Drought and Deluge: 900,000 Sri Lankans Face Famine

Sri Lanka’s Food Production Hit by Extreme Events

Growing food insecurity: Rice production to drop by 40 percent in 2017

Extreme drought followed by floods in Sri Lanka has hit large swaths of cropping areas, threatening the food security of more than 900,000 people in Sri Lanka, said a joint report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Program (WFP).

Drought conditions in 2016 and early 2017 led to widespread crop failures, especially the rice paddy – the country’s staple food. Total paddy production in 2017 is forecast at 2.7 million tons, about 40 percent less than the last year’s output.

Other crops, including various pulses, chillies and onion, which rely mainly on rainwater, were also heavily damaged by the dry weather, increasing food insecurity, said the report.

The situation was exacerbated by subsequent heavy rainfalls in May. Floods and landslides in the south-western parts of the country caused deaths, large population displacements and damage to infrastructure. The rains did not ease the water supply constraints in the drought-impacted north-central and eastern parts of the country.

 

About 1.4 Million Kids at ‘Imminent Risk of Death’ amid Looming Famine

Famine looms in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen – UNICEF

Almost 1.4 million children are at imminent risk of death from severe acute malnutrition this year, as famine looms in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, UNICEF said today.

“Time is running out for more than a million children,” said UNICEF Executive Director. “We can still save many lives. The severe malnutrition and looming famine are largely man-made. Our common humanity demands faster action. We must not repeat the tragedy of the 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa.”

• In northeast Nigeria, up to 450,000 children face severe acute malnutrition is expected this year in the conflict-affected states.
• In Somalia, drought conditions are threatening an already fragile population battered by decades of conflict. Almost half the population, or 6.2 million people, are facing acute food insecurity and in need of humanitarian assistance. Up to 270,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year. 
• In South Sudan over 270,000 children are severely malnourished amid conflict, poverty and insecurity. The total number of food insecure people across the country is expected to rise from 4.9 million to 5.5 million at the height of the lean season in July… 
• In Yemen 462,000 children are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition – a nearly 200 per cent increase since 2014.

The report comes just a day after famine was declared in parts of Unity state in southern South Sudan, where 20,000 children live.

Famine Declared in South Sudan with 100,000 People Facing Starvation

Food insecurity becomes a famine…

UN OCHA has declared that a famine exists in two regions of southern Somalia, and warned that the famine could soon spread to the rest of southern Somalia.

A famine is declared when three measures of mortality, malnutrition and hunger coincide: “at least 20 per cent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; acute malnutrition rates exceed 30 per cent; and the death rate exceeds two persons per day per 10,000 persons.”

Severe drought, failed harvest, years of civil war and now economic collapse have placed 100,000 people in the southern South Sudan at risk of starvation, with an additional one million people on the brink of famine, according to UN agencies.

• Tens of thousands have already perished.
• More than three million people have been forced from their homes.
• Many are living in UN refugee camps across the country.
• One and a half million have fled across the border to neighboring countries.

Famines have been declared previously in southern areas of Sudan in 2008; in Gode in the Somali region of Ethiopia in 2000; in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1996; in Somalia in 1991-1992, and Ethiopia in 1984-1985, according to WFP.

46,000 Students at California State University are Homeless

Sent by a reader in the Golden State

About one in 10 of CSU’s 460,000 students homeless, one in five food insecure: Study

About 10 percent of California State University’s 460,000 students is homeless, while one in five is food secure, according to a new study.

“The study, commissioned by Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White., is intended to provide better understanding of student homelessness, an issue that remains largely undocumented at the U.S. public universities.

“This is a gasp, when you think about it,” said White. “We’re going to find solutions that we can take to scale.”  [But, this is not a problem that has just surfaced out of the blue, Mr. White.]

Students who experience food insecurity and housing displacement are invisible, and there is very little research on this student population. While 56,588 students nationally and about 10,000 students in California identified themselves as independent homeless youth on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid in 2013 – 2014 (U.S. Department of Education unpublished data), this is undoubtedly a low count.

Related Links

• Serving Displaced and Food Insecure Students in the CSU
• Tough times for CSU students: One in 10 homeless
• 1 in 10 Cal State students is homeless, study finds

‘State of Disaster’ Declared in Zimbabwe over Drought

If humans had more time left, they would probably wipe out the population of Africa in 10 – 20 years

Southern Africa: 14 Million people face hunger due to the prolonged drought

A “state of disaster” has been declared in much of Zimbabwe’s rural areas plagued by a severe drought, with more than a quarter of the population facing food shortages, AFP reported.

A regional drought has affected South Africa, Malawi and Zambia and Zimbabwe, killing tens of thousands of cattle, drying up dams and destroying crops.

