20+ Million People Threatened by Starvation and Famine in 4 Countries

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.

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.

States of Emergency Declared in Peru and Nigeria

Mercury contamination prompts state of emergency declaration in Peru

Peru’s President Ollanta Humala has declared a 60-day state of emergency in the three provinces of Madre de Dios, Southern Amazon, because of extremely high levels of mercury contamination allegedly from illegal gold mining.

The Executive Order proclaims states of emergency in the three province of Manu, Tahuamanu and Tambopata, covering the towns of  Puerto Maldonado, Inambari, Las Piedras, Labyrinth, Fitzcarrald, Huepetuhe, Madre de Dios, Iñapari and Iberia said a report.

About 41% of the population, 40,000 to 50,000 people,  have been exposed to high levels of mercury contamination, particularly in the area of the Upper and Lower Madre de Dios and reserves inhabited by indigenous people in Amarakaeri area, where the exposure is six times the maximum permissible levels, said the country’s environment minister.

The mercury exposure is poisoning the people, polluting rivers and contaminating the fish, he said.

Nigeria declares a state of emergency as insects destroy crops

Nigeria’s Kaduna State has declared a state of emergency after moths destroyed up to 80% of tomato farms across the state. The damage caused by the tomato leafminer (aka tuta absoluta and South American tomato moth) exceeds 1bn naira ($5.1m).

More than 200 tomato farms in Kaduna have been affected over the past month.

A leaf miner is the larva of an insect that lives in leaf tissue of crops and consumes it. Most leaf-mining insects are moths, sawflies (a type of wasp) and flies, though several types of beetles also destroy plants in similar ways.

“Governor Nasir El-Rufai has declared a state of emergency on tomatoes in the state. In the past one month 12 local government areas of the state who produce tomatoes have lost 80% of their tomatoes harvest,” said the Commissioner of Agriculture.

“In three local government areas about 200 farmers have lost one billion naira worth of their tomatoes. So you can imagine the magnitude of the losses. It is so severe that even Dangote [conglomerate] who has established a tomato processing plant in Kano had to shut down production.”

At least eight other states in northern Nigeria have also been affected by the insects, the Commissioner added.

Terrorists Killing Off Farms in Nigeria

Impact of terrorism on agriculture and food security

More than 17,000 farmers, fearing Boko Haram terrorists, have fled from northeastern Nigeria to the south since 2012, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, Irin reported. 

The terrorists attack villages, slaughtering farmers, their families and farm animals, and leaving farms abandoned and disused.

“Ongoing attacks have destroyed land and killed thousands of young men since 2009, and, in some cases, wiped out or displaced entire generations of farmers and herders. The future of many rural communities in northeastern Nigeria is, at best, uncertain, at worst, unsustainable.”

“In the rural north, the youth are the pillars of agriculture, tending to farms and cattle,” said a farmer from Askira. “Now, six years of Boko Haram violence has left farms idle and animals dead or stolen.”

Villager have lost everything, including their sons, to Boko Haram terrorists.

Many farmers have restricted their movements to “safe areas” and work limited hours in the fields to minimize the risk. But they fear the impact this would have on food supplies. Further terrorist attacks could mean food shortages this year.

Bulama Modu, a rice farmer from Gwoza who has since taken refuge at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Malkohi, told IRIN: “Boko Haram has prevented farmers from tilling their fields. They have been attacking us and many farmers were killed, mostly youth. We had to run without tilling our rice.”

The terrorists first  imposed levies and taxes on the farmers in exchange for not burning their crops, ranging from about one to three million naira ($6,000–$18,000), depending on the size of the village.

“But later, they started slaughtering people and this situation forced us all to flee,” a farmer said.

More than 17,000 farmers, fearing for their lives, have fled from northeastern Nigeria to the south since 2012, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) says food production throughout the region will be below average this year, and that areas of western Yobe State, northern Adamawa State and most of Borno State, along with areas in and around Maiduguri, where many IDPs have taken refuge, are expected to remain “in crisis” until at least March 2016.

Food prices have been affected severely. Since Boko Haram began attacking farmers the prices of beans and onions have risen by up to 70 percent., said the report.

