Global News Post: Natural Disaster

At Least 22 Dead in India Rains

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW
DELHI (RIA Novosti) - At least 22 people have been killed in southeastern India
in heavy rains resulting from Cyclone Nilam, the Indian news agency IANS
reported Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
cyclone hit <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
last week and has seriously affected the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh.
Strong rains have virtually paralyzed road and rail connections and have
severely damaged crops, according to media reports.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Authorities
organized 86 temporary refugee camps for the more than 60,000 people that were
displaced as a result of the rains. About 500 villages are located within the
flooded area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Forecasters
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
have warned that the rain may continue in coming days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>

At Least 22 Dead in India Rains

NEW DELHI (RIA Novosti) - At least 22 people have been killed in southeastern India in heavy rains resulting from Cyclone Nilam, the In...

UN Secretary-General Offers Condolences in Wake of Death and Damage Caused by Hurricane Sandy

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpeshRnYe-0IIgCis1j0vu5t7T7hBCZzFx5SzEq8TbqiYJ-dg4OoBNPiZffrmzvaa2mKq43c8cFNWW2DYzaIojMt_0xDnPNG_Ib-C2YO36csoLhgo8ZnjZ9ZBvC7CR4GBJuFE7l9-foM/s1600/11-01-haiti-sandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpeshRnYe-0IIgCis1j0vu5t7T7hBCZzFx5SzEq8TbqiYJ-dg4OoBNPiZffrmzvaa2mKq43c8cFNWW2DYzaIojMt_0xDnPNG_Ib-C2YO36csoLhgo8ZnjZ9ZBvC7CR4GBJuFE7l9-foM/s640/11-01-haiti-sandy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A woman walks through a
flooded market in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Port au Prince. Photo: <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Logan</st1:place></st1:city> Abassi/MINUSTAH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">UN
News – Pledging the full support of the United Nations in rebuilding efforts, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon offers his condolences to the millions of people who have been
severely affected by Hurricane Sandy – above all those who lost loved ones or
their homes across a wide arc of destruction encompassing the United States and
the Caribbean region, his spokesperson said today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
Secretary-General has written to President Obama, and has spoken to the
Presidents of Haiti and the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Dominican Republic</st1:country-region>
and Mayor Bloomberg of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:city>,
to express his solidarity at this time of crisis and to pledge the assistance
of the United Nations, if requested, in the recovery effort,” the spokesperson
said in a note to the media.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“He
also intends to speak with other Caribbean leaders and with the Governors of <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state> and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
  Jersey</st1:place></st1:state>,” the spokesperson added. “The Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has mobilized to provide maximum
possible assistance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Described
in some media reports as a “once in a generation” storm, Hurricane Sandy has
reportedly killed more than 120 people, and caused billions of dollars in
damage, in addition to crippling New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earlier
today, an OCHA official said that over a million people in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region> are facing food insecurity as a result of
the hurricane, which ploughed through the Caribbean nation before wreaking
havoc along the east coast of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> earlier this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Hurricane
<st1:city w:st="on">Sandy</st1:city>’s arrival, and its effects, in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:city>, where the
United Nations is headquartered, led to the world body’s offices being closed
for an unprecedented three days straight, with most meetings cancelled, before
re-opening today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
UN complex also sustained damage due to high wind and flooding, which affected
communications and other infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Despite
disruptions, all essential operations went ahead, including a meeting of the
Security Council, and contacts with peacekeeping and other missions around the
world were maintained without interruption,” the spokesperson noted, adding
that UN Headquarters is expected to be back at full capacity “shortly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
Secretary-General notes that when the host country is hit by a natural disaster,
the UN family suffers as well. Like our neighbours in the metropolitan area, UN
staff members have been affected in various ways by the storm,” the
spokesperson stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He
further highlighted the Secretary-General’s thanks to UN staff for pressing ahead
with their work even as they tend to their families' needs, and the UN chief’s
encouragement of staff to contribute to relief efforts by volunteering or
making financial donations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“At
this time of crisis, the Secretary-General’s thoughts and prayers are with all
those in need. He pledges the full support of the United Nations in rebuilding
today, strengthening global disaster risk reduction, and preparing the world
for a safer tomorrow,” the spokesperson said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

UN Secretary-General Offers Condolences in Wake of Death and Damage Caused by Hurricane Sandy

A woman walks through a flooded market in Port au Prince. Photo: Logan Abassi/MINUSTAH UN News – Pledging the full suppo...

