Floods // Current

Flood warnings as winds batter UK

Much of Britain is being battered by high winds and heavy rain - with 16 flood warnings across the country, including 12 in the... more

purplefox
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Floods kill at least 120 in Vietnam and China

Flood water from southern China pushed up river levels in northern Vietnam on Tuesday, worsening inundations across a wide region... more

bshipp
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Vietnam floods kill 49 as Hanoi is still under water

Floods triggered by torrential rains in northern and central Vietnam have killed about 49 people, state media said on Sunday, 18... more

bshipp
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Dozens killed by floods in Yemen

At least 48 people have been killed or are missing in Yemen, following torrential rains. Most of the casualties are in the... more

TravG73
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Food Relief in Haiti

Residents of Haiti were already facing food shortages and rising inflation rates when triple natural disasters hit. Hurricanes... more

operationblessing
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By air, boat and truck, search on for Ike victims

HOUSTON (AP) -- Rescuers in boats, helicopters and high-water trucks set out across the flood-stricken Texas coast Saturday in a... more

ivxx
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Doctors Without Borders: Ongoing needs in hurricane-damaged Haiti

Fourteen days after Tropical Storm Gustav made landfall, followed by Tropical Storm Hanna and then Hurricane Ike last week, many areas are still inaccessible in devastated Haiti.

Since arriving in the northern Haitian city of Gonaïves on September 4, one of the worst affected areas in the country, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have carried out 641 medical consultations and performed 25 surgical procedures. Half of the people screened so far by MSF have suffered at least minor injuries. The remaining patients are suffering from diarrhea (and related dehydration), respiratory diseases, infections, and skin problems linked to polluted water, with such cases on the increase. While most of the patients are adults, an increasing number are children.

With floodwaters now receding slightly, people are beginning to return to Gonaïves, adding additional stress on already strained health and sanitation facilities. Temporary health clinics in some schools are lacking basic materials and equipment. MSF teams have donated medical materials and plans are underway to open a field hospital in Gonaïves.

Currently, MSF has five medical personnel (two doctors and three nurses) and six logistical staff (three general logisticians and three water and sanitation specialists) in Gonaïves.

Clean Water a Priority
At the Rabouteau Health Center in Gonaïves, MSF has carried out over 150 consultations as of yesterday. One-third of the people examined were children under five years of age. Two water bladders were also set up at the center in order to provide clean drinking water, which is in very short supply in the city.

Limited Access to Other Devastated Areas
Access to other hurricane-affected areas outside of Gonaïves is extremely difficult; many roads and airstrips are flooded, bridges are destroyed, and there is a general lack of fuel, which is reducing, if not preventing, relief assistance—including clean water, food, or basic medical needs—from reaching many parts of the country. MSF is doing its best to access these areas to provide adequate care to affected populations and to monitor the health situation.

On Monday night, MSF sent an additional five vehicles and one truck to Gonaïves by boat. In the coming days, a team of four medical personnel and two logisticians will attempt to start mobile clinics and surveillance activities in the northwest area between Gonaïves and Port de Paix (including Terre Neuve, Anse Rouge, and Gros Morne) which has an overall estimated population of close to one million people. An additional 13.2 tons of medical and logistical materials (medical kits, pumps, tents, mosquito nets, water treatment kits, water tanks, generators, and blankets) are on the way from Europe and from Panama.

Existing MSF activities in Port-au-Prince are continuing. MSF provides medical and surgical care at La Trinité Trauma Center, emergency obstetrical care in Jude Anne Hospital, and emergency health-care services and essential health services through mobile clinics in the Martissant slum.
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To help the people of Haiti you can also do so through Doctors Without Borders

http://doctorswithoutborders.org
Fourteen days after Tropical Storm Gustav made landfall, followed by Tropical Storm Hanna and then Hurricane Ike last week, many... more

JanforGore
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2 months ago

More floods In northern India predicted due to glacier melt of Himalayas

With over a million people and 250,000 homes damaged due to the recent floods this prediction does not bode well for India, especially the poor of India. And without governments and social mores changing to accomodate a moral standing regarding this crisis, many will die and that is not an exaggeration. In the recent flooding, "untouchables" were either the last to be rescued or were not rescued at all. So how will that play out in the event of other major environmental climate change catastrophes? Those deemed unworthy of aid will simply be left to die?

From the article:

With over 2.7 million people affected by the floods caused by the change of course of the Kosi river in Bihar, researchers have now warned of more floods in northern India in coming years following changing stream flow patterns in the Himalayan rivers. The researchers from Pune University and College of Military Engineering, Pune, found an increase in the number of ‘high-magnitude flood’ events in four rivers - Chenab, Ravi, Satluj and Beas in northwestern Himalayas in the last four decades.

The researchers analysed the discharge of glacial melt into these rivers and found changing water flow patterns in the river due to global warming.

“The high-magnitude events in Himalayan rivers are generally in monsoons; hence they may lead to floods in plains too,” researcher M.R. Bhutiyani, professor at the College of Military Engineering, told IANS.

Bhutiyani said a “high magnitude flood event” is defined as an event when river flow at a particular point exceeds its average value.

