Taiwan quake: young man pulled alive from rubble, as survivor search continues

Rescuers have pulled a 20-year-old man from the rubble of an apartment block more than a day after it was destroyed by an earthquake in the Taiwanese city of Tainan.

Taiwanese TV showed Huang Kuang-wei being rescued alive to cheers from his family and emergency workers.

At least 124 people are missing after the collapse of the building during Saturday's quake, officials say.

At least 20 people are now confirmed dead after the magnitude 6.4 quake.

Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, promised an "all-out effort" to rescue people.

Hundreds of soldiers have joined in the rescue effort, with the help of hi-tech equipment and rescue dogs, and shelters are due to be set up for those who have lost their homes in the city of two million people.

More than 24 hours after the earthquake, fire fighters, police, soldiers and volunteers were picking through the ruins, some using their hands.

From CBBC Newsround

Fukushima disaster: Rebirth for Japan's nuclear 'ghost town'

A Japanese town near the Fukushima nuclear plant has been declared safe from radiation and is inviting residents to return.

Naraha was evacuated four years ago after an earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown in the nuclear reactors at Fukushima. All of the town's 7,400 residents moved out. (Form BBC News)

Will it be safe for former inhabitants to return?

From toilet to table, overcoming the ‘yuk’ factor

Human excrement spread by poor sanitation was to blame for over 9,000 cholera deaths in Haiti, but now, thanks to a simple measure to transform it into nutrient-rich compost, cleanliness has improved - and some enterprising Haitians are able to grow their own fresh food.

The use of eco toilets not only is preventing diseases by improving sanitation but it could also help the country's food security in the long term, too

Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, Frantz Francois' garden is probably the greenest area in Cite Soleil, the biggest slum in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

In an area where it is hard to find even a tree, Francois grows carrots, peppers and callaloo - a leafy vegetable traditionally used for soups - in his garden.

But it was not easy for him to tempt his neighbours to eat them, as he uses human waste as a fertiliser - something of a taboo in these parts.

It took a while before Haitians started to appreciate crops grown in the human waste fertiliser

At the beginning some people said they didn't want to eat food from this garden because it was grown in the soil from the toilets," says Francois.

Things started to change when he got his first harvest. Neighbours saw the vegetables and they spread the word. Little by little, the residents are getting over the taboo.

"Now when they see how the plants grow, they realise there's no contamination and everyone in Cite Soleil would like to have a garden like this for themselves," he says.

Open latrineFrantz Francois runs an urban garden that uses compost from eco-friendly toilets, a system promoted by SOIL, an NGO that aims to improve sanitation in Haiti.

When SOIL was founded back in 2006, only 4% of the rural population had access to proper toilets. Even in the capital Port-au-Prince it was only slightly higher at 6%, according to SOIL's co-founder Baudeler Magloire.

Many toilets which do exist often flush untreated waste straight into rivers or groundwater.

Open defecation in the streets led to the spread of disease.

After the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people and left 1.5 million living in temporary camps, poor sanitation caused a health crisis.

Cholera, a disease transmitted by drinking water or eating food contaminated by the faeces of an infected person, broke out later that year killing more than 9,000 people.

When cholera struck SOIL had already taken composting toilets to different parts of the country, but the fatal disease proved a setback.

                               These toilets are, at the same time, preventing diseases and saving lives in                           vulnerable, displaced communities

At first glance, an eco toilet doesn't look too different from a portable toilet. The difference is inside.

Faeces and urine are collected in separate drums and, after each use, a layer of sawdust-like material made from sugar cane waste and peanut shells is added on top. This reduces the risk of infection and masks unpleasant odours.

From BBC News-Health

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

What is a typhoon and how do they cause so much damage?

Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are all the same thing, but they are given different names depending on where they appear.

Tropical storms over the North Atlantic Ocean are called hurricanes. Over the Indian Ocean they're called cyclones and over the Pacific Ocean we call them typhoons.

Why do storms have names?

Tropical storms last a long time and are given names so they can be identified quickly.

The first storm of a year will have a name beginning with A, such as Hurricane Alice, and the next one gets a name beginning with B.

There are regular meetings of weather scientists who decide on new names for the next year.

Names of storms which cause a lot of damage are never used again.

What happens in a tropical storm?

Air rises quickly when it is heated by warm sea water.

