Floods drown Asia’s rice bowl

HANOI: Massive floods have ravaged vast swathes of Asia’s rice bowl, threatening to further drive up food prices and adding to the burden of farmers who are among the region’s poorest, experts say.

About 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of paddy fields in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have been damaged or are at risk from the worst floods to hit the region in years, officials say.

In Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, where 237 people have died in the floods, about one million hectares of paddy — roughly 10 percent of the total — have been damaged, they say.

Heavy rains in Laos and Cambodia have also led to big losses in recent weeks, and experts say flood waters have now drained into Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, a key global rice producer, making it the latest to be inundated.

Further west, flooding of rice and other farmland in Pakistan’s arable belt has cost that country nearly $2 billion in losses.

“The whole region will now suffer from rising food prices as potential harvests have now been devastated. The damage is very serious this year and it will be some time before people can resume normal lives,” Margareta Wahlstrom, the United Nations chief of disaster reduction, said in a statement.

The flood damage comes on top of worries about the impact on global rice prices of a new scheme by the Thai government to boost the minimum price farmers receive for their crop.

Vietnam meanwhile is the world’s number-two rice exporter and the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam accounts for half the country’s production.

“The upstream waters have begun to drop slightly but here they are rising three to five centimetres (1.2 to two inches) daily,” said Duong Nghia Quoc, director of the agriculture department in Dong Thap province.

Dong Thap and neighbouring An Giang, which abut Cambodia, have been the worst affected in the delta.

The UN, citing government sources, says 11 people have died, more than 20,000 homes are flooded and 99,000 hectares of rice are at risk in Vietnam.

“Agricultural production is seriously affected this year by the floods that were, in fact, worse than our forecasts,” said Vuong Huu Tien, of the flood and storm control department in An Giang, where thousands of soldiers have been mobilised to reinforce dykes and help residents reach safer ground.

In Cambodia, more than 330,000 hectares of rice paddy have been inundated, of which more than 100,000 hectares are completely destroyed, said a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Ngin Chhay said the “big loss” was likely to affect this year’s rice surplus, which was expected to reach some three million tonnes.

Cambodia, where more than 160 people have been killed in the floods, exports only a fraction of total rice production but the crop accounts for about 7.5 percent of gross domestic product.

Laos, one of Asia’s poorest nations, has also suffered, according to reports in state-controlled media there.

Tropical storms which struck since June killed at least 23 people in the country and damaged more than 60,000 hectares of paddy, the reports said.

In late September more crops suffered after a dam on a tributary of the Mekong released water to lower its rain-swollen levels, the Vientiane Times reported.

Vo Tong Xuan, a Vietnamese rice expert based in the Mekong Delta, said a major contributor to this year’s floods has been the unusually heavy rains in Thailand and Laos, which drain down through the Mekong.

Experts say the delta’s expanding system of dykes adds to the problem. They “prevent water circulation in some places but provoke floods in others,” said Bui Minh Tang, a weather forecaster.

Vietnam News, the communist state’s official English-language daily, reported that the lost rice crop in Dong Thap province alone was worth $2.7 million.

“The floods have seriously affected life and production of the farmers in our district, notably because of a shortage of drinking water and electricity,” said Vu Tien Quang, who belongs to a farmers’ association in the province. AGENCIES

60 dead, four million affected in India floods

ORISSA: Sixty people have died and four million have been affected by flooding in eastern India that has led to a major relief effort from local and international aid agencies, officials said Monday.

“It’s tough to cope with two successive floods within a week,” Disaster Management Minister Surya Patra from the state of Orissa told AFP following separate bouts of heavy rains that led rivers to break their banks.

“Flooding since the beginning of the month has left 60 people dead and over four million reeling under the impact,” he said, adding that coastal regions of the impoverished state had been particularly badly hit.

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, an estimated 28 people have been killed in rain-related incidents and rivers there are also on the rise, local reports said Monday.

In Orissa, Special Relief Commissioner Mr P.K. Mohaptra told AFP that an estimated 150,000 people living in low-lying areas had been evacuated over the weekend after water levels rose in the Brahmani and Baitarani river systems.

