Drought Severely Affects Malawi and Zimbabwe

Severe food shortages in southern Africa worsening dramatically

Severe drought said to be related to El Nino weather pattern is affecting southern and eastern Africa. Drought follows extreme rain events and severe flooding that had previously inundated parts of the region.

“The crisis has affected some 32 million people in Southern Africa alone, and experts say they expect new assessments to rise to nearly 50 million people in early June.”

Africa’s breadbasket is empty

The UN World Food Program estimates that 16 million people in southern Africa are affected by the El Nino phenomenon, and that’s not counting the drastic increase of numbers in South Africa. Seven of the country’s nine provinces have been declared disaster areas. The government has channeled the equivalent of 55 million euros towards emergency aid. A country which normally produces so much corn that it can provide for the needs in neighboring Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland is now forced to import huge quantities.

Hunger in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe declared a state of emergency back in February. Owing to the drought, today almost one out of three Zimbabweans is dependent on aid. In the past twelve months, rain precipitation was about half that of the previous year.

The situation is particularly dire in the Mudzi district in northeastern Zimbabwe, on the border with Mozambique. Over 85 percent of the population there is dependent on food aid.

Malawi plagued by extreme drought

Malawi is also suffering from extreme drought. Prices for staple foods like corn, beans and rice, have risen steeply. People this year have less than five percent of the amount produced in recent years at their disposal. More than half of the country’s population of 15 million is now dependent on aid. Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika declared a state of emergency in April and called on the world to help.

Mozambique: Drought in the south, floods in the north

Most water sources in the country have dried up. Much of the water that can still be found is salty. Animals are dying and the harvest will be even more meager than last year. A total of 600,000 Mozambicans are dependent on emergency aid. Authorities expect the number to increase significantly in the next couple of weeks. Rita Namucho, spokesperson for the country’s national water utilities, is very worried about the situation in Combumune: “For the last few months it has been possible to cross the river on foot. This is unusual because we are still in the rainy season.”

Meanwhile, recent rains in the north have destroyed 3,500 houses. “Many people drowned in the floods,” director of the Mozambican Center for Civil Protection told DW. Mozambique is one of the ten countries of the world hardest hit by climate change.

Angola’s government ‘is looking away‘

In Angola, the areas most affected by drought are the southern provinces of Cunene and Huila. DW correspondents have reported about people dying of hunger in an area inhabited by some three million people.

Read more…

 

Drought Affecting 2.7 Million Households in South Africa

Five SA provinces have already been declared drought disaster areas

Authorities have declared drought disaster in five South African provinces—Limpopo, North West, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga—as worst drought on record continues to plague much of the country.

Drought has decimated the nation’s agricultural output, killing livestock, pushing up food prices and increasing unemployment.

Speaking to the parliament, President Zuma said the drought issue was a big problem affecting millions of people across the country.

“The impact on the agricultural sector is severe and it will affect us for a long time to come.

“Farmers are facing serious challenge of dying livestock due to the drought… fact is, the drought is here…”

Related Stories

• Zuma on corruption and drought
• Worst drought on record spells disaster for Jacob Zuma’s dysfunctional presidency
• At least R20bn will be needed to import maize – Grain SA

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.

 

Bangkok Primed for Collapse

Collapse of Bangkok Would Follow Classic Pattern

The entire city of Bangkok could be inundated, the Prime Minister has warned, with many parts of the capital submerged by up to 1.5m (5ft) of floodwater.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 26

[October 26, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,603 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok is now primed to  collapse. It’s no longer a matter of if but when the city would implode.
• FIRE-EARTH Models show that back-to-back disasters could strike Thailand, targeting the country’s largest urban area and capital city, in the coming months until the region becomes mostly uninhabitable.
• Bangkok is the center of a 20-million megalopolis, with more than 14.6 million people living in the metropolitan area.
• Mesmerized by the 1980s and 1990s Asian investment boom, a large number of multinational corporations set up their regional headquarters in Bangkok. Many of these companies have been inundated and unable to function.
• As of 2010, Bangkok was world’s 73rd largest city.
• The urban sprawl of Bangkok Metropolitan Area extends into five neighboring provinces.
• Bangkok accounts for about 41 percent of Thailand’s 587 billion dollar economy.
• Located in the The Chao Phraya River basin, and split by a major river of the same name, Bangkok [aka, “Venice of the East”] is cross-crossed by a large system of canals and lies just two meters (6.5 ft) above sea level, with its southern periphery bordering the Bay of Bangkok.
• The government has warned that a double whammy of   floodwaters from north running into the sea and high tides in the weekend could overwhelm the entire city, and linger for weeks.
• “After assessing the situation, we expect floodwater to remain in Bangkok for around two weeks to one month before going into the sea,” Prime Minister Shinawatra said.
• Floods have inundated more than two third of the country (62 of Thailand’s 77 provinces), claiming up to 400 lives, destroying or damaging at least a million homes, displacing 2.4 million people and affecting up to 10 million more.
• Thailand is world’s largest rice exporter and was forecast to export about 10.6 million tons (or 31 percent of the global trade) of the grain this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
• About 1.6 million hectares of standing crops (12.5 percent of total national cropped area) is destroyed or damaged according to the latest official estimates released last week. The actual figures could be as high as 3 million hectares or nearly a quarter of the total national cropped area.
• “According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, nearly 9.9 million heads of livestock are at risk. It is expected that this estimate will rise in the central plains as the flood waters are topped by water discharges from major dams which are beyond or almost at full capacity.” FAO said.
• The export price for grade B Thai white rice, Asia’s benchmark, has climbed by 13 percent so far this year to $625 per ton on October 19, reports said.
• As of today, many grocery stores in the capital are rationing what little food is left on the shelves.
• Drinking water has been contaminated in many areas, local reports said.
• About a million people have so far sought medical attention with complaints ranging from skin rashes due to prolonged water exposure to diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.
• Flooding has forced the closure of at least seven industrial parks bordering Bangkok.
• The tourism industry, which employes 2.2 million people and accounts for 6 percent of Thailand’s economy, is also hit hard.
• The cost of damage is estimated at 6 billion dollars and mounting.