“Most of our traders are now afraid to go to the food markets up north,” Daudu told IRIN. “Transporters see it as [a] high risk going to such places as Maiduguri to carry farm produce.”

After a popular Baga fish market in Borno State was attacked one morning by Boko Haram, gunmen, many food stores locked their door and let the food inside to perish,” said a victim. “It is not only the farmers that are running away, [but] the food sellers and transporters too.”

Landmine risk

Many farmers have tried to return to their land but are unable to replant their fields due to landmines. They are forced to do other work  until their land has been cleared.

Mine explosions in farm fields have killed, maimed or injured many farmers, as they return to their land.

 

1.47 Million Children Forced to Flee Conflict in Nigeria, Region

Child refugee crisis in Nigeria, neighboring countries

Deadly attacks by the armed group Boko Haram has uprooted 500,000 children since March 2015, bringing the total number of children on the run in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries to about 1.47 million, reported UNICEF.

Nearly 1.2 million children—over half of them under 5 years old—have been uprooted in northern Nigeria, while an additional 265,000 children have been forced to flee their homes in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, said the report.

• More than 124,000 children affected by the conflict have NOT been immunized against measles.
• At least 83,000 still lack access to safe water
• Over 208,000 are out of school.

2.1 Million Displaced in Nigeria: IOM

‘Intensification of attacks by insurgents’ raises Nigeria IDP total from 1.3 to 2.1 million since June

More than 2.1 million Nigerians or 300,000 households are now internally displaced in northern Nigeria, based on Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) of International Organization for Migration (IOM), said a report.

“The increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the 1.3 million recorded in the June DTM report can be attributed to the intensification of attacks carried-out by the insurgents, as well as to improved access to previously inaccessible areas of Borno State, where the IDP population is now well over 1.6 million.”

 

‘Mystery Disease’ Kills Victims within 24 Hrs

Mysterious disease kills at least 18 in Nigeria

Eighteen people have died after contracting a mysterious disease since it broke out early this week in Ode-Irele town, in southeastern Nigeria, said the Ondo state government spokesperson.

Symptoms of disease include headache, blurred vision and loss of consciousness followed by death, occurring within 24 hours, he said.

Laboratory tests have so far ruled out Ebola and other known viruses, added the official.

Health experts both from Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and aid agencies, as well as WHO epidemiologists, have arrived in Ode-Irele to investigate the outbreak.

WHO spokesperson told reporters that the victims began showing symptoms between April 13 and 15.

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 Emergencies 2015 – Week 11

Severe Humanitarian Crisis

Iraq: 26,000 people have fled fighting between Islamic State and Iraqi security forces in Tikrit for Samarra. Food, shelter, health and WASH needs are priorities. More than 100 families have arrived in Al Dour, located between Tikrit and Samarra, and thousands have fled to central and southern governorates.

South Sudan: Heavy fighting between government and opposition was reported in Upper Nile state, and government troops took control of Wadakona town. Many civilians are reported trapped. Peace talks have collapsed.

Nigeria: Boko Haram-related violence has caused over 4,000 deaths in Borno state alone since January 2015. At least 5.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Source: ReliefWeb
(Week 11, 2015)

Ghost Town: Diffa in Niger ‘Virtually Empty’

Violence spreading from NE Nigeria into Chad, Cameroon and Niger

Violence is spreading from north-east Nigeria into neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger, exacerbating the refugee exodus across the region, said said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Friday.

“In Niger, fighting broke out last week between the Niger armed forces and Nigerian insurgents in the town of Bosso, which is located near Lake Chad in the southern region of Diffa. This has been followed by a series of attacks in Diffa town against civilians, including by suicide bombers. With fear and panic spreading fast, large parts of the population of Diffa are moving further west, towards the city of Zinder,” said UNHCR.

Boko Haram attacks against Diffa and Bosso, both located about 1,300km south of the capital, Niamey, prompted the Niger government to declare a state of emergency in the southeast.

Diffa is a city and Urban Commune in SE Niger, near that border with Nigeria, with a population of about 50,000 in 2011.