Death Toll from Landslide, Flood Rises to 33 in Indian State

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Xinhua) -- The death toll from landslides and flash floods in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has risen to 33 while 35 people remained missing by Saturday morning, reported Press Trust of India.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Ukhimath area in Rudraprayag district of the hilly state was the worst hit as a cloudburst took place in the wee hours on Friday, killing at least 29 people, said the report.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Authorities have launched rescue and relief operations with the help of the army and border security forces and a helicopter for evacuation, while communication and power lines were disrupted and traffic along several roads, including national highways in the area, was shut down completely partially, according to local officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has ordered allocation of about 20 million U.S. dollars for relief works.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Last month, landslide and flooding killed at least 28 in the Himalayan state. -- NNN-XINHUA---NNN</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Death Toll from Landslide, Flood Rises to 33 in Indian State

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Xinhua) -- The death toll from landslides and flash floods in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has risen to 33 w...

Quake-hit Northwestern Iran Announces Two Days of Mourning

Quake-hit Northwestern Iran Announces Two Days of Mourning

TEHRAN (RIA Novosti)--- The authorities of the northwestern Iranian province of East Azarbaijan have announced two days of mourning startin...

At Least 250 Killed by Twin Quakes in Northwest Iran

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">TEHRAN (RIA Novosti) --- At least 250 people were killed and over 1,800 injured in twin quakes that rocked northwestern Iran on Saturday, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday, citing local officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"According to the latest reports, 250 people have been killed and more than 1,800 others have been injured by the two earthquakes which shook the East Azarbaijan province yesterday," Fars quoted Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Hassan Qaddami as saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An earthquake measuring 6.2 points on the Richter scale struck the city of Ahar in the East Azerbaijan province at 16:00 hours local time (11:30 GMT) on Saturday. The epicenter of the tremor was located in an area 46.8 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Almost an hour later, another quake with magnitude 6 on the Richter scale hit Varzaqan at 17:04 hours local time (12:34 GMT) in the same province. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in an area 46.7 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In total, 110 villages have been damaged. In the Ahar area, 4 villages were destroyed completely while 60 others sustained damage from 50 to 80 percent. In the Varzaqan area, 12 villages were destroyed completely.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thousands of local residents were forced to remain outdoors as at least 35 aftershocks rocked the area.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We hope that the death toll will not increase any more," Qaddami said, adding all those under the debris had been rescued and the quake-stricken people were now being provided with their basic needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Iran is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating, as it sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust. The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 when the 7.7-magnitude disaster killed some 37,000 people and left over 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan, devastating 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div></div>

At Least 250 Killed by Twin Quakes in Northwest Iran

TEHRAN (RIA Novosti) --- At least 250 people were killed and over 1,800 injured in twin quakes that rocked northwestern Iran on Saturday,...

INDIA: 26 People Washed Away In Heavy Rains in Uttarkashi

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">DEHRADUN (NNN-UNI) -- Twenty-six people were washed away due to excessive rains or cloudburst incidents overnight in Uttarakhand. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Uttarkashi Disrict Magistrate Rajesh Kumar confirmed the death of seven people while 19 labourers were feared washed away in Assi Ganga River in the district. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The laboureres were working in Phase 1 and 2 of Maneri Bhali Hydroelectric Projects. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Uttarkashi district is the worst hit due to heavy downpour lashing the hill state for the past few days. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has expressed deep concern over the loss caused by the natural disaster. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">''The Government is with the people in this moment of hardship.' he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He appealed to the people living near the river banks to shift to safer places as more rains were expected in next two days. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The districts of Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag were the worst affected in the Garhwal region with reports of all seasonal and major rivers and rivulets swollen with water. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Water, power and communication services were hit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Incidents of cloud burst were reported from Uttarkashi due to which maximum damage was causd in Bhatwadi, Sangam Chatti and Swarigad.--NNN-UNI <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div></div>

INDIA: 26 People Washed Away In Heavy Rains in Uttarkashi

DEHRADUN (NNN-UNI) -- Twenty-six people were washed away due to excessive rains or cloudburst incidents overnight in Uttarakhand. Uttark...

