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Why were the 1904 Olympics Such a Disaster?
The 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney were a millennium extravaganza unparalelled in the history of the Games. Techno-wizardry was at its best and the spectacular pageantry and the actual Games thrilled millions of viewers worldwide. Hosting the Games is big business. What the host country spends is trifling compared to the amount of money it receives by way of advertising revenue and tourist influx. Since 1896 when the modern Olympic Games were first held, the Games have undergone many upheavals....
Surprising Success
Surprising Success [Illustration by Shinod AP] I, John, a horse-trainer, still cannot make up my mind after a year whether one particular show was a failure or a success. I am tempted to say this, as the show from the point of view of skill, was a complete disaster but seemed like a tremendous success with our audience. We, now a world famous circus called ‘Rocketeers’, were putting up our maiden performance....
Animal Sense
February 14: So you live in a quake-prone region and want to be prepared the next time an earthquake strikes. Unfortunately, science has still not come up with a way to predict earthquakes. But there’s hope yet. Just visit your local zoo and observe the behaviour of the animals there. Astonishing but true. Animals remain even today, the best bet of alerting humans to an impending natural disaster. Animal Sense [Illustration by Shinod AP] Curious to know why?...
Earthquake in Italy Kills 150
Where: Rome, Italy April 6, 2009 : A powerful earthquake rocked the mountainous Abruzzo region of central Italy in the early hours of April 6, 2009 (3.32am local time). Over 150 people were killed and 1,500 were injured. The number of people who may be trapped alive could not be estimated. Thousands of rescue workers searched for survivors. Some 24 hours after the disaster struck, they began losing hopes of finding any more. Most of the deaths took place in L’Aquila, a 13th century mountain city close to the epicentre of the earthquake....
Hundreds Die In Australian Bush Blaze
Where: Melbourne, Australia February 9, 2009 : Australia’s worst disaster in over a century, the bushfires could claim up to 230 victims. Bush* fires are common occurrences in the hot and dry Australian summer. This summer, the country has seen a severe drought and recorded temperatures as high as 47 degrees centigrade, as well as winds at speeds of over 90 km per hour. The fires have already destroyed more than 750 homes and an area of nearly 3,500 square kilometres....
Flooded by disaster
July 31: Monsoon in Orissa has meant only one thing in the recent past: floods. It’s no different this year. Floods have left 85 lakh people in over 15,000 villages homeless. The official death toll: 80. And one lakh hectare of crops have been submerged. About 5,000 kilometres of roadways, 500 kilometres of the national highways, and piped water supply sources to 61 towns have been submerged, causing widespread chaos and distress. As happens in such situations, water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, malaria and jaundice have affected more than 15,500 people, says a report in...
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