Floods cause havoc in Manipur

By ANI | ANI – 3 hours ago

Imphal, July 29 (ANI): Due to incessant rains in Manipur, water is flowing above the danger level in most rivers and some parts of the state are flooded.

Rising waters of Lilong, Nambul, Waisel Maril, Chakpi and Thoubal River crossed the embankment and flooded some parts of the Imphal city.

Flood waters have not only made commuting difficult but have also entered people's homes in areas like Uripok, Lamphelpat, Lamsang, Nambol and Langol Grace Colony. ast tracts of agricultural land have also been submerged in the floods. Thousands of acres of paddy fields and fish farms have been destroyed.

The affected areas include villages on the outskirts of Imphal and Bishnupur.

"Many farmers who were running fish farms have been severely affected by the floods. Fishes worth lakhs of rupees, have escaped from the ponds. Several houses have also been flooded in water," said Priyokumar.

"Many fields and farms have been flooded. I think income will be reduced by about 40 percent this year. It is worse than last year," said Indrajeet Singh.

The State Government has set up two relief camps in the region at Tammi Chingmi market.

The government has also provided Bamboo mats to the people who are rebuilding the embankment that has been breached by overflowing rivers.

"The water is flowing above the danger level. More than 1000 hectares of paddy fields have been submerged. We urge the private organizations and the government to help us. Many displaced families have taken shelter at government relief camps," said Biren Nongthobam, a villager at the relief camp.

"Being an MLA of this region, I have opened two relief camps, one at the Tribal village and another in Thangtek. I am here to deliver relief materials especially food items to the relief camps for the affected families," said K Sarat Singh, MLA, Konthoujam District.

Recently floods in Assam left more than 2 lakh people homeless. A total of 197 villages and 5.7-lakh hectares area were affected. The worst affected was Lakhimpur. (ANI)

Source:- http://in.news.yahoo.com/floods-cause-havoc-manipur-075124686.html

Source:-

Flood-induced erosion wreaks havoc in Panchmile

TEZPUR, July 25 – After inundation of a large area in greater Panchmile area by flash floods followingt incessant rains during the last one week, both flood and erosion have posed a serious problem to the residents of the greater area.

People of the area have expressed their strong resentment over the government’s apathy towards the problem, creating a serious threat to more than 25 villages under Sootea, Rangapara and Tezpur LACs including Salonibari Air Force Station, one of India’s most important SSB training centres, Tezpur University and many public properties including schools, madrassas, bridges and so on.

It may be mentioned that the greater area has been facing the serious problem of flood-induced erosion created by Jiabharali river since 1988 and same year the Garshinga Bihiagaon and Tengabasti falling under the greater area were completely washed away by the floodwater of Jiabharali River. In 2000, the same problem was witnessed at Panchmile channel (Panchmile Khuti) where heavy erosion was occurred and many public properties like, Panchmile Higher Secondary School, Panchmile High and ME Madrassas, Panchmile Mahila Samittee hall, Panchmile rest house and a temple had been eroded.

In the same way, the devastating flood and erosion caused by Jiabharali river has been on in Rajgarh, Singitoli, Jothaimari, Borghat, Rajbhoral, Dikoraijan, Kurukani, Samdhora, Tengabasti, Koroini, Saloibeel, Bihiagaon, Garshinga-Bihiagaon area and in a part of Bhumuraguri Hillock where the Koliabhumura bridge exists.

Raed in detail at :- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22209

Severe Weather Warnings India DATE : JULY 27, 2011

Severe Weather Warnings DATE : JULY 27, 2011

HEAVY RAINFALL WARNING

ISOLATED HEAVY RAINFALL WOULD OCCUR OVER JAMMU DIVISION OF JAMMU & KASHMIR, HIMACHAL PRADESH, UTTARAKHAND, KONKAN & GOA, COASTAL KARNATAKA, KERALA, LAKSHADWEEP, COASTAL ANDHRA PRADESH AND TELANGANA DURING NEXT 48 HOURS.

