NY STEAM PIPE EXPLOSION

7 MAJOR FIRES ARE RAGING IN THE USA.

IN NY (LONGISLAND) THERE WAS A RARE TORNADO, ONLY ABOUT THE 6TH IN 50 YEARS. AND ALSO IN NY (MANHATTAN) A STEAMY EXPLOSION THAT SOUNDED LIKE AN EARTH QUAKE AND LOOKED LIKE A VOLCANO BILLOWING SMOKE AND VAPOR INTO THE AIR. I THOUGHT WHEN I SEEN IT ON TV THIS IS THE ATTACK I'M EXPECTING TO HAPPEN SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE, BUT IT WAS NOT, THANK GOD FOR THAT.

Jul 18, 2007 4:34 pm US/Eastern
Tornado Leaves Thousands Without Power On L.I.

CBS) ISLIP, N.Y. The National Weather Service confirmed that an F-1 tornado touched down in the Islip area of Long Island Wednesday morning. At the F-1 level, a tornado carries hurricane-force winds that can reach 110 mph. It can peel off roofs, push mobile homes off their foundations or blow vehicles off the road.LIPA reports major power outages on Long Island. At its peak, some 51,000 customers were without power. Currently, 12,900 still have no electricity.CBS 2's Lonnie Quinn says the severe weather is not over with yet. The tornado was caused by a low pressure system around Canada, near the Great Lakes, and will continue to push showers and storms throughout the Tri-State area until Friday, with some being severe.

Quinn said another tornado cannot be ruled out, but is less likely to happen in Manhattan, as opposed to the outer boroughs and suburbs. Tornadoes are caused by rotation in atmosphere from service winds flowing in opposite directions - where they meet and begin to spin. The chances of tornado touching down in Manhattan is low because of concentration of high buildings which disrupt rotation. It isn't impossible, but it would be out of ordinary, Quinn said.National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki said the service received a number of reports of damage in the area after it issued a tornado warning between 9:19 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The NWS sent crew to examine the pattern of debris, and they determined that a tornado actually struck the area.

The weather service got its reports of trees down and other damage from members of the public and from emergency management staff, he said. Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971, the enhanced Fujita scale began operational use on Feb. 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale, six categories from zero to five representing increasing degrees of damage. It was revised to reflect better examinations of tornado damage surveys, so as to align wind speeds more closely with associated storm damage.On this new scale, Wednesday's tornado would be classified EF-1, according to CBS 2 meteorologist Jason Cali. Suffolk County says there have been reports of what it's calling tornado-like damage in Islip Township at Iris Lane and the north service road of Sunrise Highway.

Suffolk firefighters are dealing with four house fires that were likely caused by lightning.The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes a year, but they are uncommon in the New York area. A tornado struck about 20 miles north of New York City last July, causing heavy damage to a Westchester County store.CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Foreign ministers set to call for EU troops in Chad
19.07.2007 - 09:22 CET | By Helena Spongenberg

The European Union is set to take the first step towards sending soldiers to Chad to help the UN protect tens of thousands of refugees from Sudan's Darfur region.EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday (23 July) are expected to endorse a plan for a possible 12-month peace-keeping mission with 1,500 to 3,000 troops to protect refugee camps bordering Sudan's western Darfur region, EU diplomats say according to press reports.Political approval for the move could come as early as September, leading to a possible European Security and Defence Policy mission to support the UN presence in eastern Chad and eventually handing over to a UN-AU – African Union - peacekeeping force.

The idea has been pushed by Paris and has gained support from other EU capitals. We have the possibility to be very useful in Darfur, I hope, and in any case, to cooperate on this operation in Chad for its civilian populations, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday (18 July), according to AP.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and French president Nicolas Sarkozy last week discussed the possibility of deploying an interim EU force as soon as possible near the refugee camps in Chad, while awaiting the deployment of a UN police force.The EU move would come a few days after UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno on Tuesday (17 July) urged the 27-nation bloc to send troops and helicopters swiftly to improve security for refugees and aid workers as part of efforts to contain violence spilling over the border from Sudan.

In Darfur, at least 200,000 people are estimated to have died and more than 2 million have fled their homes since fighting flared in 2003 when African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudan government, in a conflict started over water resources.

