Paradise lost
The name of the northern California Sierra foothill town of Paradise is evocative. Paradise! A place you might want to go. A place you might even want to live. But reports are that the town of 27,000 is no more, … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Disaster
Air tragedy in Indonesia
An Indonesian plane has crashed into the ocean and all 189 people on board are almost certainly dead. Articles about the crash are almost unutterably sad: the photos of IDs and cellphones found floating in the water, the grieving and … Continue reading →
More details of the Thai cave rescue
Well worth reading. When the Times sticks to straight reporting, sometimes it does a very good job. I learned details I hadn’t known before. For example: 10,000 people participated, including 2,000 soldiers, 200 divers and representatives from 100 government agencies… … Continue reading →
The Thai cave rescue: success!
All of the boys, as well as their coach, have been rescued: The 12 Thai soccer players and their coach who have been trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for more than two weeks have all been rescued. “We … Continue reading →
The Thai cave rescue so far
It’s been going better than I’d expected. A total of eight boys have now been rescued. Four more to go, plus the soccer coach. Their rescued teammates are being treated in quarantine at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital. Former Chiang Rai … Continue reading →
Entering the Thai cave: inherently risky
This is one of the better articles I’ve seen describing the inherent risks of the cave rescue in Thailand. And if you (like me) wonder why the coach and the boys went into the caves under these conditions, you’re not … Continue reading →
Rescuer dies in attempt to free Thai soccer team trapped in cave
This is very bad news: A former Thai Navy SEAL volunteering in the Tham Luang rescue has drowned in the cave after falling unconscious during his return dive from the trapped boys. SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew told a news conference … Continue reading →
Southwest Flight 1380
Heroic passengers, heroic pilot. Unfortunately, one woman died. “There’s a ring around the engine that’s meant to contain the engine pieces when this happens,” said John Goglia, a former NTSB member. “In this case it didn’t. That’s going to be … Continue reading →
Worker who sent Hawaii nuclear alert message is fired, but he’s only the end point of a deeply flawed system
The announcement: Officials revealed that the employee who sent the [nuclear] alert was fired Friday. His name has not been revealed. A second worker quit before disciplinary action was taken, and another was being suspended without pay, officials said. “The … Continue reading →
As I said, we’re in the very best of hands
I titled my previous post about the nuclear alert in Hawaii “Reassuring evidence that we’re in the best of hands.” Well, there’s more evidence [hat tip: commenter “Ann”]: Around 8:05 a.m., the Hawaii emergency employee initiated the internal test, according … Continue reading →
The fire this time
Many fires have been raging throughout California, and they have destroyed a large number of homes already and continue to threaten others. You can read a lot of coverage (with maps) here, if you’re interested in the details. Some of … Continue reading →
The heroes…
…of Las Vegas. Resourceful, courageous, altruistic.
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