The Year that was 2010 - Disasters

The usual thing I do before the end of the year is to look back in the past 12 months and see how the world has change. Since I do not remember everything that has happen, I scour the Internet in search for those events that has affected our lives. This would be a five-part posting starting with Disasters followed by Sports and Entertainment, Politics, Business and Technology and last would be my own look back on my own 2010.

I called 2010 an eventful year, not only because of the good things that had happen but also the bad ones. The scandals, the man-made disasters, the sputtering economy, even Mother Nature was at full force this year. But all these bad events were balanced out (sorta) by great things that had happen such as the Olympics, the World Cup and the 33 miners who survive their ordeal underground for 68 days.

As Zohan would say, "So Lets Go"

Disasters and Triumphs

The Earth Shook!!
Mother Nature sure showed her prowess this year starting off with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti destroying the nation of 10 million with most living below the poverty line. The earthquake cause massive damages to infrastructure and killed an estimated 230,000 people and affected at least 250,000 residence making it the 6th deadliest earthquake of all time. Haiti is still feeling the effects of this natural disaster. Then in February 27, a 8.8 magnitude quake struck the coast of Maule in Chile producing a tsunami that destroyed Chile's coastal towns. The quake killed 500 people and cause $30 billion in damages while leaving 200,000 homeless. China was also hit by an earthquake in April. The province of Qinghai was struck with a 7.1 magnitude quake killing 2,000, injuring 10,000 and destroying 90 percent of the homes. Rescue efforts were slow due to the remoteness of the province. California and Mexico were shook by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in April - the strongest quake the state has experience in 20 years.

Snowstorm
Early February saw a major blizzard striking the east coast of the United States. The blizzard shuttered the state capital and the federal government for four and half days.

Eruption disrupt air travel
Then in April, Eyjafjallajokull (Icelandic for "island-mountain glacier") erupted on the 14th spewing pieces of rock and glass particle while its ash cloud cause massive cancellation of flights from Germany to London for six days. In all, a total of 100,000 flights were canceled and 8 million travelers affected. I remember this because twitter was abuzz with DJs apologizing for the canceled gigs due to their flights being canceled.

Sinkhole
June saw a massive sinkhole struck Guatemala City in Guatemala, the sinkhole measured 66 feet wide and 100 feet deep.

Floods
Pakistan would remember 2010 as the worst monsoon season in 100 years. Torrential downpour in July submerge a fifth of country in water and took the lives of 2,000 Pakistanis. And with flood comes the Cholera and Dengue fever epidemic that threatens the lives of 6 million who are still homeless. The US also saw its share of flooding with the Cumberland River in Nashville overflowed in May flooding Nashville and a good portion of the South with 13 feet of water and causing $2 billion in damages. Flash floods killed 18 people in campgrounds in Arkansas in June.

Wildfire
July also saw a massive wildfire in Russia that covered more than 300,000 acres. And it didn't help that Russia was in a heat wave resulting in dense smoke covering Moscow and residents and tourist needing to wear face mask as the air was filled with toxic fumes. Fortunately, the temperature drop in August which greatly help the firefighters in containing the wildfires.

Thick Fog
In April, a plane carrying Lech Kaczynski, Poland's president, his wife and 94 other people inlcuding political and military leaders, crashed while attempting to land in thick fog in Smolensk, Russia. I remember this becauseArmin had to canceled the last #ASOT450 celebration in Poland.  Then in July, another plane crashed due to the same reason (thick fog) in Pakistan killing all 152 people on board.

Man-made disasters
Man-made disasters were in the news also this year with the BP oil spill headlining most of April until July. On April 20, a massive explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, a BP leased rig, killed 11 people and spewed at least 170 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf, making it the worst man-made disaster of the year. The disaster cause extensive to the marine and habitats as well as the Gulf's fishing and shrimping business. The oil even made it all the way down to the beaches in Florida. The Gulf oil spill has been voted as the top AP news story of 2010 and it was the Top Trending Topic on Twitter this year beating World Cup, Inception, Haiti Earthquake and the Vuvuzelas.

In Oct, a toxic spill in Hungary kills 8 after a sludge reservoir burst sending 200 million gallon of toxic sludge to three villages. Hundred of people were forced out of their homes and the spill

This year was also marred with Mine disasters. In April, a explosion in a West Virginia coal mine resulted into 29 people death, making it the worst disaster in the US since 1970. Then in May, a blast in a mine in Sibertian City of Mezhdurechensk, Russia killed 43 people.

The 33
In the midst of all these disaster comes a triumph. On August 5, the San Jose copper-gold mine collapsed trapping 33 miners 2,300 ft underground. The miners were in isolation for 17 days until a drill bit tore through the shaft where the miners were trapped. News spread that the miners will not be rescued until at least December. The miners were sent food, oxygen and were allowed to chat with their families through video feeds. Then on October 12, two months before the estimated rescue date, the first of the miners were lifted out of the hole. On Oct 13 at 8:55pm EST, the last miner, shift foreman Luis Urzua was lifted out of the mine. The miners were trapped for 89 days and it was a miracle that they all survived. Quoting Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, "What started as a tragedy is ending as a real blessing."

Sources: Yahoo! 2010 in Review, Wikipedia, Twitter, Infoplease

The Saga of the Chilean Miners

San Jose Copper-Gold Mine (Wikipedia)

On August 5, 2010 the San Jose copper-gold mine, located 28 miles north of Copiapo, Chile collapsed trapping 33 miners at approximately 2,300 ft below ground. The saga begins...