As the air cools down again it is pushed aside by more warm air rising below it.

This cycle causes strong winds. Tropical storms have winds faster than 73 miles an hour.

What damage do tropical storms cause?

Over the sea a tropical storm can whip up huge waves.

When these waves reach land they can flood large areas, including towns and cities.

Over land the strong winds can cause a lot of damage - they can flatten homes, knock over trees and even tip over cars.

Tropical storms usually die out after a few days over land because there is no warm sea water there to power them.

From CBBC Newsround

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Sakurajima volcano covers Japanese city in ash

Masato Iguchi, a professor at the Sakurajima Volcano Research Center, said 2012 saw a record number of eruptions.

Kyoto University’s disaster reduction research institute keeps close tabs on the volcano in order to avoid a repeat of its 1914 eruption, in which 58 people died.

That episode was the most powerful volcanic eruption to hit Japan in a hundred years.

At present, Sakurajima erupts on a small scale several thousand times a year, sending ash a few kilometres above its peak.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2396611/Mount-Sakurajima-eruption-Impressive-ash-cloud-reaches-sky-Japanese-volcano-erupts-500th-time-YEAR.html

A clean-up operation has begun in Japan after an eruption at a volcano covered an entire city with ash.

Footage shows Mount Sakurajima spewing the dark plume 5,000m into the air. It is the 500th eruption this year.

Residents of the nearby Kagoshima city used masks and umbrellas to protect themselves, as ash fell from the sky onto the streets below.

Daniela Ritorto reports.

Health-risk: Locals living in the shadow of Sakurajima have been urged to cover up and wear masks while the ash fall is heavy

Nineteen firefighters die in Arizona wildfire

RIP, all of you brave MEN!

An Arizona town is mourning 19 firefighters killed on Sunday battling a ferocious wildfire about 80 miles (130km) north-west of Phoenix.

The dead firefighters were identified as members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew, shown here in an undated photo

Residents of Prescott, where the crew was based, said they were numb and shaken by the loss of firefighters from an elite "hotshots" wildfire unit.

President Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" and called the deceased firefighters "heroes".

It is the highest death toll for a fire crew in a single incident since 9/11.

The fire, which remains entirely uncontained, was sparked by lightning on Friday and has spread rapidly amid high heat, low humidity and strong winds. It has grown to 8,000 acres (3,200 ha), destroyed about 200 homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

In Tanzania on Monday, Mr Obama said Americans' thoughts and prayers were with the firefighters' families.

"This is one more reminder of the fact that our first responders, they put their lives on the line every single day," Mr Obama said.

A 20th member of the team - the only one to survive - was elsewhere at the time.

As they became surrounded by flames, the firefighters were forced to take shelter in emergency tent-like structures, said Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo.

"One of the last fail-safe methods a firefighter can do is literally to dig as much as they can down and cover themselves with a protective fire-resistant material, with the hope that the fire will burn over the top of them and they can survive it," he said.

"Under certain conditions there's usually only sometimes a 50% chance that they survive. It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions."

'Brave men'

The 19 bodies were retrieved from the scene on Monday and were transported to Maricopa County, seat of Arizona's largest city, Phoenix, for an examination.

The tragedy is the worst from a wildfire since 1933, when at least 25 firemen died battling a fire in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said the dead were "brave men who gave their lives in defence of friends, neighbours and perfect strangers".

The fire chief said the hotshots were "dedicated, hardworking, well-trained and experienced people".

Some 400 firefighters are still battling the fast-moving wildfire. At least 18 hotshot crews have been deployed to the fire.

In recent days, dozens of people across western US states have been treated for exhaustion and dehydration, as a heat wave continues.

Temperatures in some areas were expected to reach 54C (130F), close to the world's all-time high recorded 100 years ago in California's Death Valley.

Meanwhile, officials were investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths, said Mary Rasmussen of the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

From BBC News

Powerful earthquake hits Sichuan, China

A powerful earthquake in south-west China has killed more than 100 people and left hundreds more injured.

The 6.6-magnitude quake struck rural areas of Sichuan province early on Saturday.

Many buildings have been destroyed. Power and water supplies and telephone lines have been cut.

Thousands of soldiers have been sent to help rescue anyone who might be trapped.

But aftershocks and landslides are making it hard to reach some parts.

