week7-Himalaya. avalanche(blizzard). hiker(trekker)

Site of Deadly Himalayan Blizzard and Avalanches Is Popular With Hikers

Jane J. Lee

National Geographic

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 16, 2014

The Himalayan hiking circuit where at least 23 climbers were killed in a blizzard and avalanches this week is less than 200 miles from Mount Everest. But its trails appeal to a whole different type of adventurer.

Whereas Everest, the world's tallest mountain, attracts the world's most accomplished alpine climbers, Nepal's Annapurna circuit, the site of Tuesday's disaster, is among the Himalaya's most popular treks for casual hikers. It's been dubbed the "world's greatest trek."

But the 150-mile (241 kilometer) circuit turned deadly on Wednesday, and those who know the area say the inexperienced climbers who frequent the route were likely unprepared to contend with extreme weather conditions. Many people are still missing, with dozens feared dead, as helicopters rescued hikers from the area on Thursday.

Dosty Quarrier, a former therapist in Asheville, North Carolina, hiked the three-week-long circuit right out of college in the 1990s. "It really wasn't that hard," she said. That's partly because she and a friend hired a porter to carry supplies and partly because the trail "was a nice gradual elevation change."

Quarrier followed recommendations from locals and travel guides about acclimating to the altitude and had no problems going over Thorung Pass, the highest point on the circuit.

The pass, nearly 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) high—about the same elevation as Base Camp on Mount Everest—is near the site where the bodies of 12 hikers were discovered Wednesday. In the U.S., the only peaks as high as that are in Alaska, said Adrian Ballinger, owner and head guide for Alpenglow Expeditions.

"In normal conditions, you can go over that pass and not see any snow or bad weather," Ballinger said. Autumn weather conditions are generally stable, he continued, but "these are mountain conditions, and these storms are not unusual."

Inexperienced climbers would be challenged by the difficult conditions that developed during the heavy snowfall that struck the region earlier this week, he said.

An accomplished climber, Ballinger's first trip to Nepal, nearly 20 years ago, was to the Annapurna circuit.

Some climbers might include the Annapurna when training to attempt peaks like Mount Everest, said Conrad Anker, an accomplished climber and National Geographic Explorer. But for the most part, he said, the hiking community and the mountain climbing set are very different.

"Annapurna is manageable for trekkers with little experience," according to a BBC travel guide. "The circuit is more known for its varied terrain than its difficulty, and while some days can be a challenge, each day can be completed by midafternoon."

Jake Norton, a climber on Eddie Bauer's mountaineering team based in Evergreen, Colorado, said he was troubled by news reports that seemed to compare this week's tragedy with the avalanche that killed 16 expedition workers on Everest in April. (See "Sorrow on the Mountain: How April's Deadly Everest Avalanche Unfolded.")

"They're 100 percent different animals," he said. "The only similarities between the two are that they included snow and the Himalayas."

Still, Norton said, "there's this misperception that trekking is less risky [than climbing]."

       http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141016-annapurna-hiking-circuit-nepal-avalanche/

Structure of the Lead：

  WHO-not given

             WHEN-OCTOBER 16, 2014

   WHAT-people were killed in Mount. Himalaya

   WHY- because blizzard and avalanche

   WHERE-Nepal

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. blizzard 暴風雪

   2. avalanches 雪崩

   3. alpine 高山

   4. to contend with 抗衡
          5. acclimating 馴化

   6. altitude 海拔

   7. expeditions 探險

   8. misperception 誤解 

week6-Japan. volcano. eruption. Mount. Ontake

Japan Mount Ontake volcano: Death toll reaches 47

1 October 2014 

Last updated at 19:59

Rescue workers in Japan have recovered more bodies from Mount Ontake, bringing to 47 the number of those killed by Saturday's volcanic eruption.

The search resumed despite fears of toxic gases and another eruption.

The number of those unaccounted for is unknown but estimates say hundreds were at the summit at the time. Dozens were injured by falling debris.

Since then, volcanic tremors have been continuously detected with smoke still coming out of the volcano.