NGO demands proper relief for flood victims

NGO demands proper relief for flood victims

By our Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, July 24: The NGO Brothers has alleged corruption in the distribution of relief items to people affected by flood in the State this year. General secretary of the NGO, Dibyajyoti Saikia said, “Members of our NGO had visited flood-affected areas in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Kaziranga recently. There is widespread corruption going on in the name of distribution of relief items to flood victims. Fake lists of villages and flood victims are being made. State Water Resources minister Rajiv Lochan Pegu had visited only a few flood-affected areas in Lakhimpur recently. He saw the pitiable condition in which the flood victims are living. But why has he not taken any measures for proper relief and rehabilitation of these people?” The NGO has demanded that the State Government should issue strict orders to the district administration in the flood-affected districts of the State to ensure that there is “no corruption whatsoever in the distribution of relief items” and to ensure that the flood victims get proper medical treatment.

Flood situation grim in UP after release of water from Nepal, Narora

Flood situation grim in UP after release of water from Nepal, Narora

United News of India

Lucknow, July 24, 2011

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The flood situation in Uttar Pradesh has deteriorated following the release of water from Nepal and the Narora dam, threatening the embankments of the rivers flowing through the state.

Several low-lying areas of Gonda, Balrampur, Faizabadand Barabanki have been submerged by the overflowing Ghagra and Saryu rivers.

Nepal has released 2 lakh cusecs of water due to which the Ghagra river has crossed the danger level at Elgin Bridge and at Ayodhya while water level of river Ganga was rising all through its course after 11 lakh cusecs of water was released from Narora dam last night.

A report from Gonda said over 115 villages had been submerged with the water of river Ghagra in Colonelganj and Tarabganj tehsils.

Official sources said 26 flood check posts have been set up while jawans of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) along with boats had been pressed into service to rescue the people.

An official statement from the Flood Control Cell here today said that the water level of Ganga and Yamuna were rising all through its course in UP following the release of 11 lakh cusecs of water last night.

The release said river Ghagra had crossed the danger level at Elgin Bridge and Ayodhya while they would do the same at Turtipar by tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the weather office here said light rain and thunder showers occured at isolated places in the state.

Source:- http://netindian.in/news/2011/07/24/00014429/flood-situation-grim-after-release-water-nepal-narora

Dhubri erosion displaces hundreds - Concrete roads proposed for island; erosion threatens NH31

Dhubri erosion displaces hundreds - Concrete roads proposed for island; erosion threatens NH31

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Residents of Panchughat in Dhubri town dismantle their houses and shops on Thursday. Telegraph picture Dhubri, July 21: About a hundred families of Ward 3, located along the bank of the Brahmaputra, have been displaced here since last night. Unabated erosion by the Gangadhar also engulfed huge areas near National Highway 31 near Beer Chilarai bridge, about 40km from this town. As a result, hundreds of families have been forced to take shelter elsewhere. Erosion at Panchughat in Ward 3 affected homesteads and business establishments, mostly stationery and grocery shops and eateries. Prafulla Das, 62, a resident of the area, said he had lost both his house and shop in last night’s erosion and floods. “The river gobbled more than 50 shops and nearly a hundred houses last night. An equal number of houses were dismantled and the materials shifted elsewhere,” he added. Another resident, Joymala Das, said they had been living at Panchughat for the past 18 years but erosion had destroyed everything. “We don’t know where we shall go now. There is no place nearby. Even if we manage to find a shelter, where shall we earn our livelihood?” Das said. Unabated erosion from Choto Guma to Char Binna Char near the Indo-Bangladesh border in the district has uprooted hundreds of families in the past few years. The river is now approaching National Highway 31 near Beer Chilarai bridge. Safar Ali Sheikh of Belguri village near the bridge said the river was just 100 metres from NH31 and would submerge it any day this monsoon if immediate steps were not taken. Read in detail at :- www.cdrn.org.in

P. Chidambaram Releases Book on Disaster Management in India

P. Chidambaram Releases Book on ‘Disaster Management in India’

Union Home Minister Shri P. Chidambaram released the book on Disaster Management in India prepared by Disaster Management Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs, here today. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Chidambaram urged the stakeholders to come together by contributing their knowledge and experience in mitigating disaster in the country. He said that disaster management must become part of the general administration at the district level and first and second response at the ground level in States must be prepared. The Home Minister expressed the hope that the Book will be useful in disseminating knowledge on disasters and disaster management in the country.

http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22193

Warning of climate change’s threat to global security, Ban urges concerted action

Warning of climate change’s threat to global security, Ban urges concerted action

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to journalists after a Security Council meeting on climate change

20 July 2011 –

Climate change is a real threat to international peace and security, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging developed countries to lead the global effort to find ways to mitigate and adapt to it detrimental effects, with emerging economies shouldering their fair share of the responsibility.

