7 of 10 SINKING; Pakistan: 262 dead, nearly three million affected! Floods this year were more severe than last year! Thailand: Ayutthaya suffers floods! 11 provinces inundated!

[Stanislav]

13 September, 2012

17 September, 2012

Pakistan SINKING:

/ He said this was the third consecutive year that floods had hit Sindh causing massive devastation and loss of precious lives, besides damaging property and standing crops. Briefing the meeting, Divisional Commissioner Seed Ahmed Magnejo said that floods this year were more severe than last year. He said that the magnitude and gravity of the devastation could be determined from the fact that so far 73 people had lost their lives, 3,000 had been injured and 75 per cent of standing crops and 150,000 houses damaged. “This is more than the losses suffered during the floods last year,” he added. Nearly three million of the nine million in the six districts had been affected,” he said. /

/ A total of 262 people have been reported killed and 815 injured so far this year as torrential monsoon rains and flash floods wreak havoc throughout the country, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Monday. Over 70, 000 houses have also been reportedly damaged, with 51,027 partially and 19,465 completely damaged, said the official statistics which are updated until Sept 16. Approximately 3,883 villages, spreading over an area of over 1,345,531 acres, have been affected by the torrential rains. /

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/ ‘The situation in Jacobabad is worse than when the floods hit it in 2010’. Almost 95 per cent of Jacobabad district is under water and it will take weeks to drain it. “We haven’t reached all the areas of the district yet,” an official told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity. “The situation is difficult to describe – it’s worse than when the floods hit Jacobabad in 2010. Back then the water just rushed through the area. But this time around, the entire district has been inundated.” /

/ Floods 2012: Millions rendered homeless in Balochistan, Sindh

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have rendered around one million people in Balochistan homeless over the past week, without any relief in sight. An aerial view of the worst-affected districts of the province presents a gloomy picture of urban and rural areas in the province, which have been submerged four to five feet deep in water. Crops and houses have been either partially or completely damaged by gushing hill torrents. “Crops spread over one million acres of land have been ravaged by the current monsoonal floods which caused death of 90 people in Balochistan,” Federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Chengez Khan Jamali told The Express Tribune. Strong rains have left 135 people dead and 300 injured in Sindh, according to initial reports available with The Express Tribune. However, PDMA Sindh has officially confirmed 95 deaths and 151 injuries so far.Deputy Coordination Officers of Kashmore and Jacobabad – the worst affected in Sindh – claimed that over 2 million people have been affected by the floods. /

/ The authorities have required the deployment of the Army to assist victims of the floods, which in many cases are living in the open and are already suffering shortages of food and drink, so there is a fear of disease outbreaks. At least 217 people have died and 220,000 have been affected by monsoon rains in Pakistan this year, a source told Efe official acknowledged that there is still a state of emergency in several southern districts. /

Thailand SINKING:

/ Ayutthaya suffers floods
Ayutthaya province, the scene of some of the worst flooding last year has again been declared a disaster area. Water has overflowed the Chao Phraya River banks flooding communities. So far World Heritage sites, many of them close to the river in the historical town are dry, but officials are reinforcing embankments. The water was a metre deep in some communities particularly those close to the river in Sena district. There are 27 areas in the central plains that face flood threats mainly outside protected zones where levees have been constructed to help prevent flooding. Ayutthaya is one of them and the situation remains critical as the province is home to important heritage sites that attract substantial tourism revenue and there are hundreds of car industry related  factories in the province that were forced to close during last year’s flood.
So far, the flood level is stable at 1 metre and military personnel have built a temporary wooden bridge in Sena district to help local residents. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported there are 11 provinces inundated. They are: Lampang; Uttaradit; Sukhothai; Phitsanulok; Nakhon Sawan; Chainat; Suphan Buri; Angthong; Ayutthaya; Chaiyaphum; and Prachinburi. ttrweekly.com; /

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/ Northern flood moving south
Soldiers are battling to repair new breaches in the big bag barrier to hold back water from the flood swollen Yom River which was pouring into Sukhothai's Muang district on Monday. The water level continued to rise on Monday and spread into the inner areas of the district. Several schools were closed temporarily while vendors in several flooded markets moved their stalls out onto the main street, causing heavy traffic congestion.

Authorities said the water level in the Yom River had fallen by 10cm, but more than 1,400 residents in Sri Samrong district continued to struggle against the flood tide, which had reached over two metres deep in some areas. Locals had begun building sandbag walls in their villages to protect their houses from further inundation. Provincial authorities in Phitsanulok expect the flood surge moving downstream from Sukothai province will reach three northern districts by Tuesday and the flood levels there could rise by 50cm to one metre. The three districts are Bang Rakam, Porn Prompiman and Muang districts.

