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Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria face major humanitarian crisis —UN
Excerpts from UN humanitarian chief’s statement to the Security Council on 10 March 2017:
Yemen
It’s already the largest humanitarian crisis in the world and the Yemeni people now face the specter of famine. Today, two-thirds of the population – 18.8 million people – need assistance and more than 7 million are hungry and do not know where there next meal will come from. That is 3 million people more than in January. As fighting continues and escalates, displacement increases. With health facilities destroyed and damaged, diseases are sweeping through the country.
South Sudan
The famine in South Sudan is man-made. Parties to the conflict are parties to the famine – as are those not intervening to make the violence stop. More than 7.5 million people need assistance, up by 1.4 million from last year. About 3.4 million people are displaced, of which almost 200,000 have fled South Sudan since January alone. A localized famine was declared for Leer and Mayendit [counties] on 20 February, an area where violence and insecurity have compromised humanitarian access for years. More than one million children are estimated to be acutely malnourished across the country; including 270,000 children who face the imminent risk of death should they not be reached in time with assistance. Meanwhile, the cholera outbreak that began in June 2016 has spread to more locations.
Somalia
In Somalia, more than half the population – 6.2 million people – need humanitarian and protection assistance, including 2.9 million who are at risk of famine and require immediate assistance to save or sustain their lives, close to 1 million children under the age of 5 will be acutely malnourished this year. In the last two months alone, nearly 160,000 people have been displaced due to severe drought conditions, adding to the already 1.1 million people who live in appalling conditions around the country.
Nigeria and the Lake Chad region
10.7 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection, including 7.1 million people who are severely food insecure. Humanitarian partners scaled up their response to reach the most vulnerable groups threatened by violence, food insecurity and famine, particularly in North-Eastern Nigeria.
Kenya
Over 2.7 million Kenyans are now food insecure, a number likely to reach 4 million by April.
FIRE-EARTH Alert: Horn of Africa – Convergence of Climatic, Conflict and Economic Shocks
The number of food insecure people in the region facing Crisis and Emergency has more than doubled in the 12 months to September from 11.0 million to 23.4 million people. The worst affected countries are Ethiopia (9.7 million people), South Sudan (4.79 million people), and Sudan (4.42 million people).
Full details of the Alert are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.
6.5 Million people (39 percent of Malawi’s projected population) likely to be food insecure in 2016/17
At least 6.5 million people, or 39 percent of the country’s projected population of 16.8 million, will not be able to meet their annual food requirements during the 2016/17 consumption period, according to The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, through the Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC).
This represents an increase of 129 percent compared with the corresponding figure of 2.8 million people for the 2015/16 consumption period. In order to ensure that the affected people survive up to the next harvest period without disrupting their socioeconomic livelihoods, the total humanitarian food assistance that is required is estimated at the equivalent of 493,000 metric tonnes of maize, with an estimated cash value of MK148 billion. However, the estimated humanitarian food assistance declines to the equivalent of 375,000 metric tonnes of maize if we adjust for the fact that some of the affected people may sell their assets in order to acquire food.
“The food shortage is largely a result of the El Nino climatic episode experienced across the country during the 2015/16 agricultural reason,” the government said.
The MVAC figures stated above relate to the total food requirement for the vulnerable population only. This is lower than the maize consumption deficit of 790,000 metric tonnes affecting 8.4 million people, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development based on the Second Round Crop Estimates released in April 2016. The main difference between the two sets of figures arises from the fact that part of the maize consumption deficit relates to the consumption needs of those who can afford to procure it on the market, if available, without the need for humanitarian support. The MVAC figures exclude such consumption needs which are, nevertheless, a significant part of the Government’s overall intervention plans.
Iraq
More than 3.3 million Iraqis, or about 10 per cent of the population, have been displaced due to acts of violence perpetrated by the Saudi-backed Wahhabi terrorists (ISIL) since the start of 2014.