He said five helicopters were dropping food packets in the worst-hit locations and two more would join the fleet.

“Besides, 260 relief centres are in operation providing food and other utilities,” Mohapatra said.

The International Federation of the Red cross said it had distributed 5,000 tarpaulins, 2,000 kitchen sets and 15,000 buckets among the affected people.

The floods have been caused by heavy and late rains at the end of the monsoon season. AGENCIES

UN appeals for $357m for flood-ravaged Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations on Sunday launched an appeal to raise 356.9 million dollars under its Rapid Response Plan 2011, which will be spent initially on 91 projects in the flood affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan, due to heavy monsoon rains.

The Rapid Response Plan 2011 was launched here at a local hotel by Humanitarian Coordinator of United Nations, Timo Pakkala at a ceremony where Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan was the chief guest.

Representatives of diplomatic community, UN organizations, government departments, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and others were present on the occasion in which the UN Humanitarian Coordinator launched this plan.

The Rapid Response Plan has been launched on the appeal made by President Asif Ali Zardari after his visit to the flood affected areas of Sindh when he phoned the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for generating funds from the international community to help the victims due to gravity of the devastation caused by unprecedented rains.

It is an initial plan for emergency needs, which will be reviewed after a month to assess the actual needs, when the complete destruction and damage data will be compiled from the affected areas.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan while addressing the launching of the Rapid Response Plan said unprecedented heavy rainfall have affected  23 districts of Sindh and five districts of Balochistan.

The Minister said the situation further compounded due to a number of breaches in all the irrigation channels and Left Bank Out Fall Drain.

Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said, unfortunately 342  precious lives have been lost due to the floods while 633 persons were injured and millions of people are vulnerable to different diseases, particularly acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, malaria and  infections.

She said, “More than 7.1 million people have been directly affected out of which 491,000 people have been accommodated in 2618 relief camps.”

As many as 1.3 million houses have been damaged and over 6 million acres of land including 2 million acres cultivated land has been affected, she added.

The Minister said heavy damages to property, infrastructure, agriculture and livestock have been reported, however, the actual damages could be ascertained after detailed damages and needs assessment is carried out.

The Information Minister said the Government of Pakistan, under the dynamic leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, despite being faced with resource constraints, has so far mobilized approximately 166,000 tents, over 869,000 family food packs and a large number of other relief items including blankets, mosquito nets, water purification units, medicines and jerry cans etc.

She said, “The government had tried its best to cope with the situation by itself, however, due to the sheer scale of the disaster it came to the conclusion that the situation exceeds the capacity of any single stakeholder.”

She said in view of this President Asif Ali Zardari requested UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to supplement the Government’s efforts.

The Minister hoped that the people of Pakistan would receive similar generous support as has been extended by friends and international community in the past for the Rapid Response Plan of $356 million.

“We are confident that the Rapid Response Plan – Pakistan Floods 2011, launched today, jointly by Pakistan Government and the UN would receive the required funds from donors,” she added.

The Minister said Pakistan government together with the UN would ensure transparency and accountability in the utilization and delivery of the assistance to the affected people in a most efficient manner.

She said it is natural disaster as people of Pakistan especially living in Sindh are unfortunately once again passing through great hardship due to unexpected and unprecedented heavy monsoon rains.

She said Pakistan is prone to hydro meteorological disasters; however, the frequency and intensity of such disasters have increased in the recent past, primarily due to climate change phenomenon experienced all over the world.

The Minister said a well placed three-tier disaster management system consisting of district, provincial and national disaster management authorities has been evolved by the government.

Referring to the issue of visa and permission to the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international community to reach to the flood affected areas, the Information Minister assured that there is no such problem and government of Pakistan has been facilitating the donors in this regard.

She said previous response of international community so far was due to Pakistan’s personal efforts at international level while the UN has launched its campaign today and expressed the hope that there will be good response of this campaign.

Humanitarian Coordinator of United Nations, Timo Pakkala while announcing the Rapid Response Plan said it is basically for the 91 projects identified initially to provide shelter, food, medicines and clean drinking water in the affected areas.

