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 and Deluge Plague Southern Africa

Tropical Storm FUNDI brings torrential rains to Madagascar, as below average rains deepen rainfall deficits in Angola and Namibia, said NOAA.

Storms, floods kill at least 158 in Mozambique

At least 158 people have been killed as floods plagues central and northern Mozambique, said the state news agency AIM.

More than 177,000 people were affected, many of them displaced as severe weather destroys 654 schools, 7 health centers and more than 100 places of worship, reported AIM.

Meantime, a cholera outbreak in Nampula, Niassa and Tete provinces have has killed at least 19 people, from a total of 1,671 cases, said the Deputy Health Minister

“Since mid-December, consistent and significantly heavy rainfall has been received over southeastern Africa. In parts of southern Malawi, as well as, central and northern Mozambique, these rains have resulted in widespread flooding, extensive damage to crops, livestock and infrastructure, thousands of displaced people, and fatalities. The excess moisture also has elevated the risk for downstream river inundation along the Shire, Licungo, Zambezi, Mazoe, Pungue, and Save Rivers in the region. Above-average rain forecast for the next week will keep flooding risks elevated,” said NOAA

Global Disasters: Wars, Floods and Cyclones

War on Syria: 10.8 million people displaced

About half of the entire Syrian population have been displaced, according to UNOCHA.

• About 12.2m people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
• Some 7.6 million people are internally displaced by the ongoing violence.
  
• More than 3.2 million people have fled the country.

Ukraine Conflict

More than 4,700 people have been killed and over 10,300 wounded in Ukraine since the unrest began, according to U.N. figures.

At least 5.2 million people are living in conflict zones including 1.4 million who are in very vulnerable conditions due to the bitter cold winter, lack of essential services and money problems, said the U.N.

More than 610,000 people have been uprooted in Ukraine and about 600,000 have been forced to leave the country as refugees, says UNOCHA.

Southern Africa: Floods and Cyclones Update

Malawi

At least 638,000 people have been affected by ongoing floods, which has left 121,000 others displaced, 50 people killed and 153 still missing.

Mozambique

“In Zambézia Province alone a total of 117,685 people (23,893 households) have been affected by floods, which has destroyed 4,963 houses, 378 classrooms, 6 health centers and 51 bridges. The death toll due to flooding, lightning and collapsed houses has increased to 64. Around 50,481 people (11,662 households) are being hosted in 49 accommodation centres,” said UNOCHA.

Madagascar

Continued rains in Madagascar are exacerbating the impact of Tropical Storm CHEDZA, with more flooding  reported north of the country.

The number of people affected has increased to 117,181 (provisional), with 35 people dead, said the National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC).

 

Malawi Floods Devastate Half the Country

500 Dead or missing, ¼ million displaced in Malawi floods

Malawi floods are a “national tragedy that urgently needs both local and international response,” the president has said.

The floods have devastated half the the country’s 28 districts, destroying thousands of homes, washing away scores of livestock, and submerging hundreds of hectares of crops, a senior official said.

Last week, the Malawi president declared more than a third of the country disaster areas, as torrential rains inundated large swathes of land, destroying crops, homes, roads, railroads and other infrastructure.

“I flew over some parts of the Lower Shire but we could not find anywhere to land,” said the country’s vice president. “It’s a big challenge we have before us.”

“Most of Nsanje and East Bank are submerged under two to three meters of water, which has transformed these vast plains into a giant lake engulfing houses and bridges,” said Doctors Without Borders’ mission head in Malawi’s south, AP reported.

“Sanitation will be compromised now with waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid likely to occur,” said Malawi’s health ministry spokesman.

“Sanitation will be compromised now with waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid likely to occur.”

Death and devastation in Mozambique

Malawi shares a river system with neighboring Mozambique, where floods have displaced up to 20,000 families, killing at least 52 people.

Related Links

• Disaster Declared as Deadly Floods Swamp Third of Malawi January 14, 2015
• Thousands Displaced by Deadly Floods in Malawi January 11, 2015

Disaster Declared as Deadly Floods Swamp Third of Malawi

Floods Kill Many in Malawi and Mozambique

At least 52 people have been killed and about 50,000 forced to flee their homes amid severe flooding in Malawi, UNOCHA reported.