[NOTE: Specific details of this forecast, which include the mechanisms of collapse and timeline, are not included. SEE blog content for explanation.]

Related Links

• Floods in SE Asia causing serious food shortages

• 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)
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

When Disasters Strike

Store Shelves Go Empty!

Images of the Day:

Britain’s Big Freeze Continues

The shelves are bare: Shortages have meant milk is running out in supermarkets like this store in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Source: Mail Online. Image may be subject to copyright.

Empty milk shelves at a shop in Sevenoaks, Kent, UK (Enterprise). Shoppers have been stocking up on winter essentials following reports of near-empty shelves in some areas and further freezing weather.  Source Metro. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• Europe Freezes Over 3 Weeks Early

Severe Drought Grips Southern Russia

Volga region, a major wheat-growing area in Russia, plagued by persistent drought

Severe drought persisted in southern Russia in June and July 2010. “Low rainfall and hot temperatures damaged 32 percent of the country’s grain crops, said Russian Agriculture Minister, Yelena Skrynnik on July 23.” The above satellite vegetation index image, generated from data collected by MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows the extent of crop damage in southern Russia (world’s 4th largest wheat exporter).    “The vegetation index is a reflection of photosynthesis. The index is high in areas where plants are dense, with plenty of photosynthesizing leaves. The index is low when plants are thin or not present. This image is a vegetation index anomaly image that compares photosynthesis between June 26 and July 11, 2010, to average conditions observed in late June and early July between 2000 and 2009. Below-average plant growth is shown in brown, while average growth is cream-colored. If there had been above-average growth in the region, it would have been represented in green.” Image and quotes from NASA E/O.  Acquired June 26, 2010 – July 11, 2010. Click image to enlarge. Download large image (6 MB, JPEG).

See Also: World Sizzling in Hottest Year to Date

Related Links:

• Soaring temperatures across Russia destroy 10 million hectares of crops and prompt a state of emergency to be declared in 17 regions.
• U.S. Had 8th Warmest June, Wetter
• Drought and Deluge
• Earth: Wounded and Feverish

• Kansas heat wave kills 2,000 cattle
• Collapse Diary
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [JULY]

STOP REPRODUCTION NOTICE!

STOP REPRODUCTION UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!

Based on what assumption are you still reproducing?

That there’ll always be food and clean water, at least for you and your family?

Menschenfresserin [“Female Cannibal”] by Leonhard Kern (1588–1662)

How will you feed your family if there were no more food in your refrigerator, at supermarkets, in fast food joints and on the farms?

Familiar with the food production cycle? Effects of drought, famine and starvation?

How long can you stay alive without food? How long can you keep your kids alive in the face of starvation?

Would you opt for cannibalism?

Eat your kids, if you had no food?

Could you bear watching your neighbors eating your kids?

How would you stop them?

Would you bring yourself to eat your neighbors’ kids?

What will you feed your kids?

If you can answer all but one of the above questions satisfactorily, if you are convinced the food supply will never run out and there’ll always be enough for you/your family, if you find the above image disturbing, it’s time you stopped reproducing.

P.S.
If you’re planning on hoarding food, don’t waste your time and energy because you can only save what you could carry on your back.

Praying for rain in parched Guyana

People across drought-hit Guyana pray for rain

Drought has devastated the small South American nation’s rice and sugar production, triggering food shortages among its indigenous communities.

Political Map of Guyana.

Summary of Geography and Demographic

• Capital: George Town (6°46′N 58°10′W)
• Ethnic groups:
  • East Indian,  43.5%
  • Black, 30.2%
  • Mixed, 17%
  • Indigenous Amerindian, 9.1%
• Area:
  • Total 214,999 km² (World’s 84th largest )
  • Water 8.4% water (!)
• Population:
  • 2009 estimate 772,000 (World’s 160th most populous)
  • 2002 census 751,223
  • Density 3.5/km² (world’s 225th ranking)

Little Water for Irrigation

“The government of the former British colony of about 750,000 people is struggling to irrigate farmland, with water at storage points reaching dangerously low levels.” Reuters reported.

Guyana, Venezuela, and several countries in the region have experienced drought since the onset of El Niño last year.

“The Amerindian communities are really badly hit,” President Bharrat Jagdeo was reported as saying on Friday, referring to to the indigenous people who make up 10 percent of Guyana’s population. “We have been supplying food to some communities but I need to increase that significantly.”

“The state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation said this week that cane growth and development had been affected at five of its eight estates. Replanting had to be cut back on four estates, it said.” Reuters reported.

The full impact of drought on sugar production would be known at the end of the second crop of 2010, Guyana Sugar said.

Related Links:

• Drought and Deluge
• Avila Fire Outside Caracas Consumes 120 ha