Powerful 6.3 magnitude quake jolts Croatia

A strong earthquake in central Croatia has killed at least one person – a girl, injured many and caused considerable damage to buildings in Petrinja, a town southeast of the capital Zagreb.

The earthquake was felt throughout the country on Tuesday, as well as in neighbouring Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and as far away as Graz in southern Austria.

Croatian state broadcaster HRT confirmed the girl died in the earthquake. The child’s age or other details were not immediately available.

“The centre of Petrinja as it used to be no longer exists,” HRT said in its report. “One girl died and there are injuries and people inside collapsed buildings.”

Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement broadcast by HRT TV: “My town has been completely destroyed, we have dead children.

“This is like Hiroshima – half of the city no longer exists.”

Petrinja is about 60km (37 miles) from Zagreb.

Al Jazeera reported a boy and his father being pulled from a car buried in the rubble.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said the 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 46km (17 miles) southeast of Zagreb. The same area was struck by a 5.2 quake on Monday.

Blanka, a resident of Sisak city, about 8.5 miles (14km) from Petrinja, was inside a shop when the earthquake struck.

“Everything collapsed, all of our things are inside,” she told Al Jazeera. “I don’t know what to expect. I am still shaking, I can still feel the earthquake.”

Croatian Red Cross said it was responding to a “very serious” situation in Petrinja following the earthquake.

Croatian media said people were injured by the quake, but could not initially say how many amid the confusion and downed phone lines.

Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described the earthquake as “extremely strong”, far stronger than another one that hit Zagreb and nearby areas in spring.

He warned people to keep out of potentially shaky, old buildings and move to the newer areas of the city because of the aftershocks.

In Zagreb, people ran out into the streets and parks in fear. Many reportedly were leaving the city, ignoring a travel ban imposed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at Imperial College in London, tweeted: “We can probably expect a quite strong shaking and hence some damage to buildings from this earthquake.”

Slovenia’s Krsko nuclear power plant was shut down as a precaution, the plant’s spokeswoman said Tuesday.“I can confirm the preventive shutdown,” spokeswoman Ida Novak Jerele told AFP. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com

Read More........ → December 30, 2020

NZ PM Ardern declares ‘climate emergency’

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moves a motion in the Parliament House in Wellington, New Zealand, to declare a climate emergency, Wednesday, December 2, 2020; Photo: AFP/Mark Mitchell

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a “climate emergency” on Wednesday, telling the Parliament that urgent action was needed for the sake of future generations.

“The science on climate change was clear and New Zealand had to acknowledge the threat,” Ardern said.

The center-left leader said the challenges posed by global warming meant parliament’s declaration — an act undertaken by more than a dozen other countries — was warranted.

“In those cases where we do issue declarations, it is often where there is a threat to life, a threat to the property, and civil defence emergencies,” she told Parliament.

“If we do not respond to climate change, we will continue to have these emergencies on our shores.”

Lawmakers passed the largely symbolic emergency declaration by 76 votes to 43 after Ardern urged them to back the move.

“Vote in favor of this declaration, be on the right side of history, be part of the solution we must collectively deliver for the next generation,” she said.

Britain’s parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the motion in May last year, followed closely by Ireland.

However, New Zealand’s center-right opposition National Party rejected the climate emergency declaration, labeling it “virtue signaling”.

“It can do harm in making people think that by declaring an emergency something has happened, when it hasn’t,” National leader Judith Collins told Radio New Zealand, saying: “It’s quite false and misleading.”

Ardern, last year, announced New Zealand to become carbon neutral by 2050 and to generate all its energy from renewable sources by 2035. She has also halted all new offshore oil and gas exploration in New Zealand

waters.However, critics say that Ardern’s government has not done enough to enhance New Zealand’s “clean, green” reputation since she took office in 2017 after campaigning strongly on environmental issues. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........ → December 04, 2020

Cyclone ‘Nivar’ to hit Tamil Nadu, Puducherry after midnight

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Coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are bracing for cyclonic storm ‘Nivar’ — which has intensified into a “severe cyclonic storm” and expected to intensify further, moving towards the southeast coast — is likely to hit the coast by midnight or early tomorrow, India’s Met department said.

According to the Met department, the cyclone could hit the coast between Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu — 56 km from the state capital Chennai — and Karaikal in Puducherry. 

Meanwhile, cyclone ‘Nivar’ has brought with it heavy rain and strong winds in coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tweeted to assure the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments of all possible support.It is to be mentioned that the “super cyclone” Amphan ravaged several districts of South Bengal in May and killed more than 90 people. The cyclone caused large-scale destruction to property, flattening villages, destroying farms and leaving thousands without electricity. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........ → November 25, 2020