“W fear that the scale of displacement is high: Prior to the attacks Diffa had a population of 50,000 – today the town is virtually empty,” a spokesperson for UNHCR told reporters.

He warned that there are serious shortages of food and clean water, across the region.

“This situation is being further exacerbated, as shops remain closed and humanitarian actors have had to significantly reduce their activities in the Diffa region because of the general insecurity. At present there are no humanitarian actors left in Bosso,” he said.

In May 2013, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, and more than 157,000 people fled the country including at least 100,000 people who crossed the border into Niger.

[An additional 1 million people are internally displaced inside Nigeria, according to the country’s National Emergency Management Agency.]

“We are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation, as several thousand people are at present without any assistance. We are working with authorities to securely deploy aid workers as soon as possible and at the same time we are preparing for rapid evaluation and response assessments,” the UNHCR spokesman said.

“In Cameroon, the situation is as worrying,” he added, citing reports of killings, abductions and violence in the country’s Far North region near the border with Nigeria. There are more than 40,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon.

In Chad, some 3,000 Nigerian refugees were registered as of the end of last year. A further 15,000 have fled into Chad since to escape attacks in and around the north-east Nigerian town of Bagakawa.

‘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.”

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – September 29, 2013

Deep Freeze Ends Growing Season in Nevada Counties

The growing season has ended for White Pine, Southern Lander and Southern Eureka counties, said NWS.

Temperatures dipped into the 20s across the majority of Southern Lander/Eureka and White Pine counties on Friday, killing most tender vegetation in these areas.

Light freezes have also occurred in other forecast zones including Northern Lander, Northern Eureka, Southeastern Elko and northern Nye counties. Growing season in isolated areas in these counties may have also ended.

-oOo-

Dozens drown as Nigeria boat sinks

At least 48 people drowned and more that 100 others are reported missing after a boat sank on the River Niger in central Nigeria late Friday, according to local reports.

The boat may have been overloaded, carrying more that two and a half times the number of passengers allowed, reports said.

-oOo-

Dozens Still missing after refugee boat sinks

“More than 30 people were still missing two days after a boat carrying asylum seekers to Australia sank off the Indonesian coast, killing 22 people including seven children,” Indonesian security officials said.

-oOo-

Dozens killed in Mumbai building collapse

Death toll reached 60 on Sunday in the collapsed apartment building in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, officials said. Some 33 others were rescued from the building’s wreckage.

The five-story building, which collapsed on Friday, was the third deadly cave-in of a Mumbai structure in six months, said a report.

“In April, at least 72 people died when an illegally constructed building fell. Two months later, a three-story structure collapsed, killing at least 10 people, including five children.”

-oOo-

Giant Hornets Kill Dozens in China

Attacks by swarms of giant hornets in Shaanxi province, central China, has left at least 28 people dead and up to a thousand others injured, many of them seriously, according to reports.

Terrorized victims have described being chased by large swarms of hornets for hundreds of yards and stung as many as 200 times over several minutes.

The insects have a highly toxic sting that can lead to anaphylactic shock and kidney failure, according to experts.

It’s believed that the swarms are populated mainly by the Asian giant hornet or Vespa mandarinia, which grows up to 50mm (2 ins.) long with a 6mm sting.

Experts have previously suggested that warmer temperatures in the region may be responsible for hornets breeding more successfully.

-oOo-

Wisconsin Gov Signs Emergency Declaration for Buckling I-43 bridge\

A span on the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay shows signs of buckling Wednesday in this view looking west. Gov. Scott Walker signed an emergency declaration Friday that makes federal funds available for repairs. Photo credit: Jim Matthews/ jsonline.com

-oOo-

German Town Evacuated after Gas Explosion

The entire town of Hartenhausen (population: ~ 3,000) near Ludwigshafen  in central Germany was evacuated on Saturday after a major gas explosion injured 16 firefighters and shattered windows. The blast was so powerful it could be heard up to 30 kilometers away, AP reported.

