Disasters and emergency response
Disasters
Indonesia to prepare 500,000 hectares for rice crops amid El Nino phenomenon
JAKARTA: The Indonesian government will prepare 500,000 hectares of agricultural land for rice production in anticipation of the long drought brought on by the El Nino climate phenomenon. According to a Presidential Secretariat’s Press, Media and Information Bureau (BPMI) statement, Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said ...
Rhea Yasmine Alis Haizan
Laos to proceed with seventh Mekong dam despite impact concerns
Pressing ahead with its vision to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia,” the government of Laos is going forward with plans to build its seventh of nine mainstream dams on the Mekong River, despite widespread concerns that it could inflict social and environmental damage. The 728-megawatt ...
Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
Myanmar: Junta Blocks Lifesaving Cyclone Aid
(Bangkok) – The Myanmar junta’s increasing obstruction of humanitarian aid in the month since Cyclone Mocha has put thousands of lives at immediate risk and endangered millions of people, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the cyclone made landfall on May 14, 2023, junta authorities have refused ...
HRW
NASA satellite network bolsters Mekong River observations
Unevenly split across a half-dozen country borders, the will for transboundary management of the Mekong River rises and falls like its water levels. But now, with the help of the U.S. space agency NASA, satellite data is set to play an increasingly prominent role in taking ...
ANTON L. DELGADO
Strong northeast monsoon winds could bring salinity to Mekong Delta
Additionally, strong operation of the northeast monsoon winds also can bring salinity at a depth of 50-65 kilometers, affecting water intake from the sluices. According to the latest news from the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research on March 3, the largest saltwater intrusion at the ...
Vinh Tuong- Translated by Huyen Huong
Thai farmers near Mekong lose land as riverbanks collapse
Thai communities living along the Mekong River have watched their land disappear before their eyes as riverbanks collapse. However, what has caused these riverbank collapses is unclear. Local residents link the riverbank collapses to the irregular water flows that have been seen since the commercial launch ...
Thitipan Pattanamongkol
AI Weather Forecast Startup Sets Sights On Asia-Pacific Region
Atmo, an AI weather forecast system, has set its sights on the Asia-Pacific region to help improve the lives of citizens, said CEO Alexander Levy in an interview during the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last November. Levy said during the interview that the Asia-Pacific region is ...
Jonathan Meadley
Netizens Report Mass Chicken Deaths Across Laos
The Laotian Times spoke with an official from the Lao Farmer Network regarding a poultry disease that has been killing many chickens lately as discussed by several residents in Laos on social media. Many Lao residents including foreigners living in Laos recently took to social media to state ...
Phontham Visapra
Thailand announces ‘no-burning’ rule until end-April to prevent wildfires, haze
In a bid to prevent the spread of wildfires and haze in the country, the Thai government has imposed a three-month no-burning rule across all localities. The rule, which kicked in on Feb 1, will be in effect until the end of April. In a statement on ...
Asyraf Kamil
Heavy Rains Improve Mekong Life, But Concerns Remain
Heavy rains and a bumper fish crop have improved life along the Mekong River after a nearly four-year drought, poor harvests and the pandemic took a heavy toll on some 65 million people who rely on the waterway for their daily livelihoods. According to the Laos-based ...
Luke Hunt