Freak snow storm hits Nepal http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=126&art_id=nw20070529095234381C871116Dozens of people were feared killed in remote parts of north-western Nepal after the areas were hit by a freak snow storm, officials said on Tuesday.
The casualties were reported in the remote north-western mountainous district of Dolpa, about 450 kilometres north-west of the Nepalese capital, on Monday.
"We have reports that at least 16 people died and about a hundred others were blinded by a freak snow storm and blizzard," Home Ministry spokesperson Baman Prasad Neupane told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The snow storm is said to have hit a mountainous area where hundreds of people had gathered to collect an herb locally known as Yarshagumba, which is thought to increase sex drive.
Other reports in the Nepalese capital said up to
1 500 people were stranded in heavy snows. However, the Home Ministry said it could not immediately confirm the report.
"The area is very remote and we are still verifying information received from local government officers," Neupane said.
"We have launched a rescue mission and helicopters are on their way and the full extent of the situation is expected to become clear later."
The rescue mission is expected to proceed slowly due to continuing bad weather in the area and lack of road access in the district. - Sapa-dpa
If you thought our weekend was bad look at the weather across the water...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=458562&in_page_id=1811 Comments (
Freak snow, freezing temperatures and tropical storms across Europe are making the Bank Holiday washout here look almost pleasant.
In Spitzing in Germany, locals have been forced to wrap up after ten centimetres of snow brought out the snowploughs for the first time this year.
Dutch tourist Antoinette Vegchel wipes away snow on her car in Germany's Black Forest region
It was the same story in towns close to the Alps in Austria, Switzerland and even northern Italy where temperatures in May routinely climb into the 80s.
In one Swiss valley, 3,000 were trapped in hotels and guest houses because trains could not reach them in the snow.
Ironically, the weather follows one of the worst winters ever for snow at Alpine ski resorts.
On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, two hikers died in freezing fog and on its beaches a 19-year-old man was killed by a wave.
A cable car moves back from Nebelhorn mountain in southern Germany after 25 cm of snow fell overnight
Further north in cities like Berlin, tropical storms have brought four days of chaos, dumping hailstones as big as golf balls, uprooting trees and causing widespread flooding.
There have been many fatalities across Germany from the weather, the most poignant being three workmen who sheltered beneath their bulldozer during a rainstorm only to die altogether from a single lightning strike.
Britain was drenched over the weekend in some of the worst rain of the year.
The AA said thousands had to cut their long weekends short, to battle appalling conditions on motorways.
Arctic winds hit the country on Monday at speeds of up to 50mph in what was described as one of the coldest Whitsun Bank Holidays.
However, the outlook for the rest of the week is better with temperatures rising again and rain in some areas.
Argentina Rations Gas to Companies, Chile Amid Cold (Update1) By Bill Faries and Eliana Raszewski
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=latin_america&sid=av0tvGQPKLKUMay 29 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina rationed electricity to companies and severed natural gas supplies to Chile as a cold wave prompted record demand for electricity in South America's second-largest economy.
The temperature in many parts of Argentina fell below freezing yesterday, pushing electricity demand to a record 18,300 megawatts, according to the country's energy regulator. Argentina cut shipments of gas to Chile to meet the surge in demand, forcing their neighbor to rely on residual gas in the pipeline.
Rolling blackouts and gas shortages in Argentina threaten more than four years of economic growth of over 8.5 percent per year. The ban on gas deliveries to Chile jeopardizes supply for an estimated 1.2 million residential users in eastern Santiago and may lead to increased energy costs for mining companies as power generators switch to more expensive diesel fuel.
``There's no short-term solution to the shortage of gas,'' energy consultant Francisco Mezzadri, the former head of natural gas operations at CMS Energy Corp., said in a phone interview. ``Electricity prices have been frozen since 2002, a new pipeline from Bolivia has yet to be built and domestic gas reserves are declining. It's a critical situation.''
`Contingency Plan'
Chile's mining companies may face rising energy costs as generators try to pass on higher costs related to running power plants with diesel fuel, Senator Ricardo Nunez, chairman of the senate energy committee, said in a phone interview. Chile supplies 34 percent of the copper from mines worldwide.
``This could affect mining companies' earnings significantly,'' Nunez said.
Chilean Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman said the country has a backup plan to secure enough natural gas for homes should supply from neighboring Argentina run out.
``There would be normal gas supply for the bathroom and the kitchen,'' Tokman said today in comments broadcast by Television Nacional. ``We're talking about a contingency plan for an eventuality that we don't think is going to happen at this point.''
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she expects Argentina to follow through on commitments to deliver gas.
``Argentina is passing through an exceptional moment,'' Bachelet said in a news conference during a visit to Helsinki. ``But there is an agreement that this will be resolved tomorrow.''
Schools Closed
About 100 schools in Buenos Aires province are closed today for lack of sufficient heating, newspaper Clarin reported. The national weather service predicted the below-freezing temperatures will continue tomorrow before rising later in the week.
Cristian Folgar, Argentina's undersecretary for fuels, said in an interview with state-run Telam news agency that the country won't have problems meeting demand.
``We're calm,'' Folgar said. ``Our two systems of gas and electricity are functioning at full capacity and this will be sufficient to meet the demand we have.''
Norberto Garcia, president of the Argentine Chamber of Toy Manufacturers, said his industry plans to shift production times in July, the peak production period and the middle of winter, to avoid blackouts.
``In July we'll probably have to work two shifts and we may need to work at night, when energy demand falls,'' he said by phone from Buenos Aires. ``When a businessman invests in a company, he counts on being able to at least get basic services.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Faries in Buenos Aires at
wfaries@bloomberg.net ; Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires
eraszewski@bloomberg.net .