According to several reports, the flooding had expanded in many areas. Several main roads leading to villages in Porn Prompiman district had been cut and local people were using boats to move around the area. At least 100 houses had been flooded while about 5,000 rai of farmland was already under a metre of flood water. In Bangkok's neighbouring province of Pathum Thani, the Chao Phraya River overflowed its banks and flooded many houses and schools in Muang district. /

/ A Bangkok University poll reported city residents believe the government will keep them dry once more during the annual flood season. Residents in neighbouring provinces, who mainly voted to bring the Phuea Thai party to power, are not so sure after a test went widely wrong and flooded parts of Ayutthaya province. Of 1,152 interviewed Bangkok residents, 58.2% said if floods occurred this year, the government could handle the situation while 41.8% said it could not. /

I think they should not believe that because the last two years in Thailand has the worst flooding:

2011 and 2010

/ 5 Thai provinces inundated
Phitsanulok: About 42,300 rai of farmland in Phrom Phiram, Muang Phitsanulok and Bang Rakam districts were now inundated. The floodwater level was also continuing to rise in Phrom Phiram.

Nakhon Sawan: Flash floods swamped many areas in Lat Yao, Krok Phra and Muang Nakhon Sawan districts. In some areas, water was nearly 90cm deep. The level of water in Nakhon Sawan town was also rising.

Chai Nat: Overflows caused floods in low-lying areas in Tambon Wang Man in Wat Sing district. Floodwater was 50- 60cm high. But the situation was expected to return to normal within a few days if there is no more rain in the area.

Ayutthaya: The Chao Phraya, plus the Noi River and Phongpheng Canal all overflowed and flooded Muang Ayutthaya, Bang Ban, Phak Hai, Sena, Bang Sai and Bang Pa-in districts.

Ang Thong: Riverside communities in 12 tambons in Pa Mok, Muang Angthong, Wiset Chai Chan, Chai Yo, and Pho Thong districts were inundated because the Chao Phraya and Noi rivers overflowed. / asiaone.com

West Africa - 251 dead, about one million people affected by floods! (261)

Nigeria:

/ Another round of flood yesterday rendered 2, 850 people homeless and destroyed about 187 homes, a farm house and worship centre in Kaduna. /

8 September, 2012

23 September, 2009

14 September, 2012

23 September, 2009

Flooding across Nigeria has killed at least 137 people and displaced more than 35,000 since July. This is worst floods in 50 years! allafrica.com; capitalfm.co.ke

/ About 12,000 people have been displaced by flood disaster that ravaged many communities in Kano and Jigawa states. This was disclosed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) north-west zone coordinator, Alhaji Musa Ilallah, who spoke to journalists shortly after delivering relief materials to some flood victims at Ringim LGA, Jigawa State. Obanji Oko lamented, "The water is rising every minute. We have never seen this kind of devastation before and we can no longer sleep because we are afraid that the raging water could sweep us away while at sleep. As you can see, several houses have collapsed. It is pathetic."
Already, over 11 persons have been reportedly killed by flood in Cross River this year while hundreds of houses have been submerged or pulled down, displacing thousands. About 18,000 farms worth millions of naira have also been destroyed /

Niger:

14 September, 2012

23 September, 2009

Niger and Benin border.

Floods in Niger have killed 81 people since July, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs announced Thursday, adding cholera outbreaks have killed a further 81 people. "The last update of the toll of the floods dating from September 11 indicates that 527,471 people have been affected by the bad weather and 81 people have lost their lives," OCHA said in a statement in Niamey. Niger has worst floods for 100 years. google.com trust.org

Cameroon:

/ Flooding in Cameroon's Far North Region has killed nearly 30 people and affected more than 26,000 others, officials said Monday. More than 4,000 people in the Logone and Shari division were displaced, and more than 22,000 people in the region of Maga, Mayo-Danay division, also have been affected. / edition.cnn.com

15 September, 2012

24 September, 2009

Cameroon & Chad:

15 September, 2012

8 September, 2011

Cameroon The worst floods in 30 years. Heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers have caused severe flooding in the northern regions of Cameroon since August 23, 2012. The Northern and Far North regions have been particularly hit by the high water levels for over two weeks. Anne Perrot, the Country Director of CARE Cameroon said, “These are the worst floods that have been seen in over 30 years. This is a really exceptional event, and we need urgent funding to be able to respond to the needs of the over 60,000 people affected by the floods.” reliefweb.int;

Extreme floods have devastated Northern regions of Cameroon. Nearly 20 people have died and thousands more are left homeless. Continuous rainfall and the release of the Ladgo Dam caused the Benoe River to burst its banks, which flooded neighbouring residential areas. Faro, Mayo Louti, and Benoue areas were most hard-hit by the floods, destroying crop and rice fields thus causing shortages of food supplies. There are growing concerns of infections such as cholera and malaria being spread through flood waters. Rescue operations are under way; more than 2,500 people have been medically treated and placed into tents.

