Disasters and emergency response
A wetland laid to waste
Fires tore through the Tonle Sap wetlands last year, destroying an estimated third of the seasonally flooded forests that surround the lake. The loss of the trees, which are breeding grounds for freshwater fish, poses an existential threat to the area’s ecology and to the ...
Vietnamese province declares ‘state of emergency’ as 2,500ha lake threatens to give way
Authorities in Thai Nguyen Province in northern Vietnam have declared a state of emergency as Nui Coc, a massive man-made freshwater lake, threatens to give way due to permeation at any moment. Tens of thousands of residents living in nearby lowlands are susceptible to the ...
Núi Cốc Lake dam leaks a danger
With some 175 million cubic metres of water stored in an elevated position, Núi Cốc Lake’s major dam in the northern province of Thái Nguyên could devastate downstream areas if it broke, experts have said.Thái Nguyên City, Sông Công City, Phổ Yên Township, Phú Bình ...
Natural calamities in Asia, Pacific threat to infra: ADB
Asia and Pacific countries, including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, need to thwart challenges posed by natural calamities that have been taking toll on their infrastructure, ADB has said.They will have to find solution in greener infrastructure to restrict global mean temperature rise, it said.Shattered ...
Sri Lanka deploys more troops as flood toll climbs to 180
Thousands of Sri Lankan troops battled on Monday (May 29) to get relief supplies to over half a million people displaced by the island’s worst flooding for 14 years, which has killed at least 180 people. The military said a lull in torrential monsoon rains allowed ...
HCM City set to clear canals
The HCM City People’s Committee has asked district authorities to work with agencies to crack down on illegal encroachment on rivers, canals and the drainage system in an aim to prevent flooding. Lê Văn Khoa, vice chairman of the People’s Committee, said that illegal encroachment on ...
Myanmar included in assessment on emergency disaster response
A baseline assessment on emergency disaster response will be done by Asia Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in six countries, including Myanmar, in the last week of May and lasting for about a month. The assessment is a three-year project titled: Strengthening Emergency Response Capacity of Local Humanitarian ...
Flooding sweeps nation
AS THE weather bureau yesterday warned of heavy rains in upper Thailand, various provinces reported flooding and officials were told to monitor the situation in at-risk areas. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said overnight rains had caused flooding at 25 areas but thanks to ...
Death toll 34 from lightning, thunderstorms
A total of 23 people from Kachin, Kayah and Rakhine states as well as the Magwe, Tanintharyi, Yangon and Ayeyarwady regions, and Nay Pyi Taw, died as a result of being hit by lightning from April 1 to May 9. The Department of Relief and ...
Gales kill three, 3,000 homes damaged
Three people were killed and nearly 3,000 houses were damaged by the gales that swept between May 5 and 7 in some regions and states. The Relief, Resettlement, and Social Welfare department said that three people died in Leiway of Nay Pyi Taw and Hommalin in ...