PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Escalation In Mosquito-Borne Diseases Continue - Yellow Fever Outbreak Kills 37 People In Angola!

A yellow fever outbreak in Angola has killed 37 people since December, the country's national director of health Adelaide de Carvalho.
Picture: AFP/ Luis Robayo

February 12, 2016 - ANGOLA - A yellow fever outbreak in Angola has killed 37 people since December with eight new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the country's national director of health Adelaide de Carvalho said late on Wednesday.

The outbreak of yellow fever, which is transmitted by mosquito bites, began in the Luanda suburb of Viana but has spread to other areas of the southern African country with 191 people infected so far.

De Carvalho said health officials were monitoring suburbs around the capital of Luanda where infections have been worsened by unsanitary conditions caused by a garbage collection backlog.

“Actions should be developed for the improvement of public sanitary and garbage collection,” de Carvalho said.

Symptoms of yellow fever include sudden fever, severe headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. - IOL.

MONUMENTAL DELUGE: Widespread Flooding – The Latest Reports Of High Tides, Heavy Rainfall, Flash Floods, Sea Level Rise, And Catastrophic Storms!

January 22, 2015 - EARTH - The following list constitutes the latest reports of high tides, heavy rainfall, flash floods, widespread flooding, sea level rise and catastrophic storms.

Malawi Floods – 250 Square Miles Under Water

Nsanje and Chikwawa, Malawi Jan 2015. Malawi Red Cross

Vice President Saulos Chilima yesterday 21 January 2015, issued a statement on the current flood situation in Malawi In it he said that Malawi’s Department of Surveys estimates that 63,531 hectares (about 245 square miles) have been submersed by the flood waters.

Areas and Numbers Affected

Since later December, floods have affected 15 of the country’s 28 districts, including Chikwawa, Nsanje, Phalombe, Zomba, Rumphi, Karonga, Thyolo, Machinga, Mangochi, Ntcheu, Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Balaka, Salima and Blantyre.

The Department of Surveys estimates that 63,531 hectare have been submersed by flood waters as of 21 January 2015 – about 245 square miles, an area just under the size of Singapore.

Displaced

There remains some confusion over numbers of casualties and displaced. Figures understandably change as further assessments are carried out.
In his statement, the Vice President said that currently 121,000 households were displaced. Most of those displaced are living in displacement sites like: churches, schools and evacuation centres. In an earlier statement, the UN said that the number of displaced is 121,000 people rather than households.

Casualties

The latest figures from the Government regarding the number of victims puts the total at 62 deaths, with a further 153 people still missing.

Crop Damage

The Malawi government estimate that around 120,000 farmers country-wide have been affected by the floods, which have submerged around 40,000 hectares of farm land. The government say this represents an expected food production loss of over 48,000 metric tons.

Malawi Defence Force Rescues

Rescue operations continue and the Malawi Defence Force and other organisations have been using boats and helicopters to rescue those still cut off by the floods and to find those (153) still missing.
The MDF has also been involved in delivery of relief items, which is still ongoing.

Aid and Relief

According to WFP, a total of 33,500 metric tons of relief food at an estimated cost of $22 million U.S. is needed to feed thousands of displaced people in Malawi.

International governments have been quick to respond to the crisis and contributions have come from countries including US, UK, Japan, South Africa, EU, Canada and Zambia, with further promises from Ireland and Germany once a Disaster Response Plan has been finalised.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on 20 January, 2015:

“Search and rescue operations continue with relief supplies being dispatched to affected areas, and such assistance includes food and non-food items and chlorine for water treatment in affected communities.”

The Red Cross, with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, plans to assist 40,000 affected people in Chikwawa, Nsanje, Phalombe and some urban parts of the city of Blantyre between February and March.

Ethel Kaimila, Secretary General of the Malawi Red Cross Society, said that “Working through our local volunteers, we have been responding to the disaster and helping victims in all the affected areas,”

Apart from general response operations, the Red Cross has directly supported 7,000 displaced people with tarpaulins, family tents, shelter kits, mosquito nets and hospital tents.

“The affected people will need continued support for some time and we need 2.7 million US dollars to provide such support between,” added Kaimila.

Funds raised will be used to distribute additional emergency relief supplies such as kitchen sets, shelter kits and tarpaulins; food supplies to support displaced families for three months, and to rehabilitate 600 houses damaged by the floods.

