Miscellaneous

Citation

(2002), "Miscellaneous", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 11 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2002.07311aac.004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

4 June 2001 – outbreak of cholera, South Africa

The number of people infected by a cholera outbreak in South Africa broke the 100,000 mark today, and authorities said there was no end in sight to the epidemic. Since it surfaced last August, the highly infectious, water- borne disease has killed 208 people in the country's south-east, mostly poor rural dwellers without access to clean water and proper sanitation in KwaZulu-Natal province. Although the numbers of new cases are declining, the current epidemic continues to infect up to 250 people a day. Provincial health authorities said today 100,028 people had been infected since August. To date less than 0.3 per cent of those infected have died. The mortality rate is one of the lowest ever recorded. About seven million South Africans –16 per cent of the population – still do not have access to clean water, and about 18 million people do not have acceptable sanitation, according to government statistics.

12 July 2001 – landslide in Pakistan

Over 4,000 tourists, including foreigners, have been trapped following a massive landslide near Katta Chatta, about 6km from Naran, on Tuesday (10 July). The tourists were trapped after the Naran-Mansehra road was blocked by the landslide, which continued for about ten hours. More than two dozen tourists were feared killed by the landslide, which buried some 12 vehicles. Six people were injured. A spokesman for the regional administration said that repairs to the road would take about three weeks.

17 July 2001 – collapse of crane, Shanghai Shipyard, China

A 600-ton crane at a Shanghai shipyard collapsed today, killing at least 22 people, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. More bodies might be buried beneath the collapsed crane at the Shanghai Hudong Shipyard, said a spokeswoman for the yard. The cause of the accident is under investigation, said the spokeswoman. Three people also were injured, Xinhua said.

18 July 2001 – The death toll from the collapse of a brand-new giant gantry crane in a Shanghai shipyard has risen to 36, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The crane collapsed at the Hudong Shipbuilding Group plant in the port city's Pudong district at 08.00, 17 July, only a day after its inauguration ceremony. More than 30 workers, mechanics and engineers were installing the crane when it fell, the Shanghai Daily reported today. It said the crane was H-shaped, with two upright supports and a crossbeam 100m (330ft) long and weighing 3,000 tonnes. Workers had raised the crossbeam to a height of 47m (155ft) on Monday, 33m shy of its destination, it said. Yesterday morning, workers found the steel rope linking one leg and the crossbeam had come loose. The rope broke as they tried to repair it, causing the two legs to topple and the crossbeam to crash down, the newspaper said. Nearly 20 of the casualties were employees of the shipyard and the rest were technicians and experts from the Shanghai Power Construction Engineering Co. and Tongji University, which were responsible for installing the crane, the newspaper said. It said three people in serious condition were being treated at the city's Dong Fang Hospital for brain injuries, bruised organs and bone fractures. Doctors at the hospital said two of the three injured were still in comas. Officials at Hudong Shipbuilding Group said the rescue work had been basically completed. They declined further comment. City officials also declined to comment. Xinhua said an investigation was being organised by the Industrial Safety Committee of the State Council, China's Cabinet. The agency had earlier called the crane a "600-tonne gantry crane". Shipyard workers said that referred to the crane's carrying capacity.

19 July 2001 – Problems with supporting steel cables were the likely cause in the killer collapse of a brand-new gantry under assembly at Hudong Shipyard on Tuesday (17 July). An engineer supervising the erection of the 600-ton capacity crane at the new VLCC dock said that the workers had mistakenly loosened some cables that were blocking the crossbeam from being lifted to its full height. They decided to

make way for the crane on Tuesday morning by loosening the ropes which actually support a lot of weight, said the engineer, adding this caused the crane to tumble. The death toll has climbed to 36. Many of those killed were reportedly working in the interior of one of the 50m-tall crane legs and could not escape when the crossbeam, 130m long, pulled the structure to the ground. "I heard some loud thundering noise soon after I arrived at my office in the morning and then saw the giant crane sloping slowly. The workers were running away quickly, but it was still too late for those working in the column to flee", said one worker interviewed at the scene. Nine of the casualties were senior experts acting as technological supervisors from Shanghai's Tongji University, which supervised the installation. Sources said that the same team were involved in the successful installation of a similar specification 600-tonne capacity crane at Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Shipyard. Another six of those killed were employed by the Shanghai Power Construction Engineering Company. The remaining number of those who died were shipyard employees.