothills of the Andean mountain range. The most significant damage is in coastal areas and stretches inland to towns located around 1,000 feet above sea level.
"We have walked nearly every street in Pisco and there is not one where the homes are intact," says Alex Falconi, a regional government inspector. "We are talking about total reconstruction."
Monday, August 20, 2007
Rescuers searching for survivors in Peru earthquake say they have given up hope
From: http://www.pr-inside.com/print202329.htm
2007-08-20 14:16:51 -
PISCO, Peru (AP) - Rescuers said there was «no hope» of finding anyone else alive in the rubble of this southern port city leveled by a magnitude-8 earthquake that left at least 540 people dead.
«We've stopped the rescue work,» said Jorge Vera, a firefighter who led the operation to find survivors at the San Clemente church in Pisco, on Sunday. «We're now working to recover the bodies.
Firefighter Guillermo Merino said 148 bodies had been removed from the debris of the church that came crashing down during Wednesday's quake. It was not clear how many of the 300 congregants survived the shaking that lasted an agonizing two minutes.
Officials have said that at least 540 people died and some 1,500 were injured across the region.
Rafael Loza, a Peruvian rescuer who was using an infrared camera to find survivors in Pisco, said that «there's no hope in finding anyone alive.» He said the dust generated when the flimsy adobe buildings crumbled would have choked anyone still stuck in the rubble.
Friday was the last time a survivor was pulled from the quake's debris in Pisco, 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Lima.
Local media reported late Sunday that a 12-year-old boy in the nearby village of Guadalupe was killed when a wall of his house fell on top of him following an aftershock that the U.S. Geological Survey measured as a 5.6-magnitude quake.
President Alan Garcia told a news conference in Pisco that the government was preparing plans to rebuild the city, which lost 85 percent of its houses.
He said that 1,200 soldiers had restored calm to the streets where days earlier hungry quake victims looted aid trucks and markets. There have been no reports of attempted looting since Saturday.
Some 280 planes arrived with 600 tons of food and other supplies destined for quake survivors, and navy ships had brought potable water, Garcia said. «No one is going to die of thirst or hunger in these cities,» he said.
The Vatican on Monday joined other international donors, saying it had sent US$200,000 (¤148,654) in aid for victims the quake.
Long lines emerged in the rubble-strewn streets of Pisco, while aid groups parked trucks and distributed water, food, clothing and other supplies.
The distribution was orderly, whereas the day before crowds rushed an army truck when it ran out of the crackers, candy and toilet paper. But it wasn't reaching all who needed it.
Teresa Casavilca, 40, walked and hitchhiked in search of food with her 1-year-old son, wrapped in a flowered sheet on her back, from her rural home about six miles outside of Pisco.
«The planes with help go by every moment,» Casavilca said. «Where does that help go? Nothing gets to us. My son cries all night from the cold because we're sleeping outside.
Only a trickle of aid was reaching hard-hit mountain communities farther inland, said Yerma Canales, director of social services in Castrovirreyna, 140 miles southeast of Lima.
«Help has not gotten to us yet, just a minimal part,» Canales said.
She said the region's adobe houses were severely damaged in the quake. Families moved outdoors for their safety, where children are falling ill in the cold weather.
«People are no longer sleeping in their homes,» Canales said. «They are going to parks, fields and open ground because aftershocks are happening all the time.
Aid workers estimated during the weekend that up to 80 percent of people in urban quake-hit areas may not have access to clean water.
Associated Press writers Monte Hayes, Leslie Josephs and Edison Lopez in Lima and Frank Bajak in Pisco contributed to this report.
2007-08-20 14:16:51 -
PISCO, Peru (AP) - Rescuers said there was «no hope» of finding anyone else alive in the rubble of this southern port city leveled by a magnitude-8 earthquake that left at least 540 people dead.
«We've stopped the rescue work,» said Jorge Vera, a firefighter who led the operation to find survivors at the San Clemente church in Pisco, on Sunday. «We're now working to recover the bodies.
Firefighter Guillermo Merino said 148 bodies had been removed from the debris of the church that came crashing down during Wednesday's quake. It was not clear how many of the 300 congregants survived the shaking that lasted an agonizing two minutes.
Officials have said that at least 540 people died and some 1,500 were injured across the region.
Rafael Loza, a Peruvian rescuer who was using an infrared camera to find survivors in Pisco, said that «there's no hope in finding anyone alive.» He said the dust generated when the flimsy adobe buildings crumbled would have choked anyone still stuck in the rubble.
Friday was the last time a survivor was pulled from the quake's debris in Pisco, 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Lima.
Local media reported late Sunday that a 12-year-old boy in the nearby village of Guadalupe was killed when a wall of his house fell on top of him following an aftershock that the U.S. Geological Survey measured as a 5.6-magnitude quake.
President Alan Garcia told a news conference in Pisco that the government was preparing plans to rebuild the city, which lost 85 percent of its houses.
He said that 1,200 soldiers had restored calm to the streets where days earlier hungry quake victims looted aid trucks and markets. There have been no reports of attempted looting since Saturday.
Some 280 planes arrived with 600 tons of food and other supplies destined for quake survivors, and navy ships had brought potable water, Garcia said. «No one is going to die of thirst or hunger in these cities,» he said.
The Vatican on Monday joined other international donors, saying it had sent US$200,000 (¤148,654) in aid for victims the quake.
