Deadly Floods Plague Ethiopia, Fiji, Pakistan

Death toll from Pakistan floods climbs to 71

Flooding in Pakistan’s northwest and in Kashmir has claimed more lives raising the death toll to at least 71 Tuesday, officials said.

“The number known to have died in rains so far in the northwest has now risen to 61 with over 350 houses damaged all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the local officials said.

Severe flooding kills 28 in Ethiopia: Official media

At least 28 people have been killed in severe flooding in two remote regions of Ethiopia, reported the official news agency.

At least 23 people were killed and 84 others injured after a river that crosses Jigjiga, the regional capital of the Somali region, burst its banks on Sunday.

Extreme rain events flooded the drought-stricken region of Afar, causing severe flooding, and killing five people, AP reported.

Two tropical depressions continue to impact Fiji

The town of Nadi has been submerged under meters of floodwater since Sunday after heavy rain, and people throughout Fiji brace for even more flooding.

More than 3,500 people have fled their homes seeking shelter in about 80 evacuation centers in the north and west of the main island Viti Levu, as a double whammy of tropical depressions continue to impact the country, said a report.

At least one person was killed and another missing in weather related incidents.

Residents of Korociri cross the flooded Nadi Back Road. Photo: Fiji Government

Category 5, Severe Tropical Cyclone WINSTON struck the island nation on 20 and 21 February cutting a path of destruction across the country, wiping out entire communities/villages, and prompting the government to declare a state of disaster.

Drought-stricken Palau could dry up completely this month

Drought-stricken Palau could dry up completely this month, officials warned Monday as the Pacific island appealed for urgent international aid, including shipments of drinking water.

The tiny nation of 18,000 people declared a state of emergency in march, “the latest Pacific island nation to do so as one of the worst ever El Nino-induced droughts in the region worsens.”

“We’re still in the state of emergency, there’s a sense of urgency to address the crisis,” a government spokesman told AFP as the National Emergency Committee (NEC) met to discuss strategy.