At least 500,000 people fled Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, when terrorists stormed the city in June 2014. Many have been displaced multiple times, and most face extreme hardship.
South Sudan
More than 2.4 million people have been displaced since fighting broke out in Juba in December 2013. This includes 720,394 people who have crossed into neighboring countries. Six Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites are currently sheltering 169,983 internally displaced people (IDPs): 98,653 in Bentiu; 40,448 in Malakal; 27,959 in Juba; 2,004 in Bor; 700 in Melut; and, 219 in Wau, said the UN Mission in South Sudan.
Somalia
Extreme rain events in the upper part of the Ethiopian highlands have caused river Shabelle to overflow. The flood waters have destroyed crops and that fields remain inaccessible.
“The flood has destroyed almost everything. The majority of the community here operates a small business in a local market. They could no longer work as the place is submerged with water. We do hope in a month’s time it will dry up and we can start rebuilding our lives,” said a local elder.
[District of] Beletweyne hosts 31,000 displaced people, the majority of whom have fled conflict in the neighboring districts of Jalalqsi and Bulle Burte. The residents who live in a low-lying areas have moved to higher ground in El Jaale, five kilometres from Beletweyne.
“This flooding is the worst in years. It covered most of the town and surroundings. As the people move to higher grounds, they are in need of everything. The ICRC is providing food and other basic items, clean water and health care to the most affected communities. This will enable them to hold on as they start to rebuild their homes,” said the region’s field coordinator for the ICRC in Somalia.
2.8 Million people Need Food Aid in Drought-Hit Central America: UN
At least 2.8 million people in three Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras—need food aid after two consecutive years of severe drought decimated crops and exacerbated hunger among the poor, said the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“People are and have been selling their assets to survive, selling land and seeds, reducing the number of meals a day and reducing their amount of protein intake,” said a disaster response coordinator for Central America at the U.N. humanitarian agency (OCHA).
“Right now the situation is very serious, and it’s fragile.”
At an estimated 3 million tonnes across the subregion, this year’s maize harvest is expected to be far below average and some 8 percent below last year’s already compromised harvest.
Production declines are expected to be particularly sharp in El Salvador and Honduras, which both saw 60 percent of their maize crops destroyed by the irregular rainfall earlier this year. In El Salvador alone, losses are estimated at $28 million in seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and land preparation. Honduras additionally saw 80 percent of its beans perish.
In Guatemala’s most affected areas, some 80 percent of crops are estimated to have been lost, including 55,000 tonnes of maize and 11,500 tonnes of beans, affecting over 150,000 families.
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.”
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.
Casualties reported in Karabakh amid escalating conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
“The Armed Forces of Armenia violated the truce along the line of contact 127 times over the past 24 hours,” Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
“Active combat is currently underway. The Armenian Army has launched a counterattack… There are victims on both sides but the opposing side has sustained huge losses in manpower and equipment, a [Azerbaijani] helicopter has been shot down,” the Armenian Defense Ministry’s spokesperson said.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in 1988, after the predominantly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed its independence in 1991, prompting a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994. http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160402/1037362816/armenia-azerbaijan-karabakh-violent.html
Other Significant Events
Drought Plagues Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam’s, largest and most fertile plain, has been plagued by once-in-a-century drought since late last year, seriously affecting people’s lives. The region extends more than 40,000 square kilometers covering 13 provinces and cities.
“The ongoing serious drought is damaging some 160,000 hectares of paddy rice in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, causing losses of some 5,000 billion Vietnamese dong (222.2 million U.S. dollars), and affecting about 290,000 hectares of fruit trees, local media reported Tuesday.” http://news.xinhuanet.com/
South Sudan: Between 20,000 and 50,000 people are now reported to have been displaced in Wau county, Western Bahr el Ghazal, since fighting escalated in February.
Sudan: 24,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Jebel Marra in the last month, bringing the total displaced since mid-January to over 129,000.
An additional 70,000 people are thought to have fled to Central Darfur, but access restrictions have made this impossible to verify.
