Anger grows in Bangkok as officials choose which neighborhoods flood – Disease threat looms across Thailand

By THOMAS FULLER, with additional reporting by Poypiti Amatatham in Bangkok. 1 November 2011 BANGKOK – In the rush to defend Bangkok from monsoon floodwaters on Tuesday, Thai officials were faced with the choice of saving men or machines. Angry residents of a northern Bangkok neighborhood are demanding that officials open a barrier that is […]

Life in drought: Parched Texas town seeks emergency fix – Remaining water ‘tastes ugly and it stinks’

By Kiah Collier; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Greg McCune29 October 2011 ROBERT LEE, Texas (Reuters) – No one drinks the tap water, which is unbearably briny as the lake dries up. After one of the hottest summers on record, the lake that is the lone water supply and main recreational draw in this tiny […]

Stocks running out in Pakistan’s flood-hit areas as winter closes in

Editor: Wang Guanqun, english.news.cn  29 October 2011 ISLAMABAD, October 29 (Xinhua) – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday that needs of flood-hit Pakistani people are rising as winter approaches and reported outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Heavy monsoon rains in August caused floods in southern Sindh province and affected […]

Some farms in U.S. South hit by drought and floods in 2011

By JEANNIE NUSS17 October 2011 KIBLER, Ark. — In a year when severe drought scorched the Southwest, a hurricane drowned crops in the East, and river flooding swamped farms in the Midwest, one of the worst places to be a farmer may be just west of the Mississippi River. Not only have Arkansas and Louisiana […]

As danger laps at its shores, Tuvalu pleads for action on climate change

By AMELIA HOLOWATY KRALES18 October 2011 Tuvalu, a tiny archipelago of nine South Pacific islands threatened by rising seas, is on the front lines of the planet’s climate change debate. Current projections indicate that it will become unlivable within 50 years, resulting in an exodus and the erasure of a rich 3,000-year-old culture. In global […]

Thai PM admits government overwhelmed by floods – Bangkok residents finally told to prepare

BANGKOK, October 19 (AP) – Thailand’s new premier acknowledged Wednesday that the country’s flood crisis has overwhelmed her government, pleading for mercy from the media and solidarity from the country in battling the relentless waters. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said her administration is doing all it can and trying to be […]

South Pacific drought crisis deepens: Tokelau to run dry within days, crops failing on Tuvalu

October 05 (AFP) – A SECOND South Pacific community has called a state of emergency as water rationing continues in parts of the area. Tokelau, a New Zealand-administered territory of about 1400 people, has less than a week’s drinking water after a long drought blamed on a La Niña weather pattern, Foreign Minister Murray McCully […]

Bangkok races to thwart approaching floods

BANGKOK (AP) – The Thai capital needs 1.2 million sandbags to construct a 3.7-mile wall within 48 hours to keep encroaching floods from swamping into the city, Bangkok’s governor said Monday night. “Every second counts,” said Sukhumbhand Paribatra, whose call for city residents not to let down their guard posed a contrast to government statements […]

Climate change threatens Ghana’s food security

By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanaian Chronicle10 October 2011 An increased body of evidence shows that climatic variability is  adversely affecting Ghana’s natural resources such as land, water, forests, and vegetation, as well as human capital. Climate change is, therefore, expected to have significant impact on key resource-dependent sectors, such as agriculture and food production, and […]

Texans face billions in water works bills as drought saps economy

By David Mildenberg and Whitney McFerron 13 October 2011 Allan Ritter pushed a bill to make 25 million Texans pay an extra $3.25 a year to help provide water for decades. Then, with a record drought devastating farms and ranches, the state representative’s party leaders waded in. “We couldn’t get the votes,” said the Republican […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial