News: Bangladesh trees to stop cyclones and floods
Bangladesh's poor[i-Bangladesh's poor]Over 49.8% of Bangladesh's 144 million people live below the poverty line. 84% live off less than US$2/day. 41.3% live off less than 1 US$1/day. With those demographic poverty figures, not much is needed to push Bangladesh's poor over the edge.
Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, and tidal bores occur almost Sundarbans[i-Sundarbans]every year. Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 12 metres (39 ft) above sea level. If the sea level would rise by one metre (3ft), it is believed 50% of the land would be flooded. No wonder the yearly cyclone season is a season of despair and disaster for many Bangladeshis.
Last summer the country was hit by two major floods while Cyclone Sidr tore through its coastal districts in November, killing Sundarbans forest[i-Sundarbans forest]at least 5,000 people and leaving tens of millions homeless and desperately short of food. Environmentalists said the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, stood as a "green bastion" against the cyclone. If it were not for the Sundarbans, the death toll would have been much higher.
The government of Bangladesh has now decided to plant 100 million trees to increase the effectiveness of the "natural fence" against frequent floods and cyclones. (Full)
Pictures courtesy NASA, Abdul Mannan (WFP) and Banglapedia
News: Humanitarian airlift to Myanmar
I am back in Brindisi.
I am sure you have seen the news of humanitarian relief goods being flown into Myanmar to assist with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. I bet all of that footage was on the Myanmar side...
Those first relief flights actually all originated from here, from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Brindisi.
Here are some pictures from the first relief flights into Myanmar on May 10th. This particular flight had cargo from OCHA and Irish Aid, containing water purification units, moskito nets, blankets, kitchen sets, tarpaulins and water storage containers.
Relief flight from UNHRD Brindisi to Myanmar on May 10th 2008[i-Relief flight from UNHRD Brindisi to Myanmar on May 10th 2008]
Relief flight from UNHRD Brindisi to Myanmar on May 10th 2008[i-Relief flight from UNHRD Brindisi to Myanmar on May 10th 2008]
Relief flight from UNHRD Brindisi to Myanmar on May 10th 2008[i-Relief flight from UNHRD Brindisi to Myanmar on May 10th 2008]
View the picture slide show of this airlift.
Donate to the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victims[i-Donate to the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victims]
Pictures courtesy Fulvio Pirato (UNHRD/WFP)
News: From Cyclone Sidr to Cyclone Nargis - an aidworker's perspective
Cyclone victims[i-Cyclone victims]
An aidworker from Oxfam explains how the immediate effect of the cyclone devastation is only the beginning of misery for those affected.
Those on the ground (in Myanmar) are estimating that at least 100,000 people were killed by the storm. The numbers are devastating, each one of them painfully reminding me what a difference an investment into disaster preparedness and early warning systems — like those that have been implemented in Bangladesh — could have made for the families in Myanmar.
Surface water that people are used to drinking is likely to be contaminated not only by dead bodies and livestock carcasses, but also human and animal waste spread by floodwaters and overflowing latrines. The weather forecast for this week predicts more heavy rain, and even a new storm approaching the cyclone-affected area. With people’s resistance to disease already weakened after days of living in overcrowded conditions without food and proper roofs over their heads, the children and elderly are likely to be among the worst affected.
Even once the floodwaters recede, they will leave behind a fertile breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes — bringing with them deadly threats like malaria and dengue fever (dengue season in Myanmar runs from May to October, the country had a major outbreak only last year). And I haven’t even begun to think about the psychological and emotional trauma that the storm has left behind. (Full)
Picture courtesy New York Times. Read the full post...
News: Myanmar - begging to aid or forcing to aid?
Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victim[i-Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victim]
From the UN press briefing in Geneva on May 13:
The UN Secretary-General registered his deep concern —and immense frustration— at the unacceptably slow response to the grave humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. They were at a critical point, and unless more aid got into the country —very quickly— the people faced an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today’s crisis. The Secretary_General called, in the most strenuous terms, on the Government of Myanmar to put its people’s lives first. It must do all that it could to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious.