“Initial indications were that 1.5 million people were food insecure with all the 60 rural districts being affected,” said the Public Works Minister.

“Overall, the food insecure population has since risen to 2.44 million [or 26 percent of the population.]

More than 16,500 cattle have died in Zimbabwe, and 75 percent of crops have been abandoned in the worst-hit areas, said the report.

At least 14 million people across southern Africa face hunger due to the prolonged drought, WFP said.

Horn of Africa – Somali

An estimated 4.7 million people — nearly 40 per cent of the Somali population — are in need of humanitarian assistance. About 950,000 of them are acutely food insecure and struggle every day to meet their food needs, with internally displaced people accounting for 68 per cent of those who are are in dire need of assistance.

“The level of malnutrition, especially among children, is of serious concern, with nearly 305,000 children under the age of five years acutely malnourished. We estimate that 58,300 children face death if they are not treated. The drought could push these numbers higher in the months to come. We must act now. Partners are ready to scale up response, but funding is urgently needed to ensure this is done in a timely manner,” said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. [What happens to the vast sums of money given to the UN?]

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in decades, leaving 10.2 million people in need of emergency food aid.

Northeast Africa – South Sudan

South Sudan is facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity, as 2.8 million people — nearly 25 percent of the country’s population — remain in urgent need of food assistance, and at least 40,000 people are on the brink of catastrophe, three UN agencies warned today.

Drought Deaths Mounting in Southern Madagascar

Severe drought killing scores of people in southern Madagascar

Drought is killing up to ten people per day in one southern Madagascar municipality alone. 

“The death varies from two to ten per day due to drought in our area,” Bernard Tolia, mayor of Anjapaly, told China’s Xinhua news.

“A dozen mayors from south including me alerted the government on Monday to look more closely the situation in our area,” he said.

“It has been almost a year that there was no rain. People have to travel 15 kilometers, often by feet, to find drinking water; livestock is suffering and die while cultivation is impossible due to drought.”

Adverse weather conditions are also affecting crop production elsewhere in southern Africa including southern Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa, according to various relief agencies.

The negative impact of extreme weather events is threatening food security for an estimated 27.5 million people across the region, especially in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Botswana is experiencing “the worst drought conditions in 30 years with agricultural land badly hit by the lack of irrigation,” AFP reported the government as saying.

South Africa’s 2015 maize production decreased by a third compared with 2014 harvest, due to poor rains, GIEWS reported.

In Malawi, “2,833,212 people will not be able to meet their annual food requirement. In view of this I would like to appeal to all the development partners, other countries, and non-governmental organizations both in Malawi and elsewhere to complement government sources in assisting the food-insecure households,” said the president.

An estimated 1.5 million Zimbabweans (16% of rural households) will be unable to meet their food needs during the 2015/2016 hunger season, some 462,000 in the second quarter of the consumption year and 1,490,024 during the peak hunger season (from January-March, 2016). “This represents a rise of 160% compared to those facing food insecurity during the 2014/2015 hunger season,” according to UNOCHA, and UNRC.

Hunger Emergencies

The World Food Program (WFP) says it’s currently facing six emergencies simultaneously in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Nepal and Ebola affected regions in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Iraq

The humanitarian situation in Iraq is deteriorating amid rising violence, with more than 3.2 million people fleeing their homes since January 2014, UNOCHA reports.

Humanitarian Disaster Stats
No. of people in need 8.6m
No. of internally displaced people 3.2m
No. of people who live outside camps 2.9m
No. of affected people in host communities 3.2m
No. of Syrian refugees 0.25m

12.6 Million People Suffering Chronic Food Insecurity in Mindanao, Philippines

Millions of people in 18 provinces of Mindanao suffering chronic food insecurity: Report

About three quarters of the population analyzed in 18 of Mindanao provinces, or an estimated 12.6 million people, are suffering from chronic food insecurity, according to a UN report using the IPC standardized scale. 

“The provinces of Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao registered the highest percentages of food-insecure population. These provinces indicated high prevalence of stunting, poor access to improved water source s and low breastfeeding rates,” said the report.

Hunger: 16 Percent of Zimbabwe Population Projected to be Food Insecure

Maize production in Zimbabwe falls by a half

About 1.5 million Zimbabweans—16 percent of the population—are projected to be food insecure this year, according to World Food Program (WFP).

The forecast follows a dramatic 50% fall in maize production and represents a 164 percent increase in food insecurity compared to the previous season.

The following are selected highlights from WFP report:

• About a third (28 percent) of children under age five in Zimbabwe are stunted, or have heights too low for their age, due to chronic malnutrition

• More than half (56 percent) of all children between the ages of 6 and 59 months suffer from anemia.

