Today is World Water Day

Water Issues: Scarcity and Pollution

A sever drought is affecting about 60 million people in SW China. Well that’s less than 1 percent of the world population, you could argue.

But another 60 million people are severely affected by a drought in the Mekong Basin, which is threatening not just their livelihood, but their survival.  The water flows are the lowest  for 20 years, warns the Mekong River Commission (MRC). The drought has an impact on agriculture, food security, access to clean water and river transport.

Drought conditions are so severe in parts of Africa most women have to walk five miles per day, carrying just enough water for drinking and cooking in large containers placed on their head.

Of Africa’s 53 nations, only 10 countries have adequate drinking water. In Uganda alone, more than 10 million people have no access to clean water.

More than a billion people have NO access to safe water and about 2.5 billion people live without adequate sanitation. About 55 percent of “developing world’s” population are  suffering from at least one major illness  related to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

Each day, at least 6,000 children die of waterborne diseases including diarrhoeal diseases and malaria.—UNICEF

Mwamanongu Village water source, Tanzania. In Meatu district, Shinyanga region, Tanzania, water most often comes from open holes dug in the sand of dry riverbeds, and it is invariably contaminated. Credit:  Bob Metcalf

Unsanitary water is responsible for 80 per cent of all illnesses,  and is world’s number one killer, UN says.

The UN also states that unsanitary water is responsible for 1.5 million cases of hepatitis A (and 133 million cases of intestinal parasites).

According to the world bank, waterborne illnesses are each year responsible for:

• 4 billion cases of diarrhea, killing more than 6 million people.
• 300 million cases of malaria
• 200 million cases of schistosomiasis
• 6 million people are blinded by trachoma ( 500 million people who are currently at risk of contracting the disease).

Bottom line

As of  March 2010

• One in five people on this planet have no access to clean water.
• One in ten people is experiencing a severe to a moderate drought.

Every year, nearly 11 million children die before reaching their fifth birthday, most from preventable causes. That is approximately, 30, 000 children per day. Another 300 million children suffer from illnesses caused by lack of clean water, poor nutrition and inadequate health services and care. —UNICEF

Related Links:

• Clean water Action
• The Story of Bottled Water (Annie Leonard)

• SW China on the precipice of catastrophe
• ‘Diarrhea water’
• French Water!
• How Much Water?

Earth Unhappiest Planet to Live on: Majority

Flood, Mudslide, Disease: Human Disasters

Earth must be the unhappiest planet to live on for the majority of its animal species [humans included] – but in most places condoms are distributed for free!

UGANDA

A cow that was also swept away by the mudslides. The mudslides buried crops, animals and people.  Credit: Daily Monitor – Uganda. Image may be subject to copyright.

The search for the missing has finally ended more than a week after the mudslides buried three villages in Bududa district, eastern Uganda. “The rescuers have only managed to retrieve only about 89 bodies and they seem to have lost strength and hope. We are thinking about officially stopping the retrieval on Tuesday and then we shall be advised on what next.” A local official said.

Up to 350 had previously been reported missing, which should now be presumed dead.  The Ugandan mudslide disaster is a direct consequence of climate change.

“At least 104 people, mostly children, have been reported to suffer from diarrhea at the Bukalsi Health Center in Bududa.” UN news said.

“Working with the Ugandan Government, which is leading the emergency response, UN officials have said that so far there are no reports of cholera, but warned about the possible health risks of increased malaria, acute malnutrition and psychological disorders.”

NEPAL

Humanitarian agencies [let’s hope they are not embedded by the international aid/charity mafia]  in Nepal say more than 3.4 million vulnerable people across the country are in need of life-saving assistance, especially food aid, in 2010.

“Nearly half of Nepal’s districts are experiencing food shortages and the humanitarian country team estimates that nearly 2.5 million people face extreme food insecurity, mainly in the Midand far-western hill and mountain regions.” OCHA reported.

Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods, landslides and earthquakes. “In 2009, some 152,000 people were affected by monsoon floods and landslides. Preparedness activities in water, sanitation and hygiene are also needed following a severe diarrhea outbreak in western districts of Nepal last year.”