INDIA: Assam Flood Toll Rises to 122

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">GUWAHATI, Assam, India (NNN-Bernama) -- The flood situation in Assam remains grim with the death toll rising to 122 and large scale destruction of infrastructure, cropland and wildlife reported from different parts of the state. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Official sources said 106 deaths had been reported so far due to floods and 16 were killed in landslides while another 16 were missing, Press Trust of India reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries were maintaining a receding trend, vast tracts of land were still inundated in 27 of the affected districts, the sources said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An estimated 2.2 million population has been affected in the worst ever flood in recent years, causing large scale devastation in 2,809 villages with more than 255,000 hectares of cropland completely inundated. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About 50 per cent of crops in the agriculture sector were lost in flood affected districts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The flood has also caused large-scale destruction in the world-famed Kaziranga National Park where more than 560 animals, including 14 rhinos, have perished. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The situation in the world's largest river island Majuli in Jorhat district was grim with almost the entire island under water. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Assam governor J B Patnaik had reviewed the flood situation in Kamrup, Darrang, Sonitpur and Nagaon and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had visited the severely affected Barpeta district. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Road services have been affected in 2,847 places, while rail tracks damaged by landslides in the Lumding-Badarpur Railway division were yet to be restored. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sources said an estimated 500,000 people have taken shelter in 630 relief camps and 150 medical teams have been deployed to provide medical aid, while 30 camps have been set up for cattle. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDIA: Assam Flood Toll Rises to 122

GUWAHATI, Assam, India (NNN-Bernama) -- The flood situation in Assam remains grim with the death toll rising to 122 and large scale destruc...

Death Toll from Russian Torrential Rains Tops 70

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) -- The death toll from massive flooding in the Krasnodar Region in Russia’s south caused by heavy rains has risen to 78, police said on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The death toll continues to rise with the discovery of new bodies. Governor Aleksandr Tkachyov claims there hasn’t been anything like it for the past 70 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Most heavily affected are the cities of Krymsk, Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik. In Gelendzhik five people received electric shock and died after a transformer fell on the ground. Due to security concerns, 17 power substations had been temporarily closed in Gelendzhik, leaving about 20,000 people without electricity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The heavy torrential rain began on Friday. All in all, 320 homes and about 1,000 households have been flooded.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Several dozens of passenger trains have been diverted in the region as water level remained at half a meter above the tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Russia's emergencies minister and minister of regional development have headed to the flooded region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Death Toll from Russian Torrential Rains Tops 70

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) -- The death toll from massive flooding in the Krasnodar Region in Russia’s south caused by heavy rains has risen to...