• Zimbabwe has about 4.3 million hectares of arable land, but only 2.8 million hectares were cultivated during the 2014/15 cropping season due to drought, high fuel costs, climatic shocks and other factors.

• The prevalence of food insecurity and absolute poverty are closely correlated. Poverty is most prevalent in rural areas, with 76 percent of rural households living on less than $1.25 per day, compared to 38 percent in urban areas.

India Home to 194 Million Hungry People—Highest Number Globally

Hungry: 795 million people, or one in nine—UN Hunger Report

India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world, at 194 million, surpassing China, says the United Nations annual hunger report.

The number of hungry people in China are 133.8 million in 2014-15, says the report.

Countries with more than 40 percent of the populations undernourished:

Zambia: 7.4 million people or 47.8 % of the population
Central African Republic: 2.3 million or 47.7 %
Namibia: 1 million or 42.3 %
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: 10.5 million or 41.6 %

The number of hungry people globally has declined from about 1 billion 1990 to about 795 million this year, despite a surge in population growth, according to the report.

However, the Moderators were unable to independently verify the figures in the United Nations’ annual hunger report, which is published jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Program.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – March 23, 2015

Iraqi Kurdistan nears breaking point

More than 1 million people internally displaced by the terrorist group ISIL, recently calling itself Islamic State (IS), in Addition to 225,000 refugees from Syria are taking a devastating economic and social toll on Iraqi Kurdistan, says IRIN.

“The population of the semi-autonomous region has grown by 28 percent in the space of 12 months, piling pressure on education and health services. With further military offensives planned against IS, there are fears that yet more people will seek safety in the region.”

“The scale of the influx has created significant competition for jobs, pushing down wages and household incomes across the board, while demand for water, electricity and waste management is outstripping supply.”

Displaced women and girls trapped in Afghanistan’s cities

Seven out of 10 displaced Afghan female say they have never attended a school. They also face “significant constraints” to health and employment opportunities, according to a new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

• “We are imprisoned in our tents and we don’t have permission to go out. What is this sort of life worth?” says a 24 year-old woman from the Helmand province, internally displaced in Kabul and one of the respondents in the report.

• “We are being sold in exchange for money like animals. Our rights are ignored; we are often sold to widowers, blind men, disabled or old men and we have no choice to refuse marrying them”, says a 23 year-old woman from the Muhammad Aghai district in the Logar province, now living in a camp for internally displaced in Kabul.

• Displaced women and girls across Afghanistan cities are suffering unacceptable levels of hunger and high levels of psychological trauma, without any mental health assistance support to turn to, says the report.

Iraqi Kurdistan nears breaking point

More than 1 million people internally displaced by the terrorist group ISIL, recently calling itself Islamic State (IS), in Addition to 225,000 refugees from Syria are taking a devastating economic and social toll on Iraqi Kurdistan, says IRIN.

“The population of the semi-autonomous region has grown by 28 percent in the space of 12 months, piling pressure on education and health services. With further military offensives planned against IS, there are fears that yet more people will seek safety in the region.”

“The scale of the influx has created significant competition for jobs, pushing down wages and household incomes across the board, while demand for water, electricity and waste management is outstripping supply.”

Critical Food Insecurity in Central African Republic (CAR)

Farmers in the CAR urgently need seeds and tools for the planting season in April to prevent further deterioration of their livelihoods in the conflict-stricken country, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

Some 1.5 million people are currently food insecure across the country and this figure is likely to rise in the absence of immediate support. Additionally, the significant food shortages across the country could worsen, population movements could result in increased tension, the return of displaced persons and refugees to their villages could be delayed.

Refugee Crisis in Cameroon

The number of internally displaced people in the north has nearly doubled since 10 February, to 117,000,  bringing the total number of displaced in Cameroon to an estimated 412,700, including 66,000 who are fleeing Boko Haram violence in Nigeria and the remainder from the Central African Republic.

More than 120,000 displaced amid fighting in southern Philippines

More than 120,000 people have fled their homes since late January after fighting broke out between government forces and armed groups in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, reported UNHCR.

The number of displaced is expected to rise as the fighting spreads to local communities hosting the displaced, said the UN refugee agency.

An estimated 13 municipalities in Maguindanao and North Cotabato have been affected in eight weeks of clashes between the state security forces and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, said the report.

Some of the IDPs are sheltering in schools and public buildings, with unknown numbers staying with friends or relatives, according to UNHCR.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – March 7, 2015

Death toll from severe weather in Afghanistan rises to at least 308

Some 182 districts in 20 provinces have been affected by heavy snow, avalanches and flooding, which have killed at least 308 people, injured 187 others and completely destroyed 4,776 houses, government sources said.

