The terrible earthquake that occurred on September 19 in Mexico brings to mind the one that happened exactly 32 years—to the day—earlier. The 1985 earthquake had a large death toll, variously estimated to have been between 5,000 and 10,000 people, … Continue reading →
I have no doubt that a lot of people are sad that Irma ranks only 7th on this chart of destructive hurricanes to hit the US, behind the 1935 Labor Day storm, 1969’s Camille, 2005’s Katrina, 1992’s Andrew, and a … Continue reading →
…in trouble: There is no indication the water will stop rising anytime soon. Swollen rivers in east Texas aren’t expected to crest until later this week, and federal officials are already predicting the deadly Tropical Storm Harvey will drive 30,000 … Continue reading →
Horrific: The residents of Grenfell House in west London had warned of the potentially devastating effects of a fire before last night’s blaze which caused at least 12 deaths and scores of injuries The 24-storey building in north Kensington, which … Continue reading →
In the recent thread about the called-off search for Flight MH370, commenter “Lurch” asked this question: I really do not understand this fetish about finding a bunch of dead bodies. A dead body is an artifact. It is not the … Continue reading →
The search has ended with no resolution: The Joint Agency Coordination Center in Australia, which helped lead the $160 million hunt for the Boeing 777 in remote waters west of Australia, said the search had officially been suspended after crews … Continue reading →
…for three decades, despite plenty of complaints. Completely disgraceful: Right. Budget cuts are to explain why a building hadn’t been inspected in thirty years. Here is more nonsense: There weren’t any inspections because “we had no applications for permits in … Continue reading →
The Oakland fire death toll rises. It is almost unutterably sad when young people die, and death in a fire is so horrific it is hard to even contemplate. I grieve for all the people lost, and for their families … Continue reading →
Another plane part from MH370 has been found: A piece of an aircraft wing found on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Malaysian and Australian officials said Friday. The … Continue reading →
They seem to have found the site of the wreckage of the EgyptAir flight that came down about a month ago in the Mediterranean, killing all 66 people on board. Previously there had been parts of the airplane and some … Continue reading →
I’d say that this just about covers it: There are broadly four areas investigators will consider as they probe the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight 804 over the Mediterranean shortly before it began its descent to Cairo: Did it crash or … Continue reading →
Very disturbing news: A search is under way for an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo which has disappeared with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board – including one British national. The fate of the plane is not yet … Continue reading →