India: PM Makes Aerial Survey of Flood Affected Areas of Assam

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSo3NkZvJ-rq7TyOs9Qgwj8994g-iy6nQIIljt9z7oqvprqS3lB2uFqSq36j1TtIW-CHGgiA_Xa69ih2wAtwmbKLJB7mjzXjXMYFE5lgTwZcmQ_OKT4fvZbgj9T2h447-3cGCa-x7zmQ/s1600/l2012070241223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSo3NkZvJ-rq7TyOs9Qgwj8994g-iy6nQIIljt9z7oqvprqS3lB2uFqSq36j1TtIW-CHGgiA_Xa69ih2wAtwmbKLJB7mjzXjXMYFE5lgTwZcmQ_OKT4fvZbgj9T2h447-3cGCa-x7zmQ/s640/l2012070241223.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh addressing the media at Guwahati airport<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">after aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Assam on July 02, 2012. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Chairperson, National Advisory Council, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi are also seen.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i>  </i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Guwahati</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(PIB) --- Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, made an aerial survey of flood affected areas of Assam today. After the aerial survey, he interacted with media persons. Addressing the media, he said that, Sonia ji and I have made an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Jorhat, Dhemaji and Lakhimrpur districts and I have witnessed the extensive damage that the floods have caused. The people of Assam are facing one of the worst floods in recent times. These floods have led to loss of lives and have afflicted considerable damage to crops, embankments, roads, and other infrastructure. I have learnt with great sadness that 77 people have died and 5 are missing and more than 2,000 villages and over 19 lakh people have been affected. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Central government and its agencies are working closely with the State Government and doing everything possible to provide relief to the affected people. National Disaster Response Force has deployed 16 teams comprising of 640 men along with 71 boats and flood rescue equipments. The Army has deployed 752 personnel for rescue and relief operation. Over 4,000 people have been rescued, 400 personnel have been transported and 20 tones of relief materials delivered by the Air Force. For the next two days our focus will be on rescuing people still marooned, in flood waters and on extending relief to those who have been forced to leave their home, Dr. Singh added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Prime Minister said that he is satisfied about the rescue and relief operation has been organized with speed. About 4.84 lakh people are presently sheltered in 768 relief camps and a large number of mobile health centres are being operated in flood affected areas. I have been informed that sufficient quantities of foodgrains and other essential commodities are available in the State. Already the State Government has distributed around 10,000 quintals of food items. If required the Central Government will quickly move additional quantities of essential commodities to the state. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Railway line in Dima Hasao district has been disrupted. The Ministry of Railways is taking immediate steps for restoration of the railway line, which is necessary to keep the supply line open to Barak Valley, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. Once we have completed rescue and relief operation, our focus will shift to restoration of the damaged infrastructure. The Central Team has reached Assam today, some members may have come today, others will be following, to make an assessment of the damage caused to crops and infrastructure like roads, including national highways, river embankments, public buildings such as schools and hospitals, water supply system. From the Prime Minister National Relief Fund an ex-gratia of Rs.1 lakh to the next-of-kin of the deceased has been announced. While the Central Government will decide on the exact amount of financial support to be provided to the State Government after the Central Team submits report, I am making a commitment to provide an ad-hoc Central support of Rs.500 cr to the State Government, he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Government of India will also extend a system for reconstruction of damaged assets and flood control works through plan scheme. We will ensure that adequate quantities of foodgrains and other essential commodities are available in the State. And that agricultural seeds of the desired varities required for replacement purposes are also available. Once the immediate relief works has taken place we will pay more adequate attention through medium and long term problems of flood relief, of flood control, control of erosion and related problems, the Prime Minister said.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: PM Makes Aerial Survey of Flood Affected Areas of Assam

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh addressing the media at Guwahati airport after aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Assam on J...

5.3-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northeast India

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 20%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 20%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Xinhua) -- An earthquake of 5.3 degrees on Richter scale hit the northeast Indian state Friday evening, causing minor injuries, said local TV reports.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 20%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 20%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The neighboring states of West Bengal, including its capital Kolkata, and Meghalaya, also fet the tremor which lasted 10-15 seconds as the quake hit Assam with its epicenter at Tezpur district of the state at 18: 15 p.m. local time (1545 GMT), said TV channel Times Now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 20%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 20%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The quake caused the collapse of a house in Nagaon of Assem, resulting in minor injuries, the reports quoting Indian meteorological department officials as saying. -- NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

5.3-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northeast India

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Xinhua) -- An earthquake of 5.3 degrees on Richter scale hit the northeast Indian state Friday evening, causing m...

Another Quake Jolts Indonesia’s Aceh

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">BANDARLAMPUNG, Indonesia (NNN-Antara) -- A magnitude 5.4 earthquake again jolted Aceh province on Saturday night following the magnitude 8.5 earthquake on Wednesday afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Office (BMKG) through Kotabumi Geophysical station in Lampung noted that the aftershock happened at 7:18 p.m. local time at 639 kilometers southwest of Simeulue district. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Head of Kotabumi Geophysical station, Chrismanto said the quake was at 2.55 degrees northern latitude and 90.34 eastern longitude, at a depth of 65 kilometers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Aftershocks continued to be felt in Aceh following an 8.5 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday. -- NNN-ANTARA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Another Quake Jolts Indonesia’s Aceh

BANDARLAMPUNG, Indonesia (NNN-Antara) -- A magnitude 5.4 earthquake again jolted Aceh province on Saturday night following the magnitude 8....

