People wait for food aid in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai

People queue for food aid at a camp for people displaced in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Guara Guara village, near Beira, Mozambique. Cyclone Idai, which hit on 14 March, caused massive flooding and killed more than 700 people across southern Africa. More than 500 cases of cholera have since been reported in Beira. Aid efforts in Mozambique are now focused on containing the disease, with a large vaccination campaign under way. Some 517 cases of the disease had been reported by Sunday, up from the figure of 271 announced on Saturday, National Director for Medical Assistance Ussene Isse said on public television. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that at least 900,000 vaccine doses would be arriving in the port city this week. Officials have warned that the outbreak could reach epidemic proportions, says the BBC’s Southern Africa online correspondent Pumza Fihlani.

Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced following the cyclone – exposed to unhygienic conditions, some had little to no access to clean drinking water for more than a week. Cholera is spread through human waste in the water supply. The flood water itself is not the primary risk. Instead, the risk comes because the existing drinking water supplies having been damaged by the flooding. Some 518 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the cyclone, according to the most recent statistics issued by Mozambique’s National Disaster Management Institute (INGC).

Cyclone Idai : Worst disaster to hit southern hemisphere

With heavily-populated areas of Mozambique now covered by a massive lake, survivors of Cyclone Idai face disease and hunger. Aid agencies say time is running out for the victims. The death toll from Cyclone Idai topped 600 people on Friday, with aid agencies warning much more suffering could be on the way in southeast Africa. Over a week after the powerful storm hit Mozambique and neighboring Zimbabwe and Malawi, survivors now face threat of disease and lack of medical supplies. “We are running out of time, it is at a critical point here,” the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) chief Henrietta Fore told AFP news agency. She warned hygiene and safe drinking water are absolute priorities. “There’s stagnant water, it’s not draining, decomposing bodies, lack of good hygiene and sanitation,” Fore said. “We are worried about cholera, about malaria, because of the stagnant water.”

 According to UNICEF, thousands of people are staying in improvised camps with grossly inadequate living conditions, while hundreds of thousands of children need urgent help. The death toll will likely increase massively, with thousands believed to have died in Mozambique where flooding has created a 125-kilometer (78-mile) wide lake, devastating an area previously populated by hundreds of thousands of people. The World Food Program (WFP) declared the flood crisis a level three emergency, putting it in the same bracket with Yemen, Syria and South Sudan. At this stage of the rescue effort, there were almost no survivors being recovered from rooftops and trees, Mozambique’s disaster management agency said.

Current relief efforts “are nowhere near the scale and magnitude of the problem,” and the situation is likely to worsen, said Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Elhadj As Sy. “The situation is simply horrendous. There is no other way to describe it,” As Sy said after touring camps. “Three thousand people who are living in a school that has 15 classrooms and six, only six, toilets. You can imagine how much we are sitting on a water and sanitation ticking bomb.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to boost its support. About 1.7 million people have been affected by the storm and hundreds are still missing, according to the UN emergency aid agency OCHA. The Category 4 storm could be one of the biggest cyclone disasters south of the equator, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

aw/dj (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Courtesy : DW

75% of Venice underwater in record-breaking floods

Venice was inundated by an exceptional high tide , putting three-quarters of the famed Italian lagoon city under water as large swathes of the rest of Italy experienced flooding and heavy winds that toppled trees and other objects, killing six people. Tourists and residents alike donned high boots to navigate the streets of Venice after strong winds raised the water level 156 centimeters (over 5 feet) before receding. The water exceeded the raised walkways normally put out in flooded areas in Venice, forcing their removal. Transport officials closed the water bus system except to outlying islands because of the emergency. Venice frequently floods when high winds push in water from the lagoon, but Monday’s levels were exceptional. The peak level was the highest reached since December 2008, according to Venice statistics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monsoon floods devastate South Asia

Widespread floods have killed more than 800 people and displaced over a million in India, Nepal and Bangladesh as rains continue to lash the affected areas.

China floods kill scores, leave thousands homeless

Heavy rain in China has killed at least 154 people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, according to state media reported. About 114 people were killed and 111 others missing in the northern province of Hebei after rain triggered floods and landslides, the Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing the civil affairs department. Nearly 50,000 homes have collapsed, it said.

In the central province of Henan, 15 people were killed and eight were missing after thunderstorms and strong winds forced 72,000 people from their homes and damaged 18,000 houses.

 Overall, about 8.6 million people have been affected by the flooding, according to state media and local government reports. Large parts of China have been inundated with rain this summer, killing more than 200 people. More than 1.5m hectares of crops have been damaged, leading to direct economic losses of more than 20 billion yuan ($3bn), according to the government. The central bank on Friday issued a statement saying it would provide financial support for flooded areas.

Flooding in northern England

 Hundreds of people are evacuated after heavy rainfall inundates towns and cities across northern England.

Zoo Animals on the Loose in Tbilisi After Flooding

A hippopotamus walks across flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia. At least five people died and several are missing as a result of heavy rainfall and floods overnight in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Georgian news agencies reported. Animals from the city’s zoo including tigers, lions, bears and wolves escaped from cages damaged by the rainfall. Some were captured or killed while the search for others goes on.

More Than 2.4 Million Pakistanis are Affected form Recent Floods

Central parts of the province of Punjab, Pakistan are the worst affected in the recent torrential rains and flooding. Here you can see flood affected women from a village in district Jhang, Punjab trying to get to a safe spot for evacuation to relief camps. Jhang is the most affected district in Punjab in this disaster.

SOURCE: NDMA Pakistan

A Pakistan Army helicopter takes part in rescue operations for flooding victims

A Pakistan Army helicopter takes part in rescue operations for flooding victims in Shuja Abaad. At least eleven people including a bridegroom and two children drowned September 14 when a rescue boat carrying a wedding party capsized in flood-hit central Pakistan, officials said, with the death toll feared to rise. Arif Ali, AFP/Getty Images

Soldiers use a boat to rescue residents affected by flooding in Sher Shah, Pakistan

Soldiers use a boat to rescue residents affected by flooding in Sher Shah, Pakistan. The floods began in Kashmir after heavy monsoon rains and are now progressing downstream through Pakistan, inundating thousands of villages and large areas of farmland. Arif Ali, AFP/Getty Images