Long lines emerged in the rubble-strewn streets of Pisco, while aid groups parked trucks and distributed water, food, clothing and other supplies.
The distribution was orderly, whereas the day before crowds rushed an army truck when it ran out of the crackers, candy and toilet paper. But it wasn't reaching all who needed it.
Teresa Casavilca, 40, walked and hitchhiked in search of food with her 1-year-old son, wrapped in a flowered sheet on her back, from her rural home about six miles outside of Pisco.
«The planes with help go by every moment,» Casavilca said. «Where does that help go? Nothing gets to us. My son cries all night from the cold because we're sleeping outside.
Only a trickle of aid was reaching hard-hit mountain communities farther inland, said Yerma Canales, director of social services in Castrovirreyna, 140 miles southeast of Lima.
«Help has not gotten to us yet, just a minimal part,» Canales said.
She said the region's adobe houses were severely damaged in the quake. Families moved outdoors for their safety, where children are falling ill in the cold weather.
«People are no longer sleeping in their homes,» Canales said. «They are going to parks, fields and open ground because aftershocks are happening all the time.
Aid workers estimated during the weekend that up to 80 percent of people in urban quake-hit areas may not have access to clean water.
Associated Press writers Monte Hayes, Leslie Josephs and Edison Lopez in Lima and Frank Bajak in Pisco contributed to this report.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Man says he saved infant from church destroyed in Peru quake
From: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/18/america/LA-GEN-Peru-Quake-Baby.php
LIMA, Peru: A 10-month-old boy was pulled from the ruins of a collapsed church seven hours after an earthquake leveled the Peruvian city of Pisco, local media reported Saturday.
"It was a miracle that he had survived so many hours breathing only dust and death," Romulo Palomino told the state news agency Andina.
Palomino said he was searching frantically through the adobe and wood rubble of the San Clemente church for his parents when he discovered the infant in a pile of broken timbers.
"I thought he was dead. I picked him up carefully and I noticed that his heart was beating," Palomino said. "I cleaned him and he started to sneeze and cry."
The pews of the church in the port city of Pisco were packed for a special Mass when Wednesday's quake hit and crumbled its domed ceiling.
About 100 congregants perished, according to Civil Defense estimates. Palomino said his own parents were among them.
"Finding this little one alive is a comfort that I will take with me for the rest of my life," he said.
Palomino brought the infant, whose parents have not been located or identified, to the nearby coastal town of Paracas.
"I'm taking care of him with the little I have, but he needs milk and clothes," his wife, Ana de Palomino, was quoted as saying on Andina's Web site. The couple's house was destroyed in the quake, which killed at least 540 people.
LIMA, Peru: A 10-month-old boy was pulled from the ruins of a collapsed church seven hours after an earthquake leveled the Peruvian city of Pisco, local media reported Saturday.
"It was a miracle that he had survived so many hours breathing only dust and death," Romulo Palomino told the state news agency Andina.
Palomino said he was searching frantically through the adobe and wood rubble of the San Clemente church for his parents when he discovered the infant in a pile of broken timbers.
"I thought he was dead. I picked him up carefully and I noticed that his heart was beating," Palomino said. "I cleaned him and he started to sneeze and cry."
The pews of the church in the port city of Pisco were packed for a special Mass when Wednesday's quake hit and crumbled its domed ceiling.
About 100 congregants perished, according to Civil Defense estimates. Palomino said his own parents were among them.
"Finding this little one alive is a comfort that I will take with me for the rest of my life," he said.
Palomino brought the infant, whose parents have not been located or identified, to the nearby coastal town of Paracas.
"I'm taking care of him with the little I have, but he needs milk and clothes," his wife, Ana de Palomino, was quoted as saying on Andina's Web site. The couple's house was destroyed in the quake, which killed at least 540 people.
Peru sends in army to quell looting as survivors go hungry
Peru sends in army to quell looting as survivors go hungry
By Frank Bajak
From: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_6663756
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Launched: 08/19/2007 03:04:25 AM PDT
PISCO, Peru -- The government sent the army Saturday to stop looting fueled by rising desperation in earthquake-shattered Peru, where tens of thousands are without fresh water and shivering families huddle in makeshift shelters at the center of the devastation.
In a soccer stadium in the port city of Pisco, more than 500 people rushed a lone truck that ran out little packets of crackers, candy and toilet paper, screaming that they had not eaten and accusing rescue workers of keeping supplies for themselves.
As many as 80 percent of the people in quake-hit urban areas may not have access to clean water, and many rural communities still have not been reached to assess the damage, said Dominic Nutt, part of an emergency assessment team in Peru for the aid agency Save the Children.
President Alan Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting. "We're going to establish order, regardless of what it costs," he said.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Allan Wagner said in Pisco that the death toll from Wednesday's magnitude-8 quake had risen to 540, up from the previous figure of 510 provided by firefighters.
Destruction from the quake, which also injured at least 1,500 people, was centered in the cities of Ica and Pisco in Peru's southern desert, about 125 miles southeast of the capital, Lima.
Garcia said at least 80,000 people were affected in some way, mostly through the destruction or damage of homes.
At one end of a soccer field in Pisco, families who had lost everything huddled in a half dozen makeshift shelters made of cardboard and blankets held up by wooden poles.
Soldiers stood guard at supply depots and tried to ensure that aid trucks made it to their destinations.