-oOo-

50 Nigerian students killed in armed attack

At least 50 Nigerian students have been killed in an armed attack, AP reported. The attack occurred at an agricultural college in northeast Nigeria’s Yobe State.  Gunmen broke into the college dorm at night and shot students as they slept. The authorities have blamed the Boko Haram [“Western education is forbidden”] group.

-oOo-

Bomb blasts kill 39 in Peshawar, NW Pakistan

Two bomb explosions in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar killed 36 people and wounded more than 100 on Sunday, authorities said.

The victims included 12 members of a family who were shopping at the blast sites, according to local officials.
The powerful blasts destroyed about 20 buildings and many vehicles in nearby streets.

The Peshawar twin blasts were the third major terrorist in the city over the past 8 days. A twin suicide bomb attack on a Christian church on September 22 killed more than more than 80 people. On Friday September 27, a bomb planted on a bus carrying local government employees exploded killing at least 19 people.

-oOo-

Iraq Violence: Death Toll for September Reaches 1,079

At least 30 more people were killed in Iraq Saturday and Sunday, as of posting, in the cities of Arbil, Baghdad, Baiji, Basra, Falluja Mosul, Mussayab, Muqdadiya and Tikrit by bombs, AEDs, IEDs and gunfire, raising the death toll for September to 1,079 so far.

Death toll for 2013 has exceeded 6,000 and is expected to climb higher.

Continued…

Disaster Diary – April 22, 2013

Earthquake in China: Up to 208 dead, 11,500 injured, 150,000 displaced, 1.5 million affected

The magnitude 7.0 quake, which struck the mountainous Lushan County of Sichuan Province in SW China on Saturday, has killed up to 208 people (184 bodies recovered, 24 others missing), injured more than 11,500, including about 1,000 serious injuries, left an estimated 150,000 people homeless, and directly affected at least 1.5 million people.

More than 2,300 aftershocks have been recorded in Lushan County as of 4 p.m. Beijing time on Monday, the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) reported; however, only four of the initial shocks were significant, measuring greater than 5.0Mw.

More than 200 major landslides have blocked 57 roads and highways  in 3 areas within the quake damage zone, China’s CCTV reported. The landslides have also severely damaged much of the vegetation in the disaster zone increasing the likelihood of more landslides triggered by rain.

Freeze frame from a CCTV video clip showing one of more than 200 major landslides that have caused 57 road and highway blockages in the quake hit area of Sichuan Province, SW China.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Nigeria fighting: Scores killed, more than 2,000 homes destroyed

Intense fighting between the Nigerian military forces and Boko Haram militants in Baga, northern Nigeria has reportedly killed about 200 people.

• Much of the town was torched, including some 2,000 homes, causing many of the fatalities. Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
• “Residents of Baga fled into the bush and only returned on Sunday afternoon to find much of the town destroyed and human and animal corpses strewn through the streets,” said a report.
• Since 2009, thousands of people have lost their life in the Boko Haram insurgency.

CHINA: Avian Flu Cases Steadily Rising

China confirmed two new cases of human H7N9 avian influenza in Zhejiang Province. The total number of reported infections stand at 104, including 21 deaths, as of 4:00 pm Monday, Beijing time, said a report.

US: City of Grand Rapids Declares a State of Emergency

Rising Grand River has inundated scores of homes in several western Michigan towns and communities, prompting the authorities to declare states of emergency in Grand Rapids and Kent county.

The mayor of small town of Beardstown, has also declared a state of emergency, as Illinois River water levels continued to rise.

Illinois Gov. Quinn has declared 3 additional counties disaster areas from flooding, raising the disaster declaration total  to at least 41 counties.

Flooding and high water across the Midwesthave been responsible for at least 6 deaths, reports said.

Flooding have been reported in six states, and Flood Warnings were in effect across parts of 14 states, as of posting.

US Flood Map shows 174 locations in flood as of 04/22/2013 at 11:50 am EDT [04/22/2013 15:50 UTC]

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 22, 2013 —  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,055 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,055 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

Global Disasters/ Significant Events Headlines – 2 April 2013

Eurozone unemployment rate hits new record high

The official number of people unemployed in the 17 member states rose by 33,000 in February, surpassing 19.07 million, said Eurostat.

