YEAR IN REVIEW 1997: DISASTERS

Disasters The loss of life and property from disaster in 1996 included the following: Aviation January 8, Kinshasa, Zaire. An Antonov-32 cargo plane that apparently was overloaded failed to achieve liftoff and plowed through a bustling open market situated near the runway; an estimated 350 persons were killed as the craft ripped through vendor stalls made of corrugated iron and wood. The Russian crew members who escaped with minor injuries were taken into protective custody when an angry mob attempted to exact punishment for the crash. January 17, Kano, Nigeria. An airplane crash reportedly claimed the lives of 14 persons, including the son of Nigeria's head of state; details were not made available. February 4, Asuncin, Paraguay. A Colombian cargo plane with a crew of three and one passenger exploded in midair after its left turbine engine erupted; 22 persons died when the craft dived into a residential area. February 6, Off the coast of Dominican Republic. A Boeing 757 en route to Frankfurt and Berlin and carrying 189 persons, mostly German tourists, crashed and sank in shark-infested waters shortly after takeoff, apparently after the pilot gauged that he had enough speed to maintain altitude after he consulted a faulty speedometer; all aboard perished. February 29, Near Arequipa, Peru. A Boeing 737 with 123 persons aboard slammed into a mountain and fell into a canyon while making its approach to land at an altitude below the authorized level; there were no survivors. April 3, Near Dubrovnik, Croatia. An air force T-43A passenger jet carrying prominent U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, veered off course and crashed into a mountain during a driving rainstorm and heavy fog; all 35 persons aboard the craft were killed. May 3, Near Khartoum, The Sudan. A Sudanese passenger plane crashed during a sandstorm when the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in an open field because sand had covered the runways at the nearby airport; 48 passengers and 5 crew members died. May 10, Santa Mara de Otes, Mex. A plane transporting a group of miners crashed near a remote airstrip in the mountains of northwestern Mexico; 16 persons were killed, and 3 were seriously injured. May 10, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Two helicopters taking part in a British-U.S. military exercise collided in the dark and plunged into a densely forested marsh; of the 16 persons aboard the two aircraft, 14 perished. May 11, Near Miami, Fla. A DC-9 airliner crashed in the Everglades shortly after takeoff and minutes after the crew had reported smoke in the cockpit and cabin; the craft, which carried 109 persons, was mired in sticky muck; there were no survivors. June 12, Near Townsville, Australia. Two army Blackhawk helicopters that were participating in nighttime antiterrorist maneuvers and flying with their anticollision lights turned off crashed after their rotors touched while they were landing in a training range; 18 persons were killed, and 10 were injured, 3 seriously. July 15, Eindhoven, Neth. A Belgian military cargo plane that was carrying 41 persons, including members of a Dutch army band, crashed and burst into flames when it landed on the side of the runway; 32 persons perished, including all 4 crew members. July 17, Off the coast of New York. A Boeing 747 jumbo jet carrying 230 persons en route to Paris exploded in midair and fell into the Atlantic Ocean; the cause of the blast, which claimed the lives of all aboard TWA flight 800, was still under investigation at year's end. August 29, Spitsbergen, Nor. A Russian passenger plane carrying coal miners slammed into a snowcapped mountain while attempting to land in dense fog; all 141 persons aboard were killed. October 2, Near Ancn, Peru. A Boeing 757 airliner plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after it took off from Lima and minutes after the pilot had radioed that his cockpit instrumentation was malfunctioning; the crash, in which all 70 persons aboard were killed, occurred after workers forgot to remove the duct tape that they had placed over key sensors while cleaning the plane. October 22, Manta, Ecuador. A Miami-bound cargo plane exploded shortly after takeoff when it grazed a church bell tower; the plummeting aircraft ripped roofs off homes and sent a shower of fiery debris upon the densely populated neighbourhood; at least 23 persons were killed, including the 3 crew members. October 31, So Paulo, Braz. An airliner carrying 96 persons to Rio de Janeiro failed to gain altitude after takeoff and plowed through a busy residential area; at least 104 persons were killed, including 8 on the ground who were engulfed in flames as the airliner spewed chunks of fuselage and drenched passersby with fuel. November 7, Imota, Nigeria. A Boeing 727 airliner with 141 persons aboard went down in a swamp outside Lagos after losing radio contact midway into its flight; there were no survivors. November 12, Near