Miguel Soto, a police officer standing guard in the Pisco stadium, said food donated by one Lima district had been raided on the traffic-clogged highway to Pisco. Many other food trucks simply weren't getting through, he said.
Responding to criticism that aid was not arriving quickly enough, Jorge del Castillo, Garcia's Cabinet chief, told El Comerico newspaper said that all planes available were now being used to ferry supplies to the victims. Immediately after the quake, many of the aircraft were used to carry the injured to Lima, he said.
Rescuers continued to pull bodies from the rubble of the San Clemente church in downtown Pisco, where hundreds had gathered for Mass when the quake struck Wednesday.
Hopes of finding more survivors diminished Saturday.
Paul Wooster, coordinator of the Rapid UK Rescue team from Gloucester, England, said rescuers were using sound detectors and infrared cameras to search mountains of rubble.
The latest survivor discovered, a man, was pulled from the rubble at midday Friday
By Frank Bajak
From: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_6663756
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Launched: 08/19/2007 03:04:25 AM PDT
PISCO, Peru -- The government sent the army Saturday to stop looting fueled by rising desperation in earthquake-shattered Peru, where tens of thousands are without fresh water and shivering families huddle in makeshift shelters at the center of the devastation.
In a soccer stadium in the port city of Pisco, more than 500 people rushed a lone truck that ran out little packets of crackers, candy and toilet paper, screaming that they had not eaten and accusing rescue workers of keeping supplies for themselves.
As many as 80 percent of the people in quake-hit urban areas may not have access to clean water, and many rural communities still have not been reached to assess the damage, said Dominic Nutt, part of an emergency assessment team in Peru for the aid agency Save the Children.
President Alan Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting. "We're going to establish order, regardless of what it costs," he said.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Allan Wagner said in Pisco that the death toll from Wednesday's magnitude-8 quake had risen to 540, up from the previous figure of 510 provided by firefighters.
Destruction from the quake, which also injured at least 1,500 people, was centered in the cities of Ica and Pisco in Peru's southern desert, about 125 miles southeast of the capital, Lima.
Garcia said at least 80,000 people were affected in some way, mostly through the destruction or damage of homes.
At one end of a soccer field in Pisco, families who had lost everything huddled in a half dozen makeshift shelters made of cardboard and blankets held up by wooden poles.
Soldiers stood guard at supply depots and tried to ensure that aid trucks made it to their destinations.
Miguel Soto, a police officer standing guard in the Pisco stadium, said food donated by one Lima district had been raided on the traffic-clogged highway to Pisco. Many other food trucks simply weren't getting through, he said.
Responding to criticism that aid was not arriving quickly enough, Jorge del Castillo, Garcia's Cabinet chief, told El Comerico newspaper said that all planes available were now being used to ferry supplies to the victims. Immediately after the quake, many of the aircraft were used to carry the injured to Lima, he said.
Rescuers continued to pull bodies from the rubble of the San Clemente church in downtown Pisco, where hundreds had gathered for Mass when the quake struck Wednesday.
Hopes of finding more survivors diminished Saturday.
Paul Wooster, coordinator of the Rapid UK Rescue team from Gloucester, England, said rescuers were using sound detectors and infrared cameras to search mountains of rubble.
The latest survivor discovered, a man, was pulled from the rubble at midday Friday
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Terremento
From: http://www.eitb24.com/noticia/es/B24_61882/internacional/EL-MAYOR-50-ANOS-fuerte-terremoto-sacude-Peru-115-muertos/
Un fuerte terremoto sacude Perú: 337 muertos y 1.300 heridos
16/08/2007
El presidente peruano ha declarado el estado de emergencia y ha realizado un llamamiento a los peruanos para que donen sangre. Desde que se ha producido el terremoto, se han producido un centenar de réplicas.
El Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil de Perú elevó a 337 el número de muertos en el terremoto de 7,9 grados en la escala de Richter registrado en Perú, mientras los heridos superarían el millar. Las cifras de víctimas mortales de Defensa Civil, publicadas a través de su página web, superan por lo tanto a los ofrecidas por el ministro de Salud, Carlos Vallejo, quien habló de 115 muertos y 1.300 heridos.
El mayor número de las víctimas por este gran terremoto se registró en la ciudad de Ica, 300 kilómetros al sur de la capital, la zona más afectada por el seismo. El epicentro se ubicó en el mar, 167 kilómetros al sur de Lima y frente a las costas de la ciudad de Pisco lo que originó una alerta de tsunami que fue cancelada horas después. El movimiento telúrico se ha registrado a las 18:40 hora local (23:40 GMT) y se ha sentido incluso en Colombia, Ecuador, México y Chile.
La urbe más afectada es Ica, a 300 kilómetros de la capital, donde se han registrado las víctimas y se han derrumbado edificios. El presidente del país, Alan García, ha solicitado a sus compatriotas que evacuen el litoral en previsión de un tsunami, pero más tarde han desactivado la alarma.
Réplicas
El gran terremoto ha sido seguido por tres réplicas y, según el Instituto de Geofísica del Perú (IGP), podrían repetirse temblores en las próximas horas e incluso próximos días.
Se trata del seísmo más fuerte que Lima y las ciudades aledañas del sur han sufrido en los últimos 50 años, ha confirmado el director de Sismología del IGP, Hernando Tavera, ya que se ha sentido en todo el país, incluida la selva y toda la cordillera andina.