Côte d’Ivoire: Clashes between Fulani herders and Lobi farmers in the northeastern town of Bouna have led to at least 20 dead and 39 injured. Around 1,200 people reportedly fled to Burkina Faso, while another 2,000 have sought refuge at the UN base in Bouna town.
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.
Southern Africa’s planting window closes with little or no prospect of rain
About 14 million people in southern Africa are facing hunger after a poor harvest last year caused by prolonged periods of drought.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says it is increasingly concerned about food security for an estimated 14 million people in southern Africa after prolonged periods of drought led to a poor harvest in 2015.
The window for the planting of cereals is closing rapidly, or already closed in some countries, with little or no rain falling in many areas, and the outlook is alarming, said WFP.
“Driving through southern Zambia, I saw fields of crops severely stressed from lack of water and met farmers who are struggling to cope with a second season of erratic rains,” said WFP Executive Director who recently visited to drought-prone southern Zambia. “Zambia is one of the biggest breadbaskets in the region and what’s happening there gives serious cause for concern not only for Zambia itself but all countries in the region.”
Worst affected in the region by last year’s poor rains are Malawi (2.8 million people facing hunger), Madagascar (nearly 1.9 million people) and Zimbabwe (1.5 million) where last year’s harvest was reduced by half compared to the previous year because of massive crop failure.
In Lesotho, the government last month declared a drought emergency and some 650,000 people – one third of the population – do not have enough food. In Lesotho as elsewhere, water is in extremely short supply for both crops and livestock. Also causing concern are Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland.
Food prices across southern Africa have been rising due to reduced production and availability. The price of maize – the staple for most of the region – is 73 percent higher in Malawi than the three-year average for this time of year.
“One particularly worrying symptom of southern Africa’s vulnerability to food and nutrition security is the alarming rate of chronic malnutrition. Levels of stunting among children in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are among the worst in the world. This affects children’s physical growth, cognitive development, as well as their future health and productivity,” said the report.
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.
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.
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.
South Sudan is weeks away from worst famine in recent African history: UN
Unless comprehensive action is taken to address hunger in South Sudan before the planting season ends in May, the country faces one of the worst famines in African history, UN agencies have said.
“If we miss the planting season, there will be a catastrophic decline in food security,” said Toby Lanzer, the Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary-General for the UN Mission in South Sudan. “What will strike that country, and it will hit about seven million people, will be more grave than anything that continent has seen since the mid-1980s.”
Based on the UN assessment, the crucial planting season in South Sudan will end in less than 5 weeks.
South Sudan: 7 Million at Risk of Hunger and Disease
Video clips and photos taken in the hot spots of South Sudan since conflict erupted there on 15 December 2013. Posted on YT by Toby Lanzer.
Locust plague threatens livelihoods of 60% of Madagascar population
Locust infestations is threatening the livelihoods of 13 million Malagasy, about 60 percent of the population, nine million of whom entirely depend on Agriculture.
The locust could wipe out food crops and livestock grazing lands and destroy the peasant families’ ability to provide for themselves, said the FAO.
“The heart of the locust plague is in the country’s southwestern region – an area prone to drought and cyclones, where more than 80 percent of the people live below the poverty line. In February 2013, Cyclone Haruna flooded rice fields in the region’s coastal areas – rice production is central to Madagascar’s economy – causing significant damage while also creating ideal breeding conditions for locusts. ”
More than 1.5 million hectares, some two-thirds of the country, could be infested by locusts by September 2013, said FAO.
A locust plague can last more than a decade, if left untreated, progressively intensifying each season. Tens of billion of locusts devastate food crops, as well as grazing lands, which are vital for keeping livestock healthy and productive.
Adult Migratory Locusts can multiply quickly, forming highly mobile groups and swarms. Depending on its size, a swarm – made up of millions of locusts – can eat up to 100 000 tonnes of green vegetation per day. A locust plague – which is what Madagascar is now facing – means thousands of swarms. That translates to billions of locusts. —FAO
Image of the Day: Hundreds of billions of plant-devouring insects hit Madagascar island.