Marshall Islands King Tide Floods

The Marshall Islands sits in the open ocean located about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, in the region of the Pacific known as Micronesia. The average height above sea level of its 1,225 islets in 29 atolls is only 7 feet (2 meters). As such, it is extremely vulnerable to rises in sea levels.

Yesterday 21 January 2015, a king tide flooded wide areas of the capital, Majuro, as well as several of the country’s outer islands, including Mejit, Kili, Utrik and Ailuk. Further flooding is expected, and could be worsened if accompanied by strong winds and storm surges.

The flooding has caused damage to property and some roads. Some reports say local schools had to be evacuated. There are no reports of any casualties.

Photos below courtesy of Tony de Brum, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Regular High Tide Floods

Many areas of the Marshal Islands are of course no stranger to coastal flooding.

In March last year, a storm surge combined with a an extreme high tide flooded parts of the Marshall Islands, including the capital Majuro, early on Monday 3 March 2014. Around 800 people had to evacuate their homes and stay in temporary accommodation.

Later in the year, during October 2014, high waves and tide caused yet more coastal damage and flooding.

Marshal Islands – The Canary in the Coal Mine

Christopher Loeak, President of the Marshall Islands, last year presented the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, calling for the world to be more ambitious on climate action.

He also has warned the world against indifference, saying what is happening in his country is just a foretaste of what other countries will soon experience. In a video address, he said:

“We are all in the same boat together; what is happening here is a mere preview … If my country goes, others will surely follow.”“We are the canary in the coal mine.”

In September last year United Nations chose 26-year-old Marshall Islands poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner to be a keynote speaker at the U.N.’s climate summit in New York

In her address, she said:

“We’ve seen waves crashing into our homes and our breadfruit trees wither from salt and droughts. We look at our children and wonder how they will know themselves or their culture should they lose our islands.”

Thousands Evacuated after Floods in Malaysia and Indonesia

Heavy rainfall in Borneo and Sumatra over the last 3 days has left parts of Malaysia and Indonesia struggling with yet more flooding. Malaysia is still recovering from the floods of December 2014 in the north of the country, which were some of the worst flooding seen in years.

Floods in Sarawak, Malaysia, January 2015. Photo: BOMBA

Sarawak, Malaysia

In Borneo, over 5,000 people have been evacuated in the flood-hit state of Sarawak. This figure has dropped slightly from almost 7,000 earlier today. 38 relief centres have been set up to house those displaced by the floods.

The worst affected area is around the state capital of Kuching, where at one point almost 5,000 were staying in temporary accommodation. Just over 1,000 people have been displaced in Padawan.

One flood-related death has been reported in Mukah, when a teenage girl drowned after a boat capsized in rough waters.

Floods in Sarawak, Malaysia, January 2015. Photo: BOMBA

Power Outages

The heavy rain has caused power outages in Limbang, Bau and Lundu after Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) said it had shut down several substations in areas affected by torrential rain

Flood Waters Receding but More Rain Forecast

Some reports say that the flood water have started to recede, at least in some places, allowing almost 2,000 to return to their homes. Malaysia’s Drainage and Irrigation Department say there are currently no rivers with water levels at the danger point.

The rainfall over the last 24 hours has been less intense. 64 mm of rain fell in Kuching in 24 hours yesterday, compared to over 250 mm the day before.

However, further heavy rainfall has been forecast for parts of Borneo, including parts of Sarawak, and the Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued Orange level severe weather warnings.

Floods in Sarawak, Malaysia, January 2015. Photo: BOMBA

East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Just over the border from Sarawak, the Indonesian provinces of East and West Kalimantan has also been affected by heavy rain and flooding over the last 3 days. Over 160 mm of rain fell in 24 hours in Putussibau yesterday, according to WMO.
Around 1,000 people have been evacuated in East Kalimantan after a river overflowed in the province.

Sumatra

Elsewhere in Indonesia, over 2,000 people have been evacuated in Aceh province after floods in South Aceh regency that first struck almost one week ago. Pidie Jaya regency has also been badly affected and 4,000 houses have been reportedly damaged as a result.