“The data analysis shows that there was a significant number of high magnitude flood events in the rivers in the last four decades and the frequency of such events has been increasing,” he said.

The researchers found that due to global warming smaller glaciers in the Himalayas have receded at a relatively faster rate than the larger ones. This may ultimately lead to their disappearance in the near future.

“It is the glacier contribution which is going to be impacted because of global warming. There will be variations in response to the monsoon rainfall. Glaciers, which acted as natural regulators of discharge, will no longer play an important role in the hydrological regime of such basins,” Bhutiyani said.

The researchers found a significant increase in the glacial discharge in the Chenab and Satluj rivers, attributing this to a larger number of glaciers in the basin being on the retreat.

With over a million people and 250,000 homes damaged due to the recent floods this prediction does not bode well for India,... more

JanforGore
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4 responses

2 months ago

Flood victims face caste discrimination

Hundreds of thousands of people are still homeless after floods hit the Indian state of Bihar last month. Some of the victims face... more

bmltv
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2 months ago

Trouble the Water with Danny Glover and the filmmakers

Conversation with the filmmakers and stars of Trouble the Water, Winner of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. A... more

Vierotchka
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4 responses

2 months ago

Flash Floods!

So it's that time of the year again when Britain gets its inevitable end of summer show down with nature. Some areas of the... more

longster
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2 months ago

17-year-old gir dead as storms move across UK

Storms which left one person dead in mid-Wales and caused floods across Wales and south-west England are set to spread to other... more

Owwmykneecap
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2 months ago

Haiti facing storm 'catastrophe'

Haiti faces a "catastrophe" after being hit by a series of storms in recent weeks, President Rene Preval has said. ... more

JanforGore
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7 responses

3 months ago

Louisiana floodwalls stuffed with newspaper

An unlicensed contractor, hired by the US Army Corps of Engineers, used newspaper to patch Louisiana floodwall joints instead of... more

mayalynn
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1 response

3 months ago

Flood-Prone Haitian City of Gonaives Under Water

Heavy rains triggered by Tropical Storm Hanna triggered severe flooding and killed at least 10 people in the Haitian city of... more

goldenways
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0 responses

3 months ago

Vancouver airport at risk of flood

Richmond and the Vancouver International Airport are at risk of being washed out as a result of rising sea levels, flooding and... more

urlspotter
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3 months ago

Katrina survivors struggle years after hurricane

TRNN Replay: Voices of Katrina survivors still fighting for survival (filmed spring 2008) New Orleans has been busy reinventing... more

Vierotchka
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10 responses

3 months ago

Big Easy to Big Empty: a film by Greg Palast

The untold story of the drowning of New Orleans. Courtesy of Greg Palast. You can buy a copy of the DVD at http://www.gregpalast.com

August 29th 2006 marked the one year anniversary of the devastation in New Orleans caused by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This Special Greg Palast Report brings you exclusive footage and the stories you won’t hear on the other networks — the hidden political agendas and the suppressed eyewitness reports.

Big Easy to Big Empty - The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans
In this half-hour film, Greg Palast and his team travel to New Orleans to investigate what has happened since Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast last year. On his visit, he discovers that the population of New Orleans is miniscule, the reconstruction sparse, suicide rates are climbing, and many have not, nor know how to, return to the city that care forgot. He examines why residents had to leave, what really caused the flood and why they aren’t returning.

Bonus Features include:

Tomorrow’s New Orleans: Whose City Will it Be? A half-hour conversation with Amy Goodman and Greg Palast sit down to discuss who is accountable for the ongoing disastrous situation in New Orleans.

“If the mass media were doing the type of investigative reporting that you can see and hear in Greg Palast’s “Big Easy to Big Empty” the residents of New Orleans would be getting the help they need. Palast’s reporting reveals the utter disregard for the people of this city and the criminal lack of common sense or human decency in addressing the aftermath of Katrina. Please watch this DVD and share it with your friends, your family, your place of worship- with everyone!”

Gregory Palast is a New York Times-bestselling author and a journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation as well as the British newspaper The Observer.[4] His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but has also been known to work with labor unions and consumer advocacy groups. Notably, he has claimed to have uncovered evidence that Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and Florida Elections Unit Chief Clay Roberts, along with the ChoicePoint corporation, rigged the ballots during the US Presidential Election of 2000 and again in 2004 when, he argued, the problems and machinations from 2000 continued, and that challenger John Kerry actually would have won if not for disproportional "spoilage" of Democratic votes.[5] Palast lectured at Cambridge University and the University of São Paulo. He lives in London and New York City. Palast is originally from Los Angeles, and was educated at the University of Chicago,where he studied with the "Chicago Boys", and eventually earned an MBA. On September 13, 2006, after filming a camp of Hurricane Katrina refugees in Louisiana near a massive Exxon oil refinery, Palast reported that a complaint had been filed against him for the unauthorized videotaping of a "critical infrastructure asset." Palast's office later indicated that Exxon had "called off the dogs" and that no charges would be filed.The untold story of the drowning of New Orleans. Courtesy of Greg Palast. You can buy a copy of the DVD at... more