Saturday, May 31, 2008

China says 200,000 evacuated because of flood risk

By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago

Chinese authorities had evacuated nearly 200,000 people by early Saturday and warned more than 1 million others to be ready to leave quickly as a lake formed by a devastating earthquake threatened to breach its dam.

The confirmed death toll from China's worst quake in three decades was raised Saturday to 68,977, an increase of about 120 people from a day earlier. Another 17,974 people were still missing, the State Council said. The increase was the smallest since the government started issuing a daily death toll shortly after the quake hit.

Hundreds of Chinese troops have been working around the clock to drain Tangjiashan lake in Sichuan province. The lake formed above Beichuan town in the Mianyang region when a hillside plunged into a river valley during the May 12 quake that killed more than 68,000 people.

The official Xinhua News Agency said work on a runoff channel had been completed. It quoted Yue Xi, deputy chief of the water and electricity section of the People's Armed Police, as saying water was expected to be discharged between Sunday and Tuesday.

Xinhua said 197,477 people were evacuated to safe ground by Saturday morning. It did not say how the exact number was arrived at, and many of the people may have moved just short distances to higher areas.

The news agency said Tan Li, the Communist Party chief of Mianyang, had issued another order that calling for all 1.3 million people in the area to be evacuated if "the barrier of the quake lake fully opens" and floods the area.

An official with the press office of Mianyang City Quake Control and Relief Headquarters, who would give only her surname of Chen, said Saturday's drill would involve testing the command system of various levels of government officials to ensure that any order to evacuate — if it comes — would be passed on quickly to everyone in the valley.

No public broadcast of the evacuation order would take place.

There was no sign that the dam was about to burst. Troops have sealed off Beichuan to the public.

Tangjiashan is the largest of more than 30 lakes that have formed behind landslides caused by the quake, which also weakened man-made dams in the mountainous parts of the disaster zone.

Millions of people in Sichuan are already living in tent camps and prefabricated housing, which have taken on the tone of new villages.

In Mianyang, about 200 families left their camps in flood-prone areas of the city and moved to higher ground in a wooded park on Fule Mountain. Most had camping tents and shelters made of tarp pitched under trees amid ornate gazebos and tea houses with tradition sloping yellow tiled roofs. Red signs on the buildings said, "Dangerous building, don't come near."

One woman, who only gave her surname, Wang, said life was uncomfortable but fine under the circumstances. "We've got all the basics. Those who are out of work are being given food, but my company is taking care of me," said Wang, who was living in a camouflaged camping tent set above the ground on wood planks.

A man who also only gave his surname, Zhang, said his family of three has received no food or shelter since they followed orders to move to the camp two days ago.

"I had to rig this up myself," he said, pointing to the simple structure of tarps they were living under. "We've just been eating instant noodles and bread that we brought ourselves."

Nearby, a woman selling tomatoes, green peppers and eggplants along the narrow park road was loading the vegetables back on her three-wheel motorcycle cart. "I'm packing things up because no one is buying," she said. "They have no pots or pans. No way to cook the food."

Xinhua also reported that President Hu Jintao arrived Saturday to check on relief efforts in Shaanxi province. Just to the north of Sichuan, Shaanxi also suffered damage in the May 12 earthquake.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Friday, May 30, 2008

Families reunited in China's quake zone

By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press WriterFri May 30, 2:31 PM ET

Most of the 8,000 children found alone after China's devastating earthquake have been reunited with their parents, Chinese officials said Friday.

About 1,000 have not been spoken for but the need to find adoptive families is now far less than earlier thought, said Ye Lu, a senior official at the Civil Affairs Department in hard-hit Sichuan province.

Officials have been deluged by offers from within China and overseas to adopt orphans from the May 12 quake , but the need was now far less than was earlier thought, said Ye Lu, a senior official at the Civil Affairs Department in devastated Sichuan province.

"We are still getting thousands of calls per week asking about how to adopt, but we are still hoping to find the parents of these 1,000 kids," Ye said.

More than 18,000 people are still listed as missing more than two weeks after the quake, which crumbled scores of towns and left 5 million people homeless scattered across hardest-hit Sichuan province.

The government on Friday raised the confirmed death toll to 68,858. Officials expect the final tally to top 80,000.

Separately, officials upgraded the threat posed by waters rising quickly behind a mass of rocks and earth that tumbled from a mountainside when the tremor struck and blocked a river running through a valley dotted by dozens of villages.

Troops are moving almost 200,000 people who are in the direct path of the potential flood to higher ground — many of whom are already living in tents or other temporary shelters after their homes were destroyed.

Officials also said they had a plan to evacuate a total of 1.3 million people in and around Mianyang, a city that could face flooding, within five hours if the dam wall breaks.

An official with the press office of Mianyang City Quake Control and Relief Headquarters said authorities would run a drill for three days starting Saturday.