New Delhi. A midair collision between a Saudi Boeing 747 passenger plane with 312 persons aboard and a Kazak airliner carrying 37 passengers and crew claimed the lives of all 349 persons; it was the worst midair collision in aviation history. November 19, Quincy, Ill. A runway collision between two small commuter planes and the ensuing fire claimed the lives of all 13 persons aboard the two planes. November 22, Off the coast of Cape Mendocino, California. A military HC-130, which was conducting a training mission, crashed with 11 crew aboard, shortly after the pilot had reported a complete electrical failure; one airman survived. November 23, Off the coast of the Comoros. A hijacked Ethiopian airliner, a Boeing 767 that had run out of fuel, bounced on the water before crash-landing nose first just short of the beach; of the 175 persons aboard, at least 120 were killed. November 27, Central Siberia, Russia. A military cargo plane that was carrying some 30 tons of commercial goods crashed into a mountain and exploded; all 23 persons aboard were killed. November 30, Near Medelln, Colom. A small passenger plane slammed into a hill shortly after experiencing mechanical failure moments after takeoff; of the 15 persons aboard, one survived. December 17, Northwestern Russia. A military cargo plane with 17 persons aboard crashed during takeoff; there were no survivors. Fires and Explosions Early January, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. An early-morning fire engulfed a factory where some 1,000 workers were sleeping; 19 persons were killed as they scrambled to escape the flames, and 37 were injured in the melee. January 18, Lbeck, Ger. A fire of an undetermined origin broke out at a four-story hostel that was sheltering asylum-seeking refugees from Syria, Lebanon, Zaire, and Togo and ethnic German emigrants from Poland; 10 persons, 4 of them children, were killed in the blaze. Late January, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A fire in a hospital claimed the lives of 13 persons and injured 33. January 31, Shaoyang, Hunan province, China. A five-story apartment building was destroyed when 10 tons of dynamite stored illegally in the structure's basement exploded; at least 100 persons were killed, and the surrounding neighbourhood was demolished. February 17, Taichung, Taiwan. A fire that erupted in a hotel and sauna killed 17 persons, who were burned beyond recognition after succumbing to smoke inhalation. February 27, Taichung. A predawn fire that swept through an eight-story building claimed the lives of 13 persons and injured 17. March 19, Manila. A fire in a discotheque, which was certified to hold no more than 35 persons, killed 159 of the 400 revelers packed into the funnel-shaped structure as they stampeded toward a lone exit; the blaze of unknown origin was the country's worst fire, and many victims were burned beyond recognition. March 28, Bogor, Indon. An early-morning fire that broke out on the top floor of a three-story commercial building quickly engulfed the lower two levels; though 77 people were initially believed dead, the toll was lowered to 10 female workers when the morgue disclosed that some body bags contained charred mannequins, which had been counted among the dead. April-early May, Mongolia. Tinder-dry forests and grasslands were engulfed in at least 72 separate fires that were spread by strong winds; 25 persons were killed and at least 60 injured as more than 24,000 persons fought the raging blazes, which had burned 106,000 sq km (41,000 sq mi) and threatened to incinerate other areas before beneficial rains helped firefighters extinguish the flames. April 11, Dsseldorf, Ger. An unexplained fire, which presumably started in a flower shop, spread noxious fumes into elevators, ventilation ducts, and lounges in the arrivals section at the city's airport and claimed the lives of at least 15 persons. June 6, Red Sea. A fire aboard a ship that was traveling illegally from Eritrea into Saudi Arabian waters claimed the lives of at least 72 persons. June 11, Oscasco, Braz. A powerful explosion that ripped through a shopping mall during lunchtime, when between 1,000 and 2,000 shoppers were present, claimed the lives of more than 40 persons and injured 100; the force of the blast destroyed parts of two concrete walls and caused a corner of a second-story parking lot to collapse. June 29, Piya, Sichuan province, China. An explosion at a fireworks factory that had reopened illegally after having been shut down two months earlier killed at least 36 persons and injured 52, some of whom were seriously burned. July 17, Shenzhen, China. A hotel fire that started in a restaurant on the second floor swept through the structure and claimed the lives of 29 persons, including patrons who were suffocated by thick smoke as they slept; the cause of the fire was unknown. August 14, Arequipa, Peru. A stray rocket hit a high-voltage cable during a fireworks display and knocked the line onto spectators; 35 