Cambodia Recovering from Fires
 January 28, 2002 – In late November 2001, two major fires ripped through crowded residential areas of Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. The blazes destroyed about 3,000 homes — all squatter settlements inhabited by impoverished families. More than 20,000 people were left homeless.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Death toll rises after Lagos blasts
January 28, 2002 - Lagos, Nigeria -- Hundreds of people are feared dead after they fled a series of blasts at an armory in Lagos and drowned in a nearby canal. One local journalist said that around 600 people are feared to have drowned. A local radio report said 200 bodies had been pulled from the canal. British reporter Peter Cunliffe-Jones has told CNN: "The authorities are confirming there has been what they called 'a major drowning incident,' but they are not willing yet to put any exact numbers on it.
Source: www.cnn.com

Near-hourly earthquakes rocking Rwanda and Congo 
January 25, 2002 - Nyiragongo's eruption last week destroyed nearly half the city of Goma, sending hundreds of thousands of people fleeing across the border to Rwanda. According to volcano researchers, earthquakes could continue as long as magma is settling in the mountain. Earthquakes in Rwanda have destroyed more than 1,500 homes and some schools following the volcanic eruption in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo
Source: www.disasternews.net

Suspected Hacker Detained in Surgut
January 25, 2002 - A computer hacker has been detained in the Western Siberian town of Surgut on suspicion of extorting $10,000 from a U.S. bank, Moscow police said Thursday.  "The hacker is accused only of extorting money," said Olga Dumalkina, spokeswoman for the Moscow computer fraud unit. "It is unlikely he will be charged for the bank's total financial damages." The bank paid out $10,000 in December but estimates its total financial damage at $250,000,” Dumalkina said.
Source: www.themoscowtimes.com

Dengue Outbreak Nears Epidemic Proportions in Brazil and Cuba
January 23, 2002 - A reemergence of dengue fever is sweeping across Brazil and Cuba this year. Brazilian health authorities confirmed Friday (Jan. 18) about 1,800 cases of the deadly disease nationwide, with 1,000 of the victims residing in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, Cuba continues to experience its worst outbreak of dengue fever since 1981, although figures of those infected remain undisclosed.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Ecuadorian Plane Crash Kills 26
January 23, 2002 - Rescue workers found the wreckage of an Ecuadorian plane, missing since Jan. 17, in the Colombian jungle Wednesday (Jan. 23). All 26 passengers on board were killed, according to the Associated Press.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Fire Destroys Historic Pa. Inn
January 23, 2002 - Williamsport, Pa. (AP) -- A 200-year-old country inn that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad was destroyed by fire. Once part of the Long Reach Plantation, the building became a way station for runaway slaves in the mid-1800s when then-owner Abraham Updegraff made it part of an escape route along the Susquehanna River.
Source: AP via www.firhouse.com

Australian Fire’s Declared Over
January 9, 2002 - MILTON, Australia (AP) -- Officials declared that the worst of a 16-day bush fire crisis is over, but said Tuesday firefighters will not rest until the last burning twig is extinguished. “For now, the peak is over,'' New South Wales fire chief Phil Koperberg said of the emergency, which has burned 170 homes and razed more than 1.2 million acres of forest and farmland.
Source: AP via www.firhouse.com

Rain Helps, but Australian Bush Fires Persist
January 7, 2002 - Unexpected rainfall helped firefighters make progress on bush fires north and west of Sydney this weekend, but a new firestorm on Monday (Jan. 8) put them back on the defensive against the flames. The fires have burned outside the city since Christmas Eve, destroying 170 homes and scorching 1.2 million acres of land.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Death Toll Rises as Heavy Rains Pound Brazil
January 2, 2002 - As rescuers continue searching for bodies buried under landslides, the death toll from the disaster — triggered by days of torrential rain last week — has risen to 66, Brazilian officials said. The worst flooding to hit the Brazil in 30 years also has forced some 18,000 people from their homes and left 2,800 homeless, according to news reports.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Death Tool From Limo Blaze Nears 300
January 1, 2002 - LIMA, Peru - The death toll from a fireworks blaze in the Peruvian capital climbed to nearly 300 yesterday, with rescuers piling more bodies pulled from the rubble, as people lined up at the morgue to identify their relatives, many of whom were burned beyond recognition. "The number of dead is 282 and 134 injured, but wreckage must still be removed, so we believe there could ultimately be more than 300 dead," said Raul Duenas, head of the Lima Municipal Security Board and a City Council member.
Source: The Washington Times via www.firhouse.com

