Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Feb. 17, 2016

One million children require treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa: UNICEF

Two years of erratic rain and drought have left about one million children in need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa, UNICEF said today.

Across the region, millions of children are at risk from hunger, water shortages and disease. It is a situation aggravated by rising food prices, forcing families to implement drastic coping mechanisms such as skipping meals and selling off assets.

States of disaster have been declared in Lesotho, Zimbabwe and most provinces in South Africa due to the growing resource shortages.

“In Ethiopia, the number of people in need of food assistance is expected to increase from over 10 million to 18 million.”

UNICEF says:

• In Ethiopia, two seasons of failed rains mean that near on six million children currently require food assistance, with school absenteeism increasing as children are forced to walk greater distances in search of water;
• In Somalia, more than two thirds of those in urgent need of assistance are displaced populations;
• In Kenya, El Niño related heavy rains and floods are aggravating cholera outbreaks;
• In Lesotho, one quarter of the population are affected. This aggravates grave circumstances for a country in which 34% of children are orphans, 57% of people live below the poverty line, and almost one in four adults live with HIV/Aids;
• In Zimbabwe, an estimated 2.8 million people are facing food and nutrition insecurity. The drought situation has resulted in reduced water yields from the few functioning boreholes exacerbating the risk to water-borne diseases, especially diarrhea and cholera;
• Malawi is facing the worst food crisis in nine years, with 2.8 million people (more than 15 per cent of the population) at risk of hunger; cases of severe acute malnutrition have just jumped by 100% in just two months, from December 2015 to January 2016;
• In Angola, an estimated 1.4 million people are affected by extreme weather conditions and 800,000 people are facing food insecurity, mainly in the semi-arid southern provinces.

Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said up to 49 million people in southern Africa.

“It is estimated that 40 million rural people and 9 million poor urban people who live in drought-affected areas could be exposed,” the WFP said on Monday.

Food Insecurity Threatens Nepal

Droughts, deluges and poverty leave 4 million Nepalese facing food insecurity 

Acute food shortages in 63 percent of households in the Mid-West and Far-West regions of Nepal has created a severe problem in the country, UN said.

• Acute malnutrition is at a critical level affecting about 400,000 Nepalese children.
• More than 91,000 children under the age of 5  are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
  • “Severe acute malnutrition is defined by a very low weight for height (below -3z scores of the median WHO growth standards), by visible severe wasting, or by the presence of nutritional oedema. Decreasing child mortality and improving maternal health depend heavily on reducing malnutrition, which is responsible, directly or indirectly, for 35% of deaths among children under five.” WHO said.

Global Drought

• 2012 Drought and Deluge Index Page

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Mexico. Popocatépetl Volcano Update

The following is the latest bulletin issued by CENAPRED

Apr 19 20:00 ( Apr 20 at 01:00 GMT)

Since the last report at 13:00 h. (local time), the monitoring system registered 9 low intensity exhalations. Additionally a volcanotectonic event of low magnitude was recorded at 18:50 h. (local time). After, since 18:42 h. and until the moment of this report several segments of spasmodic tremor of medium amplitude were registered including exhalation signals inside. Possibly, the first exhalations of this tremor were accompanied by moderate amounts of ash.

The volcano cannot be observed this afternoon, due to the cloudy conditions at the area. The steam and gas plume could be partially seen traveling to northeast.

[The alert level remains in Phase 3 “Yellow.”]

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background 

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun