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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Kosi River changed course one week ago to a path which it has not taken for over 100 years. While 900,000 people were evacuated by rescue workers, new data has revealed that 50,000 people, from the town of Saharsa, have refused to leave their homes.

Advertisements in local newspapers have been used to encourage the people who are still remaining in the area to leave soon. People are encouraged to go to one of many camps, which are funded by the government, to seek refuge from the continued flooding.

People have also started to return to their homes, due to the fact that they have seen the water level drop by over half of a metre in some areas. This is despite statements by officials emphasizing that people may need to stay in the camps for up to six months.

Approximately 1.2 million people are estimated to have had their homes flooded by the disaster. 42 people have been confirmed dead, although The Australian has reported that the actual death toll is likely to be much higher.

The incident started when gushing waters quickly overflowed the channel boundaries on both sides at a rate of about 200 meters per day, flooding vast tracts in Supaul, Araria, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, Katihar, parts of Khagaria and northern parts of Bhagalpur, as well as adjoining regions of Nepal. About 2.7 million people are affected by this flood disaster of massive dimensions, with about 900,000 people in the affected areas having moved to 285 relief camps and 249 health centers. An estimated 100,000 are still trapped in various villages without food or drinking water since several days ago when the crisis began.

During the last 250 years, the Kosi has moved its path up to 150km westward on multiple occasions, leaving behind a series of paleochannels. The river is a tributary of the Ganges, with catchment areas in the Nepal Himalayas, one of the fastest rising mountain chains, flowing through a 150-kilometer wide and 180-kilometer long alluvial fan. Fast silting of the channels by the tons of annuvium brought down by the river makes it drift off so often that it is often cited as one of the text book examples of a dynamic river system to geologists.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Penny Lucas is running for the Progressive Conservative in the Ontario provincial election, in the Kenora-Rainy River riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Authorities have confirmed that a student at Texas State Technical College-Marshall was found dead in his on-campus room around 9am CDT yesterday.

Emergency personnel were notified and CPR was performed on the student, without success. Authorities state that foul play is not suspected. Campus police and local law enforcement are conducting a full investigation. A campus representative told media sources that the cause of death has not yet been determined.

Just last year, a student at the college died from gunshot wounds he’d sustained while attending an event at a community center located on the outskirts of the city. Shortly following that incident, the school initiated a short-term controlled access plan, restricting much of the traffic into and out of the campus.

The school is one of several campuses in the TSTC system. According to a press release on the campus’s web site, the student’s name had not been yet released. The school is reportedly offering counseling sessions to all students throughout the week. A phone call to a campus representative made shortly before 4:00pm CDT was not immediately returned.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The US-based Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is expected to statically display seven of its aircraft and a mock-up of its latest business jet large cabin concept at the 47th International Paris Air Show, dubbed the LCC.

The seven aircraft expected to be on display are the Citation CJ2+, Citation Encore+, Citation XLS, and Citation Sovereign business jets, a Grand Caravan, a 206 Stationair, and a 172 Skyhawk single engine piston aircraft.

Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton said of the exhibit, “There is so much synergy now with other companies under the Textron corporate banner – companies like Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems – that we felt it made sense for us to return as an exhibitor to the Paris Air Show… We are particularly excited to have our large cabin mockup as the highlight of our exhibit.”

Cessna originally announced plans for a new large model of business jet for the Citation range at last year’s annual National Business Aviation Association meeting, and the idea has been in development since, culminating in the new large cabin concept design. The mock-up at the Paris Air Show includes a large galley, seating for nine passengers, a toilet and a dummy flight deck.

Cessna claim the new design, which outsizes their previous large cabin and long-range business jets, would “set a new standard for performance, cabin comfort, passenger amenities and environmental friendliness,” if launched.

Cessna refuse to release details such as exact internal design specifications and manufacturers of avionics and engines unless the new model actually enters production. Cessna Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Roger Whyte told reporters that preliminary wind tunnel testing had “fully met… expectations” and that they had “received extremely positive reaction to the performance parameters as well the cabin design of the proposed aircraft from our customer base”, although he warned that there are still a number of processes to be completed before Cessna actually decide whether or not to launch the new model.