The number of casualties is expected to  rise, with more severe weather forecast for northern and central Afghanistan.

Worsening Food Insecurity and Water Shortages in Ethiopia

Pocket areas that received inadequate seasonal rainfall in 2014 and/or had a poor harvest due to flooding or crop disease will remain vulnerable in early 2015.

Food insecurity is worsening in belg/gu/ganna/sugum rain-receiving areas, as the dry season reaches its peak. Delayed rains and the expected below-average seasonal rainfall will impact belg planting, as well as water and pasture availability in pastoralist areas, said UN OCHA.

Refugee Crisis

Ethiopia hosts the largest refugee population in Africa with 656,199 registered refugees including 251,545 South Sudanese refugees, 196,000 new arrivals in Gambella since mid-December 2013, and 125,000 Eritreans.

33,000 new Eritrean arrivals registered in 2014 (including unaccompanied minors).

Drought Destroys 75% of Major Crops in Central America

DISASTERS CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
EXTREME WEATHER
STATE OF CALAMITY
MAJOR DISASTERS
DROUGHT IN CENTRAL AMERICA
CROP DISASTERS
RUST PLAGUE
RISING FOOD PRICES
HUNGER
SCENARIOS: 808, [500,] 444, 300, 277, 255, 111, 100, 078, 012, 03, 02
.

Millions of Central Americans face food insecurity due to drought: UNOCHA

Prolonged drought has destroyed up to 75% of staple crops—maize and bean—in Central America, killing thousands of cattle and affecting more than 3.35 million people by food insecurity, mainly in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Source OCHA-ROLAC

• Guatemala. The government declared a State of Public Calamity in August 2014 in 16 out of 22 departments and extended the decree in October.
• An Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) identified a total of 248,000 households (1 in 4 houses surveyed in the dry corridor) with moderate and severe food insecurity.
• In the coming months food insecurity is expected to worsen as families deplete their food stocks.

• Honduras. The Government has declared State of Emergency in the Honduran dry corridor for the impact of crop loss (between 54 to 75%).
• At least 19,559 children are malnourished as a direct consequence of the drought.

• El Salvador. The country is experiencing the most severe drought since 1977, with
  July 2014 rainfall being the lowest in 44 years.
• About 65% of basic grain producers registered crop losses. Of the producers affected in the eastern part of the country, 82% have lost their entire crops.

• Other countries. Drought has also affected crops and livestock in Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica.

“The lack of rain in recent months has resulted in the loss of staple grain crops and death of thousands of cattle in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and to a lesser extent in areas of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The most vulnerable population are families of subsistence farmers, labourers and landless farmers, who are characterized by low income, with limited access to land, basic health services and education, and difficulties in obtaining the basic food basket,” reported UNOCHA.

Related Links

Drought Destroys Crops, Livelihoods across Central America  September 4, 2014

UNICEF Declares 2014 a Disaster Year for Children

GLOBAL CONFLICTS FOR NATURAL RESOURCES &
‘STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE’
STATE TERRORISM
WAR CRIMES
MASS MURDER
MASS DISPLACEMENT
FOOD INSECURITY
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE
SCENARIOS 911, 909, 808, 717, 606, 444, 411,
222, 220, 219, 202, 201, 200, 071, 069, 04, 02
.

15 Million children caught up in major conflicts: UNICEF

An estimated 230 million children live in countries and areas plagued by armed conflicts.

This year “has been one of horror, fear and despair for millions of children, as worsening conflicts across the world saw them exposed to extreme violence and its consequences, forcibly recruited and deliberately targeted by warring groups,” UNICEF said.

“This has been a devastating year for millions of children,” said UNICEF Executive Director. “Children have been killed while studying in the classroom and while sleeping in their beds; they have been orphaned, kidnapped, tortured, recruited, raped and even sold as slaves. Never in recent memory have so many children been subjected to such unspeakable brutality.”

As many as 15 million children are caught up in violent conflicts in the Central African Republic, [Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen,] Iraq, South Sudan, the State of Palestine, Syria and Ukraine – including those internally displaced or living as refugees.