“Extreme weather events continue to grow more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike, not only devastating lives, but also infrastructure, institutions, and budgets – an unholy brew which can create dangerous security vacuums,” said Mr. Ban, addressing the Security Council’s debate on the impact of climate change on international peace and security.

Mr. Ban noted that the international community had made some progress through agreements reached in Copenhagen and Cancún in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adding that those pacts formed the foundation for action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enabling all countries to adapt.

“Now we need accelerated operationalization of all the agreements made at Cancún, including on protecting forests, adaptation and technology. Climate finance, the sine qua non for progress, must move from a conceptual discussion to concrete delivery of ‘fast-start’ financing and agreement on sources of long-term financing,” said the Secretary General.

He said the next Conference of Parties to UNFCCC in Durban, South Africa, in December must make a decisive move towards achieving those goals.

Source :- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22195

Cloudburst in Manali: 2 dead, many missing

Suresh Sharma, TNN | Jul 21, 2011, 04.27pm IST

MANALI: Two persons were killed, 22 injured while at least a dozen went missing after heavy downpour triggered by cloudburst at MSP-7 near South portal of Rohtang Tunnel on intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

A body was recovered by riverside from Nehru Kund and another near Old Manali, about 20 km from the spot, Manali sub-divisional magistrate Balbir Thakur said. Bodies could not be identified so far. "The flash flood startled around 130 labourers on the site at around 12.30 am and 22 injured labourers were rescued within an hour. All are out of danger now," he said.

Kullu deputy commissioner BM Nanta said a massive search and rescue operation was underway involving teams of police, ITBP, SSB, snow avalanche study establishment, border roads organization, Atal Bihari Vajpayee institute of mountaineering and allied sports and some private construction companies and they were searching for the bodies at different stretches of the treacherous terrains of Dhundi and across the river Beas in district. The river Beas is in spate and alert has been sounded in the Kullu district.

Source:- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22191

Assam flood situation grim; rail track washed away

The Assam government on Wednesday sounded an alert in the state in view of the grim flood situation after Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi [ Images ] made an aerial survey of worst affected districts. He also made a survey of flood scene inside Kaziranga National Park.

The swollen Drupromg on Tuesday night submerged village Duprong and washed away the Rangiya-Jonai-Mukongchelek metre gauge rail tracks near Tatibahar station affecting movement of trains to the neighbouring state, official sources said.

The Arunchal Express and other goods trains pass through the railway track, they said. An estimated 2.5 lakh people were affected by the first wave of floods in the state as the Brahmaputra and its principal tributary Subansiri rose above the danger level, fed with incessant rain waters from the Himalayan foothills in Arunachal.

In worst-affected Lakhimpur district, both the rivers were in spate with the Subansiri flowing one metre above the danger level at Silikhagur and Ghonsoraighat, the sources said.

The Gohin river rose menacingly and threatened to breach a dyke and affect the construction work of state's second veterinary college in Lakhimpur district.

Meanwhile, most parts of the two rhino habitats of Kaziranga National Park in Golaghat district and Pobitora Wild Life Sanctuary in Morigaon district near Guwahati were submerged, wildlife department sources said. The animals in both the parks were safe taking shelter in the highlands and round-the-clock patrolling continued against poachers.

Source:- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22189

Orange Earthquake Alert Kyrgyzstan

Orange Earthquake Alert Kyrgyzstan

Summary

On 7/19/2011 7:35:40 PM UTC (about 00:21h local time) an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred in the very highly populated region of Kyrgyzstan in Kyrgyzstan. The nearest populated places are: [None].

Potentially affected critical infrastructure:

• Nuclear plants: [None]
• Hydrodams: [None]
• Airports: [None]
• Ports: [None]

Based on an automated impact model, this earthquake, which occurred in a region with low vulnerability to natural disasters, has potentially a medium humanitarian impact.

Whether international humanitarian aid is needed must be decided by an expert.

Event Date Univ. Time:	Tue, 7/19/2011 19:35 UTC
European Time of the event:	Tue, 7/19/2011 21:35 CEST (Brussels, Paris, Rome)
East America Time of the event:	Tue, 7/19/2011 14:35 EST (New York, Washington)
West America Time of the event:	Tue, 7/19/2011 11:35 PST (San Francisco, Los Angeles)
East Asia Time of the event:	Wed, 7/20/2011 04:35 JTI (Tokyo)
This email report was automatically created by a computer at: 7/19/2011 7:52:17 PM UTC (16 minutes after the event)

See the GDACS website for live news coverage (including OCHA Situation Reports), the full earthquake report .

