 Aid arrives for Croatians left homeless after after quake Zagreb (AFP) Dec 31, 2020 - The first mobile homes arrived Thursday in central Croatia to shelter people whose houses were destroyed in a deadly earthquake, as minor tremors continued to shake the area. A 6.4-magnitude quake rocked the region of Petrinja, one of Croatia's poorest, on Tuesday killing seven people and shaking buildings already weakened by a moderate tremor a day earlier. Since Tuesday, the Petrinja area has been hit by a series of tremors, including another 3.7-degree quake on Thursday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). On Thursday trucks transported some 20 mobile homes, donated by local hotels and firms, to the affected region. "The first people can sleep in them already tonight," Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac told reporters. More than 60 additional mobile homes for some 500 people should get there in the coming days, officials said. "It is still hard to say how many buildings were damaged, but we know that more than 3,500 were destroyed," head of the quake-hit county Ivan Zinic told reporters. More than 50 buildings were razed to the ground and some 200 families need shelter, he said. Many residents of Petrinja, the town of some 20,000 people, nearby Sisak and surrounding villages spent the second consecutive night in their cars or on the streets fearing new stronger earthquakes. The victims of the quake included a young girl struck by falling debris on a street in Petrinja, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital Zagreb where it tore off bricks and left cracks in some building facades. "It is the worst time of the year to be homeless" due to cold, Silvana Velic from the village of Majske Poljane, where five people were killed, told AFP earlier. After spending the night in a car her four children and husband slept the second one in a donated camping trailer. Red Cross volunteers on Thursday continued to distribute food, clothes, blankets and personal hygiene products. Some 850 households were still without electricity on Wednesday evening, the national power firm HEP said. Late Wednesday a Greek military plane brought humanitarian aid including dozens of tents and electric heaters as well as hundreds of beds and sleeping bags, the interior ministry said. The EU's crisis management chief, Janez Lenarcic, visited Petrinja on Wednesday pledging the bloc's support to the member state. The Balkans lie near fault lines and see regular seismic activity.
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Up to 15 people were feared dead after a landslide struck a mining camp in central Papua New Guinea following heavy rain, officials said Wednesday.
Local MP William Samb said the camp in Goilala was buried as miners slept early Monday.
"Unfortunately there are no survivors from what we hear," Samb told ABC, Australia's national broadcaster.
"Sadly they were all buried alive."
Officials said the exact death toll was unclear, but two bodies had so far been recovered and up to 15 were feared dead.
The group was panning a riverbed for gold.
Heavy rain and a lack of equipment had hampered local rescuers attempting to dig through the mud.
Better tools and supplies were being flown in to help the recovery effort, with the Governor of the Central Province, Robert Agarobe, expected to arrive Thursday to help assess the damage.
Ten still missing after Norway mudslide buries homes
Oslo (AFP) Dec 31, 2020 -
Rescue workers were still searching on Thursday for survivors after a landslide that destroyed homes in a Norwegian village, leaving 10 people missing, including two children.
An entire hillside collapsed in Ask, 25 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of the capital Oslo overnight Tuesday, leading to the evacuation of around 1,000 people.
Homes were buried under mud, others cut in two and some houses were left teetering over a crater caused by the slide, with several falling over the edge.
"It's very sad, absolutely indescribable. Terrible," resident Markus Olsen told AFP at the bleak, snow-swept scene.
Toril Hofshagen, a Norwegian official involved in rescue operations, told NTB news agency that people had to be evacuated because conditions were unstable.
"There are cracks in the ground and clay is visible," said Hofshagen, who is with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).
The NVE said the disaster was a "quick clay slide" of approximately 300 by 800 metres (yards).
Quick clay is a sort of clay found in Norway and Sweden that can collapse and turn to fluid when overstressed.
On Thursday rescue workers searched two homes which had collapsed, looking for missing people, but found nobody.
"The remainder of the homes in the area are completely destroyed," chief of operations Roger Pettersen told a press conference.
He had said earlier "it is important for me to stress that we are looking for survivors," adding better visibility during the day would help efforts.
Police said 10 people had been injured including one seriously who was transferred to Oslo for treatment.
One-fifth of the 5,000 strong population of the municipality of Gjerdum that includes Ask have been evacuated.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg visited the village on Wednesday and described the landslide as "one of the largest" the country had seen.
"It's a dramatic experience to be here," Solberg told reporters.
The municipality warned as many as 1,500 people could need to leave the region out of safety concerns.
The authorities issued an appeal to people not to set off fireworks for New Year's Eve which could hinder the use of helicopters and drones equipped with thermal cameras.
Aid arrives for Croatians left homeless after after quake
Zagreb (AFP) Dec 31, 2020 -
The first mobile homes arrived Thursday in central Croatia to shelter people whose houses were destroyed in a deadly earthquake, as minor tremors continued to shake the area.
A 6.4-magnitude quake rocked the region of Petrinja, one of Croatia's poorest, on Tuesday killing seven people and shaking buildings already weakened by a moderate tremor a day earlier.
Since Tuesday, the Petrinja area has been hit by a series of tremors, including another 3.7-degree quake on Thursday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
On Thursday trucks transported some 20 mobile homes, donated by local hotels and firms, to the affected region.
"The first people can sleep in them already tonight," Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac told reporters.
More than 60 additional mobile homes for some 500 people should get there in the coming days, officials said.
"It is still hard to say how many buildings were damaged, but we know that more than 3,500 were destroyed," head of the quake-hit county Ivan Zinic told reporters.
More than 50 buildings were razed to the ground and some 200 families need shelter, he said.
Many residents of Petrinja, the town of some 20,000 people, nearby Sisak and surrounding villages spent the second consecutive night in their cars or on the streets fearing new stronger earthquakes.
The victims of the quake included a young girl struck by falling debris on a street in Petrinja, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital Zagreb where it tore off bricks and left cracks in some building facades.
"It is the worst time of the year to be homeless" due to cold, Silvana Velic from the village of Majske Poljane, where five people were killed, told AFP earlier.
After spending the night in a car her four children and husband slept the second one in a donated camping trailer.
Red Cross volunteers on Thursday continued to distribute food, clothes, blankets and personal hygiene products.
Some 850 households were still without electricity on Wednesday evening, the national power firm HEP said.
Late Wednesday a Greek military plane brought humanitarian aid including dozens of tents and electric heaters as well as hundreds of beds and sleeping bags, the interior ministry said.
The EU's crisis management chief, Janez Lenarcic, visited Petrinja on Wednesday pledging the bloc's support to the member state.
The Balkans lie near fault lines and see regular seismic activity.
Related Links
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