• In the Central African Republic, 2.3 million children are affected by the conflict, up to 10,000 children are believed to have been recruited by armed groups over the last year, and more than 430 children have been killed and maimed – three times as many as in 2013
• In Gaza, 54,000 children were left homeless as a result of the 50-day conflict during the summer that also saw 538 children killed, and more than 3,370 injured.
• In Syria, with more than 7.3 million children affected by the conflict including 1.7 million child refugees, the United Nations verified at least 35 attacks on schools in the first nine months of the year, which killed 105 children and injured nearly 300 others. In Iraq, where an estimated 2.7 million children are affected by conflict, at least 700 children are believed to have been maimed, killed or even executed this year. In both countries, children have been victims of, witnesses to and even perpetrators of increasingly brutal and extreme violence.
• In South Sudan, an estimated 235,000 children under five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Almost 750,000 children have been displaced and more than 320,000 are living as refugees.  According to UN verified data, more than 600 children have been killed and over 200 maimed this year, and around 12,000 children are now being used by armed forces and groups.

Full report posted HERE.

‘Hundreds of thousands have fled’ their homes in NE Nigeria

Five+ million  people are food insecure across 11 states in N. Nigeria: OCHA

More than 400,000 people in northeastern Nigeria have been forced to flee their homes amid escalating violence by militant  group Boko Haram, creating a major crisis, aid agencies say.

“There’s a major crisis going on in the northeast, and it’s not being recognized for the crisis it is,” said the country director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Nigeria. “Since late August, the insurgency movement has been aggressively and progressively taking Adamawa State over and establishing their presence, and what this means is that hundreds of thousands have fled.”

The mass displacement has left “countless” people without access to food, water, shelter, medical care and other basic necessities, said the Relief web.

“You’re talking about huge movements of populations and these people flee with nothing,” said the IRC director in Nigeria. “These are surprise attacks, so people literally come with only their shirts on their backs. They don’t know anybody, they don’t have anything and many aren’t getting anything.”

Worsening Crisis

More than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced since May 2013, when the Nigerian government first declared a state of emergency in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, government sources said. Up to 180,000 have taken refuge in neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, the European Union aid body ECHO said.

Food Insecurity

More than five million people are food insecure across 11 states in northern Nigeria this year, said OCHA.

“The crisis that is playing out in northeast Nigeria is always hitting the most vulnerable hardest,” said the UN regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel. “We’ve already seen an impact on children, with a big jump in numbers of moderate acute malnutrition in the last six months and there are early indications of big drops in agricultural production in the three states of emergency. And at the rate things are going at the moment, the situation could well get worse.”

Food Security Alert for Central America

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC DISASTERS
DROUGHT
COFFEE RUST (Hemileia vastatrix)
CROP DISASTERS
STATE OF EMERGENCY
FAMINE
MAIN SCENARIOS 900, 817, 808, 800,  444, 300, 277, 255, 244, 111, 101, 100, 03, 02
.

Drought, Coffee Rust Threaten Food Security across Large Areas of Central America

Poor harvest caused by drought and coffee rust threaten food security across large swathes of Central America, severely affecting millions of people in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, according to Famine Early Warning System (FEWS).

Poor harvests caused by severe drought and “the reduction in coffee-sector income for day laborers, and a more rapid than usual increase in the prices of some staple foods, extremely poor households across large areas of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador will experience a rapid deterioration in their food security in early 2015. Atypically high levels of humanitarian assistance, possibly the highest since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, will likely be required in order to avoid a food crisis,” reported FEWS.

Large swathes of central America have been experiencing severe drought since May, with the rainfall accumulation being up to 75 percent below average.

Estimated losses to basic grains for the 2014 harvests of Primera crops.  † For Honduras, the reference year is 2010/11. Source: Prepared by FEWS NET with data provided by national Ministries of Agriculture, and estimates

“Primera crops are estimated at between 9 and 75 percent, while losses incurred by subsistence farmers located in the worst-affected areas are expected to exceed 70 percent. Forecasts by the XLIV Central American Climate Outlook Forum indicate below-average rainfall will continue through November in all four countries, meaning that Postrera harvests are also likely to be below-average,” said FEWS.

 Honduras

The Government of Honduras declared a state of emergency for drought in the dry corridor in July, 2014.

As of last month, up to one million people (about 190,000 families) have been affected by the drought.

Drought Destroys Crops, Livelihoods across Central America

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
STATE OF EMERGENCY
MAJOR DISASTERS
DROUGHT IN CENTRAL AMERICA
CROP DISASTERS
COFFEE RUST PLAGUE
RISING FOOD PRICES
HUNGER
SCENARIOS 808, 444, 300, 277, 255, 100, 03, 02
.

Drought leaves millions hungry in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua

Drought has destroyed crops and devastated livelihoods across the so-called “Dry Corridor,” a drought-prone area shared by Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, said the world Food program (WFP).

“Some 2.5 million people in Central America need food assistance due to the combined impact of severe drought, the Coffee Rust plague and a spike in food prices. WFP is working with the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to provide food assistance to 1.4 million people, but there are challenges.”

