When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

Asia-Pacific Human Enhanced Disasters – UPDATE  #4

Typhoon Parma turned to sea on Sunday, but not before hitting northeastern Philippines, killing five people, and causing extensive damage and flooding.

Parma was the strongest typhoon to hit Philippines since 2006.

Local residents make their way through floodwaters in Taytay township, Rizal province east of Manila, Philippines, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009. Powerful winds toppled power poles and trees Saturday in the northern Philippines as the second typhoon in eight days bore down on the country. (Wally Santana/AP Photo). Image may be subject to copyright.

“The destruction in our infrastructure and agriculture is huge. Wide areas are still under water, including rice fields about to be harvested.” Said Alvaro Antonio, the governor of the northern Cagayan province, the worst hit area.

Many areas are inaccessible due to large landslides and there are power outages throughout the region. It’s difficult to assess the full extent of the damage, because the phone lines are down, too, Antonio said.

“Winds are still strong, but no more rains. Our relief works are ongoing,” he said.

Buildings are seen under in floodwaters following the passage of Typhoon Parma in Nabua township,  Camarines Sur province, Philippines, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. Landslides buried two families in the Philippines as they sheltered in their homes from Asia’s latest deadly typhoon, which killed at least 16 people and left more than a dozen villages flooded Sunday. (AP Phot: Nelson Salting). Image may be subject to copyright.

Nearly 150,000 people on the east coast of Philippines had fled their homes well before typhoon Parma made landfall.

The cost of crop damage in the area is estimated at $2.5 million, mostly in rice and corn fields in Isabela and Cagayan regions.

Officials estimate that the cost of damage from Ketsana last week to rice crops, ready to be harvested, will exceed $120 million, with another $40 million in damages to the infrastructure.

Flood survivors crowd an evacuation centre in the town of San Pedro, Laguna province, south of Manila.  Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

The Philippines is the world’s largest rice importer, some 10 percent of its annual needs, and with Ketsana and Parma devastating large areas of ready to harvest crops, it may have to import  more, mostly from Vietnam.

“I am not worried about rice shortage for 2009 because we have enough buffer stock. But, we’re watching the impact for the first and second quarters of 2010,” Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap was reported as saying. “If needed, we will import rice.”

Flood survivors line up to receive food and drinking water in Manila. Disaster agencies say they are overwhelmed by the scale of disaster. Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Storm Ketsana had destroyed about 290,000 tons of rice crops ready to be harvest, according to Yap, about five days worth of consumption nationally; however, the government has about 32 days buffer stock stock until December.

Typhoon Ketsana Pummels Vietnam

Typhoon Ketsana headed west toward Laos on Wednesday after battering central Vietnam. Much of Danang is seen under water on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters.Image may be subject to copyright.

“We are waiting for the water level to subside and determine the extent of the damage on rice farms,” Yap said.

“The Philippines has imported 1.775 million tonnes of milled rice so far this year, of which 1.5 million tonnes was purchased via an intergovernment deal with Vietnam.” Reuters reported.

In August, official in Vietnam said the government may agree to sell an additional 400,000 tons of rice to the Philippines

Prior to the damage caused by Ketsana and Parma, the Philippines government had forecast that the rice harvest for the October-December quarter, the busiest for the country” would reach 6.48 million tons, a 4 percent increase on 2008.

Parama is the latest human enhanced disaster to hit the Asia-Pacific region following Ketsana that killed about 410 in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Ketsana also displaced up to 100,000 people in southern Laos and caused flash floods in northern Thailand.

An islander walks in the debris on the south coast of Upolu Island of Samoa, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. Samoa’s tourism industry said Friday it fears a “second tsunami” of vacation cancellations after deadly earthquake-triggered waves wiped out some of the South Pacific country’s most idyllic white-sand beaches and resorts. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Huang Xingwei). Image may be subject to copyright.

A tsunami swamped parts of the American and Western Samoa islands, killing as many as 170 people, with dozens more unaccounted for.

Rescue workers look for survivors inside the Ambacan Hotel which collapsed in the earthquake hit area of Padang, West Sumatra province October 2, 2009. REUTERS/Nicky Loh. Image may be subject to copyright.

Two powerful earthquakes devastated a 100km stretch of the coastal areas west of the  Indonesian island of Sumatra, with the death toll likely to exceed 4,000 (UN figures).

Related Links:

• Earthquakes: Human Enhanced Disasters – UPDATE 3 Oct 2009
• Earthquakes: Human Enhanced Disasters – UPDATE 2 Oct 2009
• Another Strong Quake Hits Sumatra
• Disaster Update: Indonesia Quake
• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
• Another Strong Quake Hits Sumatra
• Disaster Update: Indonesia Quake
• More Megaquakes May Strike PRF Anytime

• Magnitude 8.3 Quake Strikes Samoa Islands Region
• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Bill Becomes Hurricane, Strengthening

• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana
• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory

Disaster Update: Indonesia Quake

Indonesia Quake, Typhoon Ketsana and Samoa Tsunami

The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southern Sumatra, Indonesia has reached about 200, but is likely to rise sharply.

Students walk out from a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Padang, on Indonesia’s Sumatra island September 30, 2009. REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper

Let’s be clear about this. The quake that hit Padang, Sumatra, was much stronger than reported. It was at least a magnitude 7.8, about 3 times stronger than reported.

Some high-rise buildings in Singapore, about 450 km northeast of the epicenter felt the tremors, which also shook some office buildings in  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed late last night that in Jakarta, that the death toll would rise because there was substantial damage in the area with many buildings  collapsed.

Based on the information received and experience from the previous events, FEWW Moderators believe that the death toll might be as high as 2 – 3,000, with many more number of injuries.

“The big buildings are down. The concrete buildings are all down, the hospitals, the main markets, down and burned. A lot of people died in there. A lot of places are burning,” Australian businesswoman  in Padang told Australian radio.

“Most of the damage is in the town center in the big buildings. The little houses, the people’s houses, there are a few damaged, but nothing dramatic. It’s not all a rubble heap in terms of smaller buildings.”

“The quake was followed by a very heavy rain. Many houses and some building are flattened in my area. But I cannot yet verify too much. We will try to compile the data and distribute aid once the rain subsides,” the district mayor of Pariaman District, one of the worst hit areas told reporters.

“A number of hotels in Padang have been destroyed,” Rahmat Triyono, an  employee of the Indonesian geophysics and meteorology agency, told AFP.

“Up to now we haven’t been able to reach Padang, communications have been cut,” he added.

An eye-witness reportedly told Reuters that there was “extreme panic” in the city, with bridges collapsing,  and water from broken pipes causing flooding.

Related Links:

• Reuters Photo Gallery

• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
• Deadly Earthquake Strikes Java, Indonesia
• Magnitude 8.3 Quake Strikes Samoa Islands Region
• The Largest Earthquake
• Earthquakes [Main Index Page]