For information on emergency response, please consult the GDACS Virtual OSOCC.

Earthquake Event

Characteristics

• Source: World Data Centre for Seismology, Denver (NEIC) M
• Magnitude: 6.2 M
• Depth: 1 km
• Location (Lat/Long): 40.1276 | 71.423
• Country: Kyrgyzstan
• Province:
• Region: Kyrgyzstan
• UTC/GMT (Greenwich time): 7/19/2011 7:35:40 PM
• Estimated local solar time: 7/20/2011 12:21:22 AM

Hansi-Butana Canal Wall Fearing flood,villagers threaten to go on fast

Hansi-Butana Canal Wall

Fearing floods, villagers threaten to go on fast
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 17
Fearing floods, residents of several villages along the Hansi-Butana canal embankment on the Punjab-Haryana border, 45-km from here, met today and decided to go on fast in case the government failed to come to their rescue.

Farmers from Dharmheri, Sassi Gujaran, Sassi Thay, Haripur and Hassanpur said all they had seen so far was a war of words between the Congress and SAD-BJP over the issue.

“ While the blame game is on, we do not see anything being done by any party to save the villages from the fury of the floods. We are now planning to sit on an indefinite fast in case the state government fails to find a solution within a week,” said Ripdaman Singh of Haripur. Jaswant Singh Shergill and Pyara Singh of Sassi Gujaran village said nobody seemed bothered about the plight of the families living in constant fear of floods.

Source:- http://www.cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22167

Hansi-Butana Canal Wall Fearing flood,villagers threaten to go on fast

Hansi-Butana Canal Wall

Fearing floods, villagers threaten to go on fast
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 17
Fearing floods, residents of several villages along the Hansi-Butana canal embankment on the Punjab-Haryana border, 45-km from here, met today and decided to go on fast in case the government failed to come to their rescue.

Farmers from Dharmheri, Sassi Gujaran, Sassi Thay, Haripur and Hassanpur said all they had seen so far was a war of words between the Congress and SAD-BJP over the issue.

“ While the blame game is on, we do not see anything being done by any party to save the villages from the fury of the floods. We are now planning to sit on an indefinite fast in case the state government fails to find a solution within a week,” said Ripdaman Singh of Haripur. Jaswant Singh Shergill and Pyara Singh of Sassi Gujaran village said nobody seemed bothered about the plight of the families living in constant fear of floods.

Source:- http://www.cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22167

Embankment breach in Lakhimpur, 10 villages submerge

Embankment breach in Lakhimpur, 10 villages submerge
Jul 14, 2011, 10.50pm IST TNN

JORHAT: The continuous heavy rainfall on both the northern and the southern banks of the Brahmaputra during the last few days has caused the water levels in the tributaries of the river to rise rapidly and, as a result, an embankment was breached by floodwaters in Lakhimpur district on Thursday afternoon.

The rising water levels have mainly affected some villages under the two circle offices of Naoboicha and Bihpuria in Lakhimpur district, thereby forcing the district administration to step up its renovation work, particularly on the embankment of the mighty river. Circle officer Naoboicha H Milik said, "The floodwaters breached the no 1 Borsola embankment at around 3.30 this afternoon and more then ten villages under Naoboicha mouza were submerged by the deluge."

He added the embankment breach, which has affected more than 1,000 families in the area so far, was caused by the heavy rainfall in both the hills and the plains during the last few days. "The rising water level in the river Senga took a serious turn this afternoon, resulting in the breach of the embankment, and we are now visiting the flood-affected village and conducting a survey to distribute flood relief material among the affected villagers," he said.

The Bihpuria circle officer, D Mili, said about four villages under Laluk mouza of this circle have got submerged by the floodwater so far. Although the water levels of tributaries like Pabha and Singra are also rising, no severe flood impact was reported till Thursday afternoon, according to Mili.

"Since the water levels of the rivers are rising and a few areas in the district have been affected, I have directed all concerned officials to take required steps to safeguard the people from the effects of the floods," he said.