He said the UN has already started supply of food, shelter, medicines and other basic needs of life to the flood affected areas without waiting for the funds to be generated.

Timo Pakkala said this plan is for initial response to the victims and it will be reviewed after 45 days to revise the needs and demands of the people of the affected areas.

Giving some details, he said, with the present resources of Pakistan government, only 30 percent shelter could be provided to the homeless victims.

He said out of 5.44 million affected people there are 2.60 million women and 1.96 million children, while 1.8 million people have been displaced and 1.0 million houses have been damaged.

He said 64 percent people in the flood affected areas are without clean drinking water while 67 percent food stock of the people had been destroyed.

He said 70 percent crops in the area have been damaged while 280,000 families have lost their livestock.

Replying to a question, Timo Pakkala said so far no country has announced its pledge under the Rapid Response Plan 2011 adding that some of the countries have already announced their donations before.

He however clarified that it will be up to the donor countries either they want to contribute directly on bilateral basis or they can contribute through this Rapid Response Plan.

He said Rapid Response Plan is for providing immediate relief and after its revision, a fresh plan would be prepared for reconstruction, rehabilitation and improvement of other basic facilities to the flood victims.

Brigadier Sajid Naeem, representing National Disaster Management Authority explained the contingent plan and ongoing efforts of the NDMA for the assistance of flood victims.

He said NDMA has been coordinating with other departments of the federal and provincial governments and international community to provide best possible help to the flood victims without delay.

He said the NDMA had already prepared a contingent plan according to the reports of Met office, but the rains were much more than the assessments of Met office and beyond the capacity of the canals and rivers that created more damage. AGENCIES

1.2m homes destroyed, 4.5m acres flooded, 230 people dead

This has been estimated by the local officials and Western aid groups. More than 300,000 people have been moved to shelters. Some 800,000 families hit by last year s floods are still homeless. Aid groups have warned of a growing risk of fatal diseases.

Last year, the military took charge of rescue and relief efforts, along with aid groups. The army is active again in the latest disaster. But some Pakistanis are growing impatient with it as well. Juman and his extended family fled when water as high as 12 feet (3.6 metres) raged through their village. Home has been a thatched hut on a roadside for several weeks in another village called Mohammad Yusuf.

“We go to the army and we have been asking for food, but they beat us with sticks and told us to leave,” said Juman, who added he was turned away because the army camp was already overwhelmed. “They scared us away.” The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history, is seen as the only institution that can handle crises in the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.

Pakistan s cash-strapped government already faces many challenges, from growing frustration over power cuts to a stubborn Taliban insurgency. Disillusionment with the state can drive young men to join militant groups waging a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-backed government. Some flood victims are turning to the Al Khidmat charity which is linked to the most influential Islamist party in Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

JI is not believed to have ties with the Taliban or other banned groups. Nevertheless, its relief efforts in last year s floods and other natural disasters helped discredit the government because of its relative efficiency. At a camp consisting of rows of white tents, green and blue JI flags flutter. Organisers wearing bright orange vests and badges organise flood victims.
People have to drink rain water and wash clothes in it but there is some relief.

“When we arrived there wasn t a camp here. They set the camp up and gave us the tents,” said Shabira, 35, holding her baby. “Now we are getting food every day.” Pakistani leaders are facing pressure on the diplomatic front as well. Islamabad s ties with Washington have been heavily strained since a unilateral US raid killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May.

There were signs that ties were under repair when the allies recently spoke of counter-terrorism cooperation. But fresh tension has emerged. A US warning on militants based in Pakistan, blamed by Washington for this week s attack on the US Embassy in Kabul, works against counter-terrorism cooperation between the two allies, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

It was referring to comments by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that Washington would do whatever it takes to defend American forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan-based militants Gilani may have wanted to meet senior American officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to try to patch up ties with Washington, the source of billions of dollars in aid.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar is expected to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the United States on Sept. 18. She will be addressing the General Assembly in Gilani s place.

Flood claims 20 lives in Nigeria

 Nigerian drivers have abandoned their cars to escape the flood. At least 20 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced, as a flood caused by heavy rain ravaged the southwestern Nigeria.

