Deadly Floods, Landslides Displace or Impact Millions across South Asia

Deadlier than average monsoon rains wreak havoc in India, Nepal and Bangladesh

Incessant rains have destroyed roads, bridges and other public infrastructure, washed away crops and killed scores of people and farm animals across South Asia.

The floods have ruined hundreds of thousands of homes, affecting or displacing up to 10 million people, according to local news.

Sierra Leone mudslide

The death toll in Sierra Leone mudslide has passed 500, with at least 600 others still missing.

Congo

Meanwhile, a massive landslide in eastern Congo buried a village last week, and may have killed hundreds of people.

Additional information on increasing threats of landslides in central and west and Africa are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Weak Monsoon Threatens Drought in India

UPDATED

Indian Govt Downgrades Monsoon Forecast to 88%

Rainfall below 90% is considered as drought year: IMD

India’s June-September monsoon rains will most likely be “deficient” this year and India Meteorological Department (IMD) has revised its earlier forecast from 93% to 88%, said the country’s earth sciences minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday.

A five-day delay in the arrival of the monsoons has also been forecast, as large parts of the country experience a searing heatwave that has killed more than 2,500.

“The rain-bearing system, that typically begins its four-month journey across India on June 1 in Kerala, is also crucial for power, drinking and irrigation. A bad monsoon hits power production since hydropower accounts for a quarter of India’s electricity output, critical for industry and households alike,” said a report.

Rainfall in NW India is likely to be 85 percent of the Long Period Term Average (LPA), 90% of LPA over the Central region, 92% of LPA over South Peninsula and 92% of LPA over the Northeast, with a margin of error of ±8%,  the minister added.

The monthly rainfall over the entire country is forecast at 92% of LPA during the month of July, and 90% of LPA in August (margin of error of ±9%).

Minister Blames Climate Change

“Let us not fool ourselves that there is no connection between the unusual number of deaths from the ongoing heat wave and the certainty of another failed monsoon. It’s not just an unusually hot summer, it is climate change,” said Vardhan.

India is Asia’s third-largest economy and world’s 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The world’s second most populous country [pop: more than 1.2 billion,] India is home to 194 million hungry people—the highest number globally.

 

Indian Govt Downgrades Monsoon Forecast to 88%

Rainfall below 90% is considered as drought year: IMD

India’s June-September monsoon rains will most likely be “deficient” this year and India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) has revised its earlier forecast from 93% to 88%, said the country’s earth sciences minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday.

A five-day delay in the arrival of the monsoons has also been forecast, as large parts of the country experience a searing heatwave that has killed more than 2,500.

“The rain-bearing system, that typically begins its four-month journey across India on June 1 in Kerala, is also crucial for power, drinking and irrigation. A bad monsoon hits power production since hydropower accounts for a quarter of India’s electricity output, critical for industry and households alike,” said a report.

Rainfall in NW India is likely to be 85 percent of the Long-Term Average (LPA), 90% of LPA over the Central region, 92% of LPA over South Peninsula and 92% of LPA over the Northeast, with a margin of error of ±8%,  the minister added.

Minister Blames Climate Change

“Let us not fool ourselves that there is no connection between the unusual number of deaths from the ongoing heat wave and the certainty of another failed monsoon. It’s not just an unusually hot summer, it is climate change,” said Vardhan.

India is Asia’s third-largest economy and world’s 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The world’s second most populous country [pop: more than 1.2 billion,] India is home to 194 million hungry people—the highest number globally.

 

Monsoon Rains Destroy 15,000+ Homes Across Pakistan, Killing Many

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,275 Days Left

[September 18, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. 

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,275 Days Left to the ‘Worst 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

Pakistan: Monsoon Rains

• Monsoon rains have left about 1,000 people killed or injured, destroying more than 15,000 homes, and damaging thousands more, across Pakistan since August 22.