The drill would consist of testing the command system of various levels of government officials to ensure that any order to evacuate — if it comes — would be passed on quickly to everyone in the valley, said the official who would only give her surname of Chen.

"Not all 1.3 million people will be actually evacuated," Chen told The Associated Press. "People will only be evacuated in case of the actual collapse of the whole bank."

A report earlier Friday by the official Xinhua News Agency that all 1.3 million had been ordered to evacuate from the valley was wrong, Chen said.

She said 197,500 people in the valley are being moved to higher ground — about 30,000 more than officials had announced in recent days.

Hundreds of troops using 40 bulldozers and heavy excavating machines are working around the clock at the lake, named Tangjiashan, to dig channels that will drain the lake safely.

There was no sign that the lake dam was close to bursting Friday, though officials say it could do so in coming days.

Tangjiashan is the largest of more than 30 lakes that have formed behind landslides caused by the quake, which also weakened man-made dams in the mountainous parts of the disaster zone.

Many of the 5 million left homeless are living in tent camps or prefabricated housing being erected by troops, which are taking on the tone of new villages.

In one camp at Mianzhu, hospitals, schools and even a makeshift shopping mall had emerged, along with stores selling shampoo, shoes, beer and clothes.

A mobile medical center on the back of a tractor-trailer rig offered free eye exams. About 50 people — mostly senior citizens and children — lined up for the checkups.

"I've never had my eyes checked before. Even before the quake. This is the first time," said Yu Xiaoling, a 54-year-old farmer who lost her home in the quake.

But some residents were longing for the comforts of home.

"Life is really good here, but we don't have a TV. The things I miss most, though, are my stuffed animals. I lost them when our home collapsed," said Fang Ming, a 10-year-old girl standing outside her tent peeling an orange with the sharp edge of a chopstick.

Repair and recovery work continued, including pulling down damaged buildings. Troops have also been spraying disinfectant on the rubble and in survivor camps — an attempt, they say, to reduce the risk of disease breakouts.

But Dr. Claude de Ville de Goyet, a medical consultant who frequently works at disaster sites, said spraying bleach on the rubble would have no effect except a psychological one on victims. "It's cosmetic," he said.

A stockpile of bleach being used as disinfectant ignited on Thursday, injuring several soldiers who helped extinguish the blaze.

Meanwhile, Japan said it had decided not to use military planes to deliver aid to the quake zone, after Beijing voiced uneasiness over the mission. The aid would be delivered by civilian charter flights instead, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura.

Beijing had been in talks with Tokyo about using Japanese military planes to deliver aid, which could have become the first significant military dispatch between the two nations since World War II.

Japan invaded China and conquered large parts of it in the 1930s before being defeated by the Allies in 1945, still a sensitive issue to both countries.

China Red Cross deputy director Jiang Yiman promised monthly audits of its relief operations, seeking to address concerns that some of the billions of dollars donated to help quake victims could be siphoned off by corrupt officials.

China warns evacuation possible with flood threat

By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago

More than 1 million people may have to evacuate dozens of villages in a Sichuan province valley if an earthquake-spawned lake threatens to burst and flood the region, an emergency official warned Friday.

Authorities were preparing to run a drill starting Saturday to ensure 1.3 million people in the Mianyang region can get out quickly if the lake breaks through the wall of debris clogging a river.

An official with the press office of Mianyang City Quake Control and Relief Headquarters, who would giver only her surname of Chen, said a report Friday by the official Xinhua News Agency that a mass evacuation already had been ordered was wrong.

"People will only be evacuated in case of actual collapsing of the whole bank," Chen told The Associated Press.

Chinese troops were still working to drain the Tangjiashan lake, which formed above Beichuan town after a quake-triggered landslide blocked a river. There was no sign that the dam formed by a landslide caused by the May 12 quake was about to burst on Friday, though officials say it could do so in coming days.

Chen said 197,500 people in the valley were being moved to higher ground — about 30,000 more than previously announced.

On Saturday, officials will start a three-day drill that will test government communications systems to ensure that any evacuation order — if it comes — quickly filters down to residents in the valley.

Soldiers were using 40 heavy earth-moving machines to dig drainage channels. Officials quoted in state media have not said how long the work would take.

The confirmed death toll from China's worst quake in three decades was 68,858, the government announced Friday, an increase of about 350 from a day earlier. Another 18,618 people were still missing.

In the chaos after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake, which made 5 million homeless, many survivors were separated from their families.

Thousands of children and parents who had been separated have been reunited, officials said Friday, while the government has been inundated with requests from families to adopt other children orphaned by the disaster.

Social workers have helped bring together more than 7,000 children and their families since the earthquake struck Sichuan province May 12, said Ye Lu, director of social welfare at the provincial Civil Affairs Department.

"A little more than 1,000 children remain unclaimed or orphaned," Ye said.

The government has been overwhelmed with calls seeking to adopt those children, Ye said.

"We are still getting thousands of calls per week asking about how to adopt, but we are still hoping to find the parents of these 1,000 kids," he said.

Also on Friday, government officials in Tokyo said Japan would not use military planes to deliver relief goods to China after Beijing voiced uneasiness over the idea.

China had been in talks with Tokyo about using Japanese military planes to deliver aid, which could have become the first significant military dispatch between the two nations since World War II.

But Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Tokyo would not insist on using the military.

Japan invaded China and conquered large parts of it in the 1930s before being defeated by the Allies in 1945, and many Chinese still strongly resent Japan for its military aggression.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Climbing Device--Grigri from Wikipedia

Grigri (climbing)

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The Grigri

An open Grigri

A Grigri (or Gri-gri, Gris-gris, or Gri for short) is a hand-sized belay device designed to help secure rock-climbing or rope-acrobatic activities. Its main characteristic is a clutch that self-locks under a shock load. Belayers using a Grigri need to pay full attention to their climber and exercise skillful operation to ensure safety. "Grigri" is a trademark of Petzl, but the success of this tool has been so great that it has to some degree become a common name. Competitors include the Trango Cinch.

[edit] Mechanism of Operation

The Grigri works by locking when sudden acceleration occurs to the rope (like in a fall), therefore making it an automatic belay device unlike traditional belay devices such as a Sticht plate or an ATC. The device acts like an automobile seat belt, if you move the rope slowly you can run the rope through the Grigri without it locking but a shock load locks the device so rope won't run. One of the criticisms of automatic belay devices is that they can lead to a false sense of security. The automatic functionality may result in the belayer being less attentive to the climber than with a more traditional belay device. However, like any tool, proper training is required for proper use.

[edit] Pros and cons of use

Some climbers feel that the Grigri is only suitable for top rope climbing and not lead climbing due to the auto-locking feature. The claim is that since the device auto-locks, the belayer is required to hold the device open while feeding rope to the leader. A common mistake while belaying a lead climber is to hold open the device the entire time, thus defeating the auto-locking mechanism. However users can and should learn how to feed rope without holding the device open. Petzl have released information on how rope should be fed through in a lead climb. Including how to let slack out quickly so that the climber can clip a draw on a sport route.

When used correctly, the Grigri's auto-locking mechanism can protect against problems, such as inattentive or incapacitated belayers. For lead climbing, a grigri is more difficult to use correctly than an ATC; for top-rope climbing, the opposite is true. When belaying the same technique for "taking in" that is used with an ATC or similar device is used, however in the event of a fall instead of having to "lock off the device" the belay does nothing and the device locks by itself. However while paying slack out into the system if the device is held open (with one technique being referred to as "the thumb") and the climber falls, unless the belayer lets go the device will not lock and the climber will deck.

While designed as a belay device, big wall climbers have invented novel ways to use the Grigri that are not recommended by the manufacturer. For example some big wall soloists use the Grigri (sometime slightly modified but not necessarily) as a self-feeding hands-free self-belay device. In big wall situations, the Grigri allows for hands-free belaying on long aid pitches while the rest of the party does other things. It can also be used by the second to self-belay while jumaring the rope as one half of the ascender pair; the leader can belay the second hands-free allowing the leader to haul, take pictures, or do other chores; the second can use it to lower out while following a traverse.

The Grigri is also both significantly heavier although is not very heavy. Many climbers aim to reduce weight on their harness (equipment attached to the harness is known as a "rack") as much as possible as it can drain energy. and more expensive than other belay devices. However, there are applications where only an automatic belay device will work. The Grigri has a lower limit for the rope size for which the clutch will engage. This makes it unusable with many of today's skinny ropes - like those used in many alpine applications.

Many Novice climbers make the mistake of thinking that an auto locking device such as the cinch, grigri or eddy can make up for a lack of belaying skill. This is not true, and does cause accidents. It is very important correct training is received before belaying with any device commences.

About Grigri

常聽到有人在推薦使用GriGri自動確保器時, 我都會睜大眼睛很緊張式地急問, 被推薦的對象是新手還是熟手? 但很遺憾的百分之九十都是新手, 這讓我深深隱憂, 因為我看過許多因使用不當而發生受傷的案例, 本文的張貼若有損傷到販賣業者的利益的話, 在此先表達抱歉之意, 但為了教學立場, 還是一定要表達我所搜集到的資料.

事實上GriGri我自己也很喜歡, 因為你如果去過龍洞那種動不動就30米的岩壁, 你就會知道有GriGri是一件超棒的一件事, 例如有一個傢伙他自不量力, 昨天沒睡飽, 今天一開爬就要5.9, 結果他可能要take好幾次, 原來一條路線頂多十分鐘爬完, 他老兄死不放棄地給你搞個半個鐘頭, 在下面的確保者這時如果使用ATC, 可能就要X在心裏口難開, 但這時如果使用GriGri, 那可就輕鬆多了.

但如果你去爬十公尺以下的社區人工岩場, 好像就會發現GriGri實在有夠重, 而且價格至少貴五倍, 性能也沒有比ATC強多少.

有人說, GriGri很適合給那些確保動作不熟練的人操作, 因為萬一確保者即使制動手放開, 也可以穩穩地抓住攀登者, 聽到這種說法我可真是冷汗直流, 因此以下我歸類了幾個要點讓各位參考一下.

1.請注意GriGri必須單繩使用, 直徑不得超過說明書上或器材刻的數字, 一般在器材上刻的字有點小, 晚上光線差甚至看不清楚, 但一定有 ONLY FOR ROPE 1 UIAA MIN 10 MAX 11字樣, 意思就是只能使用10-11mm主繩, 太粗會卡住, 太細會抓不住. 另外一個定律就是儘量不要讓新手使用新繩或舊繩, 因為太新的繩子比較滑, 太舊的繩子比較卡, 認意考驗新手等於找自己麻煩.

2.反覆檢查確定主繩以正確方式置入確保器內, 確保器上有刻兩個圖樣, 一個是手, 代表繩子通往制動手方向, 一個是攀登者, 代表繩子通往攀登者方向, 放錯就完了. 另一種檢查方式為, 攀登者拉GriGri上方的繩子, 如果會卡住, 代表正確.

3.確保者的制動手永遠不可跳動或放開主繩.

4.放繩讓攀登者下降時, 務必先讓主繩靠在一個圓弧形的鋼片設計上, 然後才去抓左側的黑色小把手, 再接著緩緩往內壓出一個角度, 制動手感覺受力後, 才可繼續對小把手施壓,讓攀登者緩緩下降.

5.給繩時僅須將制動手往上移動到與主繩約45度角即可執行, 萬一發生給繩不順暢時, 亦絕不可以將制動手抓住確保器或去拉通往攀登者的主繩.

6.新手欲操作GriGri前最好徵求指導者認可技術熟練後, 再行操作 . 新手操作時, 身旁一定要有教練在旁觀察並反覆糾正細部動作, 直到被認可為止.

以上圖片轉載自Petzl-1999產品目錄

BYU Radio News--May 29, 2008

President George W. Bush met briefly Thursday with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as part of his visit to Utah. He also gave President(s) Thomas S. Monson and Dieter F. Uchdorf a quick tour of his airplane, Air Force One.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

東北角龍洞攀岩　女子大意失足墜落喪命

（中央社記者黃旭昇台北縣二十五日電）台北縣東北角龍洞灣攀巖場今天下午傳出意外，三十歲的女子蔡佳茹與一對夫妻檔友人前往攀岩時，在即將抵達頂峰時，大意將安全扣環解開，失足從高約二十公尺左右的岩壁，直直摔落平台。重傷的蔡女被緊急送醫急救後，傍晚仍宣告不治。

瑞芳警分局調查，住在台北縣五股的女子蔡佳茹，今天上午八時左右與友人林小姐及劉先生夫妻檔，一同前往位在東北角龍洞地區的攀岩場練習。

下午二時三十分左右，正當蔡佳茹差一步就要登頂時，卻大意先將身上的安全扣環解開，沒想到一個失足，瞬間從距離地面約二十公尺左右的高處摔落平台上，在場其他還有十幾名的攀岩客，看到這恐怖的一幕都驚呼不已。

警方調查，摔到平台上的蔡女傷勢相當嚴重，身體多處骨折、臉部浮腫，同行的友人簡直不敢置信。

北縣瑞芳警分局和美派出所員警及瑞芳消防分隊與海巡單位獲報後立刻趕到現場救人。攀岩場地處偏僻，車輛無法直接開入，徒步進入救人相當耗時。

蔡女傷勢嚴重，海巡署出動警艇，從外海將蔡女載往鄰近的龍洞安檢所，再由消防分隊用救護車接駁前往瑞芳醫院。但蔡女因傷勢嚴重，送到醫院已經沒有呼吸心跳，傍晚宣告不治。

據警方瞭解，未婚的蔡女從事攀岩活動已經有十餘年，算是老鳥級的攀岩學員。這次「大意失荊州」竟然會解開安全扣環造成悲劇。意外發生的真正原因，仍要等待檢警相驗後進一步釐清。

====================================================================

龍洞攀岩女工程師摔死

【聯合報╱記者阮南輝／台北縣報導】

2008.05.26 04:30 am

女電腦工程師蔡佳茹昨天與友人到台北縣東北角龍洞攀岩場練習攀岩，在登頂過程，只差一步就到達安全平台前，疑似先將安全扣環拉開，意外從約廿公尺高的高處摔落，送醫仍告不治。

警方調查，家住台北縣五股的蔡佳茹（卅歲、未婚）有十年的攀岩經驗，最近一、二年經常利用假日跟朋友到龍洞攀岩場攀岩，前天已先到攀岩場攀岩，昨天上午八時許再跟劉姓夫婦到攀岩場練習。

據目擊者描述，蔡佳茹攀爬到與安全平台相距約一步的距離時，疑似先拉開身上與安全繩相連的扣環，並要下方拉著安全繩的友人放手，沒想到一失足，直接從廿公尺的高處摔落。

蔡佳茹摔落時，目擊的十多名攀岩客都嚇了一大跳，紛紛上前察看及搶救。由於意外地點車輛無法到達，貢寮消防分隊、岸巡一三大隊龍洞安檢所請漁民幫忙，開著小舢舨從海上繞到攀岩場岸邊，再把蔡佳茹運送到漁港，一路上施以心肺復甦術，再送醫急救，仍告不治。

Monday, May 26, 2008

China worries about flood threat in quake zone

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China worries about flood threat in quake zone

By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago

Soldiers operated earth-moving equipment Tuesday as other lugged explosives deep into China's disaster zone, preparing to blow up earthquake debris blocking a river whose rising waters threatened already-devastated towns and villages.

Storms forecast for the region, meanwhile, added to concerns that rain would put more pressure on weakened dams and reservoirs and cause spillovers from new lakes that have built up behind debris from the earthquake.

The number of deaths from the quake climbed toward an expected final toll of 80,000 or more. The Cabinet said 65,080 people were confirmed killed, and 23,150 people remained missing.

Thousands of people had been evacuated from an area downstream from one of the new lakes that was created by a landslide near Beichuan, a town hit hard by the May 12 tremor that devastated Sichuan province.

Some 1,800 soldiers, each carrying 22 pounds of explosives, clambered up mountain paths to reach the new lake — already named Tangjiashan — with plans to blast through the debris and drain the water, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The troops didn't arrive until late Monday, and the blasting was not expected until later Tuesday at the earliest.

With better weather allowing helicopter flights, heavy equipment was also delivered to the area to help remove debris, state media reported Monday.

China Daily said 600 engineers and soldiers worked through the night and into Tuesday morning at the lake, which is fed by the Qingzhu River and lay two miles upstream from the center of Beichuan county.

Tangjiashan lake is one of dozens caused when the magnitude-7.9 quake sent millions of tons of earth and rock tumbling into some of the region's narrow valleys. Rising waters have already swallowed some villages.

"The water was covering the road, and two days later I could not see the roof of my house anymore," said Liu Zhongfu, standing on a hillside looking down at another of the new lakes, which submerged the town of Shuangdian.

A sofa and bits of wood that were once part of houses could be seen floating among the debris in the milky green water. Villagers said they also had seen corpses in the water in recent days.

Liu, a 31-year-old truck driver, was working away from home when the earthquake hit, causing a landslide that cut the Chaping River in An county, about 30 miles south of Beichuan. His wife, 3-month-old daughter and 60-year-old mother escaped unhurt.

"I thought I could go back but I have nothing now. My village, it's all become a sea," he said. "I'm trying to see my house for one last memory."

Pressure is building behind the mounds of earth and rubble as rivers and streams feed into the newly formed lakes. Officials fear the walls of loose soil and debris could crumble easily, especially once the water level reaches the top and begins cascading over.

Adding to the threat, thunderstorms were forecast for parts of Sichuan this week — a foretaste of the coming summer rainy season that accounts for more than 70 percent of the 2 feet of rain that falls on the area each year.

The storms "could increase the risks posed by river blockages in some quake-hit areas," the China Meteorological Administration said .

In An county, the Chaping River backed up two miles along the valley, said Wang Li, county Communist Party secretary.

"We need to take care of this soon. This is a serious situation," he said.

The Water Resources Ministry said three small reservoirs in Shaanxi province, just north of Sichuan, were in danger of collapse after a strong aftershock Sunday — the latest of dozens that have rumbled across the region since May 12. A total 2,383 reservoirs were in danger across the country, the ministry said.

Elsewhere, 600 people were evacuated from Guanzhuang in Qingchuan county because of landslide worries.

"There's no danger for this exact moment from flooding but we are very worried because the whole mountain is loose," said Ma Jian, a local official.

At a meeting presided over by President Hu Jintao, China's top Communist Party leaders signed off on plans to shift the huge relief effort's focus from rescue to resettlement and reconstruction.

Survivors were plucked from crumbled buildings for more than a week after the quake, though the number of such tales has dwindled. Meanwhile, tent cities — some government organized, some makeshift — have sprouted across the disaster zone where 5 million people were left homeless.

In Qingchuan city, hundreds of survivors were living in a mix of lean-tos and government-provided tents in a public square. People crowded four or eight to a tent were being provided with packets of instant noodles and bottled water.

With each aftershock, survivors relive their horror at the quake two weeks ago.

"I was so scared, I didn't know where to run," said Deng Zuequin, 50, a vegetable seller, describing Sunday's shaking. "In my mind all things are connected to the earthquake. The earthquake takes up every inch of my mind."

Officials in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, said the country's one-child policy would be lifted for families that had a child killed, severely injured or disabled in the quake. Many of the dead from the disaster were children — although no specific numbers are known.

The Education Ministry said it would investigate whether flawed construction contributed to collapses of schools.

"We will punish those who cut corners during school building construction and will have zero tolerance for corruption and shoddy school projects," spokesman Wang Xuming said in Beijing.

Meanwhile, one of two pandas missing since the earthquake was recovered Monday, Xinhua said. The panda had been missing from the famed Wolong reserve, located near the epicenter.

___

Associated Press writer Tini Tran in Qingchuan contributed to this report.

Director Sydney Pollack dies at 73 in Los Angeles

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer 48 minutes ago

Academy Award-winning director Sydney Pollack, a Hollywood mainstay who achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with the gender-bending comedy "Tootsie" and the period drama "Out of Africa" while often dabbling as a television and movie actor, has died. He was 73.

Pollack died of cancer Monday afternoon at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, said publicist Leslee Dart. Pollack had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, said Dart.

Pollack, who occasionally appeared on the big screen himself, worked with and gained the respect of Hollywood's best actors in a long career that reached prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act," George Clooney said in a statement from his publicist.

"He'll be missed terribly," Clooney said.

Last fall, he played law firm boss Marty Bach opposite Clooney in "Michael Clayton," a drama that examines the life of fixer for lawyers. The film, which Pollack co-produced, received seven Oscar nominations, including for best picture and a best actor nod for Clooney. Tilda Swinton won the Oscar for supporting actress.

Pollack was no stranger to the Academy Awards. In 1986, "Out of Africa" a romantic epic of a woman's passion set against the landscape of colonial Kenya, captured seven Oscars, including best director and best picture.

In accepting his Oscar, Pollack commended Meryl Streep, who was nominated for best actress but didn't win.

"I could not have made this movie without Meryl Streep," Pollack said. "She is astounding — personally, professionally, all ways."

Over the years, several of his other films, including "Tootsie" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" got several nominations, including best director nods.

The list of actors he directed reads like a who's who of Hollywood A-listers: Sally Field and Paul Newman in "Absence of Malice," Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in "The Interpreter," Robert Mitchum in "The Yakuza," Tom Cruise in "The Firm," Robert Redford in "Three Days of the Condor," and Redford and Barbra Streisand in "The Way We Were," and other big-name actors in other films.

"Having the opportunity to know Sydney and work with him was a great gift in my life," Field said in a statement. "He was a good friend and a phenomenal director and I will cherish every moment that I ever spent with him."

In later years, he devoted more time to acting, appearing in Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives," Robert Altman's "The Player," Robert Zemeckis' "Death Becomes Her," and Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut."

His last screen appearance was in "Made of Honor," a romantic comedy currently in theaters, where he played the oft-married father of star Patrick Dempsey's character.

Pollack had an occasional recurring role on the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace" playing Will's (Eric McCormack) father, and also appeared in the "The Sopranos," "Frasier" and "Mad About You."

Pollack also produced many independent films with filmmaker Anthony Minghella, who died in March, and the production company Mirage Enterprises. His recent producing credits include "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain."

The Lafayette, Ind. native was born to first-generation Russian-Americans. In high school in South Bend, he fell in love with theater, a passion that prompted him to forego college and move to New York and enroll in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater.

Studying under Sanford Meisner, Pollack spent several years cutting his teeth in various areas of theater, eventually becoming Meisner's assistant.

"We started together in New York and he always excelled at everything he set out to do, his friendships and his humanity as much as his talents," said Martin Landau, a longtime close friend and associate in the Actors Studio, through spokesman Dick Guttman.

After appearing in a handful of Broadway productions in the 1950s, Pollack turned his eye to directing — where he would ultimately leave his biggest mark.

"Sydney let the dialogue and the emotion of a scene speak for itself. Not given to cinematic tricks, his gentle and thoughtful touch and his focus on the story let us inhabit the world he created in each film," said Michael Apted, president of the Directors Guild of America.

In the "The Interpreter," that world was the United Nations. The first feature film to be shot inside the U.N., Pollack had never been inside the Manhattan landmark until starting work on the film in 2004.

"I am ashamed to admit that I went to school here in New York. I got married here, I worked here, I walked by this building a thousand times," he told reporters. "I had never been inside it until the first location scouting trip, and I was awed by it."

Pollack, who stood over six feet tall and had a striking presence on the screen, never totally gave up acting.

"Most of the great directors that I know of were not actors, so I can't tell you it's a requirement," he said. "On the other hand, it's an enormous help."

At the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, Pollack said "Tootsie" star Dustin Hoffman pushed the director into playing the actor's exasperated agent.

Pollack said Hoffman repeatedly sent him roses with a note reading, "Please be my agent. Love, Dorothy." At that point, Pollack hadn't acted in 20 years.

In the 1982 movie, Hoffman plays an out-of-work actor who pretends to be a woman to land a role on a soap opera.

"I didn't think anyone would believe him as a woman," Pollack said. "But the world did, they went crazy."

Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren.Pollack's son, Steven, died in a plane crash in 1993.

____

Associated Press writer Marcus Franklin in New York contributed to this report.

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Officials: Storms kill 8 in Iowa, Minn.

MSNBC.com

Officials: Storms kill 8 in Iowa, Minn.

More tornadoes strike nation’s midsection, injuring dozens

The Associated Press

updated 10:58 p.m. MT, Sun., May. 25, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa - Severe thunderstorms packing large hail and tornadoes rumbled across the nation's midsection on Sunday, killing at least eight people and damaging dozens of homes, authorities said.

Iowa Homeland Security administrator Dave Miller said seven of the dead were killed by a tornado in northeast Iowa — five from Parkersburg, 80 miles northeast of Des Moines, and two from nearby New Hartford. At least 50 injuries were reported.

"Occasionally we have a death but we have warning system. Seven deaths. It's been a long time since we've had those kinds of injuries and deaths reported," Miller said.

Witnesses reported parts of Parkersburg — particularly the town's south side — were reduced to rubble, including most of the town's high school and homes.

A tornado also struck just to the east in the nearby town of Dunkerton and elsewhere in Black Hawk County, where there were reports of homes damaged or destroyed. Dunkerton has fewer than 800 residents and New Hartford has about 700 people.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver issued a disaster proclamation for Black Hawk, Buchanan and Butler counties, a move that helps coordination between state and local authorities.

Miller said homeland security officials are monitoring reports of storms throughout Iowa. In the Des Moines area, there was heavy rain and lightning Sunday night with wind gusts of 70 mph.

Child among the dead
At least 20 people were unaccounted for in Minnesota after a swift storm blew through the St. Paul suburb of Hugo, damaging about four dozen homes, City Administrator Mike Ericson said. Many of the residents could be out of town for the holiday weekend, he said.

A 2-year-old child was killed and the child's sibling was critically injured and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children's parents also were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the family home.

"It's horrible," Ericson said. "The citizens are very shook and scared." Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced plans to meet with city officials and tour the storm-ravaged city on Monday.

Residents reported a tornado touching down in the area, but that hadn't been confirmed by the National Weather Service. Emergency crews descended on the town to look for those who hadn't been accounted for and to assess the damage.

Roughly 300 to 400 homes were evacuated in the storm-damaged area because of concerns over hazards including downed power lines and leaky gas lines, Ericson said. The city set up a shelter at an elementary school, but American Red Cross spokeswoman Courtney Johnson said all but one of the families was able to find a place to stay with friends or relatives.

Hugo Public Works Director Chris Petree said his family took shelter in the basement before the storm lifted his house off the ground and completely wiped out the second floor.

"I put my daughter down first, my wife on top of her and then I bear-hugged on top of them," Petree said.

As he huddled in his basement against a foundation wall with his wife and 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Petree said they heard the thunderous sound of their house coming off the ground.

"All you hear is glass breaking and wood tearing and breaking in half," Petree said.

Worst twister season in a a decade
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch about 6 p.m. for 45 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, but canceled the alert five hours later as the storms began to ease.

Thunderstorms dropped hailstones the size of golf balls in St. Croix County, said meteorologist Bob McMahon, but there was no tornado anywhere in the state. At least 16,000 people across Wisconsin lost power at some point.

In Illinois, the weather service issued a tornado warning for Jo Daviess County through Sunday. Tornado watches were issued for counties including LaSalle and DeKalb. Portions of southern and central Illinois were under thunderstorm watches.

The storms followed three days of violent weather across the Midwest. Rural Oklahoma was battered Saturday and storms in Kansas a day earlier killed at least two people there.

About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the weather service, and the danger has not passed yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24801518/

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Sunday, May 25, 2008

China aftershock destroys 71,000 homes; 6 killed

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 33 minutes ago

A powerful aftershock destroyed tens of thousands of homes in central China on Sunday, killing six people and straining recovery efforts from the country's worst earthquake in three decades. More than 500 others were injured.

Meanwhile, soldiers rushed with explosives to unblock a debris-clogged river threatening to flood homeless quake survivors.

The fresh devastation came after a magnitude 6.0 aftershock — among the most powerful recorded since the initial May 12 quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The China National Seismic Network said the aftershock was the strongest of dozens in the nearly two weeks after the disaster.

The new tremor killed two people in Sichuan province and injured more than 480 others, 41 seriously, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The news agency said Monday that the aftershock also killed four people and injured 20 others seriously in neighboring Shaanxi province.

Some 71,000 homes that had survived the original quake were leveled, and another 200,000 were in danger of collapse from the aftershock that caused office towers to sway in Beijing, 800 miles away.

Xinhua did not give any details on whether the houses were occupied.