persons were electrocuted, and 42 were badly burned. October 9, Kampung Sessang, Sarawak, Malaysia. A dormitory fire at an elementary school complex claimed the lives of 11 children. October 20, Anhui province, China. An explosion at a firecracker factory that was operating without a license and illegally using child labour killed at least 13 children and injured 19. November 21, San Juan, P.R. A downtown six-story building exploded while employees from the gas company were investigating a possible leak; at least 29 persons lost their lives, and some 82 were injured. November 21, Hong Kong. A raging fire on the upper floors of a 16-story office building blazed for 21 hours before it was brought under control; it claimed the lives of 39 persons, and dozens more were injured. Marine Mid-January, Off the coast of Sumatra, Indon. A ferry that was transporting some 210 passengers and a cargo of cement, building materials, and vehicles sank quickly after ramming into rocks during a brisk wind; at least 51 passengers were known dead, and at least 100 were missing. January 24, Off the southeastern coast of Nigeria. A boat carrying some 260 persons to Gabon capsized after a gale-force wind suddenly pitched the vessel and threw its contents into the sea; at least 172 persons were killed, and several were missing and feared dead. February 17, Off the northern coast of Taiwan. A Greek-registered cargo ship sank in choppy waters near the island of Peng Chia-yu; of the 30 seamen aboard the boat, 19 were missing and presumed drowned. February 18, Off the coast of Cadiz, Negros Island, Phil. A dilapidated wooden-hulled ferry that carried more than 200 passengers, twice its capacity, and had been deemed unseaworthy earlier in the month sank as high winds buffeted it and panicked passengers rushed to one side of the vessel; at least 54 persons were killed, including 31 children, and several were missing. February 19, Taiwan Strait. A Chinese cargo ship with 30 crewmen aboard disappeared without a trace and presumably sank; all aboard were lost at sea. March 1, Lake Victoria, Uganda. A boat loaded with passengers capsized during inclement weather between Masolya and Bumba Island, and 66 persons drowned; two weeks earlier another boating accident at the same location, involving a collision between two vessels, had claimed the lives of 39 persons. March 28, Caribbean Sea. An overcrowded Haitian ferry sank shortly after leaving the port of Les Irois and striking some rocks; more than 100 persons drowned. May 6, Off the coast of Sierra Leone. An overloaded boat capsized during inclement weather with at least 210 persons aboard, many of them merchants who were transporting commercial goods; at least 140 persons were feared drowned. May 21, Lake Victoria. An overcrowded ferry that was transporting 222 more passengers than its official capacity capsized and sank some 32 km (20 mi) short of its destination, the western town of Mwanza, Tanz.; 549 persons lost their lives. May 24, Jamuna River, Bangladesh. A passenger ferry sank in choppy waters after colliding with another ferry that was carrying cars and trucks; at least 77 persons were feared drowned. June 15, Off the coast of South Korea. A Cyprus-registered cargo ship sank some 32 km southeast of the port city of Pusan after colliding with a Greek freighter in heavy fog; all 26 seamen aboard the cargo ship drowned, but the Greek freighter remained intact. July 27, Off the coast of the Comoros. A ferry that was traveling from Moroni began taking on water and quickly sank as it approached the island of Mwali; of the 69 persons aboard, only 5 were rescued. September 26, Nile River, near Beni Hasan, Al-Minya governorate, Egypt. An overloaded ferry with a capacity of 50 passengers was transporting funeral mourners when it collided with a barge; 56 of the 75 persons aboard the ferry drowned. October 14, Off the coast of Fort Pierce, Fla. A sailboat sank in rough Atlantic waters; the 16 persons aboard the craft had radioed that they were boarding a life raft, but rescuers failed to find them. November 14, Nile River, southern Egypt. A cruise boat carrying Czech and Slovak tourists capsized during a strong wind as the captain tried to dock the vessel; 20 persons drowned. November 14, Off the eastern coast of South Africa. A Panamanian-registered freighter sank in turbulent seas while being buffeted by high winds; all 29 crewmen aboard were lost. December 25, Off the coast of Malta. A small ship that apparently had been stolen from Malta and was carrying illegal immigrants from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to Europe sank after colliding with a larger ship that was bound for Greece, from which the immigrants had been transferred; survivors charged that some 280 of their fellow travelers drowned, but authorities were not able to locate the wreckage. Mining and Tunneling January-April, South Africa. A total of 178 miners were killed in accidents during the first four months of the year, and