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On 5/18/2012 2:00:41 AM, an earthquake occurred in Chile potentially affecting No people within 100km. The earthquake had magnitude 6.2M and depth 10km.

Source:  Xinhua Country:  China

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Rainstorms have left 102 people dead and another 30 missing across China since late April, a national disaster relief agency said Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, heavy rains accompanying thunder, hail and strong winds have hit a large portion of China and affected about 13 million people, including 820,000 who needed relief efforts, said a statement from the Office of the National Committee for Disaster Reduction.

Stormy weather struck 147 counties in 22 provincial divisions in China and triggered flooding and landslides. East China's Jiangxi province, central Hunan province and northwestern Gansu province were the worst hit, the statement said.

Economic losses are estimated at 16.88 billion yuan (2.68 billion U.S. dollars) with more than 143,000 houses badly damaged and 949,400 hectares of farmland affected.

The central government has sent several teams to affected provinces to help carry out relief work, the statement said.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs allocated 380 million yuan in relief funds to the three worst-hit provinces on Tuesday.

The money will be used to evacuate disaster-affected people, provide allowances for them, rebuild damaged houses and compensate the families of the dead, the ministry said.

Editor: Luan

The globally-averaged temperature for April marked the fifth warmest April since record keeping began in 1880. NOAA also reports that La Niña has ended and neutral conditions have returned over the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Source:  IFRC Country:  World

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Of all large natural disasters, earthquakes and their secondary hazards have claimed the largest number of lives in recent years. Between 2000 and 2008 alone, an average of 50,184 people were killed every year due to seismic events (IFRC, World Disasters Report, 2010). The years 2010 and 2011 have been particularly harsh reminders of this fact with the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency in Japan.
These were just two among a series of other major seismic events across the world.

Objectives of these guidelines

Despite the many similarities that earthquakes share with other disasters, they differ on many counts.
These guidelines aim at drawing on the experiences of members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the Movement) and other humanitarian actors in preparing for, responding to and recovering from earthquakes in the last decade. While directed primarily at members of the Movement, these guidelines would be of relevance to all humanitarian agencies and personnel.
These guidelines are not intended to be a stepby-step guide to preparing for, responding to and recovering from earthquakes. It is assumed that the readers are familiar with the processes and operations involved in a humanitarian response. What this document attempts to do is to highlight issues and aspects that are particular to earthquakes and that need to be taken into consideration. Given the high likelihood of occurrence, the challenges of responding to earthquakes in urban settings have been given particular attention.

Methodology

These guidelines were developed based on reviews of preparedness measures in areas at risk of earthquakes and reviews and evaluations of response and recovery operations following recent earthquakes.
Consultations and interviews with representatives of the IFRC and of National Societies were also carried out to support the preparation of these guidelines.
Field visits were made to Japan and Nepal. These included consultations with key stakeholders and interactions with representatives of the Japanese and Nepal Red Cross Societies.

Structure

These guidelines are divided into three broad sections based on activities related to earthquakes. These are preparing, responding and recovering. While these divisions address major blocks of activities during a specified time, it is important to remain aware that the developmental approach to disaster management links all of these as a continuous process. In addition, this document contains a section on cross-cutting issues.
These guidelines are supported with evidence of good practices and examples from across the world.
For the convenience of readers, key actions are summarized in the form of a checklist at the end of each section.

Warmer and drier than average temperatures continued for much of the nation in April. These temperatures, when combined with the first quarter and previous 11 months, calculate to the warmest year-to-date and 12-month periods on record.

Flash flooding in northern Afghanistan killed at least 26 people in northern Afghanistan and rescue workers fear the toll may rise, officials said Monday.

Starting today, NOAA is using a sophisticated new weather forecast computer model to improve predictions of quickly developing severe weather events including thunderstorms, winter storms and aviation hazards such as clear air turbulence.

Source:  IFRC Country:  Rwanda

The Rwandan Red Cross Society is currently assisting displaced people in flood-affected areas of the country, including Musanze in Northern Province, and Nyabihu and Rubavu districts in Western Province. Recent heavy rain has affected water supplies and also damaged roads, schools, clinics and over 700 homes.