NASA's Earth Observatory Images Of Madagascar Flooding That Killed 13 People And Damaged Over 3,000 Homes

A tropical disturbance that had already swamped southern Africa with rain strengthened into a tropical storm as it passed over the Mozambique Channel on January 15, 2015. When tropical storm Chedza passed over Madagascar the next day, it brought lashing winds and heavy rains that killed at least 13 people, destroyed or damaged more than 3,000 homes, and displaced 9,500 people.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this image of flooding along the Tsiribihina River on January 20, 2015. For comparison, the lower image shows the same area on December 3, 2014. Turn on the comparison tool to slide between the two images. In the more recent image, brown, sediment-rich floodwater spills across the river delta and into the Mozambique Channel.

Several settlements along the Tsiribihina River—including Belo Tsiribihina and Masoarivo—appear to be at least partially flooded. The same weather system produced widespread flooding in Mozambique and Malawi. For a broader view of flooding on the Tsiribihina River, you can view imagery captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on the Worldview browser. 

- Floodlist | EO.

MONUMENTAL DELUGE: Widespread Flooding – The Latest Reports Of High Tides, Heavy Rainfall, Flash Floods, Sea Level Rise, And Catastrophic Storms!

January 19, 2015 - EARTH - The following list constitutes the latest reports of high tides, heavy rainfall, flash floods, widespread flooding, sea level rise and catastrophic storms.

Catastrophic flooding continues in southern Africa, considered one of worst disasters in years

Aid agencies raced on Monday to reach tens of thousands of people displaced by catastrophic floods across southern Africa, as more heavy rain was forecast in the coming days.

More than 200 people have died in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar in one of the worst disasters to hit the region in years. Rivers have burst their banks, flooding vast areas and destroying homes, bridges and crops.

"After surveying the flooded districts from the air, we know that the scale of flooding is immense, and with the rains still falling, the water is unlikely to recede quickly," UNICEF's representative in Malawi, Mahimbo Mdoe, said in a statement.

"Stagnant water and poor sanitation can be deadly for young children, so we are in a race against time to reach displaced communities with clean water, sanitation and medical supplies."

More downpours were forecast in Malawi and Mozambique, said the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Destruction caused by flooding on the outskirts of Blantyre. The south of Malawi has been declared a disaster zone.

"Torrential rains are also forecast for the southern regions of Tanzania as well as northern Zambia. These rains could worsen the flood situation in the region," OCHA said.

Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world with a population of 16 million, has been hardest hit, with at least 176 confirmed dead and 121,000 displaced. Its president has declared half of the landlocked country a disaster zone.

In neighboring Mozambique, the government has reported 49 confirmed deaths and 33 unconfirmed deaths in "red alert" central and northern areas, Pasquale Capizzi, spokesman for the U.N.'s humanitarian team in Mozambique, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Destruction caused by flooding on the outskirts of Blantyre. The south of Malawi has been declared a disaster zone.  © Bonex Julius/AFP/Getty Images

"People have drowned trying to ... reach safe areas," he said.

The Mozambican and South African armies and navies were conducting search and rescue operations, although heavy rains, strong waves, overflowing rivers and blocked roads were hindering efforts, OCHA said.

Aid was being delivered by air, Capizzi said, with 28,000 displaced in Mozambique's central coastal province of Zambezia, which borders Malawi.

"The country is cut in half because ... the main road south to north is cut in Zambezia where a bridge has been destroyed by the waters," he said.

More than 740,000 people in Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe are likely to suffer crop losses in wake of the disaster, OCHA said.

71 People Killed in Mozambique Floods

A few aerial shots of the severe flooding in Mozambique

Mozambique’s National Disaster Management Institute today confirmed that 71 people have died in the flooding that has ravaged parts of the country over the last 10 days.

The worst affected province is Zambezia, where 49 of the victims died. The area has been badly hit by flooding after the Licugno river overflowed. The province of Nampula has also been badly affected by flooding caused by heavy rainfall over the last two weeks.

The country’s authorities have set up 34 relief centres to house those displaced by the floods. It is understood that around 30,000 people are currently staying in the centres.

Rescue and relief operations are being hampered by the closure of parts of the north-south highway in Zambezia province. Several communities are thought to be isolated as a result.

A group of 18 people, including 15 children, who were taking part in a coming-of-age ritual went missing in the floods late last week. The Mozambique authorities reported yesterday that all members of the group have been rescued and are safe.

Parts of south-eastern Africa have seen heavy rainfall since the start of the year. Malawi and Zimbabwe have also seen severe flooding.