MALI: Beyond the drought - “Families will disappear”

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDi75529kH_zAUbswMztL9P8p9QFsaXthVKPnikQ75Lg6wCrCnuEv2efTKxKt8yEftdQjit4Xln7F1J-24CFy7XJNGsyFQU8vxm8z0HLlcvbLujr6TmeKxCgRuIpfSm6aIFuQj1szaWg8/s1600/201204121318260207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDi75529kH_zAUbswMztL9P8p9QFsaXthVKPnikQ75Lg6wCrCnuEv2efTKxKt8yEftdQjit4Xln7F1J-24CFy7XJNGsyFQU8vxm8z0HLlcvbLujr6TmeKxCgRuIpfSm6aIFuQj1szaWg8/s400/201204121318260207.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Chris Simpson/IRIN<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Chronic drought means some families in Kayes have nothing left to share<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">KAYES (IRIN) - “It was the drought that made people move away from here,” Ousmane Touré said in Kayes, 450km northwest of Bamako, the capital of Mali, and a 10-hour bus ride across the scorched scrubland of the western Sahel. “There had been a tradition of emigration, but it was when the harvests failed in the 1970s that we saw a real surge in emigration. There was simply not enough to eat, so people took off for France, Germany and the United States. They knew it was only the way of feeding their families back home in Kayes. The same thing is happening this year.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Touré heads the Association of Returning Migrants of Kayes (AMRK), a welfare organization that tries to provide short-term shelter and counselling to people coming back to this part of the country. The returnees, particularly those from the ethnic Soninké community, which spreads across Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, have played a major role in developing western Mali through their remittances and other cash transfers, giving it a stronger identity and economic base. Many of them are now deportees who have fallen foul of immigration restrictions in France and other countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“The emigrants have been well-organized and have always ensured money gets channelled back, building health centres, schools, even roads,” said Touré, but the economic crisis in Europe and tighter immigration controls are having a serious knock-on effect, and impoverished villages can no longer count on the same level of support. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In Mali the three-month rainy season starts in June, with the heaviest falls in July and August. This is the time when everyone participates in the intense agricultural activity of the main cropping season, which provides most of the food for the rest of the year. The lean period occurs in the driest months, just before the next rains come. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For Kayes, the capital of Mali’s First Region, which borders Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea, 2012 is a particularly tough year. Besides the effects of political turbulence elsewhere in the country and a rebellion in the north, serious food security problems appeared months ago, after sparse rains. Surveys by the government and international agencies identified Kayes and the surrounding areas as particularly vulnerable, and likely to be exposed to severe food shortages as an already impoverished population experienced the impact of failed harvests. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL19j6_UQ2z_AiIYxfK9UsTUL1hFvEnl_uYBPiizumHrW-1lX4WkbqwA3mC5LwE8NoauU6ZgTkrwafZmZU_DrsKvkYxQfTfhPokwfD5Z33mqSEkHJaYrIdLV98elxTZR3wAWNsAvVQZU/s1600/201204121313410273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL19j6_UQ2z_AiIYxfK9UsTUL1hFvEnl_uYBPiizumHrW-1lX4WkbqwA3mC5LwE8NoauU6ZgTkrwafZmZU_DrsKvkYxQfTfhPokwfD5Z33mqSEkHJaYrIdLV98elxTZR3wAWNsAvVQZU/s1600/201204121313410273.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Chris Simpson/IRIN<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Mariam Cissoko, President of a Farmers Association in Kayes </span></span></div></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">By February, market prices for sorghum, millet, groundnuts and other basic foodstuffs were grossly inflated; food reserves were depleted well ahead of the usual lean season, with alarming shortages of seeds. There were complaints that the government’s emergency food rations had given temporary respite to some villages but had ignored dozens more, as well as serious nutritional concerns, particularly for children. The UN estimated that 1.6 million Malians would be food insecure in 2012.