Millions of  subsistence farmers and day-to-day laborers in Central America “are in a critical situation due to the combination of three factors,” said WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“First, they lost their subsistence crops, mostly beans and maize, to the drought. Second, due to the outbreak of the Coffee Rust plague in 2012, coffee production dropped and so did the demand for jobs and the families’ income. And finally, a shortage of beans and maize has caused a rise in food prices in all countries.”

“Some families resort to dangerous survival tactics, such as skipping or reducing the size of meals. Others simply stop sending their children to school to save money. Others send the head of households to Mexico or the United States to find jobs,” he said.

Conditions are expected o deteriorate further early next year because of  poor harvests, forecasters said..

“These people grow mostly maize and beans to feed their families, but these crops demand lots of water,” he added.

Meantime, Guatemala has declared a state of emergency after more than ¼ million families lost their crops due to the drought.

 

Vomitoxin Levels Rising in U.S. Wheat

CROP DISEASES
MAJOR DISASTERS
WHEAT & BARLEY BLIGHT
FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT (FHB)
SCENARIOS 808, 444, 277, 013, 02
.

Vomitoxin levels rise in wheat samples  across nine U.S. states

Fusarium head blight of wheat (FHB), also known as ‘head scab,’ is caused mainly by the fungus Gibberella zeae (aka Fusarium graminearum). The disease has previously caused significant yield loss and reduced grain quality in the U.S. costing the industry about $3 billion from 1998 to 2000, and more than $4.5 billion in 2011. Gibberella zeae also produces mycotoxins—chemicals that are toxic to humans and livestock.

The fungus has plagued the  soft red winter (SRW) wheat, which develops when it rains during the crop’s key growing stages.

As little as two or three days of light to moderate rainfall can favor infection. Optimum temperatures for infection are between 75°F and 85°F, but during prolonged periods of high humidity and moisture, infection will occur at lower temperatures. The initial infection on the wheat head may produce additional spores that can infect other wheat heads. This secondary infection can be especially problematic in uneven wheat stands with late flowering tillers.

Infection will continue as long as weather conditions are favorable and wheat plants are at susceptible growth stages.

Bleached and shriveled tombstone kernels (left) compared to healthy wheat kernels. Seed infected with Fusarium graminearum can produce seedlings affected by seedling blight when planted. Infected seeds will have poor germination and the resulting seedlings may be slow to emerge. Infected seedlings will be reddish-brown to brown, will lack vigor, and will tiller poorly. Source: Purdue Extension [BP-33-W]

SRW is grown in a large eastern section of the United States, in the south from Louisiana and Arkansas across to the Carolinas and in the north from Missouri across the Midwest to Pennsylvania and Maryland, accounting for a fifth of the U.S. total wheat crop in the last five years, said a report.

A preliminary survey conducted by the U.S. Wheat Associates showed composite vomitoxin level from more than 500 samples across nine states were about twice the five-year average of 1.3 ppm, said the report.

“We’re seeing about 10 ppm and I don’t know that we have seen that before. The elevators are not sure what they’re going to do with that wheat,” said a grain merchant at a milling company based in Illinois.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits vomitoxin levels in finished products such as flour to 1 ppm.

“It is in a lot of the wheat, areas east of the Mississippi River would be the most suspect, all along the U.S. Gulf and through the Eastern Seaboard. There were even high levels coming out of Pennsylvania,” said a livestock nutritionist at a feed company based in Kentucky.

Risk of Mycotoxins

Gibberella zeae produces the mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin.

DON is an extremely stable mycotoxin and drying and storing grain will
not reduce DON levels in harvested grain.

The fungus may also produce another mycotoxin, zearalenone, however this mycotoxin is not as common in wheat as DON. Zearalenone has estrogenic properties, which means it can cause infertility, abortion, or other breeding problems. As little as 1 to 5 ppm zearalenone ina feed ration may produce an estrogenic effect in swine.

Exceptional Drought Plagues Central, Northern China

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
RISING TEMPERATURES
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
WATER FAMINE
CROP DISASTERS
FOOD INSECURITY
MAIN SCENARIOS 900, 808, 800, 555, 444, 123, 111, 100, 033, 011, 08, 04, 03, 02
.

Water Famine Severely Affecting Parts of China

Persistent drought in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and central China’s Henan Province has dried up rivers and reservoirs, causing power and water shut-offs and severe drinking water shortages, said Xinhua.

In Inner Mongolia, about 600,000 people in seven prefectures and cities have been affected by the drought since April, with half of them lacking drinking water, according to the regional civil affairs department.

