Mahasen made landfall in Bangladesh on May 16, 2013. The same day, Reuters reported that the storm had claimed six lives, forced thousands of residents into shelters, and destroyed thousands of huts. Despite the damage, the toll was less severe than feared in Bangladesh and Burma, where thousands of displaced people were already living in flood-prone camps.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image the day that Mahasen came ashore. Clouds stretched across Bangladesh, northeastern India, and northwestern Burma.

In its final warning for Mahasen, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 knots (85 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 55 knots (100 kilometers per hour), but was dissipating over land.

1. References

2. Joint Typhoon Warning Center Accessed May 16, 2013.
3. Reuters (2013, May 16) Cyclone Mahasen buffets Bangladesh coast, six dead. Accessed May 16, 2013.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument:

Aqua – MODIS

NY Times

“………….General Brun said the evidence suggested the weapon used was sarin gas, the same deadly compound that killed 13 people in a domestic terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. The number of victims in Syria is unclear. General Brun also said a second agent, a retardant of some kind, had been deployed. …………..”

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/16/us/tainted-letter-intercepted/?hpt=hp_t3

Envelope tests positive for ricin at Washington mail facility

NY Times

Taliban Assault on Afghan Compound Leaves Dozens Dead

By AZAM AHMED

Published: April 3, 2013

“…………The complex assault began around 8:45 a.m., when two suicide attackers detonated explosives packed into an army pickup truck at the entrance gate of the provincial government compound……… After the explosion, which ripped through the mayor’s office and neighboring buildings, insurgents rushed the packed provincial courthouse, taking civilians and a handful of employees hostage.

Afghan security forces surrounded the building, firing at the Taliban fighters tucked away on the second floor. At some point during the nearly seven-hour gunfight, the insurgents took the hostages downstairs to the basement and shot them, the police said.

By 4 p.m., the fight was over………..”

http://www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/28613.html

2 April 2013

Four human cases of Influenza A (H7N9) in Jiangsu verified by NHFPC

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health tonight (April 2) verified with the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) four confirmed human cases of Influenza A (H7N9) in Jiangsu, involving one man and three women, aged from 32 and 83, all of whom currently in critical condition. Laboratory tests on the patients’ specimens by the Mainland health authorities yielded positive results for H7N9. According to the Health Department of Jiangsu, the 45-year-old female patient is a poultry worker and no epidemiological links were identified among the four cases at this stage. So far, the 167 close contacts of the four patients are asymptomatic. A spokesman stressed that the CHP is closely monitoring the situation, will continue to maintain close liaison with the Mainland health authorities for more case information as well as keep a close eye on the advice from the World Health Organization. The spokesman also advised travellers especially those returning from Shanghai, Anhui and Jiangsu with respiratory symptoms to wear facial masks and seek medical attention and reveal their travel histories to doctors. Health-care professionals should also pay special attention to those travellers who might have contact with birds or poultry in the three places. Members of the public are reminded to take heed of the following preventive advice against avian influenza: * Wash hands frequently; * Avoid direct contact with poultry and birds or their droppings; if contacts have been made, they should wash hands thoroughly with soap and water; * Poultry and eggs should be thoroughly cooked before eating; * Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, hold the spit with tissue and put it into covered dustbins; * Avoid crowded places and contact with fever patients; * Wear a mask when respiratory symptoms develop or you need to take care of fever patients; and * When you have fever and influenza-like illnesses during a trip or returning to Hong Kong, promptly consult doctors and reveal your travel history. The public may visit the Avian Influenza page of the CHP (www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/24244.html) for further information. Ends/Tuesday, April 2, 2013

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/29/world/africa/tanzania-building-collapse/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

Rescuers dig through rubble seeking missing in Tanzania building collapse

From Mwondoshah Mfanga, for CNN

March 29, 2013 — Updated 2050 GMT (0450 HKT)

 

“……….At least four people were dead and 60 were missing after the 16-story building under construction collapsed in Tanzania’s largest city, government and emergency officials said………………”

 

This three-dimensional image offers a unique perspective on Gombe National Park, nestled against the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika in northwestern Tanzania. Tanganyika is one of eastern Africa’s Great Rift Lakes, located in a geologic formation called the Great Rift, where two tectonic plates are pulling apart.

NASA

 

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1203366?query=TOC

Family Presence during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Patricia Jabre, M.D., Ph.D., Vanessa Belpomme, M.D., Elie Azoulay, M.D., Ph.D., et al.

N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1008-1018

March 14, 2013

DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1203366

 Family-witnessed CPR did not affect resuscitation characteristics, patient survival, or the level of emotional stress in the medical team and did not result in medicolegal claims.