High-risk South Asia inks pact on disaster response

11 Nov 2011 16:56

Source: Alertnet // Krittivas Mukherjee

Taj Mohammad, 80, displaced by floods, sits with his siblings in a school building where they have taken refuge in the Badin district of Pakistan's Sindh province September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

By Krittivas Mukherjee

ADDU CITY, Maldives, Nov 11 (AlertNet) - Eight South Asian countries agreed a pact on Friday to provide one another with quick assistance during natural disasters aimed at boosting response in a region that is among the world’s most disaster prone.

South Asia sits on a high-risk seismic zone and is home to one fifth of the world's population. It is susceptible to massive seasonal floods and storms and the dangers from climate change are probably the greatest in this poverty-blighted region.

Yet inertia, lack of funds and lax law enforcement have meant any progress in disaster preparedness has been slow. The Rapid Response to Natural Disasters agreement, signed off by the foreign ministers of the eight nations, seeks to change that by greater cooperation among each other.

"The agreement essentially aims to provide effective regional mechanisms for rapid response to natural disasters," said Vikram Doraiswami, an official from the Indian foreign ministry.

"The idea is to create the modalities by which countries in the region can provide each other assistance teams, how the assistance teams are to move, to build capacities to deal with post disaster relief delivery, and also to create contingency planning and post-disaster measures."

Six out of eight South Asian countries – India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan – are located within the seismically active Himalayan-Hindukush belt.

The region witnesses around 100,000 minor quakes every year, and one of magnitude 8 or greater every 25 years. The last major earthquake in the region was in Pakistan in 2005, measuring 7.6 and killing more than 73,000 people.

CLIMATE CHANGE

South Asia is also prone to floods with millions displaced almost every year from seasonal rains and deluge. In Pakistan, the second consecutive year of flooding has killed 430 people and disrupted the lives of nine million.

But climate change is possibly the region’s greatest long-term security threat as rising temperatures and droughts dry out farmlands which are then inundated by intense floods and storms.

Sea levels are also rising unevenly in the Indian Ocean, placing millions at risk along low-lying coastlines in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives among countries in this region, scientists say.

For instance, the Maldives, a chain of low-lying sandy islands in the Indian Ocean famed for its diving and luxury resorts, fears being swamped by rising seas as the planet heats up.

The highest point of land here is two meters or about 6 feet above sea level. Future sea level is projected to rise within the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100, which means the entire country could be submerged in the worst-case scenario, the World Bank says.

"By embracing climate change as an opportunity to do things differently, we can tackle emissions and earn a competitive advantage in the rapidly growing clean economy," Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed told a summit of the heads of state of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The grouping has India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the host country, an archipelago of nearly 1,200 mostly uninhabited atolls.

(Editing by Nita Bhalla)

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Source:- http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/high-risk-south-asia-inks-pact-on-disaster-response/

Waterlogged Kuttanad thirsts for drinking water

Waterlogged Kuttanad thirsts for drinking water

Dennis Marcus Mathew

Water in the Vembanad lake and Pampa river turns saline

CRISIS: A boat with water tanks lies idle in the Kainakary region of Kuttanad in Alappuzha,where water shortage has worsened after these boats stopped service for the last two days.

ALAPPUZHA: Even as the threat of floods that loomed over the water-logged Kuttanad seems to have receded, the people are now up against another recurrent scourge. Kuttanad is facing an acute shortage of drinking water, even for its cattle.

The water shortage, an issue that plagues the region round the year, gets severe in the monsoon with the rivers that flow through here and the Vembanad lake turning totally undependable for even a drop of pure water. The drinking water crisis is accentuated by the threat of water-borne diseases as well, particularly cholera.

This is apart from other vector-borne and contagious diseases including Japanese Encephalitis, rat fever and dengue that have already been reported from the area.

In May 2009, there was an outbreak of cholera after sewage seeped into drinking water pipelines.

Different surveys in recent years, including by the Health department, have found dangerous levels of coliform bacteria, including E.Coli, in a majority of water sources in Kuttanad, but shockingly, remedial or preventive measures have been little, according to the residents. Repair and maintenance of pipelines are still to be done in a majority of areas, while supply of water through existing networks are not regular and not happening in several remote areas as well.