One injured man told Chinese TV: "We still live in our old house, the new one is not ready yet. Our house just collapsed. Everything collapsed."

Sichuan was devastated by an earthquake in 2008. Tens of thousands of people died and 5 million were left homeless.
From CBBCNews

Major earthquake strikes south-east Iran

Iran has been struck by its most powerful earthquake for more than 50 years, with tremors felt across Pakistan, India and the Middle East.

The epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude quake was near the south-eastern city of Khash, close to Pakistan.

The quake struck deep and in a remote region, apparently limiting casualties.

Iranian state TV said 27 people had been injured, but rowed back on early reports of deaths. More than 30 people were killed in Pakistan.

The area has since been shaken by several strong aftershocks.

Offices were evacuated in Karachi, Pakistan, in the Indian capital of Delhi, and in several Gulf cities.

The earthquake struck in the province of Sistan Baluchistan at about 15:14 local time (10:44 GMT), close to the cities of Khash, which has a population of nearly 180,000, and Saravan, where 250,000 people live.

"The epicentre of the quake was located in the desert, and population centres do not surround it. There were no fatalities in the towns around the epicentre," an Iranian crisis centre official, Morteza Akbarpour, was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency Isna.

Iranian state TV initially reported that 40 people had been killed, and one Iranian official was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying hundreds of deaths were expected.

From BBC News

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Thousands of animals feared dead as snow hits lambing season

Farmers fear that thousands of sheep and cattle have died in the heavy spring snow that's hit the UK.

Northern Ireland farmer Catherine Crawford said: "There are hundreds of farmers who have sheep buried."

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) in Scotland say that the total number of animals who've been affected won't be known until the snow melted.

The NFU said hundreds of animals were lost in England and Wales, with Cumbria and Shropshire worst hit.

Farmers are bringing their sheep inside where they can - watch the clip of Durham farmer Ann Darlington describe how she's caring for her sheep in the cold weather.

Army helicopter called in to help

Right now it's lambing season - when sheep give birth to their lambs, often outdoors. It's usually much warmer - and the lambs are too young to cope with this level of cold.

An Army helicopter has been used will be used to get food to snowbound animals trapped in Northern Ireland.

It's thought up to 10,000 animals have been buried there beneath snowdrifts as much as six metres high.

Campbell Tweed, a farmer from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, said some of his sheep were getting their first feed in four days.

"Road conditions are just incredibly bad. There's places where the snow at the side of the road is higher than the vehicles."

There were also fears of "catastrophic losses," with thousands of animals buried, on the Isle of Man. According to Isle of Man weather experts, the island's recent snowfall was the heaviest recorded since 1963.

From CBBC

Meteor hit Russia

A meteor crashing in central Russia's Ural mountains has injured at least 500 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings.

Most of those hurt suffered minor cuts and bruises but some received head injuries, Russian officials report.

A fireball was seen streaking through the clear morning sky above the city of Yekaterinburg, followed by loud bangs.

The meteor is believed to have landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in the neighbouring Chelyabinsk region.

Much of the impact was felt in the city of Chelyabinsk, some 200km (125 miles) south of Yekaterinburg.

"It was quite extraordinary," Chelyabinsk resident Polina Zolotarevskaya told BBC News. "We saw a very bright light and then there was a kind of a track, white and yellow in the sky."

"The explosion was so strong that some windows in our building and in the buildings that are across the road and in the city in general, the windows broke."

Officials say a large meteor partially burned up in the lower atmosphere, resulting in fragments falling earthwards.

Thousands of rescue workers have been dispatched to the area to provide help to the injured, the emergencies ministry said.

The Chelyabinsk region, about 1,500km (930 miles) east of Moscow, is home to many factories, a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre.

'Blinding'

Of 514 people injured in the Chelyabinsk region, 11 were being treated in hospital, the regional emergencies agency said in a statement.

Among those affected by the meteor were children, in school when it fell at around 09:20 (05:20 GMT).

Video posted online showed frightened, screaming youngsters at one Chelyabinsk school, where corridors were littered with broken glass.

"There was panic," Chelyabinsk resident Sergey Hametov told AP news agency by phone.

"We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people's houses to check if they were okay."

Shockwaves were felt in a 19-storey building in the city centre, another witness said.

A roof at a zinc factory in Chelyabinsk also collapsed; however, it appears nobody was hurt in that incident.

