Greenland's frozen landscape warming up
- Story Highlights
- CNN traveled with Greenpeace to Greenland on their study of the region
- Flow of Helheim Glacier has sped up dramatically in last decade
- Research of warming water in Sermilik Fjord points to higher sea-level rise
September 20, 2009 -- Updated 2301 GMT (0701 HKT)
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By Phil Black
CNN
CNN
Melting world: mountainous icebergs in Greeland's Sermilik Fjord.
William tells me he went out on a boat with some friends a few days ago and shot the whale. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Welcome to Greenland. On this remote but enormous island subsistence whale hunting is allowed.
This was just the memorable start to an extraordinary journey.
Cameraman Neil Bennett and I had traveled to the small town of Tasiilaq in southeastern Greenland to meet up with the Arctic Sunrise, a ship belonging to the environmental group Greenpeace. Read Neil's blog on filming in challenging conditions
The 34-year-old icebreaker and its crew are on a three month expedition around Greenland's coast. They say their mission is to help scientists working in the region and to publicize the environmental changes taking place here.
Survivors of a deadly earthquake-triggered tsunami which hit the Samoan islands Tuesday have described how they watched the inrushing sea swallow up coastal towns and villages leaving devastation in its wake.
At least 111 people are confirmed killed in Samoa, neighboring American Samoa and Tonga. But officials in the Polynesia region have expressed fears the toll will rise as rescue workers struggle to reach outlying villages submerged and flattened by the wave.
iReporter Alden Tagarino captured this image of the damage caused by the tsunami in Pago Pago.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A major earthquake in Indonesia killed at least 75 people Wednesday, according to a Red Cross disaster report, citing an official report from the country's vice president.
Wednesday's earthquake was centered in Indonesia's West Sumatra province.
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Thousands may be trapped by collapsed buildings and houses, said Rustam Pakaya, the head of Ministry of Health's crisis center.
He said 75 people were seriously injured.
The quake caused widespread power and phone outages, making it difficult to assess the scope of the damage.
It struck at around 5 p.m. local time, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) from Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra. Padang is home to more than 800,000 people.
The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.6, according to the U.S Geological Survey, caused widespread power and phone outages, making it difficult for authorities and aid organizations to evaluate damage.
More than 300 killed in path of deadly storm Ketsana
- Story Highlights
- NEW: Death toll now over 325 following destructive path of Ketsana
- Philippines bears brunt of deaths with 246 confirmed dead
- Over half a million people have been evacuated from their homes
- At one point, 80 percent of the Philippines capital Manila was under water
updated 2 hours, 59 minutes ago
A man tries to get into his flooded house in Hoi An in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam.
With heavy rains still lashing Vietnam, some major roads were closed and rivers and flood waters were rising. But the airport in the coastal city of Danang, which had been closed for three days, reopened Wednesday.
Workers used chainsaws to clear toppled trees from roads so rescue crews could rush relief supplies to the worst-hit areas. Families waded through knee-deep water to salvage precious belongings from flooded houses.
In Danang, an ill elderly woman was brought to safety on a make-shift raft made of banana tree trunks and leaves. She said eight other family members remained on the rooftop where they had found refuge.
In addition to the 74 deaths, the Vietnamese government said 179 people were injured.
The numbers, the government said, are expected to rise because officials have not been able to reach some isolated areas.
Vietnam has not asked for aid but some international relief agencies were providing help, which the government accepted.
In neighboring Cambodia, the storm knocked down 92 houses in Kampong Thom province, about 80 miles (130 km) north of the capital Phnom Penh.
Along with the usual rice and blankets, the Cambodian Red Cross planned to donate $120 to each of the affected families so they can afford a traditional funeral for their loved ones.
The nine deaths reported in Cambodia were all in Kampong Thom, with 40 others injured there, the Red Cross said.
The worst-hit country, the Philippines, began the slow process of clearing up mud and debris Wednesday.
Even as they did so, Filipinos kept their eyes peeled on another storm looming in the Pacific Ocean.
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The government, which some people said did not act quickly enough, opened up part of the presidential palace for aid distribution.
Ketsana left at least 246 people dead as it passed over the Philippines. Another 38 people were still missing, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.
The storm affected nearly 2 million people and forced the evacuation of 567,000. At one point, 80 percent of the capital Manila was under water after experiencing the heaviest rainfall in 40 years.
As the death toll rose, so did the collective grief.
"I did not know what happened," said Gingerly Comprendio. "We were on top of a roof. We got separated. The next day when I came back to our house, I saw my eldest already dead and my aunt saw my other child buried in the mud."
Ray Lee, a prominent judge, single-handedly saved 32 people using his jet ski.
"There were cries for help, so I returned to other houses or roofs and retrieved all the people there," he said.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations was considering an emergency appeal for aid as several U.N. agencies pledged support. The World Food Program said it will provide rations to 180,000 people.
CNN's Arwa Damon in Danang, Vietnam, and Dan Rivers in Manila, the Philippines, and journalist Asha Phillips in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, contributed to this report.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/09/20/greenland.arctic/index.html
