Major fire threatens historic observatory near LA

18:10, September 16, 2020

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  Enormous California wildfire threatens desert homes near LA

  An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert was still threatening homes on Monday and was one of more than two dozen major fires burning across California.A woman watches as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hill, Calif., Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (Photo: AP)Five of the largest wildfires in state history are currently burning and more than 5,600 square miles (14,500 square kilometers) have been charred, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.At 165 square miles (427 square kilometers), the Bobcat Fire is one of the largest ever in Los Angeles County after burning for more than two weeks. Its just 15% contained.Evacuation orders and warnings are in place for thousands of residents in foothill and desert areas, where semi-rural homes and a popular nature sanctuary have burned. Statewide, at least 23,000 people remain evacuated, Newsom said.No injuries have been reported for the fire about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.Erratic winds that drove flames into the community of Juniper Hills over the weekend had died down, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Larry Smith."Its slightly cooler too, so hopefully that will be a help to firefighters," Smith said.Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger U.S. wildfires to global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas, especially because climate change has made California much drier. A drier California means plants are more flammable.Officials said it could be days before teams determine the scope of the destruction in the area burned by the Bobcat FireEarly estimates are that 6,400 buildings have been destroyed across the state, but Newsom said "by no stretch of the imagination do we think this tells the entire story." Damage assessments are ongoing, he said.The Bobcat Fire started Sept. 6 and has doubled in size over the last week...

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  ‘Huge rainmaker’: Hurricane Sally threatens historic floods

  Waves crash near a pier, at Gulf State Park, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Gulf Shores, Ala. (Photo: AP)NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Heavy rain and pounding surf driven by Hurricane Sally hit the Florida and Alabama coasts Tuesday as forecasters expected the slow-moving storm to dump continuous deluges before and after landfall, possibly triggering dangerous, historic flooding along the northern Gulf Coast.“It’s going to be a huge rainmaker,” said Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist and meteorologist at Colorado State University. “It’s not going to be pretty.”The National Hurricane Center expected Sally to remain a Category 1 hurricane, with top sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) at landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday. The storm’s sluggish pace made it harder to predict exactly where its center will strike.The hurricane’s slow movement exacerbated the threat of heavy rain and storm surge. Sally remained dangerous even after losing power, its fiercest winds having dropped considerably from a peak of 100 mph (161 kph) on Monday.Tuesday evening, hurricane warnings stretched from east of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Navarre, Florida. Rainfall of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) was forecast near the coast. There was a chance the storm could also spawn tornadoes and dump isolated rain accumulations of 30 inches (76 centimeters).Heavy rain and surf pounded the barrier island of Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon and road signs wobbled in the gusty wind. Rebecca Studstill was among those watching. Studstill, who lives inland, was wary of getting stuck on the island, saying police close bridges once the wind and water get too high. “Just hunkering down would probably be the best thing for folks out here,” she said.Two large casino boats broke loose Tuesday from a dock where they were undergoing construction work in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. M.J. Bosarge, who lives near the shipyard, said at least one of the riverboats had done considerable damage to the dock.“...

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  COVID-19 threatens kids’ lives

  People are seen at the outdoor catering zone of the Chelsea Market in New York, the United States, Sept. 7, 2020. Parts of the catering and retail shops in the Chelsea Market have resumed operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)Disruptions to health services due to the pandemic are putting millions of additional lives at risk worldwide, the United Nations (UN) said Wednesday, warning that COVID-19 could reverse decades of progress in reducing child mortality.The past 30 years have seen remarkable strides forward in preventing or treating causes of infant deaths including premature births and pneumonia.New mortality estimates published by the UNs childrens fund UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank Group found that 2019 saw the lowest number of global under-five deaths on record.In 2019, around 5.2 million children died due to preventable illness, compared with 12.5 million in 1990.But it warned that the pandemic risked undoing all this by cutting routine child and maternal health services.A UNICEF survey across 77 countries found 68 percent reported at least some disruption in child health checks and immunizations.Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, said that children and mothers particularly in low- and middle-income countries were being denied access to healthcare as COVID-19 cases clog infrastructure."Without urgent investments to restart disrupted health systems and services, millions of children under five, especially newborns, could die," Fore said.Neonatal care in developing nations is relatively inexpensive and can profoundly affect child survival rates.For example, women who receive care by professional midwives are 16 percent less likely to lose their baby and 24 percent less likely to experience pre-term birth, said the WHO.Modelling conducted earlier in 2020 by Johns Hopkins University found that almost 6,000 additional children could die every single day if COVID-19 healthcare disrupt...