more than 2,400 were injured. May, Hunan province, China. An explosion at the Pindingshan coal mine killed 84 miners. May, Gansu province, China. Flooding at a lead and zinc mine in the northern part of the province killed 33 miners. As a result, the government closed the mine, the second largest complex at Lijiaguo. June, Yunnan province, China. Two landslides in a gold mine resulted in the deaths of at least 227 miners. November 27, Shanxi province, China. A gas explosion in an underground mine entombed some 90 miners. November 27, Free State province, South Africa. A mud slide at a diamond mine trapped 56 miners, 22 of whom were killed. Miscellaneous May 13, Nairobi, Kenya. A supermarket marquee collapsed and crushed 16 persons who had taken shelter under it during a heavy downpour. June 12, Hyderabad, Pak. A four-story building collapsed in the early-morning hours as residents slept inside the 50-year-old structure; because suffocating summer heat had prompted many male occupants to sleep in the street, most of the 21 casualties were women and children. June 20, Salvador, Braz. A newly built cement warehouse collapsed and trapped 25 dock workers, 14 of whom lost their lives. July 15, Ujjain and Hardwar, India. At least 60 worshipers gathered to celebrate a new moon festival were killed, including 39 persons who were trampled in Ujjain as some 200,000 devotees rushed down marble steps to an underground temple, and 21 persons who died when a crowd stampeded across an overcrowded bridge while rushing to bathe in the Ganges River in Hardwar. July 31, Tembisa, S.Af. A stampede at a railway station occurred when private security guards, in an attempt to ensnare fare dodgers, closed exits and began prodding commuters with batons, which some claimed were electrified; 15 persons were trampled to death in the ensuing chaos, many of them as they tried to elude the batons as the crowd surged forward. The incident provoked a rash of stoning and arson. August 7, Bhiwandi, India. Food poisoning was blamed for the deaths of at least 52 persons who dined at a local restaurant and ate rice that was laced with datura, a poisonous weed. September 18, Calcutta. At least 17 men who climbed up into a tree to view a concert free were killed when the branches holding them broke and spilled them onto a live electric wire; 18 persons were injured in the resulting stampede. October 16, Guatemala City, Guat. A stampede by soccer fans entering a stadium to watch a qualifying World Cup match that had been oversold resulted in the deaths of more than 80 persons, who died after a crowd of gate-crashers raced past security guards and trampled them. October 27, Heliopolis, Egypt. A 12-story apartment building in a suburb of Cairo collapsed and killed at least 15 occupants; 60 others were missing in the debris, which covered 5 stories. December, Glasgow, Scot. A food-poisoning outbreak occurred after church parishioners were served tainted meat at a luncheon in November; by December, 15 of the 45 hospitalized persons suffering from the illness blamed on the Escherichia coli bacterium had died. December 20, Guangdong province. A 91-m (100-yd) section of a 160-m (175-yd) bridge that was under construction and nearing completion collapsed and entombed workers under tons of debris; at least 24 workers lost their lives, and 63 were injured. Natural January 7-8, Northeastern U.S. The punishing Blizzard of '96, which blanketed at least 20 states, dumped record amounts of snow in Philadelphia, which recorded more than 76 cm (30 in); forced a state of emergency to be called in all or parts of Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Georgia; shut down virtually all means of transportation; closed governments, schools, and businesses; and claimed the lives of at least 100 persons, many of them victims of heart attacks. January 20, Northeastern U.S. An unexpected thaw that melted the snowpack of the Blizzard of '96 caused massive flooding as rivers and streams burst their banks in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut; at least 15 deaths were attributed to the flooding. February 2-4, U.S. Bitter cold gripped the nation from the Rocky Mountains in the West to the Atlantic coast and into the Deep South as record low temperatures were recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah, -24 C (-12 F); Huntsville, Ala., -14 C (7 F); and Tower, Minn., -60 C (-76 F), the coldest place in the U.S. February 3, Lijiang, Yunnan province, China. A magnitude-7 earthquake demolished the town and leveled as many as 186,000 homes, killed more than 240 persons, and injured some 14,000 others, 3,800 of them seriously; survivors huddled in the open as aftershocks as strong as 6 rocked the region. February 10, Near Sapporo, Japan. A 50,000-ton slab of rock fell on a road tunnel through which a bus and a car were traveling; 19 persons on the bus and one person in the car were crushed to death. February 12-14, So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states, Braz. Some