In Yekaterinburg, 36-year-old resident Viktor Prokofiev was driving to work when he witnessed the event.

"It was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"I felt like I was blinded by headlights."

Debris also reportedly fell on the west Siberian region of Tyumen.

The governor of Chelyabinsk region, Mikhail Yurevich, reported that the meteor had landed in a lake 1km outside Chebarkul, which has a population of 46,000.

Chelyabinsk city authorities said an initial blast had been heard at an altitude of 10,000m (32,800ft), suggesting it occurred when the meteor entered Earth's atmosphere, Reuters reports.

Such meteor strikes are rare but one is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250m) in Siberia in 1908.

That event smashed windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.

Asteroid coincidence

Scientists have played down suggestions that there is any link between the event in the Urals and 2012 DA14, an asteroid expected to race past the Earth on Friday at a distance of just 27,700km (17,200 miles) - the closest ever predicted for an object of that size.

Prof Alan Fitzsimmons, of the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast, said there was "almost definitely" no connection.

"One reason is that 2012 DA14 is approaching Earth from the south, and this object hit in the northern hemisphere," he told BBC News.

"This is literally a cosmic coincidence, although a spectacular one."

From BBC News

Sydney bakes in hottest day on record as bushfires rage

Thousands of people have been escaping the heat on Sydney's Bondi Beach

The Australian city of Sydney is experiencing its hottest day on record, with temperatures reaching nearly 46C.

A temperature of 45.8C was recorded at Observatory Hill in the city at 14:55 local time (01:55 GMT).

Some areas in the wider Sydney region were even hotter, with the town of Penrith, to the west, registering a temperature of 46.5C.

In Victoria state, one man has been killed by a bushfire, one of dozens raging across southern Australia.

State police said the body of the man, who has not been identified, was found in a burnt-out vehicle close to Seaton, a small town some 200km (120 miles) east of Melbourne.

He is the first person confirmed to have been killed by this year's fires, though a firefighter died while tackling a blaze in Tasmania earlier last Sunday. Officials have not yet determined how he died.

Firefighters are still battling dozens of wildfires sparked by the intense heat in New South Wales and Victoria.

The small town of Licola in eastern Victoria is reported to have been cut off by a 44,500-hectare fire, as its sole access road is blocked.

Officials said dozens of people had been evacuated but 10 locals were still there.

Rob Gilder, a sheep farmer, said he and two employees had found themselves trapped on their farm and were "in grave danger".

Australia faces wildfires each year as temperatures climb. In February 2009, on what has come to be known as Black Saturday, 173 people were killed in fires in the state of Victoria.

Officials in Sydney have warned people to be ready for the heat, take care, avoid strenuous activity and stay out of the sun.

The heat has damaged wiring to urban railway lines, bringing delays to much of the network - CityRail have warned passengers to carry water with them.

The emergency services has received dozens of calls from people seeking help for heat-related health issues, including dizziness, fainting and vomiting, ABC News reports.

Chief Superintendent Ian Johns said elderly and ill people tended to suffer the most, but warned that "people underestimate the heat and overestimate their ability and that would be particularly so for younger, fitter Australians".

The heatwave across Australia in recent weeks has been so intense that the Bureau of Meteorology has had to add a new shade to its colour-coded temperature chart, so the scale now reaches above 50C.

However, meteorologists have forecast a dramatic change in weather overnight in Sydney, with thunder storms expected to bring a rapid drop in temperatures.

Thank God!

From BBC News

Flooding: What to do when it floods where you live

If heavy rain is coming your way, it's best to be prepared so that you can help protect yourselves, your pets and your homes. Here are five top tips to do just that...

1. Don't play in flood water

Just 15cm of fast flowing water can knock you over. The water may be also be contaminated and hide hidden dangers.

2. Sign up to the flood warning service

Get your parents to sign up to a free flood warning service through the Environment Agency - the part of the government that deals with flooding. The service gives you advance notice of when flooding is likely to happen where you are. This means you have time to prepare.

3. Check the latest flood situation online

Keep an eye on the Environment Agency's website for the latest flood updates.

4. Make a flood plan

Making a flood plan will help your family decide what practical actions to take before and during a flood e.g. helping your elderly relatives, switching off electricity, water and gas supplies, and moving items to higher parts of the house - this will help reduce the damage flooding could cause.