"Es un sismo de gran magnitud" y "probablemente toda la semana haya réplicas", ha dicho Tavera a los medios peruanos.
Ica
Las urbes de Ica, Pisco, Chincha y Cañete son las más afectadas, aunque la capital, Lima, también se estremeció dando paso a un estado de pánico entre la población que abandonó apresurada sus hogares y lugares de trabajo, y en algunos casos pasó la noche en las calles. La ciudad de Ica sigue sin fluido eléctrico y los equipos de rescate trabajan entre los escombros de los edificios derrumbados, entre ellos una iglesia en la que se oficiaba una misa.
En Ica y la aledaña Cañete "los hospitales están colapsados", ha dicho el ministro Vallejos a la cadena América Televisión.
Los medios de comunicación y las autoridades de Perú han pedido la solidaridad de todos los ciudadanos, pero también de las naciones extranjeras para hacer frente al caos. Las autoridades han realizado un llamamiento a los peruanos para que donen sangre para los heridos.
Lima
Mientras tanto, en Lima persiste el caos y el temor a nuevos seísmos. Sus habitantes han sido testigos de la rotura de cristales en los edificios, el derrumbe de tejados y de desprendimientos de tierra y piedras en los acantilados de la costa.
Los limeños, con sus hijos a cuestas en muchos casos, se han echado a las calles ante la gran magnitud del terremoto desde las oficinas, ministerios y viviendas, lo que ha creado un escenario de pánico que pocos recuerdan en la capital.
El Ministerio de Salud ha decretado la emergencia en todos los hospitales del país, mientras los médicos, que habían iniciado hoy una huelga en demanda de mejoras laborales, han desconvocado el paro y se han incorporado a sus puestos de trabajo de forma inmediata.
Mensaje del presidente peruano
Por su parte, el presidente de Perú, Alan García, ha anunciado en un discurso retransmitido por televisión que se declaraba el estado de emergencia, por 60 días naturales, en el departamento de Ica y en la provincia de Cañete. Asimismo, entre otras medidas de urgencia ha dispuesto que todo el personal de la Policía Nacional saliera a la calle --ya que se han registrado algunos saqueos-- y ha anunciado que las clases escolares quedaban suspendidas.
Ruta turística
La costa peruana afectada por el seismo forma parte de la ruta turística que lleva a las míticas Líneas de Nazca; e Ica, rodeada de dunas, acoge el balneario de Huacachina: un oasis en medio del desierto.
Desde que se produjo el terremoto, a las 23:40 GMT del miércoles, se han producido un centenar de réplicas, y al menos media docena se han sentido con fuerza en la capital.
Un fuerte terremoto sacude Perú: 337 muertos y 1.300 heridos
16/08/2007
El presidente peruano ha declarado el estado de emergencia y ha realizado un llamamiento a los peruanos para que donen sangre. Desde que se ha producido el terremoto, se han producido un centenar de réplicas.
El Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil de Perú elevó a 337 el número de muertos en el terremoto de 7,9 grados en la escala de Richter registrado en Perú, mientras los heridos superarían el millar. Las cifras de víctimas mortales de Defensa Civil, publicadas a través de su página web, superan por lo tanto a los ofrecidas por el ministro de Salud, Carlos Vallejo, quien habló de 115 muertos y 1.300 heridos.
El mayor número de las víctimas por este gran terremoto se registró en la ciudad de Ica, 300 kilómetros al sur de la capital, la zona más afectada por el seismo. El epicentro se ubicó en el mar, 167 kilómetros al sur de Lima y frente a las costas de la ciudad de Pisco lo que originó una alerta de tsunami que fue cancelada horas después. El movimiento telúrico se ha registrado a las 18:40 hora local (23:40 GMT) y se ha sentido incluso en Colombia, Ecuador, México y Chile.
La urbe más afectada es Ica, a 300 kilómetros de la capital, donde se han registrado las víctimas y se han derrumbado edificios. El presidente del país, Alan García, ha solicitado a sus compatriotas que evacuen el litoral en previsión de un tsunami, pero más tarde han desactivado la alarma.
Réplicas
El gran terremoto ha sido seguido por tres réplicas y, según el Instituto de Geofísica del Perú (IGP), podrían repetirse temblores en las próximas horas e incluso próximos días.
Se trata del seísmo más fuerte que Lima y las ciudades aledañas del sur han sufrido en los últimos 50 años, ha confirmado el director de Sismología del IGP, Hernando Tavera, ya que se ha sentido en todo el país, incluida la selva y toda la cordillera andina.
"Es un sismo de gran magnitud" y "probablemente toda la semana haya réplicas", ha dicho Tavera a los medios peruanos.
Ica
Las urbes de Ica, Pisco, Chincha y Cañete son las más afectadas, aunque la capital, Lima, también se estremeció dando paso a un estado de pánico entre la población que abandonó apresurada sus hogares y lugares de trabajo, y en algunos casos pasó la noche en las calles. La ciudad de Ica sigue sin fluido eléctrico y los equipos de rescate trabajan entre los escombros de los edificios derrumbados, entre ellos una iglesia en la que se oficiaba una misa.
En Ica y la aledaña Cañete "los hospitales están colapsados", ha dicho el ministro Vallejos a la cadena América Televisión.