of the heaviest rains in 25 years caused severe flooding, which claimed the lives of at least 50 persons and left thousands of others homeless; many of the dead were killed in mud slides, which entombed them in their hillside shanties. February 17, Biak Island, Indonesia. An earthquake of magnitude 7.9 followed by tidal waves as high as 4 m (13 ft) destroyed more than 5,000 homes and claimed the lives of 108 persons, most of whom were swept out to sea. February 21, Northern Peru. A tidal wave lashed the coast following an earthquake of magnitude 6.7; 10 fishermen were killed. March 16, Kashmir, Pak. An avalanche in the village of Kel claimed the lives of at least 32 persons. March 18, Kashmir. The second avalanche in two days in Kashmir buried seven houses in a tiny village near Muzaffarabad; at least 40 persons were feared dead. March 19, Xinjiang Uygur, China. An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 accompanied by aftershocks as strong as 5.1 toppled some 15,000 structures in the region and claimed the lives of at least 28 persons. March 28, Central Ecuador. An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck near Cotopaxi and claimed the lives of at least 19 persons. April, Afghanistan. Heavy rains and melting snow caused massive flooding, the worst in decades, which led to the deaths of at least 100 persons and damage to some 3,000 homes. April 27-28, Salvador, Braz. Driving rainstorms were blamed for the deaths of at least 30 and injuries to 24. Late April, Recife, Braz. Mud slides triggered by heavy rains swept away shanties perched on hillsides in the coastal city; as many as 32 persons were feared dead. May 3, Inner Mongolia, China. A strong earthquake of magnitude 5.9 shook the city of Baotou and the county of Guyang; 18 persons were killed, and some 200,000 were left homeless. May 13, Bangladesh. A tornado that rampaged through the district of Tangail and packed winds of 200 km/h (125 mph) uprooted trees, flattened some 80 villages, killed more than 440 persons, and injured some 32,000. May 31 and June 3, Yunnan province, China. In the space of four days, relentless rains caused two landslides on Laojin Mountain, the site of the Daping gold mine; 100 persons were known dead, 138 were missing, and 77 were injured. Mid-June, India. Two cyclones, one that battered the southeastern coast and another that lashed the west coast states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, claimed the lives of more than 260 persons; in addition, 120 fishermen were lost at sea. Mid-June, Central Yemen. Torrential rains in Shabwa province triggered heavy flooding, which led to the deaths of at least 158 persons and the destruction of some 1,274 homes. June 16-19, Karachi, Pak. A scorching heat wave accompanied by high humidity claimed the lives of 37 persons, including a number of homeless drug addicts who were found dead on the street. Early July, Oklahoma and Texas. A blistering eight-day heat wave with temperatures staying near or above 38 C (100 F) was blamed for the deaths of at least 20 persons; 54 people in Dallas were treated for heat-related illnesses. Early-mid-July, Caribbean and U.S. Hurricane Bertha, which rampaged through the Caribbean and hit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands before smashing into the east coast of the United States and blasting the states of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, New York, and New Jersey, claimed the lives of more than 30 persons, 20 of whom drowned after the cruise ship that they were aboard capsized near St. Thomas. The storm inflicted serious property damage on St. Thomas and North Carolina. Mid-late July, Northern Bangladesh and eastern India. Two weeks of relentless monsoon rains caused massive flooding, which claimed the lives of at least 291 persons; 2.2 million persons were left homeless as a result of the deluge. July-August, Southern and central China. Monsoon rains swelled the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River), Huang Ho (Yellow River), and Hai He (Hai River) to dangerous levels and caused flooding of calamitous proportions in nine provinces and areas; some 2,000 persons were feared dead, and damages to property and crops were estimated at $11 billion. July 20-21, Northeastern Quebec. Torrential rains washed out bridges and roads and caused massive flooding that destroyed or damaged between 1,500 and 2,000 homes in the Saguenay region; at least 10 lives were lost as a result of the flooding, which caused damage as high as $1.5 billion. July 26, Near Chorwon, S.Kor. Heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides and floods that claimed the lives of more than 50 persons, including 20 soldiers who were killed when a landslide buried two barracks in which they were sleeping. July 27-28, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Hurricane Cesar unleashed its fury on Colombia and Costa Rica before losing force and being downgraded and designated