Very high resolution satellite image - disasterscharter.org

Chad:

15 September, 2012 - 8 September, 2011

Heavy rains in early August 2012 caused flooding in many parts of the country. In the Rig Rig district in the Kanem region, buildings, food stocks, and crops were damaged and 220 houses were destroyed. Around 3,000 people were in need of shelter. In the Sila region, more than 13,000 households were affected, and the flood blocked major humanitarian supply routes. In Guera, about 850 people were in need of emergency support. Floods were also reported in many areas of N’djamena, the capital. reliefweb.int;

/ Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August. Thousands of hectares of crops and hundreds of houses have also been destroyed. The floods have caused at least 13 deaths, affected 445,725 people and inundated about 255,720 hectares of cropland, according to a 3 September update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Some 73,412 houses have been destroyed.
The flooding has come when Chad is still grappling with food insecurity. In late August, residents and officials in an affected area of the Mouraye department, in the south-eastern region of Salamat, told medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that "this year's flooding in the area, although having lasted a shorter time than the flooding in 2010, is much more serious due to the extension of the floodwaters and the impact on crops," according to Stefano Argenziano, the head of Mission of MSF in Chad. /

In total death: 137+81+20+13=251

In total affected: 527,471+445,725= about one million

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Pakistan:

Rs2bn package for rain-hit areas of Sindh

SUKKUR, Sept 16: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf announced on Sunday a special package of Rs2 billion for rain-affected areas of Sindh and directed the finance ministry to immediately release the first instalment of Rs710 million to enable the local administration to launch rescue and relief work in the worst-affected districts.

(He also announced approval of similar grants for the flood-affected areas of Southern Punjab and Balochistan, according to APP.)

He made the announcement during a meeting at Shahbaz airbase in Jacobabad on devastation caused by heavy rains and remedial measures.

From the first instalment, he said, Rs200 million each would be given to Jacobabad and Kandhkot-Kashmore districts, Rs100 million to Shikarpur and Rs70 million each to Sukkur, Khairpur and Ghotki.

He directed district administration officials and elected representatives to rescue people marooned by accumulated rainwater, shift them to safe places and provide them food, medical aid and basic amenities.

He directed the authorities concerned to give tax exemption to farmers in the districts.The prime minister directed the home ministry to place two additional helicopters at the disposal of the local administration to drop ration packets for the stranded people, adds APP.

He directed the National Disaster Management Authority to rush 25,000 tents to the affected districts.

Earlier on his arrival, the prime minister was received at Sukkur airport by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad. He took an aerial view of the rain-ravaged areas from a helicopter, met some affected people and distributed relief goods.

The prime minister also visited Jacobabad where he chaired a meeting attended by Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister for National Disaster Management Rana Farooq, Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, MNAs Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani and Aftab Shaban Mirani and Gul Mohammad Jakhrani, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Minister for Disaster Management Mustafa Ali Sutra and senior civil and military officials.

The prime minister announced that in the second phase Rs2 billion would be given to the Sindh government for rehabilitation of the affected people.

He said: “We will have to depend on our own resources to meet the challenges posed by floods. There is no dearth of funds for providing succor to the affected.”

He said this was the third consecutive year that floods had hit Sindh causing massive devastation and loss of precious lives, besides damaging property and standing crops.

Briefing the meeting, Divisional Commissioner Seed Ahmed Magnejo said that floods this year were more severe than last year.

He said that the magnitude and gravity of the devastation could be determined from the fact that so far 73 people had lost their lives, 3,000 had been injured and 75 per cent of standing crops and 150,000 houses damaged.

“This is more than the losses suffered during the floods last year,” he added.

Nearly three million of the nine million in the six districts had been affected,” he said.

http://dawn.com/2012/09/17/rs2bn-package-for-rain-hit-areas-of-sindh/

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Torrential rains, floods kill 262 in Pakistan: NDMA

KARACHI: A total of 262 people have been reported killed and 815 injured so far this year as torrential monsoon rains and flash floods wreak havoc throughout the country, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Monday.