MUCH ABOUT HISTORY
Iraq to renovate biblical prophet's tomb Purported burial site for Nahum to be restored - July 19, 2007 - WorldNetDaily.com

The national Antiquities Department in Iraq has announced plans for the renovation and restoration of an ancient synagogue in al-Qoush, a short drive north of Mosul and the location of the purported tomb of the biblical prophet Nahum.

The purported tomb of Nahum

The Antiquities Department has added the tomb of the Prophet Nahum, peace be on him, to its 2008 preservation plan, Abbas al-Hussaini, the department's chief, told the Iraqi newspaper Azzaman. Archaeologists have said the work on the synagogue and the tomb is urgent, with some scientists fearing the structure already may have been irreparably damaged. However, the agency has delayed the work because it lacked the expertise and resources to refurbish and reconstruct the historic structures, officials said. Hussaini confirmed his administrative team is seeking foreign help for the work. Nahum, one of the Bible's minor prophets, is venerated by all faiths and sects in Iraq, including Muslim Shiites and Sunnis, according to the government agency. The tomb is not important to Iraqis only. It is of an international character and can turn into a tourist attraction, Hussaini told the newspaper.

Azzaman speculated that the beginning of work is bound to attract considerable media interest and perhaps reveal more information about the prophet of whom the Bible says very little beyond the fact that a reference to the town of al-Qoush from which he hailed.Among the questions expected to be addressed is the age of the tomb, as well as the age of the synagogue itself, which is believed to be more than 400 years old. Al-Qoush is a major Christian center in northern Iraq, but it held a large Jewish population before the Jewish return to the new nation of Israel in 1948.

According to the recommendations of an organization called Tomb of Nahum, it is advisable that the repairs to the site be undertaken hand-in-hand with an archaeological team, which may also provide the opportunity to examine the interior of the tomb (presently sealed) itself.The organization noted that a structural survey already completed by an American civil engineer suggested the renovation likely will cost around $400,000. The cost … does include renovation of all the buildings and the perimeter wall, the organization said. Officials also said such work cannot be launched without permission of the Kurdish Regional Government's Ministry of Religious Affairs, which also has authority to allow examination of the tomb's interior.

[Officials with] the Ministry of Religious Affairs have previously stated their position that they will not countenance restoration of the synagogue without the written permission of the Jewish Council. Whether by this statement they mean the Chief Rabbi in Iraq or a body in Israel is unclear. As Iraq does not recognize the state of Israel, the permission of the Baghdad rabbi or the national board of Jewish deputies of the UK or the U.S. will probably be sufficient, the group said. The renovation of al-Qoush synagogue is a matter of great urgency if what is believed to be the tomb of a biblical prophet is not to be irreparably damaged or destroyed,the group said. Officials note al-Qoush is one of three places that claim to house the tomb of Nahum, who prophesied in 655 B.C. the downfall of Nineveh, which happened in 612 B.C. His writings are the 27th book of the Old Testament and the Talmud.

Historically, it is believed the Assyrian king Shelmanassar II brought thousands of Hebrews to northern Iraq about 727 B.C., and some settled in al-Qoush, where a population of pagans already existed. Christianity arrived later. Part of the synagogue's roof has collapsed In recent history, the Jews in al-Qoush, like the rest of Iraq, were subjected to increasingly oppressive laws starting about in 1930. In 1948, the last of the Jews left, with the rabbi handing the keys of the synagogue to a neighbor. Some parts of the Jewish quarter are estimated at more than 2,000 years old, and in the center of the synagogue is a simple plaster tomb topped by a green silk coverlet, the purported tomb of Nahum himself. Part of the roof of the synagogue has collapse, and other portions are described as in a sorry state of repair.The region also includes a monastery, Raban Hormus, which dates to the 3rd century. It sits on the slope of the mountain overlooking al-Qoush. In a statement on the weblog Gateway Pundit, Haider Ajina, an Iraqi-American, noted the plan shows us what a budding democracy and rule of law can do, even under tough conditions.

This also shows that Muslims who no longer fear their militant leaders and are free of their leader's venomous rhetoric can and will do. This sparks tremendous hope,he said.