Tropical Storm Douglas as it hit Nicaragua and then menaced Mexico; at least 16 persons were known dead, and 21 were missing in Costa Rica. July 31-August 1, Taiwan. Typhoon Herb, the country's most costly storm to date, with more than $507 million in damages to agriculture and fishery operations, brutalized the landscape with high winds and pounding rain; at least 41 persons were killed. August 8, Northern Spain. Flash floods raced through a campground in the Pyrenees after a river burst its banks during a torrential downpour; as many as 70 persons were killed as the raging waters swept away cars, tents, and campers in a torrent of mud and debris. August 14, Off the coast of Vietnam. A fierce storm claimed the lives of about 400 fishermen who were lost at sea when their small wooden boats were shattered. August 17-18, Northwestern Vietnam. A fierce storm caused widespread flooding and led to the deaths of at least 53 persons. August 29, Perak, Malaysia. Torrential rains triggered a landslide in the remote area of Kampar in Perak; 13 persons were known dead, and 37 were missing after their flimsy huts were washed into a jungle river. Late August, Jammu and Kashmir, India. A freak snowstorm interspersed with heavy rains stranded thousands of Hindu pilgrims on the slopes of the Himalayas as they were making an annual pilgrimage to the ancient Amarnath Cave to worship Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and restoration; 239 persons were known dead, many of them from exposure, and many more were missing. September 2, Omdurman province, The Sudan. Heavy rains caused severe flooding in the areas of Al-Jaili and Umbaddah; 15 persons lost their lives, and more than 1,000 homes were demolished. September 5-7, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Hurricane Fran churned winds of up to 195 km/h (120 mph) that toppled power lines, propelled trees into houses, and produced heavy rain, which caused extensive flooding; at least 28 deaths were attributed to the storm, 17 of them in North Carolina, where 34 counties were declared disaster areas. The states of Maryland and Pennsylvania also were soaked by the storm. September 9, Guangdong province, China. Typhoon Sally roared into southern China with punishing winds that smashed more than 200,000 homes and interrupted electricity and water supplies; hardest hit were the cities of Zhanjian and Maoming, where at least 139 persons were killed and 110 were missing. September 10-14, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Hurricane Hortense delivered devastating damages to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where at least 22 persons lost their lives and about $100 million in crop damage was sustained, before brushing the Turks and Caicos Islands and roaring past The Bahamas on a northerly course. The storm knocked out power and lashed Nova Scotia before weakening. October-November, Central and northern Vietnam. Monthlong flooding in the Mekong delta followed a series of storms that deluged the country, causing $400 million in damage; at least 162 persons were killed, and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. Mid-October, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Hurricane Lili battered the countries with punishing torrential rain that weakened homes, destroyed crops, and killed at least 10 persons. Mid-October, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, India. Five days of relentless rains inundated low-lying coastal districts in both states, causing widespread flooding that killed some 350 persons, left some 100,000 homeless, and caused considerable damage to railway tracks and bridges. November 6, Andhra Pradesh. A cyclone that roared in from the Bay of Bengal annihilated the country's southeastern coast and killed at least 1,000 people; the fate of another 600, many of them Balusutippa fishermen, was unknown. November 12, Southern Peru. A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook the tourist town of Nazca, where some 40 miners were trapped in a gold mine; about 95% of the homes there, most made of adobe, were damaged. November 17, Near Brownsville, Texas. Waves about 3 m (10 ft) high consumed a group of men, women, and children who were carrying passports from Pakistan and were apparently attempting to cross the Rio Grande into the U.S.; some 10 persons were feared drowned. November 18-22, Northwestern U.S. Rain in Oregon and snow and ice in Washington knocked out power and unleashed mud slides in Oregon, where a huge sinkhole swallowed one tractor-trailer and damaged another; 12 deaths were attributed to the severe weather. November 24-25, Southern Plains and Mississippi valley, U.S. Ice storms made travel treacherous and contributed to snapping power lines and trees; at least 17 persons lost their lives in traffic accidents--6 in Oklahoma, 6 in Texas, 3 in Wisconsin, and 2 in Missouri. December 3-6, Manam Island, Papua New Guinea. A volcano unleashed a cloud of gas and volcanic ash and a