Deputy commissioner (Lakhimpur) Anwarwiddin Choudhary said a huge quantity of flood relief material has been stored in the district for distribution among flood victims and all required measures to deal with the floods are in place. "Moreover, the water resource department officials are keeping a watch on all the embankments and repair work is on at the big and important ones like Matmora to prevent any further damage," he said, adding a group of workers are busy with the repairs, particularly in the breach-prone areas.

Source :- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22145

Do natural disasters boost economic growth?

Do natural disasters boost economic growth?

Posted by:
CNN business producer, Pamela Boykoff

(CNN) – The personal and societal impact of February’s Christchurch earthquake may be nearly impossible to quantify. The economic impact is a different story. Today's data from Statistics New Zealand reveals the economy grew by a solid 0.8% in the first quarter, despite the earthquake.

"While some businesses in Christchurch were adversely affected, the vast majority were able to continue operating, and the earthquake resulted in some activity that would not normally have taken place," national accounts manager Rachael Milicich said in a released statement.

Less than 1% of the nation’s commercial property was damaged in the disaster and few large businesses ceased operations. The overall GDP reading was higher than most analysts had expected.

The readings today out of New Zealand beg the question: What is the overall impact of a natural disaster on GDP growth?

A common belief is that short-term economic hits after a disaster – even those as large as this year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan or Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. in 2005 – are more than offset by the reconstruction boom that follows. Recent studies, however, show a much more complicated picture.

The nature of the disaster and the size of the victim economy are key, researchers say. In 2008, Ilan Noy found that in the short-term, natural disasters do have a negative impact on macroeconomic growth. Digging deeper, he found that developing countries or small ones face a much greater shock to their economies in comparison to richer, larger ones. So the same size disaster will have a much larger economy impact in an emerging economy than in say, the United States or Japan.

Noy also co-authored a 2010 study that found that only in extremely large disasters was there any significant impact on economic output. In fact, when the study’s authors stripped away cases where a natural disaster was followed by radical political revolution (Iran and Nicaragua in the 1970s), they find no significant macroeconomic effects at all to natural disasters.

A 2009 analysis from Claudio Raddatz of the World Bank came to a differentconclusion. He found that “disasters have modest but economically meaningful … consequences,” with economic output declining by about 1%. Climate-related disasters, like droughts, have a particularly strong impact, Raddatz wrote.

For residents of Christchurch, however, the long-term macroeconomic analysis means little in light of the current challenges, like what to do with their condemned homes or damaged landmarks as covered by TVNZ’s strong reporting here andhere.

More ominous still is a conclusion in the World Bank report: That incidences of natural disasters have increased by 30% since the 1960s. And risk-modeling companies have raised the likelihood of a Katrina-like event happening once every 20 years, rather than once every 40 years.

Fresh drainage fails to check flash floods

Fresh drainage fails to check flash floods

A STAFF REPORTER

An uprooted tree after the storm in Jorhat on Wednesday. Picture by UB Photos Jorhat, July 13: Four years down the line, when the drainage scheme initiated by the Jorhat Municipality Board is complete, one hopes the town will not be paralysed after a heavy downpour as it was last night. Last night, however, the roads were flooded despite the long stretches of drains having been laid at Choladhora, Malow Ali, AT Road and Na-Ali by the Jorhat Development Authority, the PWD and the North Eastern Council. A sharp shower last night inundated vast tracts of land despite a cleaning drive of drains and eviction of encroachers from Tarajan and other streams that formed a natural drainage network in Jorhat district. The shower, accompanied by strong winds, not only led to artificial flooding but also uprooted several trees and downed electricity lines. Work was disrupted in banks and many other offices as computers were not functioning. This has elicited widespread criticism, saying the drains have not been scientifically laid, as a result of which the water did not flow into the natural water bodies but spilt over onto the roads. The drainage scheme is based on a contour map showing the natural slope of the town. Board chairman Prasanta Bora said the natural gradient of the town was from south-east to northwest as shown on the contour map made by the Silchar-based Barui Survey Company. The Rs 15.16-crore project that started last month will cover altogether 23.80km, of which only 0.72km have been completed. Of the 19 municipality wards, ward numbers 3, 4, 6, 8 , 9, 14, 15 and 16 have not been covered yet. The board has received Rs 4.01 crore so far and work has been started in five places.

