2010-10-29 CNN
An erupting volcano, some newly-discovered species, and a celebratory soccer match. We've got it all covered for you in today's edition of CNN Student News! Hello and welcome. From the CNN Center, my name is Carl Azuz.
First up, officials respond to a massive earthquake that hit the island nation of Indonesia. This happened on Monday night. More than a hundred people were killed; several hundred others were missing. The quake had a magnitude of 7.7. That's what experts call a major earthquake, one of the highest magnitude classes that scientists use. It triggered a tsunami, this giant wave out in the ocean.
Indonesia is made up of more than 18,000 islands. It's located in southeast Asia in between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The area that officials think got hit the hardest is popular for surfing. There was damage to several resorts around there. Some of the islands were cut off, and the only way they could talk with officials was by satellite phone. The strong waves that were caused by the quake were making it hard for rescuers to reach those islands.Indonesia is located in what's called the Ring of Fire. It's an area that goes around part of the Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes happen pretty frequently there. And so do volcanic eruptions, and that is actually something else that Indonesia is dealing with right now. Mount Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, and it's located in one of the country's most populated areas. That's why thousands of people had to leave on Tuesday, because Merapi erupted at least three times! Local media reported that around 15 people were killed, although CNN couldn't confirm those reports yesterday. Some nearby relief groups were able to offer immediate help. One official from the group said around 1,500 people found shelter about 7 miles away from the volcano.
In the United States, a huge section of the country is getting hit by some really heavy storms. These things stretched 800 miles yesterday, from Wisconsin and Illinois all the way down to Tennessee. The storms were heading east, and fast! Experts said the severe weather was moving at more than 50 miles per hour. As you can imagine, something that powerful left a lot of damage behind. Tens of thousands of people lost power. Homes and businesses were damaged. Trees were knocked down. There were reports of tornadoes in a couple different states. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago canceled all flights for a while yesterday because of the strong wind and rain. One expert said this might be the most powerful storm to hit Illinois in more than 70 years