Over 70, 000 houses have also been reportedly damaged, with 51,027 partially and 19,465 completely damaged, said the official statistics which are updated until Sept 16.

Approximately 3,883 villages, spreading over an area of over 1,345,531 acres, have been affected by the torrential rains.

DawnNews reported that the most casualties were reported in Sindh province, according to the data, with 106 people killed and 361 injured, and a total of approximately 273,000 people affected by the torrential rains.

At least 58 people were killed and 272 injured in Punjab due to rain related accidents, with over 857,000 people affected in total in the province.

Torrential rains and flooding killed 39 people and injured about 35 others in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 104 houses damaged. Meanwhile, 25 people were killed in Balochistan.

Pakistani-administered Kashmir (AJK) region recorded 31 deaths, while 3 people were reported killed in Islamabad region.

http://dawn.com/2012/09/17/torrential-rains-floods-kill-262-in-paki...

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‘The situation in Jacobabad is worse than when the floods hit it in 2010’

JACOBABAD: Almost 95 per cent of Jacobabad district is under water and it will take weeks to drain it.

“We haven’t reached all the areas of the district yet,” an official told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity. “The situation is difficult to describe – it’s worse than when the floods hit Jacobabad in 2010. Back then the water just rushed through the area. But this time around, the entire district has been inundated.”

The district government has six helicopters which it uses to drop rations in various areas and rescue marooned people. “We have boats that can be used to access areas where the rainwater is particularly deep. The water is everywhere – an aerial survey will clearly reveal the dire situation in the district,” said the official.

He added that relief camps have been set up and food was being given to the people, but he did not comment on when the district’s administration will drain rainwater. The army is working round-the-clock to rescue people, said the official.

Seven children died on Sunday because of diseases and malnutrition in Thull taluka. A three-year-old girl, Rani, died in Khan Muhammad Soomro village and a seven-year-old boy, Zahoor Ahmed Noonari, died in Yar Ali Pahor. “Our village is completely submerged and there has been nothing for our children to eat for the past three days,” said Majnoon Faqeer, Rani’s father. The people of the area also lamented the lack of medical facilities for children.

A three-year-old-boy, Wahid Khoso, Beebal Khoso, 5, and Noor Hasan Khoso, 8, died of gastroenteritis in Ameer Bux Khoso village near Thull taluka. Their parents said that about 40 other children in the village were suffering from fever and diarrhea. They added that no medical team has visited their village. The roof of a house in Khabar Channo village collapsed, killing two children, including Nadeem, 3, and Shabnam, 5. “About 2,400 people, including children, have visited the Thull taluka hospital in the last three days,” said Dr Amanullah Khoso.

Some attempts by villagers to drain the water ignited a clash as one tribe tried to draw off the water to the turf of another. Three people have been injured in Muhammad Malook Sarki village when the Khosa and Sarki tribes tried to create a path through the road so that the rainwater could be drained from the area. Members of the Buriro tribe brawled with them, contending that the water would flow into their area.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/437787/the-situation-in-jacobabad-is-wo...

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More than 200 dead and 220,000 affected by rains in Pakistan

The authorities have required the deployment of the Army to assist victims of the floods, which in many cases are living in the open and are already suffering shortages of food and drink, so there is a fear of disease outbreaks.

At least 217 people have died and 220,000 have been affected by monsoon rains in Pakistan this year, a source told Efe official acknowledged that there is still a state of emergency in several southern districts.

According to official data, the rains have caused 217 dead and 654 wounded, while about 15,500 homes have been totally or partially destroyed, told Efe the National Authority spokesman Disaster Management, Kamal Ahmed.

According to Kamal, right now there are two districts-Nasirabad and Jaffarabad in Baluchistan province (south) - they are "swamped" and that the situation is "very serious", so the authorities have sought assistance from international agencies.

Several Pakistani media presence in the area today quoting local authorities who claimed that some 600,000 people have been affected in these two districts and houses, roads and thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed.

According to Kamal, who did not confirm these data, the cause of the flooding is that many lands in the south of the country are in low areas and pipeline system is very old, so heavy rains cause floods easily .

"It will take time to fix the situation," admitted the spokesman, adding that four other districts-two in the southern Sindh and two in Punjab, are also suffering floods.

Pakistan lived in 2010 the worst floods in its history after an unusually rainy monsoon, coupled with a thaw also especially abundant, resulting in a flooded river flow that much of the country.

Those floods caused more than 20 million homeless and nearly 2,000 dead, while last year the impact of the monsoon on agriculture were primed southern Pakistan, where almost 75% of the crop was damaged. EFE

http://www.elheraldo.co/noticias/internacional/mas-de-200-muertos-y...