Detail log on to :- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22141

for det

CDRN Bagged PC Quest Best IT Implementation Award 2011 For Maximum Social Impact

Project with Maximum Social Impact: Aidmatrix Foundation - Corporate Disaster Resource Network

An online portal that provides the right aid and resources to the right people at the right time when disaster strikes

For Details Go To :- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22125

CDRN Bagged PC Quest Best IT Implementation Award 2011 For Maximum Social Impact

CDRN Bagged PC Quest Best IT Implementation Award 2011 For Maximum Social Impact

Project with Maximum Social Impact: Aidmatrix Foundation - Corporate Disaster Resource Network

An online portal that provides the right aid and resources to the right people at the right time when disaster strikes

With a belief that those who serve people in need shouldn't have to sacrifice on the tools they use, Aidmatrix Foundation came up with CDRN. It's an online portal that helps bring people together with the use of applications for supply-chain management, volunteer management and fund raising. People can enter their needs, donations, products or supplies into the CDRN system, which is in turn accessed by a nationwide network of relief agencies, corporates, state Governments, federations, and PSUs. It allows donors to provide discounted pricing offers as well as donations directly to various relief agencies by viewing needs posted on the system.

Read in detail at :- http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22125

Floods affect over 3 lakh in Bihar; state-wide flood alert sounded

Floods affect over 3 lakh in Bihar; state-wide flood alert sounded

All major rivers in northern Bihar were flowing above the danger mark on Thursday, with flood-waters affecting more than three lakh people, officials said.

Flood-waters spread to areas in Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Araria, East and West Champaran and Saharsa districts, officials of the state disaster management department said.

"Flood situation remained unchanged since Wedneday," an official of the state water resources development department said.

The Bihar government has sounded a state-wide flood alert.

Bihar Water Resources Development Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said a National Disaster Response Team is camping in Saharsa with four boats.

Rail traffic on the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul section was suspended after floodwaters submerged railway tracks.

The Kosi is posing a threat to its eastern embankment. The Gandak was threatening a newly-built embankment in Gopalganj district, a disaster management department official said.

Authorities have asked thousands of people to shift following the rising water levels of the Kosi. The state government has asked engineers and district officials to keep a 24-hour vigil on the water levels.

Choudhary said the eastern Kosi embankment was totally safe.

In 2008, over three million people were rendered homeless in Bihar with the Kosi river changed course, causing the worst flood in the state in the last 50 years.

According to the water resources department, a lot of water has been discharged into the Kosi in the last one week.

Anticipating and reducing risk needed as some of the world's most populated countries face severe drought and flooding

Photo credit

28 June 2011, Geneva - Over 10 million people from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda will be severely affected by severe drought, with no likelihood of improvement until 2012, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs warned in an alert yesterday.

The Alert also flagged that 2010-2011 has been the driest period in 60 years with the price of grain in affected areas in Kenya already 30 to 80 per cent more than the five year average.

Weather related events are having tremendous impacts on food production and have immediate consequences on the day-to-day life of people.

In Pakistan, the Philippines and China, devastating floods are having the same negative effects on food prices. Hundred of hectares of farmland have been flooded and basic food prices are going up.

"We know what to do to reduce the impacts of floods and drought. Disaster risk reduction policies such as water management and flood risk management are development policies that will help to anticipate these events well in advance and consequently reduce the suffering of millions of people and avert catastrophes that warrant massive humanitarian responses. Disaster risk reduction is part of the solution and should be integrated in national budget and sustainable development planning so lives will be saved and economic losses reduced," said Margareta Wahlström, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Practical measures and solutions vary from context to context. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the following steps have proven to be useful. Drought are caused by low water availability as well as mismanagement of existing resources. Sustainable solutions require working with local users to maximize effective use of the existing water resources to ensure basic food security, but, more importantly, appropriate livelihoods. This requires a number of measures, including assessments of median rainfall for six month periods, from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Climate Information Centre as well as good understanding by local farmers and pastoralists on how to use such information. To date, training on the use of climate information has been effective.

The choice of crops, and related irrigation schedules (when to irrigate and how much irrigation water to supply) are the kind of water management practices that can lower water use. Adapting a good crop/livestock mix, ensuring value added production such as milk, and reducing meat in the diet, as it uses considerably more water.

More broadly, farmers with higher levels of education, access to markets, who are engaged in the collective management of water and other resources, and not just in the water sector but in broader context, often show higher resilience.

Date:

28 Jun 2011

Sources:

• United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)