See also: Cloudbursts Kill Dozens in India

United States: West Nile Virus (WNV) – [UPDATED Sept 20, 2012]

• As of September 18, 2012, 48 states have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes. At least three thousand five hundred and seven  human West Nile virus infections including 134 deaths [to be confirmed] have been reported to CDC ArboNET from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

West Nile virus (WNV) activity reported to ArboNET, United States, 2012 (Sept 18, 2012)

As of September 18, 2012, 48 states have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes. At least three thousand five hundred and seven (3,507)  human West Nile virus infections including 134 deaths have resulted  from WNV infection across 35 states, so far this year. The reported WNV cases include 52% neuroinvasive disease cases (such as meningitis or encephalitis). Source: CDC/ Vector-Borne Diseases

Footnote: The map displays white areas that represent no WNV activity reported, light green areas that represent any WNV activity* , dark green circles that represent disease cases, and dark green triangles that represent presumptive viremic blood donors.

* Includes WNV human disease cases, presumptive viremic blood donors, veterinary disease cases and infections in mosquitoes, birds, and sentinel animals.
† Presumptive viremic blood donors have a positive screening test which has not necessarily been confirmed.

Map shows the distribution of WNV activity* (shaded in light green), human infections (dark green circles), and presumptive viremic blood donors (dark green triangles) occurring during 2012 by state. If West Nile virus infection is reported from any area of a state, that entire state is shaded.

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

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

3.5m Pakistani children face waterborne diseases

Pakistan Flood Tragedy Enters New Phase

A quarter of Pakistan, including its agricultural heartland, has been inundated

“Up to 3.5 million children are at high risk of deadly water-borne diseases, such as watery diarrhoea and dysentery,” Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, AFP reported.

“What concerns us the most is water and health. Clean water is essential to prevent deadly water-borne diseases. Water during the flood has been contaminated badly. There is a shortage of clean water,” he added.

Pakistan – Floods Impact Profile [13 August 2010] – Click images to enlarge.

MAP OF FLOOD DAMAGED HOUSES

YOUR RESPONSE

YOU have a moral duty to help victims of disasters; however, do NOT enrich the international aid mafia. DO NOT give any money to the American Red Cross, or any outfit headed by Clinton/Bush, Hollywood (film and music scenes) people, ex-politicians, or senior members of the UN organizations.

Related Links:

• Intense rains affect 1 in 10 Pakistani
• Collapse of Pakistan May Have Started
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [AUGUST]
• Between Hell and High Water
• Pakistan Floods Kill 1,000

• Collapse Diary
• 2010 Disaster Calendar

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion
• Energy Dinosaurs

Intense rains affect 1 in 10 Pakistani

Inordinate monsoon rains impact about 10% of Pakistan’s population

Indus River basin floods have now become Pakistan’s worst ever natural disaster, leaving as many as 4,000 people dead and severely affecting the lives of about 10 percent of the population.  This image based on NASA’s TRMM satellite depicts rain rates between August 1 and August 9, 2010, compared to  long-term average rates. Blue shows areas with much more intense rain than normal; brown indicates less intensity. “Dark blue spots cover the regions of Pakistan, India, and China where the floods and landslides occurred. These regions received as much as 24 millimeters of rain per day above normal daily rainfall. A broad swath of very intense rain also covers Indonesia and parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.” Source: NASA E/O. Click here for caption in full. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links:

• Collapse of Pakistan May Have Started
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [AUGUST]
• Between Hell and High Water
• Pakistan Floods Kill 1,000
• Collapse Diary

• 2010 Disaster Calendar
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion
• Energy Dinosaurs

Monsoon Season Strikes Sri Lanka

3 days of torrential rain, strong winds and lightening herald start of  monsoon season in SW Sri Lanka

The storms have claimed at least one life and injured many others, affecting about 20,000 people throughout the country.

Sri Lanka is struck by two monsoons each year: The southwest monsoon season, which has just started lasts until September, while the northeast monsoon normally starts in October lasting through January, a report said.

“Officials at the landslide unit of the National Building Research Organization urged residents in certain parts of Colombo to be on guard about possible landslides. Although landslides are more common in the mountainous regions of Sri Lanka than in areas around Colombo, officials said poorly-built structures, particularly at higher elevations, could become dangerous during heavy rain.”

Related Links:

• Deadly Rainstorms, Landslides Strike Central China
• Violent Storms Kill at least 65 in S China
• 2010 Likely the Most Disastrous Year on Record: FEWW
• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters
• 2010 Disasters
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [May]
• Landslides

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