Before the aftershock, the Cabinet said the confirmed death toll from the disaster had risen to 62,664, with another 23,775 people missing. Premier Wen Jiabao has warned the number of dead could surpass 80,000.

A mudslide caused by the aftershock blocked a road, but Xinhua said no serious landslides were reported.

Previous landslides loosened by the quake jammed rivers across the disaster area, creating 35 new lakes that placed 700,000 survivors in jeopardy of floods, Vice Minister of Water Resources E Jingping told reporters in Beijing.

The biggest concern was the new Tangjiashan lake in Beichuan county, where some 1,800 police and soldiers hiked with 22 pounds of explosives each to blast through debris, according to Xinhua.

The news agency said the soldiers arrived at the lake early Monday "and immediately began work to defuse the danger of a major flooding."

Hazy weather prevented helicopter flights to the area, and forecasts for rain increased the risk that lakes could overflow.

Rain will "not only cause the amount of water going into the lakes to increase, but also influence their normal structure, so the situation is quite serious," said Vice Minister E. "It is a daunting task because of the unpredictability of when the barrier lakes will burst."

About 20,000 people have been evacuated from the disaster area due to the flood risk, and the total relocated could rise to 100,000, said Liu Ning, chief engineer at the Ministry of Water Resources.

The ministry also said 69 dams in Sichuan were in danger of collapse from quake damage, but reservoirs have been drained to lessen the risk. Authorities have said the world's largest water project — the Three Gorges dam, located about 350 miles east of the epicenter — was not damaged.

Elsewhere in the disaster zone, people ventured cautiously back to homes to retrieve belongings, but some decided the risk of entering damaged buildings was too great.

In Hanwang, 58-year-old Zhang Heqing was carrying a handful of plastic bags and had planned to go into his apartment block, but the coal mine employee said he had second thoughts.

"I just don't dare to go in," he said. "I live on the fifth floor and the staircase is blocked and you can't even open the doors."

Down the street, retiree Huang Huimei, 75, and her husband were busy stacking pots, pans, chairs and bed boards in a pile for movers to take to the provincial capital of Chengdu, where her son lives. Her building remained standing but had serious cracks and was not safe for habitation.

She had spent most of the time since the quake caring for her 95-year-old mother.

"I don't know if we'll be back," she said as her husband handed her part of a cooking stove through the front window of their ground floor apartment. "These apartments weren't that safe before the quake. My husband worked for the coal mine and it's supposed to rebuild the company apartments. But who knows when."

More than 15 million homes were destroyed in the disaster, and the Chinese government has appealed for tents to help shelter survivors.

Across town, about 10 families were living in makeshift shelters of picnic table umbrellas and nylon tarps draped over simple wood frames, pitched in a muddy lot that used to be a food market. Chickens pecked at watermelon rinds, while the survivors used plastic basins to wash and piles of scrap wood for cooking fires.

"The local government officials have done a good job for themselves. They're living up there," said a camp resident who pointed to a neat row of tents up a hill.

"They didn't do such a good job here where the regular folks have to live," said the man, who would only give his surname, Wang.

State television reported Sunday that a survivor trapped by the initial quake was rescued alive Friday, more than 11 days after the disaster.

Xiao Zhihu, an 80-year-old bedridden man, was found in Mianzhu north of Chengdu, the report said. He survived because his wife was able to get food to him through the rubble of his collapsed house, but there were no further details given or a reason for the two-day delay in reporting the rescue.

Meanwhile, one of two pandas missing since the quake from a major preserve for the endangered animals in Wolong, near the epicenter, was sighted Sunday, Xinhua said. The panda, named Xixi, disappeared before staff could reach it, but was believed safe, the report said. The search will continue Monday.

The pandas' home at the world-famous Wolong reserve was badly damaged in the quake and five staff members were killed.

Eight pandas from the reserve are spending the next six months at the Beijing Zoo on a special Olympics visit that was planned long before the quake. The animals were flown Saturday afternoon by special plane to Beijing from Chengdu.

___

Associated Press writers William Foreman in Hanwang and Henry Sanderson in Beijing contributed to this report.

China aftershock destroys 71,000 homes; 2 killed

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer 36 minutes ago

A powerful aftershock destroyed tens of thousands of homes in central China on Sunday, killing two people and straining recovery efforts from the country's worst earthquake in three decades. More than 480 others were injured.

Meanwhile, soldiers rushed with explosives to unblock a debris-clogged river threatening to flood homeless quake survivors.

The new tremor killed two people and injured more than 480 others, 41 seriously, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Some 71,000 homes that had survived the original quake were leveled, and another 200,000 were in danger of collapse from the aftershock that caused office towers to sway in Beijing, 800 miles away.

A mudslide caused by the aftershock blocked a road, but Xinhua said no serious landslides were reported.

The biggest concern was the new Tangjiashan lake in Beichuan county, where some 1,600 police and soldiers were hiking with 22 pounds of explosives each to blast through debris, according to Xinhua.