Los medios de comunicación y las autoridades de Perú han pedido la solidaridad de todos los ciudadanos, pero también de las naciones extranjeras para hacer frente al caos. Las autoridades han realizado un llamamiento a los peruanos para que donen sangre para los heridos.
Lima
Mientras tanto, en Lima persiste el caos y el temor a nuevos seísmos. Sus habitantes han sido testigos de la rotura de cristales en los edificios, el derrumbe de tejados y de desprendimientos de tierra y piedras en los acantilados de la costa.
Los limeños, con sus hijos a cuestas en muchos casos, se han echado a las calles ante la gran magnitud del terremoto desde las oficinas, ministerios y viviendas, lo que ha creado un escenario de pánico que pocos recuerdan en la capital.
El Ministerio de Salud ha decretado la emergencia en todos los hospitales del país, mientras los médicos, que habían iniciado hoy una huelga en demanda de mejoras laborales, han desconvocado el paro y se han incorporado a sus puestos de trabajo de forma inmediata.
Mensaje del presidente peruano
Por su parte, el presidente de Perú, Alan García, ha anunciado en un discurso retransmitido por televisión que se declaraba el estado de emergencia, por 60 días naturales, en el departamento de Ica y en la provincia de Cañete. Asimismo, entre otras medidas de urgencia ha dispuesto que todo el personal de la Policía Nacional saliera a la calle --ya que se han registrado algunos saqueos-- y ha anunciado que las clases escolares quedaban suspendidas.
Ruta turística
La costa peruana afectada por el seismo forma parte de la ruta turística que lleva a las míticas Líneas de Nazca; e Ica, rodeada de dunas, acoge el balneario de Huacachina: un oasis en medio del desierto.
Desde que se produjo el terremoto, a las 23:40 GMT del miércoles, se han producido un centenar de réplicas, y al menos media docena se han sentido con fuerza en la capital.
Earthquake news (Spanish)
From http://www.2001.com.ve/noticias_2001online.asp?registro=82170
Perú lanza puente aéreo para llevar ayuda a víctimas de terremoto
PISCO- El gobierno peruano buscaba establecer el jueves un puente aéreo para llegar a poblaciones de centro-sur del país que fueron las más afectadas tras el terremoto de 7,7 grados del miércoles, y que actualmente están incomunicadas por vía terrestre.
El uso de helicópteros y aviones surgió como la única vía para llevar ayuda a los centenares de damnificados de las localidades de Ica, Pisco, Chincha y Cañete, que sufrieron destrozos en más de un 80% de su infraestructura física.
Dos aviones de la fuerza aérea partieron de Lima al amanecer rumbo al aeropuerto militar de Ica, 300 km al sur de Lima, llevando más de 50 toneladas de ayuda como medicinas, alimentos y frazadas.
Al mismo tiempo los primeros dos helicópteros de la policía nacional llevando ayuda humanitaria, carpas principalmente, salieron a Pisco, 240 km al sur de Lima. Desde Pisco se llevaría ayuda a la cercana Chincha.
El cuerpo de bomberos cifró en 387 los muertos y en más de 1.050 los heridos. Las cifras oficiales sumaban más de 200 muertes, sin contar a las víctimas de la ciudad de Ica.
El presidente Alan García se disponía a viajar a la zona en las próximas horas para recorrer la zona y sumarse a la comitiva gubernamental de cuatro ministros que viajó anoche mismo al lugar.
Los hospitales de las zonas colapsaron así como las telecomunicaciones, que no han restablecido 12 horas después del terremoto. En vasta zonas próximas al epicentro del terremoto tampoco había energía eléctrica.
El derrumbe de puentes y el deslizamiento parcial de cerros aledaños de un tramo importante de la carretera Panamericana, la principal del país, entre Lima y el centro sur de Perú dificultó la llegada de ayuda.
La carretera Panamericana, que recorre todo Perú paralela a la costa como una gigantesca línea recta de más de 2.000 km, es la única vía que comunica a la zona desde la capital peruana.
Las radios limeñas y las televisoras locales pusieron en marcha una red de solidaridad con información continua y sus líneas telefónicas abiertas para que la población pueda enviar mensajes a sus familiares.
El panorama era desolador en Ica, Pisco y Chincha, donde viviendas y locales públicos aparecen por tierra, totalmente destruidos.
El gobierno central instó a la solidaridad de la población de Lima y centralizó en el aeropuerto militar de la capital el punto de acopio de ayuda para llevarla a la zona del desastre.
La ayuda internacional no tardó en expresarse empezando por Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, México, Colombia, España y Francia que fueron los primeros países en solidarizarse y anunciar coordinaciones para el envío de ayuda humanitaria.
El Instituto Sismológico de Perú ubicó el epicentro del terremoto, que se produjo el miércoles a las 18H41 locales (23H41 GMT) y que duró unos dos minutos, en el mar a 169 km al suroeste de Lima, con una profundidad de 47 km.
Perú lanza puente aéreo para llevar ayuda a víctimas de terremoto
PISCO- El gobierno peruano buscaba establecer el jueves un puente aéreo para llegar a poblaciones de centro-sur del país que fueron las más afectadas tras el terremoto de 7,7 grados del miércoles, y que actualmente están incomunicadas por vía terrestre.
El uso de helicópteros y aviones surgió como la única vía para llevar ayuda a los centenares de damnificados de las localidades de Ica, Pisco, Chincha y Cañete, que sufrieron destrozos en más de un 80% de su infraestructura física.