Authorities have declared more than a third of the country disaster areas, as torrential rains inundated large swathes of land, destroying crops, homes, roads, railroads and other infrastructure.

Heavy rain is expected to continue for at least another week or so, forecasters said.

“People have fled into schools and churches on higher ground, others are in the open because there is not enough space,” a senior official  told  the AP.

Mozambique

The National Institute for Disaster Management activated institutional orange alert country wide. A total of 9,652 families have been affected, with Maputo city, Gaza, Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces being most affected.

A group of 25 schoolchildren were swept away by floodwaters earlier this week, said reports.

Zimbabwe

Heavy rains have been falling throughout Zimbabwe since early December 2014. According to the Department of Civil Protection, 11 deaths were reported and over 1,500 people have been affected by rainfall and flooding country-wide.

Related Links

• Thousands Displaced by Deadly Floods in Malawi January 11, 2015

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Nov. 30, 2013

SHAME ON YOU!

An entire generation of Syrian children are becoming casualties of the Saudi-supported terrorist war in the country, with the UN refugee agency calling the situation as “a shameful milestone of conflict.”

More than half of the 2.2 million Syrian refugees are children, young people aged 17 or under, as the country faces losing an entire generation, warns UNHCR.

Some 75 per cent of the refugee children are under the age of 12.

“Too many have been wounded physically, psychologically or both. Some children have been drawn into the war—their innocence ruthlessly exploited,”  said UNHCR in a report.

Many of those not at school go out to work for long hours and for low pay from as young as seven years old.

As many as 300,000 living in Lebanon and Jordan could be without formal education by the end of 2013, said UNHCR.

Thousands of children in Jordan and Lebanon are living without one or both of their parents, or with no adult caregivers at all.

Philippine Mega Disaster:  Death toll rises to 5,632 with 1,759 others missing and  26,136 injured

Death toll from Super Typhoon HAIYAN climbed to 5,632, after 34 bodies were recovered in central Tacloban city since Thursday, said the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The number of people missing also rose to 1,759, with 26,136 others reported injured due to HAIYAN [ locally known as YOLANDA.] Read more…

Another day of massacre in Iraq leaves at least 55 dead

At least 55 people were killed  on Friday as sectarian violence continues to spiral in Iraq.

Most of the victims were targeted individuals who had been snatched  from their homes in Baghdad and neighboring towns, and executed,  authorities said.

Police discovered 18 corpses early morning, including four policemen, an army major and two tribal chiefs, dumped in farmland near the town of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq, so far this year.

Mozambique airliner carrying 34 people vanishes

A passenger plane carrying 34 people vanished from radar screens over northeast Namibia en route from Mozambique to Angola on Friday, said the Mozambique Airlines .

The Embraer 190 with 28 passengers and six crews failed to arrive at the Angolan capital Luanda, authorities said.

Ukraine riot police break up pro-Europe demonstrations

Ukrainian riot police used batons and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of pro-Europe protesters on Saturday following a night of violence in the capital Kiev after President Yanukovich decided against a landmark pact with Europe. Read more…

Police helicopter crashes into Glasgow “pub”

At least three people were killed and dozens of other injured after a police helicopter crashed into a busy pub in Glasgow, Scotland.

Scottish authorities have declared a major incident after a police helicopter with a crew of three came down on the roof of a public house with an estimated 120 people inside.

55 found HIV positive in tests for blood donation in Japan

Some 55 of the 782 cases of new HIV infections confirmed across Japan between January and September 2013 were detected in tests for blood donors, according Japan’s health ministry.

Among every 100,000 blood donors, 1.4 people tested positive for HIV this year, the ministry’s data show. The rate is 1.8 times the nationwide ratio for HIV carriers detected last year.

Earlier this month, blood donated from an HIV-infected man was given to 2 people, one of whom became infected, said NHK.

The health authorities have not revealed the criteria for the test. It’s unclear what percentage of the donors are tested for HIV, given the latest infections.

Food Riots Break Out in Bangladesh and Kenya

See Main Entry: We Need Food!