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☆ Flash floods in Afghanistan kill at least 200 people as humanitarian emergency looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Flash flooding that has ravaged northern Afghanistan in recent days has killed at least 200 people, UN agency the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told CNN Saturday. An Afghan man walks near his damaged home after heavy flooding in Baghlan province Saturday. Afghan men shovel mud from a house following flash floods. The flash floods add to a string of recent natural disasters that the region has had to endure. Flash floods also swept away dozens in Afghanistan in July, less than three months before thousands were killed by a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the western part of the country.

Persons: ”, Salma Ben Aissa, Mehrab, Gulbudeen, Zabihullah Mujahid, “, ” Mujahid, Mujahid Organizations: CNN, UN, International Organization for Migration, IOM, Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, Rescue, Reuters, AFP, Getty Locations: Afghanistan, Badakhshan, Ghor, Herat, “, Afghan, Baghlan, Laqayi, AFP, Pakistan

CNN —Unseasonal rainfall has lashed Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past few days, killing more than 100 people across the neighboring countries, authorities said. In Afghanistan, heavy rain and floods in 23 provinces killed 66 people and wounded 36 others, according to preliminary reports from Mullah Janan Sayeq, a spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan said Tuesday that the heavy rains and floods have affected more than 1,200 families and damaged almost 1,000 houses, according to a statement on X. Houses submerged after heavy rains flood Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 16, 2024. The heavy downpours are unusual for the region at this time of the year, as Pakistan typically experiences the monsoon season from June through September.

Persons: Mullah Janan Sayeq, Sayeq, Muhammad Sajjad, Abdul Majeed, – Organizations: CNN, Ministry of Disaster Management, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, Getty, Pakistan Locations: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Peshawar, Herat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, AFP, Balochistan

But the $290 billion outlay comes without a parallel plan to prepare Yonaguni for a possible humanitarian crisis that residents like Sakihara say could quickly overwhelm their shores. Tokyo, they said, has no plan to deal with them, and locals' pleas for help have gone unanswered. A spokesperson for Japan's Cabinet Secretariat said that "if large numbers of refugees came to Japan, relevant government departments would work together to respond". Even if he had a refugee plan, Kishida would still face an obstacle: his contentious relationship with the Okinawa government that administers Yonaguni. NOT ENOUGH TO SHAREBack in Yonaguni, resident Satoshi Nagahama, 33, was surprised to learn the government had no humanitarian plan for refugees.

Persons: Sonkichi Sakihara, chancing, Kenichi Itokazu, Itokazu, Hirokazu Matsuno, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Lai Ching, Matsuno, Fumio Kishida, Kevin Maher, Maher, Yoshihide Yoshida, Japan's, shouldn't, Kishida, Denny Tamaki, it's, Hironobu, Satoshi Nagahama, Sakihara, Koji Sugama, Tim Kelly, Kaori Kaneko, Yukiko Toyoda, Ben Blanchard, Kentaro Sugiyama, David Crawshaw Organizations: Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, U.S, Japan Coast Guard, Migration Policy Institute, Nations, NMV Consulting, State Department, Defense Forces, it's, University's Research, of Disaster Management, Thomson Locations: YONAGUNI, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Beijing, Tokyo, Yonaguni, Taipei, Myanmar, Europe, East, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Washington, East Asia, Okinawa

☆ At least 15 dead in Afghanistan earthquakes, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed and 40 injured after multiple earthquakes struck western Afghanistan on Saturday, a disaster management official told Reuters. The quake registered a magnitude of 6.3, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, with subsequent quakes striking 35 km (20 miles) northwest of the city of Herat. The casualty figures are based on primary reports from the Zinda Jan district of Herat province, said Mullah Jan Sayeq, spokesperson for Afghanistan's ministry of disaster management. He added that the earthquakes had also shaken the provinces of Farah and Badghis, where there are reports of widespread damage to houses, but no details about casualties there yet. Emergency teams and volunteers are preparing to go Herat and help victims, Erfanullah Sharafzoi, spokesperson for the Afghan Red Crescent said.

Persons: Jan Sayeq, Erfanullah Sharafzoi, Crescent, Naseema, Rishabh, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Giban Peshimam, Edwina Gibbs, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Geological Survey, Afghan, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, U.S, Herat, Herat province, Farah, Badghis, Bengaluru, Kabul

☆ Typhoon Haikui prompts Taiwan to evacuate thousands, cancel flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A lifesaver keeps watch next to a red flag designating the prohibition of swimming as Typhoon Haikui approaches the region, at Sunset Beach in Chatan, Okinawa prefecture, Japan September 1, 2023. Haikui is forecast to make landfall in the mountainous and sparsely populated far southeast of Taiwan late Sunday afternoon. Counties and cities in the east and south cancelled classes and declared a day off for workers. Haikui is expected to be only a Category 1 or 2 typhoon when it hits Taiwan, according to Tropical Storm Risk. After passing across southern Taiwan, Haikui is forecast to cross the Taiwan Strait into China.

Persons: Haikui, Issei Kato, Tsai Ing, Ben Blanchard, Jonathan Oatis, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNI Air, Mandarin Airlines, Sunday, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Thomson Locations: Sunset, Chatan, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, Rights TAIPEI, Taiwan, Haikui, Hong Kong, Chinese, Guangdong, Taiwan Strait, China

Emergency sirens on Maui, part of Hawaii's decades-old early warning system, never sounded. But authorities are finding existing emergency alert systems insufficient for these new threats - sometimes with deadly results. NEW CHALLENGESAcross much of the world, warning systems for natural disasters have not evolved in response to climate change, according to Schlegelmilch. While each locality faces a distinctive threat landscape and needs a unique warning system, disaster management experts see some solutions that can be applied everywhere. The county also acquired a warning system that can send alerts to cellphones, fixed phone lines, emails - and even fax machines.