Police had earlier put the latest death toll at 48 but then revised it down by one.

The majority of bodies found near the summit on Wednesday were hikers, according to local police.

Helicopters have been used to bring the dead down from Mount Ontake.

Around 1,000 troops, police and fire fighters are involved in rescue operations.

The relatives of the dead and missing are waiting for news in a town hall in the nearby area of Kiso.

Experts have warned that the eruption is ongoing.

Seismologists had noticed increased seismic activity on Mount Ontake ahead of the eruption, but were still unprepared for what ensued.

The mountain, which is about 200km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, is one of Japan's 110 active volcanoes.

Its eruption on Saturday is the worst volcanic disaster in Japan for 90 years.

                                        http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29440982

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-not given

   WHEN-1 October 2014

   WHAT-Mount. Ontake volcano erupted

   WHY-not given

   WHERE-Japan

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. resumed 重新開始

   2. eruption 爆發

   3. revised 修正

   4. debris 碎片
    5. ensued 接踵而至

  

week 5-Kaohsiung gas explosion

Taiwan gas explosion kills dozens

Associated Press in Kaohsiung

Friday 1 August 2014 03.06 BST

At least 24 people have been killed and 271 others injured when several underground gas explosions ripped through Taiwan's second-largest city overnight, hurling concrete through the air and blasting long trenches in the streets.

The series of explosions about midnight Thursday and early Friday struck a district where several petrochemical plans operate pipelines alongside the sewer system of Kaohsiung, a south-western port with 2.8 million people.

The fires were believed to have been caused by a leak of propene, a petrochemical material not intended for public use, but the source of the gas was not immediately clear, officials said.

Video from the TVBS broadcaster showed residents searching for victims in shattered storefronts and rescuers pulling injured people from the rubble of a road and placing them on stretchers while passersby helped other victims on a sidewalk. Broadcaster ETTV showed rows of large fires sending smoke into the night sky.

Four firefighters were among the 24 dead and 271 people were injured, the National Fire Agency said. The firefighters had been at the scene investigating reports of a gas leak when the explosions occurred, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

At least five blasts shook the city, said Taiwan's Premier Jiang Yi-huah.

Chang Jia-juch, the director of the Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center, said the leaking gas was most likely to be propene, meaning that the resulting fires could not be extinguished by water. He said emergency workers would have to wait until the gas was burnt away.

The source of the leak was unknown. Chang said, however, that propene was not for public use and that it was a petrochemical material.

The Kaohsiung mayor, Chen Chu, said several petrochemical companies had pipelines built along the sewage system in Chian-Chen district, which has both factories and residential buildings. "Our priority is to save people now. We ask citizens living along the pipelines to evacuate," Chen told TVBS television.

Power was cut off in the area, making it difficult for firefighters to search for others who might be buried in rubble.

Channel NewsAsia said the local fire department received reports from residents of gas leakage at about 8.46pm and explosions started around midnight.

Closed-circuit television showed an explosion rippling through the floor of a motorcycle parking area, hurling concrete and other debris through the air. Mobile phone video captured the sound of an explosion as flames leapt at least nine metres (30ft) into the air.

One of the explosions left a large trench running down the center of a road, edged with piles of concrete slabs torn apart by the force of the blast. A damaged motorcycle lay in the crater and TVBS showed cars flipped over. The force of the initial blast also felled trees lining the street.

                       http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/taiwan-city-kaohsiung-gas-explosion

Structure of the Lead：

         WHO-not given

         WHEN-August 2014 03.06

  WHAT-people have been killed and injured  

  WHY-because of several underground gas explosions

            WHERE-at Taiwan's second-largest city, Kaohsiung

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. explosion 爆炸

   2. ripped 穿洞

   3. struck 來襲

   4. concrete 混凝土
          5. petrochemical 石化

   6. sewer 下水道
          7. propene 丙烯
          8. shattered 破滅
          9. rubble 廢墟
         10. stretcher 擔架

  11. investigate 調查

  12. evacuate 疏散