“As a country emerging from conflict, Nepal needs sustained international humanitarian support to see it through this fragile period of transition,” said John Holmes, United Nations Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “An estimated 28,000 children die every year from preventable diseases, some of them the consequences of severe malnutrition. Most of these problems can be solved with adequate donor support,” Mr. Holmes said.

At least 70 percent of household budgets, especially in rural areas, goes to buying food, “and dependence on subsistence agriculture remains high. Inadequate funding for agriculture in 2009 is believed to have compounded the effects of the severe winter drought. Sufficient investment in agriculture might have mitigated the current food crisis.”

MOZAMBIQUE

About 130,000 people are being evacuated in Mozambique as  rising waters in the country’s three main rivers prompted the authorities to declare a red alert, which imposes an evacuation order on the area, for the regions along the Zambezi River, Noticias newspaper said, AFP reported.

“At least two people have died in floods in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, reports Monday’s issue of the independent daily O Pais,” All Africa reported.

Mozambique is a flood-prone area. The rainy season in the 2000, 2001 and 2007  triggered deadly floods drove half a million from their homes, and left 700 people dead.

ANGOLA

At least 10,000 people have lost their homes to floods in Angola’s southern province of Cunene,  the state-owned news agency Angop reported.

In 2009 the floods in southern Angola killed at least 20 people .

Meanwhile, All Africa reported that the Angolan Red Cross had distributed 136,828 free condoms between June and December 2009 in the municipalities of Namacunde, Ombadja and Kwanhama, in southern Cunene province.

KENYA

The recently flooded regions of Kenya may be hit by water-borne diseases including  UN health organizations have warned, urging for organized hygiene campaigns. The 2010 rainy season in Kenya, which is expected to last until late June/ early July, has already claimed 18 lives and affected the lives of more than 10,000 others. The worst affected areas are located in the northern, north-eastern and western regions of the country.

In northern Kenya, health authorities have warned about a cholera outbreak because most of the areas affected by floods lack clean drinking water, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported.

“In Mandera, the floods are said to have destroyed buildings and water sources. In Gucha District, most roads are impassable and crops have been destroyed by hailstones. Some 200 pupils of Got Kachola Primary School in Migori District are learning under trees after a storm destroyed their classrooms.” The report said.

Related Links:

• 2010 Disaster Calender [March]
• Global Weather Chaos
• Drought and Deluge: Two Major Mechanisms of Collapse
• 10 Facts on Climate Change
• Australian Coal and the Planet
• Australian fires toll may exceed 200
• The Australian Clean Energy Ruse
• A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal
• 10 Facts on Climate Change

LUPIT: The Mercy Storm?

FEWW Forecast appears at bottom of page!

LUPIT Races West Toward Philippines and Taiwan

Would Lupit avoid Luzon, or will it be the storm that drove the island closer to edge of collapse?

Just weeks after storm Ketsana left its deadly legacy, and days after Typhoon Parma worsened the misery, storm Lupit, forecast to be a typhoon, is racing west towards the islands of Luzon and Taiwan.

At 21:00UTC on October 15, tropical storm  LUPIT (22w)  was located  near 12.8N, 137.9E or about 315 km north of Yap moving west along the southern periphery of the Subtropical Ridge (STR) at about 33km/h.

Storm Lupit races west. MTSAT – Visible Image – Still Frame. Click image to enhance and update.

LUPITis expected to intensify steadily as it continues through the Philippine Sea because the environment is forecast to remain favorable, “characterized by minimal vertical wind shear, good radial outflow and high ocean heat content,” JTWC reported.

It is forecast to move West Northwest at reduced speeds of about 26 kph. Intertropical Convergence Zone (itcz) will affect Southern Luzon and Visayas, PAGASA reported.

Lupit expected to generate maximum significant wave height of 5 meters.

How much would storm Lupit affect Luzon, Philippines? MTSAT – IR CH1 – Still Frame. Click image to enhance and update.

Cyclone LUPIT Projected track. Solid centers represent wind forces stronger than 117km/h. Source: JTWC.

FEWW Forecast: Moderators believe if Cyclone LUPIT were to merge with [feed on] the “storm placenta” to its south (encircled on the image), it could probably

1. Reorganize, strengthening  into a super typhoon.
2. Alter its projected course, moving toward a westerly direction and targeting southern Luzon.