The worst locust plague to hit Madagascar in 6 decades
A severe plague of locusts has infested about half of Madagascar, threatening crops and raising concerns about food shortages, according to FAO, a UN agency. FAO image viaBBC.
“Nearly 60% of the island’s more than 22m people could be threatened by a significant worsening of hunger in a country that already had extremely high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition,” said FAO.
“The last one was in the 1950s and it had a duration of 17 years so if nothing is done it can last for five to 10 years, depending on the conditions.” FAO locust control expert told BBC Focus on Africa.
“Currently, about half the country is infested by hoppers and flying swarms – each swarm made up of billions of plant-devouring insects,” the FAO said.
“FAO estimates that about two-thirds of the island country will be affected by the locust plague by September 2013 if no action is taken.”
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DISASTER CALENDAR – March 28, 2013— SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,080 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,080 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,141 Days Left
[January 26, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,141 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …
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Global Disasters/ Significant Events
“We are eating grasshoppers”
Severe flooding, triggered by week-long extreme rain events in South Africa and Zimbabwe, continued to spread across southern Mozambique.
“The number of displaced people now stood at 67,995 while nearly 85,000 have been affected by the raging waters in recent days, the UN said, urging donors to urgently make more funds available ‘to help deal with this emergency’ in the impoverished southeast African nation.”
Hunger is setting in among tens of thousands of the victims who are waiting for help to arrive, said a report.
“We are eating grasshoppers,” a flood victim told AFP, adding that she believed they were the “lucky ones.”
“We have family in the town, our aunts. They must be on the rooftops now,” she said.
“We left at midnight without taking food. We have nothing to sleep under.”
A crocodile farm in northern South Africa was forced to open its gates after being inundated, letting loose at least 15,000 crocodiles.
Australia
Several ‘mini-tornadoes’ spawned by the remnants of cyclone Oswald have hit the Queensland coast injuring about two dozen people, as severe weather and flooding batters the disaster state.
The tornadoes have damaged scores of homes and forced the evacuation of towns around Bundaberg, reports said.
Tornadoes caused severe damage to coastal townships of Bargara and Burnett Heads, both of which have since been declared disaster areas.
Further north, severe flooding in Gladstone led to the city (population ~ 30,000) being declared a disaster zone, and the authorities told at least 2,000 people to evacuate.
“Cities are facing water rationing, and Tulsa residents will see dying lawns, trees and plants.”
It cost twice as much to feed the livestock. “A load of feed, which lasts about a month, has gone from about $3,500 to $7,500.”
USDA has declared 917 counties as primary and contiguous drought disaster areas including the entire state of Oklahoma and parts of 25 other states, in January 2013.
High Plains Drought Map. Source: Drought Monitor Archives
10 million threatened by hunger as Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger declare states of emergency
Niger (pop: ~ 16million) is the worst affected country with almost half of its population left without enough to eat.
Disaster Calendar 2012 – February 20
[February 20, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,486 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History
The Sahel, Africa. Ten million people are threatened by hunger across the Sahel, as Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger declare states of emergency.
“Nearly half of Niger does not have enough to eat. The 5.4 million people struggling to stay alive are part of a wider crisis affecting at least 10 million people across the swath across Africa that borders the Sahara, known as the Sahel,” said a spokeswoman for Mercy Corps.
“This is the third time in the last decade the people of the Sahel have faced severe food shortages.”
Other Disasters
Global. Wildfires kill about 339,000 people each year, according to a new study.
The fires consume about 450 million hectares, an area half the size of Canada.
Urban air pollution kills about 2.4 million people globally each year, said The World Health Organization (WHO); however, the true figure may be 10 times as many.]
About 157,000 of the deaths caused by wildfires occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and 110,000 deaths in southeast Asia.