Dos aviones de la fuerza aérea partieron de Lima al amanecer rumbo al aeropuerto militar de Ica, 300 km al sur de Lima, llevando más de 50 toneladas de ayuda como medicinas, alimentos y frazadas.
Al mismo tiempo los primeros dos helicópteros de la policía nacional llevando ayuda humanitaria, carpas principalmente, salieron a Pisco, 240 km al sur de Lima. Desde Pisco se llevaría ayuda a la cercana Chincha.
El cuerpo de bomberos cifró en 387 los muertos y en más de 1.050 los heridos. Las cifras oficiales sumaban más de 200 muertes, sin contar a las víctimas de la ciudad de Ica.
El presidente Alan García se disponía a viajar a la zona en las próximas horas para recorrer la zona y sumarse a la comitiva gubernamental de cuatro ministros que viajó anoche mismo al lugar.
Los hospitales de las zonas colapsaron así como las telecomunicaciones, que no han restablecido 12 horas después del terremoto. En vasta zonas próximas al epicentro del terremoto tampoco había energía eléctrica.
El derrumbe de puentes y el deslizamiento parcial de cerros aledaños de un tramo importante de la carretera Panamericana, la principal del país, entre Lima y el centro sur de Perú dificultó la llegada de ayuda.
La carretera Panamericana, que recorre todo Perú paralela a la costa como una gigantesca línea recta de más de 2.000 km, es la única vía que comunica a la zona desde la capital peruana.
Las radios limeñas y las televisoras locales pusieron en marcha una red de solidaridad con información continua y sus líneas telefónicas abiertas para que la población pueda enviar mensajes a sus familiares.
El panorama era desolador en Ica, Pisco y Chincha, donde viviendas y locales públicos aparecen por tierra, totalmente destruidos.
El gobierno central instó a la solidaridad de la población de Lima y centralizó en el aeropuerto militar de la capital el punto de acopio de ayuda para llevarla a la zona del desastre.
La ayuda internacional no tardó en expresarse empezando por Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, México, Colombia, España y Francia que fueron los primeros países en solidarizarse y anunciar coordinaciones para el envío de ayuda humanitaria.
El Instituto Sismológico de Perú ubicó el epicentro del terremoto, que se produjo el miércoles a las 18H41 locales (23H41 GMT) y que duró unos dos minutos, en el mar a 169 km al suroeste de Lima, con una profundidad de 47 km.
Earthquake - Our family is OK.
Pilar was the first one to tell us about the earthquake last night. She went immediately on line to find out more. But there wasn't much information available yet. Our friend Mariana called to let us know about the earthquake as soon as she had found out.
Martha tried to call Adolfo several times, but was not able to reach him. Apparently much of the power was out in Lima.
This morning we saw and heard more details about the devastation. Ica was hit the hardest. A church had collapsed during evening mass. Many parts of the Pan Americana were covered by rubble from land slides.
In Lima, many people ran out into the streets in terror. The quake apparently lasted close to two minutes.
Martha finally got a hold of Adolfo, who said that everyone in the family is OK. He was driving with Mamama, when the earthquake hit. Most of the damaged buildings seem to be in the poor parts of the town.
Martha tried to call Adolfo several times, but was not able to reach him. Apparently much of the power was out in Lima.
This morning we saw and heard more details about the devastation. Ica was hit the hardest. A church had collapsed during evening mass. Many parts of the Pan Americana were covered by rubble from land slides.
In Lima, many people ran out into the streets in terror. The quake apparently lasted close to two minutes.
Martha finally got a hold of Adolfo, who said that everyone in the family is OK. He was driving with Mamama, when the earthquake hit. Most of the damaged buildings seem to be in the poor parts of the town.
Earthquake in Peru
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
Peru Quake Death Toll Rises to 337; Hundreds Injured (Update2)
By Alex Emery and Camilla Hall
Enlarge Image
A family camp in the park after the earthquake
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from Peru's worst earthquake in more than 30 years rose to 337 as rescue workers searched for survivors and medics treated hundreds of injured.
The magnitude-7.9 temblor yesterday also left at least 827 people hurt, Peru's Civil Defense Institute said on its Web site.
A state of emergency was declared and countries such as Mexico and Panama pledged aid. It was the world's most powerful quake since a magnitude-8.1 temblor struck off the Solomon Islands in April, triggering a tsunami that killed 54 people.
The Ica region was hardest hit by the quake, which happened at about 6:41 p.m. local time. All the injured and all except one of the dead came from Ica, where a hospital was destroyed and four were damaged, the agency said. One person died in Lima.
At least 60 people died in the regional capital, also called Ica, 265 kilometers (165 miles) south-southeast of Lima, Mayor Mariano Quispe told the Radioprogramas station.
More than 10 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater hit the area, including a magnitude-6.3 tremor today just after midnight, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.
The temblor was the largest earthquake in Peru since 1974, said Dale Grant, a geophysicist at the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.
Communications Cut
The Civil Defense Institute said its casualty figures, which were compiled from regional information, were preliminary. Electricity supplies and telephone and Internet connections to the affected areas were cut by the quake, adding to difficulties in determining the scale of the disaster.
``The impact is big because there is so much uncertainty'' over the number of casualties, Susana Arroyo, a spokeswoman for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a telephone interview from Peru.