Water supply stopped

http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=21985

Source :-

NASA Satellites Show Towering Thunderstorms in Rare Sub-tropical Storm

Hurricane Season 2011: Sub-Tropical Storm Arani (South Atlantic Ocean)

03.17.11


› View larger image
On March 16 at 15:53 UTC (1:52 p.m. EST) NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Sub-Tropical Storm Arani in the Southern Atlantic and captured some remaining cold, strong thunderstorms (purple) north and east of the storm's center. Those areas represent very high, cold, thunderstorm cloud tops where temperatures are as cold as or colder than -63F/-52C.
Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed OlsenNASA Sees Sub-Tropical Storm Arani Merging With a Front

Sub-Tropical Storm Arani is now merging with a weather front and going out with a bang, according to NASA satellite imagery. Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite still showed some powerful thunderstorms in the system.

On March 16 at 15:53 UTC (1:52 p.m. EST) NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Sub-Tropical Storm Arani in the Southern Atlantic. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured some remaining cold, strong thunderstorms north and east of the storm's center at that time. Those areas represent very high, cold, thunderstorm cloud tops where temperatures are as cold as or colder than -63F/-52C, and were areas of heavy rainfall.

Although Sub-Tropical Storm Arani is located several hundred miles east of Rio de Janiero, it was still bringing heavy surf to beaches. Arpoador Beach reported rough surf on March 16 from Arani as it continued to move east and away from Brazil. Arani is now in the process of merging with a cold front and joining several other rare tropical cyclones in the history of the Southern Atlantic.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro/Hal Pierce, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.


March 16, 2011

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This 3-D view of Sub-tropical Storm Arani's clouds was created from data taken by NASA's TRMM satellite. It showed that there were very heavy thunderstorms (red) in the eastern half of the storm. TRMM's Precipitation Radar showed that some of these powerful storms were reaching to heights of over 14 km (~8.7 miles) above the surface of the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce
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The TRMM satellite had another very good view of Sub-tropical Cyclone Arani in the morning light on March 16, 2011 at 1052 UTC. This data showed that there were very heavy thunderstorms in the eastern half of the storm. TRMM's Precipitation Radar showed that some of these powerful storms were reaching to heights of over 14 km (~8.7 miles) above the surface of the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce
› View larger image
On Mar. 16 at 03:29 UTC (Mar. 15 at 11:29 p.m. EST) NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Sub-Tropical Storm Arani's cold thunderstorm cloud tops (purple) in two areas of the storm. Those cloud tops were as cold as or colder than -63F/-52 C, and were areas of heavy rainfall. The strongest thunderstorms appeared north and south of the center of circulation.
Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen
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TRMM measured the rainfall rates within Sub-Tropical Storm Arani on March 15 at 1820 UTC (2:20 p.m. EST). TRMM rainfall images are false-colored with yellow, green and red areas, which indicate rainfall between 20 and 40 millimeters (.78 to 1.57 inches) per hour. Dark red areas are considered heavy rainfall, as much as 2 inches of rain per hour.
Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal PierceNASA Satellites Show Towering Thunderstorms in Rare Sub-tropical Storm Arani

NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites are providing data to scientists about the Southern Atlantic Ocean Sub-tropical Storm Arani, a rare occurrence in the southern ocean. Rainfall data and cloud top temperatures revealed some heavy rain and strong thunderstorms exist in Arani as it continues to pull away from Brazil.

NOAA's Satellite and Information Service classified Arani as a T1 on the Dvorak intensity scale which would indicate an estimated wind speed of about 29 knots (~33 mph).

During the daytime on Tuesday, March 15 at 1820 UTC (2:20 p.m. EST) NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite flew over Sub-Tropical Storm Arani. TRMM rainfall data showed that the storm contained mostly moderate rainfall, falling at a rate between 20 and 40 millimeters (.89 to 1.57 inches) per hour. However, there were some areas of heavy rainfall in the north and eastern quadrants of the storm. The heavier rainfall was occurring at about 50 mm or 2 inches per hour. TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data were used in the image above to show rainfall near Arani.

On Mar. 16 at 03:29 UTC (Mar. 15 at 11:29 p.m. EST) another of NASA's fleet of Earth science satellites flew over Sub-tropical Storm Arani and took its temperature. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Sub-Tropical Storm Arani's cold thunderstorm cloud tops in two areas of the storm. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies aboard Aqua provided infrared readings of those cloud tops and showed that they were as cold as or colder than -63F/-52 C, and were areas of heavy rainfall. The strongest thunderstorms wrapped from the north, eastward to the south of the center of circulation, confirming the data from the TRMM satellite.