Satellite Loops/Animation

• Tropical West Pacific – Infrared
• Tropical West Pacific – Enhanced IR
• Tropical West Pacific – Water Vapor
• Tropical West Pacific – Visible

• Northwest Pacific – Water Vapor
• Northwest Pacific – Visible
• Northwest Pacific – Visible (Colorized)
• Northwest Pacific – Infrared
• Northwest Pacific – IR (Aviation Color Enhancement)

• West Pacific – Water Vapor
• West Pacific – Visible
• West Pacific – Visible (Colorized)
• West Pacific – Infrared
• West Pacific – IR (Aviation Color Enhancement)

Other Satellite Images:

• FEWW Satellite Imagery

Related Links:

• Parma Hampers Recovery Efforts in Vietnam
• Philippines Still Flooded
• Philippines Terminally Impacted?

• Images of the Day: Super Typhoon Melor
• Could Typhoon Melor Drag Parma Back to Philippines?
• When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana

• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch

• Earth undergoing significant geophysical disturbances
• Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
• Typhoon Melor Arriving in Japan, Leaving Lasting Impression

Philippines Still Flooded

Image of the Day:
‘Pepeng’ [Parma] may have gone; Floods, risk of landslides remain strong

More than a week after Parma first hit N Luzon, the roads  in central Dagupan city, northern Philippines remain flooded.

Residents wade through a flooded road brought on rains by typhoon Parma in central Dagupan city in northern Philippines October 10, 2009. REUTERS/Erik de Castro. Image may be subject to copyright.

“The most important thing is to open roads so we can send relief goods because we cannot hope to find alternate routes,” said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro .

“As of now, food and relief materials can only be delivered by helicopters because it will take 2-5 days to clear up roads and bridges washed out by floods and landslides,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres, of the national disaster agency.

About 500,000 tons of ready to harvest rice and other crops have been destroyed by the two storms, Ketsana and Parma, the equivalent of about 7 percent of 2009 fourth quarter forecast harvest of 6.5 million tons, said Jesus Emmanuel Paras, Agriculture undersecretary.

Various sources have estimated the cost of damage to crops and infrastructure at up to $500million.

Related Links:

• Philippines Terminally Impacted?

• Images of the Day: Super Typhoon Melor
• Could Typhoon Melor Drag Parma Back to Philippines?
• When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana

• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch

• Earth undergoing significant geophysical disturbances
• Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
• Typhoon Melor Arriving in Japan, Leaving Lasting Impression

Philippines Terminally Impacted?

Our thanks to EDRO Moderators for their input and direction

Ketsana, Parma and Melor: Harbingers of Bad Times Ahead?

Did the Three Storms Spell the Beginning of the End for the Philippines as We Know it?

On September 26, 2009 FEWW called the floods caused by storm Ketsana Philippines Worst Floods in Living Memory. Soon the fool extent of the human-enhanced disaster unfolded, as Tropical Storm Ketsana poured more than a month’s worth of rain on Manila in just a few hours.

About 300 people were killed in the Philippines worst floods in living memory caused by tropical storm Ketsana on September 26, which swamped about half a million homes in the Manila and nearby regions. By mid day September 27, about 80 to 90 percent of the Philippines capital was still submerged under water.

Commuters wade through waist-deep floodwaters following heavy rains brought about by tropical storm Ketsana (locally known as Ondoy) Saturday Sept. 26, 2009 in Manila, Philippines. At least five people have been killed after nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in just six hours Saturday, triggering the worst flooding in the Philippine capital in 42 years, stranding thousands on rooftops in the city and elsewhere as Tropical Storm Ketsana slammed ashore. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez). Image may be subject to copyright.

FEWW Moderators expected Typhoon Parma to expand the destruction, and for the first time mentioned the probability of Manila collapsing.

Finally Parma Arrived!

Parma came, but for fleeting moments it looked like it could spare the Philippines main Island of Luzon. FEWW Moderators weren’t deceived, however. Driven by a more powerful storm, Typhoon Melor, which pinwheeled the by now weaker storm, ensuring that it would stay over northern Luzon for the next few days, Parma caused another round of deluge in Northern Luzon.