Some 150,000 hectares of farmland and 16.4 million hectares of pastures have been affected in the worst drought in three years. About 1.34 million heads of cattle also lack drinking water.

The worst drought since 1961, caused by more than 140 consecutive days without precipitation, has severely affected about 98 percent of pastures in Araxan prefecture, said the report.

Large swathes of Henan province have seen only about 10 percent of the average annual precipitation, making it the driest year since 1975.

About a million hectares of crops in the province had been affected by the drought as of July 26, 2014, said the report.

Pingdingshan City has had its worst drought since 1975. The Baiguishan Reservoir, the major source of drinking water in the city, was at dead storage level.

Water supply for car wash businesses, commercial swimming pools and public baths has been cut off in the city. Major water-consuming enterprises were ordered to restrict their consumption.

In the provincial capital of Zhengzhou City, the municipal power grid decided to restrict power supply for some residential compounds, enterprises and business operators for four days starting on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the temperatures are  forest to soar above above 35ºC in most  parts of the region this week,   according to the local meteorological office.

DISASTER Diary – May 26, 2013

Namibia Declares National Drought Emergency

President of Namibia has declared a national drought emergency due to significantly below-average precipitation.

• An estimated 331,000 people, 14 percent of the Namibia’s population of 2.324 million,  in rural communities across 13 regions have now been classified as food insecure so far this year.

• An additional 448,000 people have been classified as moderately food insecure.

•   Those moderately food insecure could rapidly become food insecure, UN reported.

• About 109,000 children under age 5 living in rural households classified severely and moderately food insecure are at risk of malnutrition due to reduced availability, access and utilization of food, compounded by limited access to safe water and improved sanitation, UN said.

Namibia: Rainfall Anomaly for Q1 2013. Source: SADC FANR

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

• 11 Regions across the country are without water tanks for additional storage.

• About 32% of households and communities use boreholes as their main sources of water, followed by piped water (20%) and public taps in neighboring houses (19%).

• As a result of the severe drought, water tables in boreholes are currently low with reduced yields.

• The cost of water has risen and most households are now using their limited funds to buy food instead of water.

• Only 33% of households have improved sanitation facilities.

• 50% of the population practice open defecation. [Source: U.N.]

-oOo-

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Extreme Rain Events Flood San Antonio, Texas

At least two people were killed on Saturday as torrential rains in San Antonio triggered severe flooding forcing the rescue of about 240 people, officials said.

• San Antonio was inundated with about 10 inches of rain Saturday, the second-wettest-day recorded, San Antonio Express-News reported.

• “Saturday was not only the wettest day in May ever recorded, but with 9.87 inches of rain at the San Antonio International Airport, it was the second wettest day ever recorded in San Antonio, according to the National Weather Service. The wettest day on record is Oct. 17, 1998, when 11.26 inches of rain fell.”

• NWS issued Flood Warnings  for rivers affecting Bexar, Wilson and Karnes counties.

-oOo-

Average CO₂ at Mauna Loa:
Last 5 days of preliminary daily average CO₂

• May 24 – 399.84        
• May 23 – 399.67        
• May 22 – 399.97        
• May 21 – 399.74        
• May 20 – 400.11
  

-oOo-

M5.7 Earthquake, Plumas County, Northern Calif

A state of emergency has been declared in Plumas County after the magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the area Thursday, causing damage both to infrastructure as well as homes and businesses.

• “The earthquake did not injure anyone but did cause moderate damage and was felt by people as far away as the Bay Area, Reno and into Oregon,” said a report.

-oOo-

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 26, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,021 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,021 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Humanitarian Crisis in Malawi Caused by Drought and Deluge

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,133 Days Left 

[February 3, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,133 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Drought and deluge leave 4 million Malawians food insecure

Mega drought and deluge have left about 4 million people food insecure and children at a high risk of malnutrition and disease across Malawi (population: ~ 15 million).  Severe flooding, triggered by extreme rain events, has destroyed homes,  crops, roads and any semblance of public infrastructure.

• Flooding has displaced tens of thousands of people leaving them without food, shelter, clothing or medical supplies in the landlocked country in southeast Africa.

• The flooding has also compromised access to safe water, sanitation and overall hygiene in the affected communities, said UNICEF.

• “A continuing food crisis in Malawi afflicts more than 4 million people – and more than a million of them are children under age five or pregnant women. Food insecurity is not only a major cause of malnutrition, but has also worsened the risk for diseases.”

• “We remain on high alert as the flooding spreads to other areas,” said the UNICEF Country Representative in Malawi.