Later on March 16, at 10:52 UTC (6:52 a.m. EST), the TRMM satellite again passed over Sub-Tropical Storm Arani and noticed it still had some strong thunderstorms and was producing heavy rainfall off the Brazilian coast.

TRMM data was used to create a 3-D view of Sub-tropical Storm Arani's clouds, and it showed that there were very heavy thunderstorms in the eastern half of the storm. TRMM's Precipitation Radar showed that some of these powerful storms were reaching to heights of over 14 km (~8.7 miles) above the surface of the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

Arani has the appearance of a tropical cyclone but has been classified as a subtropical cyclone. Subtropical cyclones are low pressure areas that develop with a cold core and transition to a warm core in the mid-levels of the troposphere, resembling a tropical cyclone. They more typically form outside of hurricane season (which is June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Northern Atlantic, for example). They also have broad wind patterns and that means that their maximum sustained winds are usually located farther from the center than a tropical cyclone. They also have no weather fronts linked to them, such as a typical low pressure area that brings summertime storms with an associated cold front. Subtropical cyclones can sometimes become tropical cyclones, and occasionally, tropical cyclones can become subtropical.

Tropical cyclones are very rare in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. In 2004 a cyclone called Catarina formed in the South Atlantic and caused some controversy when it was classified as a hurricane by the United States' National Hurricane Center.

Arani is over the open waters of the Southern Atlantic and continues to move east-southeast and farther away from Brazil.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro/Hal Pierce, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.


























March 15, 2011

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On March 14 at 1553 UTC (11:53 a.m. EST) NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Sub-Tropical Storm Arani along the Brazilian coast. Most of the convection and thunderstorms (purple) were limited to the eastern half of the storm.
Credit: NASA JPL, Ed OlsenNASA's Aqua Satellite Spots Rare Southern Atlantic Sub-Tropical Storm

NASA's Aqua satellite spotted some strong convection in a recently formed low pressure area that strengthened into Sub-Tropical Storm Arani in the South Atlantic. Arani formed near the coast of Brazil and is now moving away from it. Tropical cyclones in the Southern Atlantic are a rare occurrence and since 2004 there have only been three of them, Arani being the third.

On March 14, 2011 at 1553 UTC (11:53 a.m. EST) the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Sub-Tropical Storm Arani moving away from the Brazilian coast. Most of the convection and thunderstorms were limited to the eastern half of the storm at the time of the image. The strong areas of convection (rapidly rising air that condenses and forms the thunderstorms that power a tropical cyclone) appeared on the imagery as a sideways boomerang, and were off-shore, paralleling the coast.

AIRS measured the temperatures in those strong areas of convection and found they were as cold as or colder than -63 Fahrenheit (-52 Celsius) indicating some strong thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. That heavy rainfall was occurring off-shore. NASA's AIRS imagery is created at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

On March 15 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EST), the Brazilian Navy issued a special marine warning for the Brazilian coast. The warning stated that Sub-Tropical Storm Arani was located near 24.0 South latitude and 37 West longitude. Arani had a minimum central pressure of 998 millibars and was moving east-southeast near 10 to 15 knot winds.

Tropical cyclones in the Southern Atlantic Ocean are rare. In 2010 System 90Q formed in the same region where Sub-Tropical Storm Arani formed this year. For more information on System 90Q, visit NASA's Hurricane page archives at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2010/h2010_90Q.html.

Dr. Jack Beven of the National Hurricane Center, Miami, Fla. said that Sub-Tropical Storm Arani is not currently as well developed as Tropical Storm Catarina was in the Southern Atlantic in 2004 or System 90Q last year.

The Brazilian Navy has marine forecasting responsibility for that part of the Atlantic designated the system a subtropical cyclone. For updates from the Brazilian Navy on Sub-Tropical Storm Arani, visit:https://www.mar.mil.br/dhn/chm/meteo/indexing.htm. NASA's Hurricane page is managed out of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Sub-Tropical Storm Arani is forecast to continue moving away from the Brazilian coast over the next couple of days.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.