Persons: Mike Blake, Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, Chris Gregg, Adam Weintraub, Bill Parker, Parker, Mike Chard, Chard, Laura Brewington, Julia Harte, Brad Brooks, Paul Thomasch, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Climate, East Tennessee State University, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, U.S . National Weather Service, Boulder Office, Disaster, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Canada, Vermont, United States, Columbia, Jackson , Mississippi, Colorado's, Boulder, Boulder . Boulder, Chard, Boulder County, Pacific

☆ Spin. Pilates. Prigozhin? Presidential Business Follows Biden on Vacation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Erica L. Green | More About Erica L. Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is a dynamic that seems to come with the job: A crisis will almost certainly unfold during any presidential holiday. The only occasion when Mr. Biden was spotted doing a recreational activity so far was on Wednesday, holding a banana-blueberry smoothie after his workout at PeloDog, a Pilates and cycle studio. He was asked by reporters whether he believed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was behind the plane crash. It looked that way, the president said, but he needed to find out more. (White House officials said the president was renting the house for “fair market value” but did not disclose details.)

Persons: Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, I’ve, ”, Theodore Roosevelt, Tevi Troy, George W, Bush Organizations: White House Locations: Russia, Maui, Steyer’s, Glenbrook, Nev, Lake Tahoe, Sagamore Hill, Long, Tahoe, Rehoboth

CNN —At least 31 people have been killed in devastating flash floods that hit parts of Afghanistan over the weekend, authorities said Sunday. In a press conference from Kabul, Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, added that 74 people are injured and at least 41 remain missing. An excavator removes mud and rocks from a damaged house after heavy flooding in Maidan Wardak province. APA damaged house is seen after heavy flooding in the Maidan Wardak province in central Afghanistan on Sunday, July 23, 2023. APAfghan boys look at a truck that was damaged in flash floods in Maidan Wardak province on July 23, 2023.

Persons: Shafiullah Rahimi, Rahimi, ” Organizations: CNN, Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, AP, Getty, Ministry of State for Disaster Management Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Red Crescent, Maidan Wardak, AFP

☆ Cyclone Mocha heads to Bangladesh, Myanmar coasts as thousands flee
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA, May 13 (Reuters) - A powerful storm packing winds of up to 175 kph (109 mph) barrelled towards the coasts of eastern Bangladesh and Myanmar on Saturday, threatening around a million Rohingya refugees and others living in low-lying areas. Thousands of people in both countries have already fled to safer areas ahead of the storm. Cyclone Mocha is likely to intensify further and make landfall on Sunday between Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a bulletin. Cox's Bazar, a southeastern border district, is where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, most of them having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. At least 10,000 have left their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine state for safer areas, local media reported.

☆ Racial Disparities are worsening disaster recovery for people of color. With climate change, things could get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Rolling Fork, Mississippi suffered massive damage from a powerful tornado on March 24. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management. Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

☆ Cyclone Freddy kills 190 in Malawi as rain complicates rescue efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Frank Phiri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Relatives of people who lost their lives in the aftermath of after Storm Freddy, search for their bodies at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital mortuary in Blantyre, Malawi March 14, 2023. Freddy has also left a trail of destruction in Mozambique, where it made landfall over the weekend. The latest death toll in Malawi is a jump from 99 reported on Monday, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs said. Freddy pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and causing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane before moving inland towards Malawi. Freddy could sweep through Zambezia province again, bringing more wind and rain.

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides. At least six people died in Mozambique's Quelimane, which was struck hard by the storm, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday. The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100. Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could now get worse.

☆ More than 160 Afghans die in bitterly cold weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"162 people have died due to cold weather since January 10 until now," said Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the Minister of Disaster Management. Nearby, 30-year-old shopkeeper Ashour Ali lives with his family in a concrete basement, where his five children shiver from cold. "This year, the weather is extremely cold and we couldn't buy coal for ourselves," he said, adding the small amount he makes from his shop was no longer enough for fuel. "The children wake up from the cold and cry at night until the morning. Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Freezing temperatures kill 78 people in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - At least 78 people have died of cold in Afghanistan during the country's worst winter in more than a decade, authorities said on Thursday. The coldest winter in 15 years, which has seen temperatures dip as low as -34 degrees Celsius (-29.2 degrees Fahrenheit), has hit Afghanistan in the middle of a severe economic crisis. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said last week that the restrictions on female workers were hampering efforts to deliver aid. "Humanitarian partners are providing winterization support to families, including heating, cash for fuel and warm clothes, but distributions have been severely impacted by the ... ban on female NGO aid workers," it said. "Lost livelihoods and assets further endanger Afghan families at a time when 21.2 million people urgently need continued food and agricultural support," said UNOCHA on Twitter.

☆ South Korea's deadly Halloween crush was avoidable, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

District authorities for Yongsan, where Itaewon is located, discussed measures to prevent illegal drug use and the spread of COVID-19 during the Halloween weekend, according to a district press release. But there were only 137 police officers in Itaewon at the time, the city of Seoul said. Moon Hyeon-cheol, a professor at the Graduate School of Disaster Safety Management at Soongsil University, said this type of crush had the potential to happen in any populous city. "We need to take this tragedy and learn to prepare for the risk of disaster," he said. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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