• The highest rate was 26.4% in Greece (December 2012 figure).
• Spain’s unemployment rate rose to 26.3% in February.
• The rate in Portugal was largely unchanged at 17.5%.

CHINA

China’s Coal Addiction Claims More Lives

Two explosions in three days at the same Chinese coal mine have killed at least 34 miners and left  24 others missing, said a report.

The blasts occurred at a state-owned colliery operating under the name of Tonghua Mining (Group), located at the Babao Coal Mine in Jiangyuan District, city of Baishanin in China’s northeastern Jilin Province

The first blast occurred on late Friday, killing 28 people and injuring 13 others.

NIGERIA

19 killed, 4,500 displaced in Nigeria’s ethnic violence

Attacks on three communities in ethnically divided central Nigeria have left 19 people dead and 4,500 others displaced, reports said.

• The gun attacks followed a long-running dispute between a mainly Muslim Fulanis and the mostly Christian Atakar ethnic groups in the Kaura district, a remote region of Kaduna state, AFP reported.

• “Apart from the gun attacks, the assailants also set fire to homes,” a local government official told AFP.

• “There has been some misunderstanding between the Fulani and the Atakar communities for some time,” Kaduna state police commissioner said.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 2, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,075 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,075 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

Royal Dutch Shell spills about 40,000 barrels off Nigeria

Major spill moving toward densely populated Nigerian coastline

“Less than 40,000 barrels of oil” has been leaked into the ocean, admitted the Anglo-Dutch oil monster.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 23

[December 23, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,545 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Nigeria.  A major oil spill caused by the the Anglo-Dutch oil monster Royal Dutch Shell is moving towards the most densely populated Nigerian coastline.
• The spill is said to be the biggest leak in Nigeria since 1998 and has forced the company shutdown of the company’s to shut down its 200,000bpd floating Bonga facility, about 120km off the coast of Nigeria.
• “The giant Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is in use at Shell’s Bonga oilfield (discovered in 1993 and with a life of 20 years), which lies 120km off the coast of the Niger Delta, covering an area of 60km². The vessel, which became operational in 2004, is permanently installed in water depths ranging from 1,000m to 1,125m. First oil production was made in November 2005.”

Other Global Incidents

• Alaska, USA. Western Alaska declared major disaster area following massive November storm. The Disaster President has declared a major disaster exists in Western Alaska following the damage caused by the Bering Sea mega storm and flooding during the period of November 8-10, 2011.
• The worst affected ares are the North Slope Borough, the Bering Strait Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA), the Lower Kuskokwim REAA, the Lower Yukon REAA, and the Southwest Region REAA.

• Christchurch, New Zealand. A cluster of more than a dozen quakes have struck NZ’s Christchurch area since earlier today. The largest quake so far measured 6.0 on the Richter Scale.  
• Several building have collapsed, and many more have been damaged.
• Dozens of people have been injured, reports said.
• Significant flooding and liquefaction have occurred in eastern suburbs of the city;  rockfalls were reported in several areas.
• See also
• Earthquake Cluster Zone Closing in on New Zealand
• https://feww.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/christchurch-could-vanish-from-google-map/
• https://feww.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/a-magnitude-7-earthquake-hits-kermadec-islands/

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

Humongous Dust Storm Sweeps Africa

10,000-km dust storm plagues Africa

Click here to download large image (5 MB, JPEG)

A massive  dust storm stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean swept across the southern Sahara Desert, Africa on March 19, 2010. Composite image, spanning more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles), was taken by NASA/Aqua/Terra/ MODIS and consists of 7 satellite overpasses. Gray triangular areas represent satellites blind spots. The composite also captured another dust storm blowing across Arabia (see upper right corner). Source: NASA

Related Links:

• Snow, Dust, Rain and Fire
• More Dust Storms Plague Arabian Peninsula
• Australia: World’s Smallest Continental Dust Bowl
• Could Dust Storms Bury Sydney, Australia?
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• And dust to dust …
• The Mesopotamian Dust Bowl
• Image of the Day: Sandstorm in Saudi Desert