The study suggests a link between climate and wildfire mortality.
El Niño years, when the surface ocean temperature rises in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, claim an average of 532,000 lives, twice as many as the cooler La Niña years, averaging 262,000 deaths per year.
Widespread hunger strikes indigenous Tarahumara following historic drought
The worst recorded drought in Mexico’s history has severely affected more than 2.5 million people, destroying about 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of cropland in 7 northern states.
Disaster Calendar 2012 – January 21
[January 21, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,516 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History
Chihuahua State, Mexico. The worst recorded drought in more than 70 years has severely affected 2.5 million people, destroying about 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of cropland in 7 northern states.
The worst affected people are the Tarahumara (Rarámuri).
An estimated 60,000 Tarahumara have been impacted and 90 percent of the local bean crop has failed.
The Organized Front of Indigenous Organizations earlier reported that community members were committing suicide because they were unable to feed their children.
“The indigenous women, when they don´t have anything to feed their children for four or five days, get very sad and that sadness is so great that up to the end of December [2011], 50 men and women threw themselves off cliffs … or hanged themselves,” said the group´s director Ramón Gardea.
The Interior Ministry has denied reports of mass suicides among the Tarahumara communities.
The Mexican Red Cross said the widespread hunger was a “food emergency.”
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.
“There is no food, no water, no clothes … I want to know what I’m supposed to do … we haven’t found anything to eat in two, three days. Nothing at all.” Pastor Arnaud Dumas
TS Hannah the third tropical storm to strike Haiti in three weeks has left the northern Haitian city of Gonaives submerged in two meters of water. According to AP’s latest report there are 137 confirmed deaths in Haiti.
Hurricane Hanna is seen southeast of Nassau. The system was drifting toward the west near 3 km/hr with maximum sustained winds of about 130km/hr. Dated 2008.09.02 at 08:45UTC – Credit NOAA/NESDIS/EVP
Haitian President Rene Preval declared the situation in his impoverished Caribbean nation a “catastrophe.”
Thousands of people including patients in a flooded hospital have moved to upper floor rooms, balconies and roofs, waiting for the floodwater to recede.
“There are a lot of people who have been on top of the roofs of their homes over 24 hours now … They have no water, no food and we can’t even help them.” The interior minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, told Reuters news. An aerial view of floods caused by Tropical Storm Hanna is seen in Gonaives September 3, 2008. REUTERS/Marco Dormino/Minustah/Handout
In Cuba more than 500 schools and 100,000 homes were affected. “There are severe damages to the electrical system. It’s practically on the floor,” said the vice- president, Carlos Lage. “In terms of buildings and homes, roofs are generally gone. The island is exposed to the sky.” Thousands of tons of tobacco leaves, coffee, grapefruit and other produce have been destroyed.
A Bolivian peacekeeper, left, stands on an area flooded by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hanna next to residents in Savan Desole, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. The storm has spawned flooding in Haiti that left 10 people dead in Gonaives, along Haiti’s western coast, according to the country’s civil protection department.(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos). Image may be subject to copyright.
Fidel Castro, Cuba’s ex-president likened the destruction to the nuclear attack on Hiroshima. “The photos and videos transmitted on national television reminded me of the desolation I saw when I visited Hiroshima.”
Hurricane Ike in a satellite image taken September 4, 2008. Hurricane Ike strengthened rapidly into an fiercely dangerous Category 4 hurricane in the open Atlantic on Wednesday. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout
Meanwhile, hurricane Ike, a very dangerous category 4B hurricane with sustained winds of about 230 km/hr is revving up about 1,000 km northeast of Haiti. Ike is expected to turn west in the next 24 hours.
MAHALLA EL-KOBRA, Egypt (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators angry about rising prices and stagnant salaries hurled bricks at police who responded with tear gas Sunday in a gritty northern industrial town as Egyptians defied government warnings and staged a nationwide strike.
Fire Earth 