An estimated 2,200 households, or 11,000 people, are affected by the floods. The Rwandan Red Cross has warned that flood damaged water supplies could lead to contamination, and that food insecurity is also an issue as many crops, including almost 1,000 hectares of potatoes, maize, bananas, tea and sugar, have been inundated.

Most of the flooded housing has been damaged beyond repair or completely destroyed due to their fragile mud brick structure. An estimated 348 houses have been destroyed and 446 are partially damaged or are still underwater.

Local Red Cross committees in Rubavu, Nyabihu and Musanze have mobilized 90 volunteers to support authorities in rescuing flood victims. They are also distributing relief items to 300 households, offering psychosocial support, assisting communities to recover bodies, and tracing displaced children. The orgnization will target a further 560 households and 2,800 vulnerable and displaced people over the next three months.

The rains are currently ongoing, and are hampering relief efforts. The area bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, along the Virunga mountains stretch, is also likely to be affected.

Source:  Agence France-Presse Country:  Comoros (the)

04/26/2012 21:03 GMT

MORONI, April 26, 2012 (AFP) - The archipelago nation of Comoros has been battered by torrential rains for more than a week and 11,000 people have "lost everything", officials said Thursday.

Civil protection official Ismael Mouigni Daho said the situation on the islands was "dramatic".

"The number of villages that have fallen victim just keeps climbing," he said.

Daho said rescuers were hampered in their efforts to bring medical relief because of road blockages.

In the capital Moroni, about a dozen communities were without drinking water after a pumping station was flooded.

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CHF 165,447 has been allocated from the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Russian Red Cross Society in delivering immediate assistance to 957 families (2,406 people) in Volgograd region affected by floods. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.

Summary: In the view of the flood danger in Volgograd Region the Ministry of Emergencies (Emercom) Regional Department has introduced a regime of high preparedness in the Elansky,
Rudniansky and Kamylzhensky districts, due to the increase of the water level in the rivers Elan and Tersa, and the inundation of houses and farmlands.

According to the assessment conducted by the Russian Red Cross, 957 families (2,406 people) are considered to be affected by the floods in three districts of the Volgograd region of Russia. The local authorities are doing their utmost to stabilize the situation but they have already contacted the Russian Red Cross regional branch, asking for humanitarian aid. The Russian Red Cross Society regional branch has asked for the support of the International Federation in the provision of funds for of hygienic kits, bed linen sets, mattresses blankets, and pillows to be distributed to the 957 affected families. The Volgograd regional branch of the Russian Red Cross possesses the necessary capacity in terms of knowledge and experience to support the affected population.

This operation is expected to be implemented over 3 months, and will therefore be completed by the end of July 2012. A final report will be made available by the end of October 2012.

Country:  Russian Federation (the) Source:  IFRC

It's an illuminating idea which its creators hope will help drive up energy efficiency and bring down buildings' carbon emissions.

Source:  UN Environment Programme Country:  Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands (the), Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Niue (New Zealand), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga

Pacific Islands Face Severe Water Threat, new report says

Bangkok, 23 April 2012 – Climate change will exacerbate water stress in Pacific Islands, particularly small islands that rely on seasonal rain for their freshwater needs, according to a report released by the UN Environment Programme today.

The report, “Freshwater under Threat – Pacific Islands”, found that the almost total reliance on rain-fed agriculture across all islands puts economies and livelihoods at risk. Nearly 10% of deaths of children under five in the region is attributable to water related causes; 90% of these deaths, according to the report, can be traced to poor sanitation treatment systems.

The delivery of water supplies and sanitation services in many Pacific countries currently falls well short of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. According to the report, access to improved drinking water sources in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (at 40% and 47%, respectively) is about half the global average and it is anticipated that both countries will fall significantly short of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for improved drinking water access.

Ecologically, smaller islands are under greatest stress, with 85% to 90% of vegetation cleared on Majuro Atoll, Nauru, Fongafale and Upolu, the report says. These islands also have the smallest capacity to absorb wastewater generated from urban areas, polluting critical groundwater lenses.