5. Prepare a flood kit of essential items

Keep essential items like a torch, waterproof clothing and precious personal items close to hand. And a waterproof bag to keep them in!

Source: Environment Agency

Sandy: Storm-hit New York declared major disaster area

US President Barack Obama has declared a "major disaster" in New York state after storm Sandy smashed into the US East Coast, causing flooding and cutting power to millions.

A record 4m (13ft) tidal surge sent seawater cascading into large parts of New York City's subway system.

Across the city, a power sub-station exploded, a hospital was evacuated and fire destroyed 50 homes.

At least 15 people are reported dead across several US states.

In northern New Jersey, a rescue operation is reported to be under way after a levee broke and flooded the town of Moonachie.

Bergen County chief of staff Jeanne Baratta told CNN: "Moonachie has been devastated. Every street has got four or five feet of water on it."

An estimated 50 million people could be affected by the storm, with up to a million ordered to evacuate homes.

Sandy, now downgraded from a hurricane but described as a "super-storm", is churning north heading for Canada.

Over the past week Sandy has killed more than 80 people as it carved a path of destruction through the Caribbean.

'Devastating'

Continue reading the main story

The storm made landfall close to Atlantic City in New Jersey at about 20:00 local time (midnight GMT), with winds of more than 80mph (129km/h).

It collided with cold weather fronts from the west and north to create what some forecasters have dubbed a "Frankenstorm".

Much of Atlantic City was under water and 30,000 residents were evacuated.

In New York City, parts of Lower Manhattan were quickly inundated as the Hudson and East rivers overflowed. Seawater poured into road tunnels and the subway system. Images showed cars being swept along streets by the torrent.

"The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night," city transport director Joseph Lhota said early on Tuesday.

City officials had earlier ordered some 375,000 residents out of Lower Manhattan and other areas under threat.

"Lower Manhattan is being covered by seawater," Howard Glaser, director of operations for the New York state government, was quoted as saying. "I am not exaggerating. Seawater is rushing into the Battery Tunnel."

Battery Tunnel links Manhattan with Long Island.

The city's Consolidated Edison utility provider said an explosion at a sub-station, probably caused by flooding or flying debris, blacked out much of Lower Manhattan.

The company said about 500,000 homes in Manhattan were without power.

As dawn broke, residents emerged to see the havoc wreaked by the storm.

In other developments:

• Fire has destroyed about 50 homes in the New York City borough of Queens.
• More than 200 patients were evacuated from New York University's Tisch Hospital after power went out and a backup generator failed.
• America's oldest nuclear power plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, was put on alert due to rising water, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
• The New York Stock Exchange will stay shut on Tuesday - the first time it has closed for two consecutive days due to weather since 1888.
• A crew member from a replica of HMS Bounty has died and the captain is missing after the ship sank in mountainous seas off North Carolina on Monday.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the storm surge was higher than the highest forecast, but he expected waters to start receding.

SANDY HITS EAST COAST

• At least 13 people dead, including one in Canada
• 1m ordered to leave their homes
• 50m people estimated to be affected, with 5m left without power
• 800-mile (1,290 km) stretch of the US affected
• 10,000 flights reported grounded globally on Monday and Tuesday
• Manhattan hit by record storm surge of 13.7ft (4.15m) on Tuesday morning

From BBC News

Continue reading the main stor

Hurricane Sandy closes in on US East Coast

An intensified Hurricane Sandy is roaring up the US East Coast, threatening major floods and power cuts that could affect 60 million people.

Hundreds of thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate New York City and New Jersey.

Public transport has been suspended in cities up the eastern seaboard and thousands of flights are grounded.

The vast category one hurricane is expected to make landfall within the next few hours near New Jersey.

Sandy has already killed 69 people - 52 of them in Haiti - after sweeping through the Caribbean in the past week.

'Potentially fatal'

At the White House, President Barack Obama warned Americans in harm's way to follow emergency instructions.

"When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate," said Mr Obama, who has cancelled campaign events eight days before the US elections.

"Do not delay. Don't pause. Don't question the instructions that are being given, because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequences."

The president has signed nine emergency declarations covering New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and District of Columbia.

The storm threatens an 800-mile (1,290-km) swathe of the US, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes in the Mid-West.

Up to 3ft (91cm) of snow is expected to fall on the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.