The flood, which took place in the city of Ibadan, has washed away many properties. According to local media reports, the torrential rain has also caused a dam to overflow, making the situation more complicated.

The downpour that lasted many hours resulted in a serious traffic jam and many abandoned their vehicles to escape the flood. Many bridges collapsed and cars submerged following the devastating flood. Rescue officers are helping to deliver relief materials to the victims.

In Nigeria, flood is common in the rainy season, which lasts from April to September. However, this year the rainfall is very high which resulted in the worst devastating flood in the past 12 years.

India spills more water in River Satluj

KASUR: The water level at Gandasingh Headworks is constantly mounting up as India has spilled more water into Pakistani River Satluj.

According to data collected by the Flood Forecasting Division, the current water flow at Gandasingh Headworks is 60,000 cusecs and a low level’s flood exists in the River Satluj but it is expected that the water level will rise further to 80,000 cusecs till the evening.

Owing to the flood in River Satluj, it is feared that the lower areas of Kasur, Okara, Pakpatan, Vihari and Bahawalnagar will be inundated.

Earlier previous week, dozens of villages were flooded and ready crops on hundreds of hectares of land were destroyed by the Indian water spilled in River Satluj. TrendPK

Badin: Academic activities halt due to poor management

Government schools have been turned into temporary relief camps for flood affectees which has badly affected the academic activities of the students.

On the other hand, the flood affectee residing in relief camps also have to face dearth of proper facilities of routine life.

Finding no firewood for energy, they have started burning furniture of the schools while the management in schools is silent over this critical situation.

Summer vacations have come to an end but the students could not attend their classes due to crisis of flood.

Brazil Death toll Rises as Rescuers Battle Floods

Breaking News TERESOPOLIS, Brazil: Brazil is suffering its worst-ever natural disaster after mudslides near Rio de Janeiro killed more than 500 people, the latest toll showed Friday.

Municipal officials in the Serrana region just north of Rio said at least 506 people were killed, surpassing the 437 killed in a 1967 mudslide tragedy that had been previously considered Brazil’s biggest disaster.

More bodies were expected to turn up as rescuers finally reached villages cut off because of destroyed roads and bridges in the region.

Frantic efforts to locate survivors and bodies braved the risk of further mudslides, as rain continued to fall on the waterlogged region, making it even more unstable.

“It’s very overwhelming. The scenes are very shocking,” President Dilma Rousseff said after visiting the area Thursday.

She pledged “strong action” by her government, which has already released 470 million dollars in initial emergency aid and sent seven tonnes of medical supplies.

The catastrophe was seen as her first big test since taking power two weeks ago, replacing her popular predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Storms early Wednesday dumped the equivalent of a month’s rain in just a few hours before dawn, sending mudslides slicing through towns and hamlets, destroying homes, roads and bridges and knocking out telephone and power lines.

The worst affected towns were Novo Friburgo, which recorded 225 deaths, Teresopolis, with 223 deaths, and Petropolis, with 39 deaths, according to municipal officials. Another 19 fatalities were registered in the village of Sumidouro.

The toll of dead from this one disaster was higher than the 473 rain-related deaths recorded for all of Brazil over the span of 2010.

Churches and police stations were turned into makeshift morgues, the smell of decomposing corpses heavy in the warm air. Thousands of survivors took refuge in shelters.

The atmosphere was mournful as the extent of the disaster became apparent in Teresopolis, a mountain town devastated by the mudslides.

Bodies piled up in makeshift morgues while, crowds of people desperate to learn the fate of loved ones gathered outside.

They looked at photos of faces disfigured by the surprise of death or the ravages of decomposition. Many of the bodies were those of children, women and old people — all physically less apt to survive nature’s onslaught.

“I can’t go inside. I don’t have courage to,” said one woman, Ana Maria, 40. A fireman described the gut-wrenching ordeal. “You have no idea how hard it is to see the bodies of so many children… It’s horrible,” he told AFP.

Elsewhere in the city, hundreds of people left homeless by the calamity sat around on mattresses in a gymnasium, still in shock. Some were injured.