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The events in the capital and the north have overshadowed the food crisis in the west. “A lot of things have been put on standby,” said Abdoulaye Samoura, advocacy officer for NGO Oxfam. “There have been serious delays in getting food distributed.” The dramatic price hikes at local markets in January and February have eased off, but there is no reason for complacency. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“What do you do when there is no food and you have to take care of five, 10, 20 people?” Touré asked. The answer is an exodus of men to Bamako, or across the border into Senegal, or to the gold-mining areas 75km to the south. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mariam Cissoko, who heads the women’s section of the Association des Organisations Professionnelles Paysannes - Association of Professional Peasant Farmers (AOPP) - in Kayes, confirms that 2012 has been markedly worse. “It rained for only month of the usual three (in 2011) and that has meant drought and everything that comes with it,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“For us, the Bambara people, we don’t have the same tradition of emigration as the Soninké. We are agro-pastoralists. If you work the land, you will also have some livestock. But there is a strong spirit of solidarity here. In normal times, if you have something in reserve, you will give to those who don’t. But times like these, people just don’t have anything to spare.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The priorities are stark. “Feed us and feed our animals,” stressed Cissoko. “If NGOs come and talk to us about education, that is all well and good, but we need food first. Without that, everything falls to pieces. People will get sick. Children won’t go to school. Men may be able to take off and look for opportunities elsewhere, but women and children are stuck where they are.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pSssYUTrh5AwhvPiLyAHaRms_ErqVFEVTvBdOB7hM7HJgnD4GGsYcYhcZ3ngWT7I0-Cu38I8xx8kQ3kjhc9ud02pb9COFbk201nky3AL54c793qGYXXsmxSblojeG7bKCyJ7P5BvPcY/s1600/201204121310520793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pSssYUTrh5AwhvPiLyAHaRms_ErqVFEVTvBdOB7hM7HJgnD4GGsYcYhcZ3ngWT7I0-Cu38I8xx8kQ3kjhc9ud02pb9COFbk201nky3AL54c793qGYXXsmxSblojeG7bKCyJ7P5BvPcY/s1600/201204121310520793.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Chris Simpson/IRIN<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Market gardening is increasingly important to boost food security</span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Kayes has been described as the second hottest place in Africa after Djibouti. “I grew up here and I remember an abundance of corn. We didn’t have droughts like we get now,” Cissoko told IRIN. “In the hottest months, the temperature normally goes to 42 or 43 degrees Celsius, but last year it was 47 or 48 at times, in the shade. The desert is advancing and the climatic changes are here for everyone to see. It has all come progressively.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Food aid from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and others may ease the problem, but Cissoko says rural communities in the Kayes region are exhausted by the cycle of drought and dependency. They need long-term practical help as they confront shrinking pasture and ongoing food deficits. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“We need proper cereal banks in villages; we need irrigation systems that protect agriculture; we need a credit system that can work, where people can afford the interest rates,” she told IRIN. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Kayes town lies on the banks of the Senegal River. In stark contrast to the dominating barrenness of the western Sahel, the riverbanks are studded with neatly tended plots yielding tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and other crops. This is all part of the maraîchage, or market gardening that provides women in particular with a livelihood. “When I was a child, people said: ‘You will never get to plant fruit and vegetables here,’” but they were wrong. That was forty years ago. It began timidly, but the gardening has really picked up.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But Cissoko acknowledges that cereal production is critical, and Ousmane Touré is equally blunt in demanding that the state and its international partners step up their efforts to help Kayes cope with the food deficits and the devastating drought. “What do you do when there is no food?” he asked. “People will not stay here. Families will disappear.” <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

MALI: Beyond the drought - “Families will disappear”

Photo: Chris Simpson/IRIN Chronic drought means some families in Kayes have nothing left to share KAYES (IRIN) - “It was the drought t...