Empresa Minera San Esteban, who owns the mine, has a poor safety record with 42 fines for breaching safety record between 2004 and 2010. The San Jose mine was shut down in 2007 due to an accident but was reopen in 2008.  Then it happen, on August 5th at 2:00pm CLT, the mine collapsed.

The Note (AP)

Rescue efforts were underway on August 6 from different government agencies while the 33 trapped miners sat in isolation for 17 days. The rescuers tried to use the ventilation shaft but a second collapsed occurred on August 7. Fear of another collapsed, the rescuers decided to find other means of rescuing the trapped miners. The rescuers started using percussion drills to make numerous boreholes in an effort to find the trapped miners. They succeeded in finding the miners on August 22 and were surprised that the miners were all alive. They sent up a note that read "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" ("The 33 of us in the shelter are well").

Fenix 2 capsule (CNN)

As rescuers drill the escape boreholes, the trapped miners kept themselves in an upbeat mood with food, oxygen and daily chats with their family members. Initial estimates that the miners will be trapped until at least December but the drill reach the miners on October 9, two months ahead of schedule. Jaime Manalich, Chile's Health Minister announced the mine rescue would commence on October 12.


On October 12 at 7:00pm Chilean time, the rescue effort started with the lowering of the first rescue worker Manuel Gonzalez into the mine to greet and prepare the miners for their ascend. Each miner have to wear a special track-suit and special sunglasses to prevent blindness. The Fenix 2 capsule is equipped with oxygen masks, heart monitor and video cameras. The order of which the miners are going to be extracted was made by officials with Florencio Avalos, the spokesman of the group, being the first to be rescued and Luis Urzua, the shift foreman, be the last.

The order of rescue is as follows:

33 Miners

1) Florencio Avalos, 31;
2) Mario Sepulveda, 40;
3) Juan Illanes, 52;
4) Carlos Mamani, 23;
5) Jimmy Sanchez, 19;
6) Osman Araya, 30;
7) Jose Ojeda;
8) Claudio Yanez, 34;
9) Mario Gómez, 63;
10) Alex Vega, 31;

Mario Gomez, the oldest miner
(HUGO INFANTE/GOVERNMENT OF CHILE)

11) Jorge Galleguillos, 56;
12) Edison Pena, 34;
13) Carlos Barrios, 27;
14) Victor Zamora, 33;
15) Victor Segovia, 48;
16) Daniel Herrera, 27;
17) Omar Reygadas, 56;
18) Esteban Rojas, 44;
19) Pablo Rojas, 45;
20) Dario Segovia, 48;
21) Yonni Barrios, 50;
22) Samuel Avalos, 43;
 23) Carlos Bugueno, 27;
24) Jose Henriquez, 54;
25) Renan Avalos, 29;
26) Claudio Acuna;
27) Franklin Lobos, 53;
28) Richard Villarroel, 27;
29) Juan Carlos Aguilar, 49;
30) Raúl Bustos, 40;
31) Pedro Cortez, 25;
32) Ariel Ticona, 29;
33) Luis Urzua, 54

After 89 days, the first miner, Florencio Avalos was rescued at 12:10 am CLDT. As of this writing (7:31pm EST), Raul Bustos, the 30th miner was being hoisted up.

The rescued miners all look healthly and happy...

Update: 10/13 at 7:49pm
31st miner is being hoisted up.. 2 more miners left plus 5 6 rescuers - Manuel Gonzalez, Roberto Rios, Patricio Robledo, Jorge Bustamante, Patricio Sepulveda and Pedro Gomez. 32 of the trapped miners are Chilean, Carlos Mamani, the 4th miner to be rescued is Bolivian.

Luis Urzua (courtesy of CNN)

Update: 10/13 at 8:55pm EST

Capsule carrying Luis Urzua, the 33rd and last trapped miner has reached the surface. All 33 trapped miners are free and are in good healthy condition. The rescue effort took only 23 hours. Its over!!! Time for the 6 rescuers to go back to the surface



"We Hope Never Again" - Luis Urzua
"You are an inspiration" - Chilean President Pinera to Luis Urzua, the last of the 33 trapped miners to be rescued.
"Mision Cumplida CHILE" written by the 6 rescue workers on a piece of cloth in the mine while waiting for their ride back to the surface
"Tonight, we have experience a night we will never forget" - Chilean President Sebastian Pinera

Chilean President Pinera and Luis Urzua leading the rescue workers in singing Chile's National Anthem

At 12:32 AM Chilean Time (11:32 PM EST) - Manuel Gonzalez, the first rescue worker that descended into the mine is the last person to ride the Fenix 2 capsule out of the collapsed mine. This truly marks the end of the rescue efforts that just started 25 hours ago. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has place a cover on top of the hole signalling the end of the rescue mission.

"It's been a long journey" - Chilean President Sebastian Pinera.


That's it.. Mission Accomplished. Chile has shown the world that nothing is impossible. I just hope the owners of the mine will suffer the consequence even though the owners declared bankruptcy after the mine collapsed.

Luis Urzua - AP/Roberto Candia

Coverage: CNN | Yahoo News | ABC News

"What started as a tragedy is ending as a real blessing," Chilean President Sebastian Pinera told ABC News' Diane Sawyer. "I think that the miners have given us an example of unity, of teamwork, of faith. Their families, they never lost faith."