WHATS UP IRAN KENYA TEXAS

3 Stories here, QUAKE HITS IRAN. 2nd story, Crocodiles and floodwaters in Kenya. And the 3rd Story, thunderstorms again in Texas.

Scores hurt, houses damaged as strong quake hits southern Iran Sun May 7, 9:06 AM

ET TEHRAN (AFP) - At least 80 people were hurt and many homes damaged when a strong earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted the town of Zarand in southern Iran's Kerman province. Twenty people have been hospitalised, and 60 were treated as outpatients," Zarand's governor, Hasan Rahmani, told state television Sunday. The quake struck the area at
9:50 am (0620 GMT). State television also cited fears than miners in the area could be trapped underground. The province has a number of copper, iron and coal mines.

The walls of many houses have been seriously damaged and it is anticipated that more than 60 percent of Zarand homes will no longer be inhabitable," official radio quoted a local official as saying. Iran is an earthquake-prone area. The worst quake in recent times hit Bam, also in Kerman province, in December 2003, killing 31,000 people. In late March, a powerful earthquake hit western Iran, killing at least 70 people and leaving thousands homeless. In February 2005, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale killed more than 600 in Zarand.

Crocs ply flood waters as killer Kenyan storms fry pelicans Sat May 6, 10:51 AM

ET NAIROBI (AFP) - Dozens of man-eating crocodiles plied flood waters along Kenya's Indian Ocean coast after heavy thunderstorms that killed at six people and fried nearly 50 pelicans. About 30 of the carnivorous reptiles were spotted swimming near children's playgrounds and municipal parks in Kilifi, frightening parents in the coastal town where floods have claimed at least six lives in the past week, officials said Saturday. We have confirmed that there are crocodiles in the flood waters that are fast approaching residential areas," Kilifi lawmaker Joe Khamisi told reporters in the town, about 550 kilometers (345 miles) southeast of Nairobi.

We fear they may harm children who like to swim," he said, adding that his constituents were worried the death toll might be higher due to the crocodiles, which slithered out of ponds and estuaries with the rising waters. The rains have exacerbated humanitarian crises brought about by a searing drought that has hit east Africa, inundating parched soil, bursting the banks of
dry rivers and forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.The floods have also increased the risk of waterborne diseases, destroyed crops and hamperered delivery of drought relief by cutting off key roads used by humanitarian agencies across the country.

In addition to the human toll, lightning from a storm in the central Rift Valley town of Nakuru hit a tree where scores of pelicans
had taken roost, electrocuting at least 49 of the large-mouthed birds on Friday, officials said. The carcasses of the pelicans, among the tens of thousands of birds that flock to Kenya's famed Lake Nakuru National Park, littered the grassy area around the tree, said government veterinary official Michael Cheruyoit.

Thunderstorms Pound Parts of Texas Sat May 6, 2:39 PM ET

WACO, Texas - Thunderstorms with strong winds, heavy rain and a possible tornado uprooted trees, toppled power lines and damaged buildings in parts of Texas, officials said. No injuries were reported from the storms Friday night and early Saturday.In Waco, much of the damage appeared to be concentrated in an industrial area, where winds gusting at an estimated 80 mph
peeled off warehouse roofs and crumbled the walls at a Coca-Cola Co. bottling plant.

About 22,000 Waco residents still lacked power Saturday morning, said city spokesman Larry Holze. An expert was en route to determine whether a tornado or just strong winds caused the damage, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ted Ryan. In San Antonio, motorists stranded in high water had to be rescued.