Disasters and emergency response
Foreign visitors to Myanmar near 750,000 in first seven months of 2016
Nearly 750,000 foreign nationals arrived in Myanmar through air and sea ports during the first seven months of 2016, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Industry observers predict another 500,000 will visit the country as the tourist season resumes in mid-October, pushing total numbers for ...
Experts warn of water scarcity
Low levels at dams could lead to problems if resources not carefully managed. While there is enough water available, resources have to be managed very carefully, as water experts have warned that mismanagement could result in serious problems. Sucharit Koontanakulvong, head of water resources engineering at ...
Homes, farmland swamped by floods
As heavy rains brought by tropical storm “Rai” persisted over the upper part of Thailand on September 15, many homes and tracts of farmland in downstream provinces were flooded by runoff. Phitsanulok ordered all scenic waterfalls linked to the Wang Thong River to be closed to ...
Rivers, canals gradually dying in Mekong River Delta
Rivers and canals in the southwestern region are becoming depleted as they are not regularly dredged and cleared, and are encroached upon by people’s housing. There are 26 seaports, big and small in Mekong Delta. The dredging capability and canal network in the region are factors ...
Warmer oceans bringing more severe tropical cyclones to land
Human-caused climate change has made certain typhoons more frequent and severe. Tropical cyclones can cause devastating and lethal damage to East and Southeast Asian countries. But accurately tracking changes in the frequency and intensity of typhoons is challenging in part because the data on these storms hasn’t ...
Pulp and paper supplier denies draining peat on island near Singapore
A NASA satellite detected 140 hotspots in West Kalimantan on September 12 as smallholders in the province continued to burn land for agriculture, Indonesia’s disaster management agency said on September 13. Data from Global Forest Watch shows the district of Ketapang recorded 144 fire alerts over the ...
Provinces prepare for worst amid downpour
With the rainy season in full swing, authorities in Oddar Meanchey and Kampong Thom provinces are taking measures to cope with flooding that has resulted from three straight days of downpour. Chea Piseth, spokesman for Oddar Meanchey Provincial Hall, on September 14 said that National Road 67A ...
Hydropower dam tunnel collapses in central Vietnam flash floods, many missing
At least two workers and 14 local residents are missing after a hydropower water tunnel collapsed in Quang Nam Province on September 13. Huynh Khanh Toan, vice chairman of the province People’s Committee, said flash floods triggered by Typhoon Rai caused the water tunnel at the ...
34 provinces on alert as storm Rai covers Thailand
The Meteorological Department issued a warning on September 13 to people in 34 provinces in the North, Northeast and East to brace for heavy rain and stay tuned for weather updates. As of early Wednesday, tropical storm “Rai” was over Laos and the Northeast on September ...
An elemental difference has developed among those concerned for wetland conservation
If this year’s severe drought returns next dry season, Uncle Wai Rodtayoy and other salt farmers in tambon Koek Kharm of Samut Sakhon, known as the country’s largest sea-salt-farming area, will see mounting debts. The price of salt this year bottomed at 450 baht per ...