Former Cisco Systems, Inc. Accountants Sentenced for Unauthorized Access to Computer Systems to Illegally Issue Almost $8 Million in Cisco Stock to Themselves
November 26, 2001 - The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced today that former Cisco Systems, Inc., accountants Geoffrey Osowski and Wilson Tang were each sentenced today to 34 months in prison for exceeding their authorized access to the computer systems of Cisco Systems in order to illegally issue almost $8 million in Cisco stock to themselves.
Source: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/

Afghan Refugees Still in Desperate Situation
November 19, 2001 - Despite the celebrations that decades of war may be coming to an end in some villages, thousands of Afghans remain displaced without food, water, medicines or adequate shelter. Some refugees are returning home to peaceful villages, others are streaming to Pakistan and Iranian border camps to escape the bombing still occurring in their hometowns. One refugee camp is crammed with tents for nearly 6,000 people, with an additional 1,500 people living on its fringes, many of them without shelter. About one child a day dies from respiratory infection, dysentery or malnutrition at the camp, medical officials told the Associated Press
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

3000 Hit By Floods in Haiti
November 13, 2001 - The northern department of Haiti experienced heavy rain last week,
which caused floods in the departmental capital of Cap Haitien and in rural areas of this department. Based on provisional reports by the Government, 3,000 people have been directly affected by the floods in Cap
Haitien and possibly 3,000 more in small towns.
Source: www.disasters.org
 

Hundreds Dead, Thousands Homeless From Algerian Downpour
November 13, 2001 - Algerian residents and rescuers continue to dig through mounds of mud and wade through murky floodwaters to find survivors of a deadly weekend rainstorm. The torrential rains, accompanied by gale-force winds, fell for days, triggering a mudslide that roared through working-class neighborhoods in the capital Algiers, leaving at least 579 people dead, according to the Associated Press. The 36-hour downpour — the country's worst in decades — left some 1,000 people injured, overwhelming hospital emergency rooms in Algiers. Another 24,000 were left homeless
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Rain and Sea Surges Flood Thousands in DPR Korea
October 22, 2001 - (OCHA) The heavy rain and sea surges which flooded DPR Korea on 9 and 10
October 2001, and the strong winds which tore roofs from houses, schools
and factories, took a severe toll on the population and the rugged landscape of the eastern coast of the country. The disaster left 81 people dead and 84 seriously injured, while 33 others are still missing. Some 4,000 houses are confirmed to have been either completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, and government figures maintain that as many as 31,500 homes have been affected in this disaster.
Source: www.disasters.org

Hurricane Iris Relief Continues
October 12, 2001 - The death toll from Hurricane Iris is now 21, with two more bodies recovered Thursday (Oct. 11) from a dive boat that capsized during the storm off the coast of Belize. Seventeen of the people killed by the hurricane on Oct. 8 were passengers aboard the boat and members of a Richmond, Va. dive club. Iris caused severe damage in Belize and Guatemala and left up to 14,000 people homeless.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org

Greyhound Bus Crashes in Tennessee
October 3, 2001 - A Greyhound bus traveling from Louisville, Ky., to Atlanta crashed Wednesday morning (Oct. 3) near Manchester, Tenn., in Coffee County. At least six of the 36 passengers were killed, according to initial reports. Greyhound Lines announced that it was suspending its nationwide bus service as an investigation continued. CNN reported that the bus driver's throat was slit by a passenger, causing the bus to overturn.
Source: www.disasterrelief.org