Asbestos in Dust After Eruption, Air OK Jul 19 08:39 AM US/Eastern
By ADAM GOLDMAN - Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - A massive geyser of steam and debris that erupted through a midtown Manhattan street left asbestos in the dust that settled, but city officials Thursday said tests indicated the air was safe of the carcinogen. Tests were continuing, but the city's Office of Emergency Management said in a statement that long-term health problems were unlikely.Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said the possibility of asbestos contamination was the main health concern after an 83-year-old steam pipe ruptured less than a block from Grand Central Terminal, spewing a skyscraper-sized blast of steam, dirt and debris into the air. Some of the city's older pipes that pump steam beneath the city to heat and cool thousands of buildings are wrapped in asbestos, which can cause fatal lung disease, though the disease is typically linked to prolonged exposure. Crews worked overnight to assess and repair the damage and determine what happened.

One woman died of an apparent heart attack when the pipe erupted, and about 30 other people were injured, at least four seriously. Officials quickly ruled out terrorism, but for some witnesses, the explosion, dust, debris and chaos were frighteningly reminiscent of the scene on Sept. 11, 2001. We were scared to death. It sounded like a bomb hit or a bomb went off, just like 9/11. People were hysterical, crying, running down the street, said Karyn Easton, a customer at a salon a few blocks from the site of the blast. It was really surreal.Thursday morning, stretches of several major thoroughfares in the area remained closed. Most subway service was restored, though the trains continued to bypass Grand Central. Eight air samples in the area around the explosion found no sign of asbestos, but six of 10 samples of debris and dust came back positive, the emergency-management agency said Thursday. Residents in the area were to keep windows closed, and anyone exposed to the falling debris was instructed to wash carefully and isolate the clothing they were wearing in plastic bags.

City engineers warned that up to six feet surrounding the giant hole might be in danger of further collapse, and officials said workers would not be allowed into office buildings in a zone that covered several blocks. The Buildings Department determined late Wednesday that nearby buildings were structurally sound but some had suffered water damage and broken windows.

The cause of the rupture remained under investigation.

Officials said the pipe might have exploded under pressure caused by an infiltration of cold rainwater, or might have been damaged by a water main break. Con Edison head Kevin Burke said the site had been inspected hours before the blast as part of a routine response to heavy rain that flooded parts of the city. He said crews had found nothing as they searched for steam rising from manhole covers or cracks in the street—indications that pipes could be in jeopardy. The steam systems are normally inspected every six weeks. It was rush hour Wednesday evening when the geyser erupted, generating a tremendous roar as 200-degree vapor sprayed as high as the top of the nearby Chrysler Building. Steam and dirt boiled from the ground for hours.

Many people were struck by falling chunks of asphalt or rock that had been blasted out of the ground. Mud covered some bystanders. A woman who was bleeding heavily was helped by police while a man lay on a stretcher in the street. When the steam dispersed almost two hours later, a large crater was visible in the street and a red truck lay at the bottom of the hole. Two city buses and a small school bus sat abandoned and covered with grit in the middle of Lexington Avenue. The steam pipes have ruptured before. In 1989, a steam pipe explosion near Gramercy Park killed three people and spewed loads of asbestos into the air—a fact that Con Ed later admitted it concealed for days while residents were exposed. That explosion was caused by a condition known as water hammer, in which water condenses in a closed section of pipe. The sudden mix of hot steam and cool water can cause pressure to skyrocket, bursting the pipe.

Authorities Thursday couldn't immediately account for how the most seriously wounded victims of the latest eruption were hurt. Police said the woman who died, identified as Lois Baumerich, 57, of Hawthorne, N.J., suffered cardiac arrest. She and 15 other people were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where two seriously injured patients were being treated in a trauma unit, hospital spokesman Stephen Bohlen said. Two other people were in critical condition at New York Weill-Cornell Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Emily Berlanstein. Among the injured were several firefighters and police Officer Robert Mirfield, who helped evacuate 75 people trapped in a nearby office building by cutting open a gate, authorities said. Associated Press Writers Eric Vora, Richard Pyle, Tom Hays, Marcus Franklin, David B. Caruso and Verena Dobnik and AP National Writer Deborah Hastings contributed to this report.