From the same briefing:
Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, responding to a question on the fact that it was strange that the Human Rights Council would be holding a Special Session on the global food crisis, but not on the current situation in Myanmar, said (..) there had been discussion to some extent on the possibility of talking about Myanmar, but the Council had a very full programme, including the Universal Periodic Review, so it was a pretty packed schedule at the moment and it would be difficult to fit (the issue of Myanmar human rights) in.
What do we read in this? Is the international community "begging to aid"? But not "forcing to aid" by stating more explicitely that a regime denying its citizens the "right to sufficient and effective aid" is a violation of human rights? Up to what level is this morally and ethically acceptable?
Donate to the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victims[i-Donate to the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis victims]
Picture courtesy AP (New York Times)
Picture of the day: Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
Myanmar Cyclone Nargis[i-Myanmar Cyclone Nargis]
Almost a week after Cyclone Nargis inundated Myanmar’s densely settled coast, wiped out villages and left untold tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, the first two United Nations flights carrying relief supplies arrived in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, on Thursday. (Full)
More "Pictures of the Day" on the Road.
Picture courtesy Andy Newman (New York Times)
News: Cyclone Ivan in Madagascar
Cyclone Ivan hit the Northeastern coast of Madagascar Feb 17, as a category 3 cyclone with winds measuring up to 200km/hour. The storm was followed by considerable rainfall, causing quite some flooding. (Latest news)
cyclone Ivan flooding madagascar[i-cyclone Ivan flooding madagascar]
The picture shows flooded rice fields in Alaotra Mangoro, near Lac Alaotra, the main region for rice production in Madagascar. 14,200 hectares are flooded in this region.
Click on the collage for a slide show of the pictures:
madagascar flooding in slide show[i-madagascar flooding in slide show]
Pictures courtesy Maherisoa Rakotonirainy and Nicolas Babu (WFP). Thanks for the link, Kirsi!
News: Bangladesh Not Recovered from Cyclone Sidr
Cyclone Sidr left many without a home[i-Cyclone Sidr left many without a home]Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh on November 15 last year, causing massive flooding in the world's 7th most populated country. After the initial response, this emergency disappeared from the world's TV screens, as emergencies often do. And they should not. The effects of natural disasters like the flooding of this size are far more profound than merely the dead to be burried, the homeless to be sheltered, and the sick to be cured.
Homeless after Cyclone Sidr[i-Homeless after Cyclone Sidr]A massive amount of farmland was flooded (553,000 hectares to be exact) by the surge waters and rains, a large part of the rice crop was destroyed. Rice being Bangladesh's staple food, the "real emergency effects" start to surfice now through the food shortages. Rice prices have shot up. Aid agencies are bringing in over half a million ton of rice.
But this time, I don't want to talk much about these massive aid operations. I wanted to show you one thing that I found while browsing on the topic of Cyclone Sidr: how one individual tried to make a difference, with the tools he has at his disposal, answering the question people often as us, aid workers: "How can *I* make a difference?" Well, here is an example how one can:
An article about Sidr's relief efforts I found in Globalvoices, pointed me to Vlogger Shawn's Uncultured Project. Shawn is a 26 year old former graduate student from the University of Notre Dame. After a presentation about the "This generation's home work to end poverty", he was inspired to go to Bangladesh for a self-funded project to see what difference HE could make in helping some of the world's worst off under the motto: "Are we doing enough to make a the world a better place?" Here is his video story:
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News: Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh
link[i-link]Cyclone Sidr ripped through southern and central Bangladesh on Nov 15. It left a trail of destruction across 17 Bangladeshi districts. Official figures confirmed over 3,000 people died.
link[i-link]The humanitarian relief operation started shortly after the cyclone passed.
It could have been worse. Over the past decade, the country's early warning and preparedness systems have improved considerably. Officials evacuated some 3.2 million people who lived along the coastline in the days before Sidr hit, and stockpiled relief supplies and rescue equipment. [i-link][i-link][i-link]
Pictures courtesy WFP, Sajid Hossain and Jibon Amir
For updated humanitarian news, check out The Other World News