Volunteers carrying food, clothing and hygiene products were tending to them, amid a growing chaos of bags, baby carriages, toys and pathetic piles of possessions that represented all they had left.

Edmar Da Rosa, a 44-year-old laborer whose face was badly lacerated, looked lost and unable to comprehend the deaths of family members. He said a retaining wall fell on part of his house that he shared with his wife, three children and a grandson. “My wife died. My grandson ended up dying. And the others are hurt,” he said.

A few meters (feet) away, 59-year-old Joao de Lima clutched a doll with desolation written on his face.

Catastrophic Australian Floods Claim First Victim

Catastrophic Australian Floods Claim First Victim, Devastating floods in northeastern Australia claimed their first victim Sunday, with the body of a missing woman recovered as the surging waters continued to rise and a fresh storm loomed.

Emergency officials and police searched through the night by boat and helicopter for the 41-year-old swept from her car as she tried to cross a swamped causeway in the northern Gulf of Carpentaria region.

Police managed to save three children and another adult from the car but the woman disappeared before they could reach her.

“Searchers located the woman?s body around 10:20 am today about two kilometres (one mile) from the causeway,” police said.

There were fears for another man missing after his fishing boat was swamped Saturday afternoon near Gladstone, at the centre of the floods, and witnesses reported seeing a second man swept away in the swamped city of Rockhampton.

“These waters are exceptionally fast, they’re not to be trifled with and they’re not to be taken lightly,” said assistant police commissioner Alistair Dawson.

A severe storm was expected to sweep through the region late Sunday, bringing “damaging winds, very heavy rainfall, flash flooding and large hailstones” the weather bureau said, urging residents to take shelter.

Up to 200,000 people are estimated to have been hit by the floods which have left entire towns under water and cut off many more over an area the size of France and Germany combined, wreaking untold billions in damage to crops and the nation’s key mining industry.

“In many ways, it is a disaster of biblical proportions,” Queensland State Treasurer Andrew Fraser told reporters in flood-hit Bundaberg on Saturday.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who on Friday toured inundated regions, said the floods had been devastating and would have an economic impact.

Gillard said the mining sector had been particularly badly hit, adding that farmers, small businesses and tourism would also suffer.

Residents in the coastal town of Rockhampton were forced to flee the rising waters in darkness Saturday night, while helicopters delivered food and other supplies to about 20 towns hit by the deluge.

Rockhampton’s airport, a major regional hub, was closed to commercial traffic as the runways went under water while the deluge also cut main roads into the town and disrupted power supplies.

The town’s river is expected to peak at 9.4 metres (yards) Wednesday, threatening 2,000-4,000 homes, and mayor Brad Carter said desperate sandbagging was under way.

Rockhampton could be isolated for as many as 10 days, and though food shortages were not yet an issue, Carter said he was unsure how long supplies could last as the situation worsens.

“The water inundation is far more extensive than we thought it was. It’s very extensive,” Carter said after an aerial tour of the region on Sunday.

“The geographic area has an enormous amount of water to it either side of… the Fitzroy river, which has broken through its banks and is covering large agricultural areas,” said Carter.

Officials were warning of a critical drinking water shortage at the inland town of Dalby after its treatment plant was swamped, meaning supplies had to be trucked in.

In Bundaberg, in Queensland’s southeast, the clean-up was set to begin in about 300 homes and 120 businesses as flood waters recede, but other towns such as Theodore and Condamine remain empty of residents.

Deputy state premier Paul Lucas flew over the devastated region and warned much of the heartbreak was still ahead as the full extent of damage became clear.

“(There are) swimming pools filled with mud, houses where people are sweeping the mud out. The devastation is enormous,” said Lucas.

Offshore oil drilling operations have been suspended due to a tropical cyclone developing off Australia’s resources-rich west coast, which also forced the closure of major iron ore export ports.

Flood affected areas of D.G. Khan – Trend Pk VIDEO

Akhtar Ali from Dera Ghazi Khan reports on the government’s help for the flood affected areas. (December 1, 2010)

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