The IFRC is trying to compile its own casualty toll, to be released later today, she said. The agency is donating $205,000 of emergency aid, the spokeswoman said.
Thousands of people chose to camp out on public squares rather than risk facing the aftershocks inside their homes. Looting was reported in several towns.
Police and state hospitals were placed on emergency status and schools closed today, Peruvian President Alan Garcia said in a broadcast late yesterday on Radioprogramas. Garcia held an emergency session of his Cabinet at the presidential palace late yesterday. Emergency services will review schools, roads and bridges for damage today, he said.
State doctors called off a strike to attend the injured, Health Minister Carlos Vallejos said.
Hospitals Overflowing
Hospitals were overflowing with the injured in the southern towns of Chincha, Canete and Ica, according to state news agency Andina. Ica's 16th century Senor de Luren church, one of the oldest in the Americas, collapsed late yesterday during Mass.
Jorge Chavez international airport in Lima canceled all domestic flights and City Hall closed coastal roads.
The temblor hit about 90 miles south-southeast of Lima, the USGS said. Tens of thousands of people evacuated office buildings in the capital's financial quarter of San Isidro.
Fishermen battled heavy seas to drag their launches onto dry land south of Lima in response to a tsunami alert. The quake set off tsunami signals and advisories for Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Hawaii. The alerts were later canceled.
In the Chilean city of Santiago, dozens of passengers were stranded at the airport after Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Brazil's second-largest airline, canceled a flight to Lima because of the quake, Television Nacional reported.
The quake was felt as far north as Colombia's capital, Bogota, and as far south as Coquimbo, Chile, about 2,000 kilometers from Lima. There were no reports of injuries or property damage, the Chilean Interior Ministry's National Emergency Office said on its Web site.
A magnitude-7 earthquake carries roughly as much energy as 199,000 tons of TNT, according to the USGS. That energy is spread out in waves and not in one particular spot.
Peru Quake Death Toll Rises to 337; Hundreds Injured (Update2)
By Alex Emery and Camilla Hall
Enlarge Image
A family camp in the park after the earthquake
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from Peru's worst earthquake in more than 30 years rose to 337 as rescue workers searched for survivors and medics treated hundreds of injured.
The magnitude-7.9 temblor yesterday also left at least 827 people hurt, Peru's Civil Defense Institute said on its Web site.
A state of emergency was declared and countries such as Mexico and Panama pledged aid. It was the world's most powerful quake since a magnitude-8.1 temblor struck off the Solomon Islands in April, triggering a tsunami that killed 54 people.
The Ica region was hardest hit by the quake, which happened at about 6:41 p.m. local time. All the injured and all except one of the dead came from Ica, where a hospital was destroyed and four were damaged, the agency said. One person died in Lima.
At least 60 people died in the regional capital, also called Ica, 265 kilometers (165 miles) south-southeast of Lima, Mayor Mariano Quispe told the Radioprogramas station.
More than 10 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater hit the area, including a magnitude-6.3 tremor today just after midnight, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.
The temblor was the largest earthquake in Peru since 1974, said Dale Grant, a geophysicist at the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.
Communications Cut
The Civil Defense Institute said its casualty figures, which were compiled from regional information, were preliminary. Electricity supplies and telephone and Internet connections to the affected areas were cut by the quake, adding to difficulties in determining the scale of the disaster.
``The impact is big because there is so much uncertainty'' over the number of casualties, Susana Arroyo, a spokeswoman for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a telephone interview from Peru.
The IFRC is trying to compile its own casualty toll, to be released later today, she said. The agency is donating $205,000 of emergency aid, the spokeswoman said.
Thousands of people chose to camp out on public squares rather than risk facing the aftershocks inside their homes. Looting was reported in several towns.
Police and state hospitals were placed on emergency status and schools closed today, Peruvian President Alan Garcia said in a broadcast late yesterday on Radioprogramas. Garcia held an emergency session of his Cabinet at the presidential palace late yesterday. Emergency services will review schools, roads and bridges for damage today, he said.
State doctors called off a strike to attend the injured, Health Minister Carlos Vallejos said.
Hospitals Overflowing
Hospitals were overflowing with the injured in the southern towns of Chincha, Canete and Ica, according to state news agency Andina. Ica's 16th century Senor de Luren church, one of the oldest in the Americas, collapsed late yesterday during Mass.
Jorge Chavez international airport in Lima canceled all domestic flights and City Hall closed coastal roads.
The temblor hit about 90 miles south-southeast of Lima, the USGS said. Tens of thousands of people evacuated office buildings in the capital's financial quarter of San Isidro.
Fishermen battled heavy seas to drag their launches onto dry land south of Lima in response to a tsunami alert. The quake set off tsunami signals and advisories for Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Hawaii. The alerts were later canceled.
In the Chilean city of Santiago, dozens of passengers were stranded at the airport after Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Brazil's second-largest airline, canceled a flight to Lima because of the quake, Television Nacional reported.
The quake was felt as far north as Colombia's capital, Bogota, and as far south as Coquimbo, Chile, about 2,000 kilometers from Lima. There were no reports of injuries or property damage, the Chilean Interior Ministry's National Emergency Office said on its Web site.
A magnitude-7 earthquake carries roughly as much energy as 199,000 tons of TNT, according to the USGS. That energy is spread out in waves and not in one particular spot.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Talkr - Listen to Blogs
Sounds like Talkr is using the ATT Voices to generate audio from Blog text.