At 17:00 EDT (21:00 GMT), Sandy was churning about 30 miles south-east of Cape May, New Jersey, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The hurricane, dubbed Frankenstorm, strengthened on Monday, packing maximum sustained winds of 90mph with higher gusts.

Full moon tides

Hurricane force winds extended for 175 miles and tropical storm force winds for 485 miles, the NHC added.

Authorities said that high tides swelled by a full moon could create storm surges of up to 11ft.

From BBC NEWS

Two rare tornadoes have hit New York City's borough of Queens and Brooklyn, damaging homes, causing blackouts and throwing debris into the air.

The first storm, with winds up to 70mph (113km/h), struck Breezy Point on Queens' Rockaway Peninsula.

The second tornado, with gusts reaching 110mph, hit Brooklyn's Canarsie area just minutes later.

No injuries were reported, but the storms forced the suspension of the US Open tennis tournament.

Police ordered the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows to be evacuated, halting the second semi-final in men's competition.

Eyewitnesses in Queens reported seeing trees and electricity pylons uprooted and picnic benches and waste bins being thrown into the air. There were some reports of vehicles being lifted up.

Video posted on You Tube shows a large, dark tornado funnelling out of the skyline.

At the Breezy Point Surf Club, the storm tore off roofs of cabanas, scattering debris around.

"We were all scared. The windows on the whole building broke, the lights went out... Everything was shaking. It was really crazy," club employee Caitlin Walsh was quoted as saying by Reuters.

From BBC News

How animals predict earthquakes

                   Can pond-dwelling animals pick up pre-earthquake signals?

This, scientists say, could be the cause of bizarre earthquake-associated animal behaviour.

Researchers began to investigate these chemical effects after seeing a colony of toads abandon its pond in L'Aquila, Italy, in 2009 - days before a quake.

They suggest that animal behaviour could be incorporated into earthquake forecasting.

Strange behaviour

The L'Aquila toads are not the first example of strange animal behaviour before a major seismic event. There have been reports throughout history of reptiles, amphibians and fish behaving in unusual ways just before an earthquake struck.

In 1975, in Haicheng, China, for example, many people spotted snakes emerging from their burrows a month before the city was hit by a large earthquake.

Tropical Storm Irene_ Flash floods hit New York state

Soldiers have been airlifting storm-relief supplies to Vermont towns which remain cut off after the trail of destruction left by Irene.

More than 200 roads are blocked or washed away in Vermont, hampering rescue efforts to 13 towns.
Irene killed 44 people in 13 US states, according to the Associated Press, and caused billions of dollars' damage.

About half of the 6.7 million people on the east coast who lost power still have no electricity.
Vermont is reeling from its worst floods since 1927, and officials warned some rivers and creeks there had yet to crest.
'Irene whacked us' National Guard troops flew in food, water and other emergency supplies to the rural, mountainous state on Tuesday.

Wendy Pratt Vermont resident

They also brought in some provisions by road, using heavy-duty lorries.

Irene had been expected to bring the most havoc to coastal areas, but some of its worst destruction took place far inland.
Governor Peter Shumlin told MSNBC television: "We've got a long slog ahead. Irene really whacked us hard."
In the Vermont town of Rochester, one resident, Wendy Pratt, used a generator to post an update on Facebook to tell of the chaos.
"People have lost their homes, their belongings, businesses," Ms Pratt wrote.
"The cemetery was flooded and caskets were lost down the river. So many areas of complete devastation."
Newlyweds' narrow escape In the Vermont town of Pittsfield, two newlyweds from New York City were stranded after rising floodwaters hit their honeymoon cottage.

 

Marc Leibowitz and Janina Stegmeyer's honeymoon cottage was flooded

Marc Leibowitz and Janina Stegmeyer said they just escaped in a car before a bridge collapsed on Sunday. Dozens of their wedding guests were airlifted out by helicopter on Tuesday.
Irene dumped 11in (30cm) of rain on Vermont.
In New Jersey, the Passaic River measured 13ft (4m) above flood stage on Tuesday, the highest level since 1903, police sergeant Alex Popov said.
Emergency teams working in the state's Paterson city have rescued nearly 600 people from flooded homes in recent days.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie warned more flooding was likely over the next 48 hours.
"For members of these communities who have lost everything, relief cannot come soon enough for them," he said.