“The challenges facing the region in terms of freshwater resources are immense. Many of these islands have limited water resources, not to mention human, financial and management resources. It is imperative that we improve water use efficiency to meet the basic human needs and to support sustainable development,” said Dr. Park Young-Woo, Regional Director of UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

The report cited water management as one of the greatest challenges to water resource vulnerability, particularly the limited technical and governance capacity partly due to the high emigration of its skilled and educated workers. All Pacific Islands are struggling with Integrated Water Resources Management capacity, according to the report, with only Samoa and Nauru having IWRM policies.

“This brain drain hinders development in this region with many countries struggling to fill technical positions,” said David Duncan, the report’s author and Regional Environmental Engineer at the Secretariat of the Pacific Communities’ (SPC) Water and Sanitation Programme, “Water resource management is a critical issue in this region where many islands are isolated and have limited local resources.”

These challenges will require innovative approaches and tailoring solutions that take into account the complex geographical and socioeconomic constraints of each island. There is no one solution and would need a mix of policy intervention and preferred management measures. The report also recommends:

• Long-term strategies to address sustainable management capacity in the region. Further, this must be supported by high-level engagement to ensure political commitment to developing and implementing sustainable policies and legislation.

• Delivery of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) within a model adapted to the Pacific is critical to enable countries to maximize development opportunities associated with water resources and better meet basic human rights. This will require varying degrees of institutional and utility reform to optimize governance and management arrangements.

• Investment in infrastructure with a combination of household level and centralized infrastructure on larger islands.

• Integration of Disaster risk management into national planning and integration of water resource management needs to be integrated into disaster risk management to provide PICs with resilience that reduces the costs, which are as high as 46% of GDP.

• Ensure that communities are an integral component in planning and delivery of disaster management plans

• National and regional feedback on progress towards addressing major water resource issues and develop indicator frameworks are required at national and regional levels to provide critical feedback to decision-makers on the success (or otherwise) of policy decisions and implementation. For more information, please contact:

Ms. Satwant Kaur, Tel: 02 288 2127; Mobile: 083 9086000;

E-mail: satwant.kaur@unep.org

Mr Tiy Chung, SPC Communications Advisor (in Fiji), Tel: +679 338 1377 (ext 290); Mobile: +679 998 7586; E-mail: tiy@sopac.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• The 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are home to over 9 million people, the majority of whom live in rural areas. These countries have about 1,000 islands covering a land area of just over 500 thousand square kilometres, spread across 180 million square kilometres of ocean, more than one third of the earth surface.

• Throughout the Pacific water resources are typically managed on an island-by-island basis as inter-island transfers across hundreds of kilometres of ocean are generally impractical and cost-prohibitive.

• The greatest vulnerability is reflected in the lack of water resources in low-lying islands. Six island countries – Nauru, Niue, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands – have no significant surface water resources and of these, only Tonga and Niue have significant groundwater resources. At the other extreme, the intense rainfall and runoff experienced in several large volcanic islands causes flooding on the coastal plains. The annual rainfall variability of many islands (as high as 54% in Nauru) means that rain cannot be relied upon to meet water demands. For populations on islands with no surface water or significant groundwater resources, this variability of the sole natural source represents a significant threat to island sustainability.

• The development challenges within the larger volcanic islands of Viti Levu and New Guinea are largely related to meeting basic human rights for access to improved water supply. The predominantly rural populations across these large rugged islands are clearly stretching the capacity to deliver safe drinking water supplies, with access to improved drinking water sources in Fiji and Papua New Guinea at 40% and 47%, respectively (about half the global average of 87%) and almost no change since 1990. Significant investment in these areas has seen a considerable increase in the number of people with access to drinking water; however, population growth has matched this over the same period.

• Small atoll and raised coral islands typically make maximum use of the limited resources available. The extreme stress on water resources means that resources outside the traditional surface water and groundwater resources have been developed, including a high dependence on rainwater harvesting and desalination. The small populations and targeted investment strategies have enabled these islands to achieve relatively high levels of access to drinking water supply, with most of these countries on track to meet the relevant MDG targets.

A large snowstorm came barreling through the Northeast on Monday, threatening to drop 16 inches in some areas and frustrate commuters. By Monday morning, Newfield, New York, was reporting 10 inches of snow, while Ridgebury, Pennsylvania, had 8 inches.

A soccer ball recently found washed up on a remote Alaskan beach apparently belongs to a teenager from a city devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan more than a year ago.