Malawi Flood Victims – Clean Drinking Water a Priority

Weeks of heavy rains have left more than 100,000 people displaced in Malawi. Homes have been destroyed, crops washed away, and infrastructure such as
latrines and water supplies contaminated. The Red Cross is assisting with search and rescue, relief distribution (reached 7,000 households to date), and
registration of displaced persons. Immediate needs include shelter and water and sanitation to prevent an outbreak
of water borne diseases.  Nsanje and Chikwawa, Malawi Jan 2015. Malawi Red Cross

According to a statement by the Government of Malawi yesterday, 18 January 2015, Malawi Defence Force (MDF) teams have managed to rescue over 1,500 flood victims – 307 by helicopter and 1,264 by boat.

Some flood victims still remain cut off and rescue missions will continue. However, attention has now turned to the thousands staying in relief camps, where fear of cholera and similar diseases is a major concern. Food and clean drinking water are the top priority for those displaced by the floods in Malawi.

During a meeting between Malawi’s National Disaster Preparedness and Relief Committee and NGOs helping with the flood disaster, it was agreed to increase rescue efforts, food distribution, and engage preventive measures to avert outbreak of diseases such as cholera in the relief camps.

Contaminated Drinking Water

Finding clean drinking water is now thought to be of major concern throughout the affected areas. Floodwater has contaminated many clean drinking water supplies. Contaminated water could lead to an outbreak of cholera and other diseases.

Michael Charles, acting regional representative, southern Africa, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said:

“We are focusing on two key areas at the moment: providing shelter to make sure everyone has somewhere dry to stay, and getting clean water to affected communities to mitigate the spread of diseases like cholera or acute diarrhoea outbreaks.”

Relief Camps

The statement said that there is still high need for more tents, food, kitchen utensils, essential medicines, dignity kits, and water purifying chemicals.

According to Chinese News Agency Xinhua, the situation in some relief camps in southern areas of Malawi has been complicated by the influx of people from Mozambique, which has also been affected by floods.

Numbers of Displaced

Accounts and figures vary, but many news agencies are reporting that 176 people have now died in the floods, over 100 still missing and as many as 200,000 displaced. The UN figures say that 121,000 people are currently displaced, 54 people dead and 153 people are missing.

Schools and Education

Child centres and schools have suffered damage throughout the affected areas. Other school buildings not affected are currently being used as relief camps for the displaced. The government said in their statement that they have started providing tents in such areas where the displaced people are staying in school blocks to ensure that learning is not affected.

Malaysia Floods – Over 3,000 Evacuated in Sarawak

The Malaysian Government said yesterday that 3,485 people have been evacuated in the state of Sarawak after flooding in the area.

Heavy rain over the past 3 or 4 days has affected parts of the island of Borneo, in particular the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Over 250mm of rain fell in Kuching between 18 and 19 January 2015.

Floods in Sarawak, Malaysia, January 2015. Photo: Bomba Malaysia

Flood warnings have been issued and to date 3,458 people evacuated. The evacuations took place in the divisions of Kuching, Semarahan, Mukah and Limbang divisions. Kuching is said to be one of the worst affected areas. Over 30 schools have been closed in the region as a result of the floods. Some of the school are now being used as evacuation centres.

There could be worse to come for coastal areas of Sarawak as the next cycle of the seasonal King Tide begins later this week.

Malaysia, especially northern areas, is still recovering from the flooding of December 2014.

Bolivia Floods Leave 15 Dead

Floods of 2014 in Bolivia

A government statement of 18 January 2015 said that 15 people have died in floods and heavy rain in Bolivia during January.

So far, the rainy season (usually October to March) has not been as intense last year, when the department of Beni was particularly badly affected. However, in his statement, Oscar Cabrera,

Vice Minister for Civil Defence said that around 10,400 families have suffered property damage as a result of floods and heavy rainfall during the first few weeks of this year.

The deaths occurred in Cochabamba (7), Potosi (5), Chuquisaca (2) and Santa Cruz (1). The department of La Paz has also been badly affected by flooding.

Snr Caberra warned of rising river levels and further heavy rainfall over the coming weeks, which could worsen the flood situation for many, although he was confident that the country is better prepared than it was in 2014, when at least 60 people died as a result of flooding.

- Floodlist | Reuters.