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Multiple Clips of Syrian Helicopter Crash

By ROBERT MACKEY

In video uploaded to YouTube Monday morning, activists and rebels could be heard rejoicing as a Syrian government helicopter crashed outside Damascus.

As my colleague Steven Erlanger reports, Syrian rebels claimed responsibility for shooting down a government helicopter during fighting in the eastern suburbs of Damascus on Monday.

At least eight video clips uploaded to opposition activist channels on YouTube appeared to show the craft exploding in flames and plunging to the ground in the neighborhood of Qaboun, where Syrian state television reported that a helicopter had crashed.

Video said to have been recorded on Monday on the outskirts of Damascus of a Syrian government helicopter exploding in flames before crashing.

Restrictions on independent reporting inside Syria imp osed by the government of President Bashar al-Assad make it difficult to verify the authenticity of images posted online by opposition activists, but the various clips do appear to show the same event.

Perhaps the clearest images of the helicopter plummeting down were posted by an activist from Saqba, an area about 20 minutes from central Damascus which reportedly slipped from government control some months ago.

Video of a helicopter crash from the SaqbaRavo0 YouTube channel, which documents the uprising against the Syrian government on the outskirts of the capital.

A very brief but dramatic clip of the craft coming down in flames was uploaded to the JobarRev YouTube channel.

Close images of a helicopter crash uploaded to a Syrian opposition activist YouTube channel on Monday.

Another clip, apparently recorded close to the scene of the crash , was posted on the FreeQabon channel.

One of five video clips showing a helicopter crash on Monday outside Damascus posted online by opposition activists.

Later on Monday, video was added to the same channel apparently showing a piece of the helicopter's fuselage on the ground, the smoking wreckage of the craft and gruesome images of what the activists identified as the hand of the dead pilot.

Video said to show the wreckage of a Syrian government helicopter after it crashed outside Damascus on Monday.

Three more distant views of the helicopter's crash, and a photograph of a Free Syrian Army fighter identified as the man who shot it down, were included in a post on the British blogger Eliot Higgins' Brown Moses blog.



Gulf Coast Braces for Tropical Storm Isaac

By CHRISTINE HAUSER and JENNIFER PRESTON

Tropical Storm Isaac churned toward the central Gulf Coast in the United States on Monday after a weekend of flooding in southern Florida and destruction in Haiti, where at least 19 people died, according to The Associated Press, from the effects of its violent winds and torrential rains. Another five died in the Dominican Republic, The A.P. said.

As our colleagues Randal C. Archibold and Lisa Armstrong reported, the storm in Haiti caused mudslides in rural areas, and in the camps housing about 400,000 survivors of the January 2010 earthquake, the storm downed trees and power lines and shredded tents.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti posted a slideshow of photographs highlighting the aftermath.

The United States Embassy also posted photos on Twitter from Port-au-Prince.

By early Monday, Isaac was on the move headed toward New Orleans, where the deadly Hurricane Katrina struck seven years ago this week.

The storm spared Tampa, Fla., the site this week of the Republican National Convention. As Lizette Alvarez and Campbell Robertson report, hurricane forecasters said Isaac's winds and rain will hit an extensive area of southeast Mississippi, southwest Alabama and the western part of Florida's panhandle by Monday evening.

The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declared states of emergency. The Louisiana residents of Lafitte, Barataria and Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish were ordered to leave on Monday morning, as were all 50,000 residents of St. Charles Parish, and much of the population of Plaquemines Parish.

In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the city was prepared and he urged residents to hunker down for the storm if they were not planning to leave. He and other officials outlined their emergency plans on YouTube, which is projected to reach hurricane force winds Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service's latest forecast.

Emergency officials also turned to Twitter to deliver updates.

And people shared their own tips and reminders on preparations.

The city's beloved football team, the New Orleans Saints, offered advice before the team departed early for a scheduled preview game against the Bengals in Cincinnati, urging residents to sign up for alerts from the city.

The intensifying storm revived memories of Hurricane Katrina for many people, including vows the city had learned its lessons.

One of his followers replied, “They do.”

Tips, sources, story ideas? Please leave a comment or find me on Twitter @nyt_jenpreston.



Gulf Coast Braces for Tropical Storm Isaac

By CHRISTINE HAUSER and JENNIFER PRESTON

Tropical Storm Isaac churned toward the central Gulf Coast in the United States on Monday after a weekend of flooding in southern Florida and destruction in Haiti, where at least 19 people died, according to The Associated Press, from the effects of its violent winds and torrential rains. Another five died in the Dominican Republic, The A.P. said.

As our colleagues Randal C. Archibold and Lisa Armstrong reported, the storm in Haiti caused mudslides in rural areas, and in the camps housing about 400,000 survivors of the January 2010 earthquake, the storm downed trees and power lines and shredded tents.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti posted a slideshow of photographs highlighting the aftermath.

The United States Embassy also posted photos on Twitter from Port-au-Prince.

By early Monday, Isaac was on the move headed toward New Orleans, where the deadly Hurricane Katrina struck seven years ago this week.

The storm spared Tampa, Fla., the site this week of the Republican National Convention. As Lizette Alvarez and Campbell Robertson report, hurricane forecasters said Isaac's winds and rain will hit an extensive area of southeast Mississippi, southwest Alabama and the western part of Florida's panhandle by Monday evening.

The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declared states of emergency. The Louisiana residents of Lafitte, Barataria and Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish were ordered to leave on Monday morning, as were all 50,000 residents of St. Charles Parish, and much of the population of Plaquemines Parish.

In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the city was prepared and he urged residents to hunker down for the storm if they were not planning to leave. He and other officials outlined their emergency plans on YouTube, which is projected to reach hurricane force winds Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service's latest forecast.

Emergency officials also turned to Twitter to deliver updates.

And people shared their own tips and reminders on preparations.

The city's beloved football team, the New Orleans Saints, offered advice before the team departed early for a scheduled preview game against the Bengals in Cincinnati, urging residents to sign up for alerts from the city.

The intensifying storm revived memories of Hurricane Katrina for many people, including vows the city had learned its lessons.

One of his followers replied, “They do.”

Tips, sources, story ideas? Please leave a comment or find me on Twitter @nyt_jenpreston.



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