Could Manila Collapse?

On October 1, 2009, as Parma became a “super Typhoon, the moderators proposed:

Could Manila collapse as a result of devastation caused by the combined impact of the storms Ketsana, Parma (and  Melor, next week), as well as possible earthquakes triggered by landslides and massive mud avalanches, AND a highly probable catastrophic eruption of TAAL VOLCANO?

And suggested:

One way to find out is to wait and see! Another, is to stay tuned to FEWW forecasts and comments posted on this blog.

By Saturday October 10, 2009 at least 265 people were confirmed dead as landslides and flooding caused by Parma in the previous two days, the officials said.

A total of 265 people were confirmed dead in landslides and flooding caused by Parma in the past two days. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

This death toll from the deadly storms now stands at 611 with dozens more reported missing. Two weeks after Ketsana struck, up to 350,000 people are still packed into temporary evacuation centers. More than 3 million people have been affected.

But the Philippines worst nightmare hasn’t even started.

The specter of infectious disease outbreaks looms over the Philippines. Up to 3 million people in the country are immediately threatened by the very high risk of outbreaks of water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related disease as well as foodborne epidemics including cholera, hepatitis A and E, typhoid fever, and shigellosis (caused by Shigella dysenteriae type 1 (Sd1), according to health officials.

The factors that are increasing health risks include:

• Malnutrition
  • compromises natural immunity,
  • leads to more frequent occurrences of infections
  • Infections become more severe and prolonged
  • communicable diseases become more difficult to diagnose and treat
  • pose significant threat to public health
  • infants and children are particularly at risk

• Disruption in power and fuel supplies with immediate impact on
  • drinking water
  • sanitation
  • personal hygiene
  • food production hygiene, refrigeration  and cooking facilities
• Displaced population and overcrowding
  • overcrowding in temporary relief centers would heighten the risk of acquiring
    • acute respiratory infections (ARI)
    • measles
    • meningitis.

By end of November/early December 2009, additional exposure to disease-carrying vectors such as mosquitoes could increase the risk of

• dengue
  
• malaria

As well as rarer diseases such as

• chikungunya
• hantavirus
• Japanese encephalitis

Disruption of Critical Services caused by flooding would prevent access to

• health and social and security
• medical, obstetric and surgical emergencies

Rainfall from Typhoon Parma

Typhoon Parma spent nearly a week pouring heavy rain on the northern half of the Philippine island of Luzon. This image shows both the storm’s track and the rainfall that accumulated between October 2 and October 8, 2009. The rainfall data are from the Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis, which includes rainfall observations from many satellites that are calibrated to match more detailed rainfall observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The satellites recorded more than 700 millimeters (28 inches) of rain in places, shown in dark blue.

The heaviest rain fell on the mountain range that runs north to south along the length of the island, the Cordillera Central. Damages came from landslides on the slopes of the mountains and from floods caused by water flowing out of the mountains west to the South China Sea. The largest area of heavy rain sits over the Lingayen Gulf, the “u”-shaped body of water on the western shore of Luzon near the bottom of the image. One province in this region, Pangasinan, was between 60 and 80 percent flooded. The highest death toll came from another province, Benguet, a little north and east of Lingayen Gulf, where landslides impacted several villages.

The storm came ashore from the east and crossed the northern tip of the island on October 3, 2009. Under the influence of nearby Typhoon Melor, Parma stalled offshore, unleashing yet more rain on Luzon while spinning in place on October 4-5. Finally, the storm reversed direction and moved back across the Philippines toward Typhoon Melor on October 7. By October 8, Melor’s influence on Parma weakened, and Parma moved west again to make its third trip across Luzon Island. Many of the areas of heavy rain coincide with areas that likely saw Parma’s most intense inner bands more than once throughout the course of the week.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using near-real-time data provided courtesy of TRMM Science Data and Information System at Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Holli Riebeek. [Edited by FEWW]

Related Links:

• Images of the Day: Super Typhoon Melor
• Could Typhoon Melor Drag Parma Back to Philippines?
• When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana

• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch

• Earth undergoing significant geophysical disturbances
• Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
• Typhoon Melor Arriving in Japan, Leaving Lasting Impression