torrent of lava fragments, which swept down its slopes and obliterated the village of Budua; 12 persons were known dead. December 25, Sabah, Malaysia. Tropical Storm Greg roared through the region, leveled houses and thatched huts, and claimed the lives of more than 200 persons, many of whom were washed away in floodwaters; hardest hit was Keningau, where more than 100 corpses were found under debris or floating in rivers. December 26-31, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Incessant rain and snowstorms killed at least 29 persons. Late December, Europe. A continentwide deep freeze claimed the lives of at least 150 persons during the last week of the month; in addition, as many as 300 persons in Russia were trapped in a tunnel with their vehicles when avalanches stranded them. Railroad February 16, Near Washington, D.C. A head-on collision between a Chicago-bound Amtrak train and a Maryland commuter train resulted in the deaths of 11 persons, all of them apparently on the commuter train; some of the more than 175 passengers and crew aboard the Amtrak train sustained minor injuries. Early April, Near Mweka, Zaire. A train crash following a derailment left 30 dead and 30 injured. April 7, Near Korogwe, Kenya. A freight train collided with a bus at a railroad crossing; 33 persons, mostly bus passengers, lost their lives, and 24 were injured. April 18, Northern India. A passenger train collided with a freight train; 20 persons were known dead, and at least 100 were injured. September 18, Japeri, Braz. An out-of-control freight train rear-ended a passenger train stopped at the station; 15 persons lost their lives. September 26, Southern Russia. A train traveling at full speed in dense fog plowed into a school bus at a railroad crossing; at least 21 children were killed, and 20 persons, including the driver and 3 adults, were seriously injured. Traffic January 1, Near Sonoita, Mex. A bus inexplicably crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with another bus; 27 persons were killed, and at least 25 were injured in the crash. February 12, Northern Italy. A chain-reaction pileup involving as many as 300 vehicles occurred on a fog-shrouded highway between Vicenza and Verona; at least 11 persons were killed, and more than 100 were injured. February 24, Pakistan. A crowded bus plunged into a canal after the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming car; at least 23 persons lost their lives as they were carried away in the swift-moving current. February 25, Bolivia. Two buses traveling at high speed during a rainstorm collided head-on some 45 km (28 mi) outside La Paz; at least 35 persons perished, and dozens were injured. February 28, Near Bailn, Spain. A passenger car veered across the centre line and slammed into a charter bus, which burst into flames; 29 persons were killed, and 17 were injured. March 14, Saudi Arabia. A vehicle carrying a group of illegal immigrants, most of them from Yemen, overturned while heading toward the town of Jizan, Saudi Arabia, where the deportees were being sent; 47 persons were killed. July 2, Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukraine. A streetcar that was barreling down a hill at top speed derailed and slammed into a concrete wall when its brakes failed; at least 32 persons were killed, and 75 were injured. July 15, Central Mexico. A bus plunged off a rain-slickened highway after the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle while speeding down the slippery road; 17 persons lost their lives, and 26 were injured. September 2, Mexico. A bus en route to the town of Cuautla in the state of Morelos hit a truck and fell on its side; at least 20 persons were killed, and some 15 were injured. September 15, Southern Bangladesh. A bus that was racing past a bus station in Comilla hit several bicycle rickshaws; 12 persons were killed, and 11 were injured. October 5, Near Warmbaths, S.Af. A bus collided with a gasoline tanker after attempting to pass another vehicle while traveling through thick smoke emanating from a wildfire; at least 38 persons were killed in the fiery crash, and 12 were seriously injured. October 10, Southern Turkey. A bus carrying about 30 German, Dutch, and Swiss tourists overturned and plunged into a ravine while barreling down a slick road; 11 persons were killed, and 19 were injured. November 10, Near Tbilisi, Georgia. A bus that was traveling on the narrow mountain road between Tskhaltubo and Ambrulauri plummeted over a precipice into a river; at least 23 persons were killed. December 25, Southern Philippines. A minibus traveling between the towns of Tipo-tipo and Maluso crashed and erupted in flames after the driver of the overloaded vehicle was unable to maneuver down a steep descent; 17 persons burned to death, and 12 were injured. December 25, Saudi Arabia. A bus traveling from Jordan to an unknown destination in Saudi Arabia veered off the road and overturned; 17 persons were killed, and at least 40 were injured.