Talkr -- FAQ: How do I get started with Talkr?
Talkr -- FAQ: How do I get started with Talkr?
Friday, May 25, 2007
Peru Vacation 2007
Tomorrow we will embark on our trip for Peru. I went ahead and started a travel blog to track our progress.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
pilar_graduation-80 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Last weekend we celebrated Pilar's graduation. We attended the ceremony at UNT where I had a hard time finding a good position to take pictures from.
Adolfo came from Peru, Nusta from LA, and Nancy and Tatiana came from Florida. Of course all the cousins were there as well as many friends.
Later we went to Gabriel and Erlinda's home for food and celebration.
Click to see more photos
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Dads and Kids in Fort Worth
April 1st, 2007
While the moms of our group took a shopping trip to the antique market in Canton,TX, the dads decided to take the kids to an outing in the Fort Worth Stock Yards.
We had originally planned to take a train ride to Dallas. However, it turned out that there is no Sunday service for that train. We hoped to get a ride on the steam train in Fort Worth, but gain had no luck because the train was being used for a Thomas The Tank Engine event in Grapevine.
So we stopped at a local Burger joint for lunch where we met a family from Sweden. Afterwards we spent some time in the very cool maze across the street. We then took a good look at the longhorns and watched the cattle drive.
Later we decided to go to a park along the trinity river.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Our first camping trip.
On Saturday, May 5th, 2007, we went for a short, over-night trip, to the Southward ranch near Nemo, TX.
Martha didn't get to go, since she had to work at Cook's. I had bought a tent, sleeping bags and other camping supplies and was ready for our excursion.
Alexander and Isabella were very exited. I still had a soccer game to coach at 2:00 pm and Alexander had a drum lesson, so we didn't get to the ranch until 5:30.
Three other families were to meet us there: The Tepners, Gonzales', and the Masons.
There was a bit of a concern with the weather because earlier that day, a tornado hit Greensburg, Kansas and did quite a bit of damage. However, although the sky was overcast, we had no rain, and the temperature was at around 80F.
After our arrival and initial hellos, the kids took off into the wilderness and I began setting up the tent with the help of Eric.
Carlos started preparing dinner by marinating some chicken drum sticks and assembling lots of meat/shrimp/veggie skewers. He asked me to light the grill, which consisted of an old rusty 55 Gallon drum with a grill rack inside. Another thing that was inside the grill was a hornet's nest along with three hornets. Well, I gave them a few squirts of bug spray which only affected one hornet fatally. One hornet took off, and the third went about its business building the nest. After a few more hits of bug spray it finally got annoyed and started moving away from the nest. That's when Eric managed to squish it with a stick.
Now we were ready to grill.
After about an hour we got our first taste of the chicken. Later we also got to munch on the skewers. The kids, of course liked neither, they waited for the Bratwurst that Martha had packed so wisely.
After dinner, Karl had prepared a camp fire for roasting marshmallows. We loaded the kids up in the back of his '78 Chevy pickup, and drove the short distance to the fire. Martin was in charge of the marshmallows and handed them to the eager kids who, despite the tremendous heat, roasted their marshmallows with delight.
When we returned from the camp fire, the adults sat around the porch sharing camping stories. These ranged from Karl's live skunk catches to Carlos' near drowning incident in Mexico. The kids were busy exploring. To our nuisance they kept going in out of the tents with their flash lights, which undoubltedly attracted a few bugs. We had a hard time convincing the kids to keep the tents shut.
At around 10:30 pm, we decided to start hitting the sleeping bags, as we realized that the kids would be up at the crack of dawn.
As it happend, few of the adults got a good nights rest. I know that the !@#$# cricket next to our tent kept me up all night. As it turned out I wasnt' the only one with a restless night. Mariana kept constantly hearing strange noises and Laura got quite bothered by the heat and humidity.
This kids, however, slept wonderfully, and were full of energy the next day.
For breakfast we all grazed the kitchen and just grabbed whatever foods were available: cereal, bread, yoghurt, etc. To Laura's horror, I started a full load of coffee in the available coffee machine. As it turned out, the machine dispensed water more rapidly that the filter could handle, and she had to keep a close eye on it to prevent it from overflowing. The coffee turned out quite stout and helped me to wake up.
After breakfast, the Mason's emerged from their "camp". As they originally hadn't intended to stay overnight, they didn't bring a tent and so they slept in one of the bedrooms. Needless to say, they were quite chipper in the morning.
The kids really wanted to go see the waterfall nearby, and so Carlos, Eric, and I tagged along in order to keep and eye on them. After that, we had some of the left overs for lunch and then headed back to Keller at around 1:00 pm.
As we arrived in our neighborhood, Alexander noticed that the swimming pool had finally opened and wanted to go there. Isabella wanted to as well. My hope of course was that Martha would take them so that I could rest. However, ten minutes before she was ready to take them, she bumped her toe really bad and was unable to walk. So I took the kids to the pool for about 45 min until I had enough.
Martha stayed at home and prepared some pizza.
Poor her. The next day, the bumped the same toe again and this time her foot swelled up quite a bit. Ouch!
All in all we all had a great time. We look forward to another camping trip in the fall.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
John the Fisherman for talent show
Alexander decided he wanted to play the drums for the talent show at Lonestar Elemetary. The song he picked is John The Fisherman by Primus.
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