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Conflict and Famine in Sudan Create 2.2 M Refugees

Refugee population in southern Ethiopia exceeds 150,000

“Decades of conflict and drought have driven nearly 983,000 Somali refugees into the region, most of them hosted in Kenya, Yemen and Ethiopia. Another 1.36 million Somalis are internally displaced within the country,” UNHCR reported.

“New arrivals continue to cite insecurity inside Somalia as their reason for flight. In a new development, some refugees say they fled in fear of possible forced recruitment or military conscription. Others cite fear of potential revenge killings in the wake of renewed fighting. These circumstances, combined with last year’s famine in Somalia, eroded many people’s traditional coping mechanisms and forced them to seek asylum across the border.”

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Kyrgyzstan.  Extreme rain events southern Kyrgyzstan have triggered widespread flooding and massive landslides, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in several towns and villages, reports said.
  • Flooding have also destroyed crops and buried farm animals.

• Kenya. Heavy rains throughout Kenya have triggered flash floods and lightening, killing or injuring about 80 people and causing large-scale destruction of homes, farmlands and infrastructure.
  • The extreme weather has also left at least 2,000 families homeless.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Dozens Killed in Mozambique by Back-to-Back Storms

Twin storms leave dozens dead, more than a million people affected in Mozambique

Tropical depression Dando and Cyclone Funso, striking within days of each other, have left dozens dead and hundreds of thousands of families affected.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – January 28

[January 28, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,509 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Mozambique. Tropical depression Dando and Cyclone Funso, striking within days of each other, have destroyed thousands of homes, killing dozens of people and leaving a quarter of a million families affected.
  • Thousands of hectares of crops have also been destroyed or damaged.

Other Global Disasters

• Yemen.  Half a million children in Yemen could die or become ill from malnutrition, said a report.
  • Trailing behind Afghanistan, Yemen has the world’s 2nd highest rate of chronic malnutrition among children, with more ore than 58 per cent of the children stunted, UNICEF reported.
  • “Conflict, poverty and drought, compounded by the unrest of the previous year, the high food and fuel prices, and the breakdown of social services, are putting children’s health at great risks and threatening their very survival,” said UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
  • “Acute malnutrition affects as many as 30 per cent of children in some parts of the country, close to the levels observed in south Somalia, and twice as high as the internationally recognized emergency threshold.”
  • Measles killed 74 children from among 2,500 affected by a recent outbreak of the disease, Government figures show. “While most children recover from measles within two to three weeks, children with malnutrition can suffer serious complications which can lead to death.”
  • Some 69,000 Yemenis children die each year before their fifth birthday.
  • With 77 deaths per 1,000 live births, Yemen has one of the highest death rates among children under the age of five in the Middle East and North African regions.
  • are food insecure, and the number is expected to rise.
    • The term “food insecurity” is used when people go to  bed on an empty stomach or have no idea where their next meal may come from.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

• Drought tightens grip on S. Mozambique
• Half a million Yemeni children suffer from acute malnutrition

Half a million Yemeni children suffer from acute malnutrition

Many Yemenis live off tea and bread

Half a million Yemeni children suffer from acute malnutrition; drought and deluge threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of farmers, according to Yemeni Minister of Health.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 28

[December 28, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,540 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Yemen. A third of the Yemenis, about 8 million people, are food insecure, and the number is expected to rise when the World Food Program carries out a new national Comprehensive Food Security Survey next year.
• The term “food insecurity” is used when people go to  bed on an empty stomach or have no idea where their next meal may come from.
• A recent state survey conducted in Hudeidah Governorate found a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 31.7 percent among the sample population.  More than 10 percent of the malnourished children were severe cases.
• “The survey also found that nearly 60 percent of children were underweight and 54.5 percent stunted, meaning their height was too low for their age, a sign of longer-term malnutrition.” The UN reported.
• “The Hudeidah survey found that three in every four children suffered from diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections or fever in the two weeks preceding the survey; and 2.5 percent of mothers reported symptoms of measles in their children in the past three months. The survey found measles vaccination coverage of 74 percent in Hudeidah, well below the 90 percent coverage rate needed to prevent an outbreak.”
• Malnutrition-related deaths are expected to rise in Yemen as the health services continue to deteriorate, UINCEF reported.

Global Disaster Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

No Fertile Land, No Food!

Accelerated land degradation threatens food security of a quarter of the world’s population: FAO

Main entry: Land degradation threatens 1.5 billion people

A dried up river filled with sand winds its way across the desert in eastern Chad, June 5, 2008. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Related Links:

• Topsoil

• Failing Ecosystems
• The Root Cause Matrix
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

• California ‘Mojavefied’ by 2011?
• Schwarzenegger Proclaims Water Emergency in Nine Counties
• 2008: Year of the Fire

• Drought Index

• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World