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Floods 2012: Millions rendered homeless in Balochistan, Sindh

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have rendered around one million people in Balochistan homeless over the past week, without any relief in sight.

An aerial view of the worst-affected districts of the province presents a gloomy picture of urban and rural areas in the province, which have been submerged four to five feet deep in water. Crops and houses have been either partially or completely damaged by gushing hill torrents.

“Crops spread over one million acres of land have been ravaged by the current monsoonal floods which caused death of 90 people in Balochistan,” Federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Chengez Khan Jamali told The Express Tribune.

However, an official estimate released for the first time on Friday confirmed the deaths of 16 people and injuries to 12 people in the province as a result of the floods.

Jamali said that around 10,000 animals have been swept away by the floods, while 50,000 stored wheat bags have been destroyed.

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Pakistan Timo Pakkala, who recently visited the flood-hit areas of Pakistan, said: “The people affected are among the poorest and most vulnerable in Pakistan and require urgent humanitarian assistance.” He added that the United Nations stands ready to provide support through NDMA and PDMAs if required to supplement government assistance programmes.  “This year’s floods again emphasise the importance of investing more resources in programmes that promote disaster risk reductions.”

Balochistan Home Secretary Naseebullah Khan said the local administration is unable to single-handedly cope with the natural disaster, adding that the army is struggling to rescue thousands of trapped children and women.

Jaffarabad, Naseerabad worst-hit areas

The districts of Naseerabad and Jaffarabad have been completely inundated and hundreds of thousands of people are left without any relief in Dera Murad Jamali.

Over 100,000 acres of crops have been ravaged in various villages in the districts, whereas over 220 government buildings (schools, hospitals, offices) have been destroyed in Zhob, Sherani, Dera Murad Jamali and Dera Allah Yar Khan.

According to Akbar Hussain Durrani, the focal person for the flood relief operation, 9,156 people had been affected, while 22 people were killed and 12 others wounded in Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts. He told a press conference in Quetta that 1,654 houses had been completely destroyed, while 3,971 were partially damaged.

Meanwhile, director-general of PDMA Balochistan Tahir Munir said that flood victims in the province have not been provided sufficient relief due to a shortage of funds. The PDMA Balochistan only has funds of Rs1 billion and is yet to receive financial support from the federal government.

“The federal government appears to be a silent spectator,” said flood victim, Noor Jamali, who fled from Jhatpat tehsil of Jaffarabad district.

“I lost two kids, cattle, stored wheat and crops,” he told The Express Tribune while taking shelter at the Circuit House in Dera Murad Jamali.

Floods in Sindh

Strong rains have left 135 people dead and 300 injured in Sindh, according to initial reports available with The Express Tribune. However, PDMA Sindh has officially confirmed 95 deaths and 151 injuries so far.Deputy Coordination Officers of Kashmore and Jacobabad – the worst affected in Sindh – claimed that over 2 million people have been affected by the floods.

Over 40 deaths have so far been reported in the two districts, where 90% crops have been damaged, said PDMA director general Hashim Zaidi.

Around 22 people were killed and 87 have been injured in Shikarpur district.

NDMA’s performance questioned

Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Mir Ijaz Khan Jakhrani, who is monitoring flood relief activities in Jacobabad, questioned the NDMA’s performance in relief activities. “The NDMA is yet to deliver a single tent for flood victims,” he told The Express Tribune.

“We did not receive 2,500 tents as promised by the NDMA,” said PDMA Sindh DG Hashim Zaidi. “Waterborne diseases have become another problem for people as well as for their animals,” he added.(With additional reporting by Mohammad Zafar in Quetta)

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2012.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/437028/floods-2012-millions-rendered-ho...

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Nigeria:

Nigeria: Floods Displace 12,000 People in Kano, Jigawa - NEMA

About 12,000 people have been displaced by flood disaster that ravaged many communities in Kano and Jigawa states.

This was disclosed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) north-west zone coordinator, Alhaji Musa Ilallah, who spoke to journalists shortly after delivering relief materials to some flood victims at Ringim LGA, Jigawa State.

He said that in Ringim LGA alone over 2,000 flood victims were camped at Government Arabic Secondary School, Ringim.

Alhaji Illalah explained that out of the said number (2,000) in the camp, 45 were pregnant women and 30 were disabled.

The coordinator noted that his agency was committed to mapping out strategies to prevent the yearly flood disasters and reduce the threat to large parts of the areas.

He further stated that NEMA established two modern refugee camps in Kano and Sokoto states as part of the agency's plan to comfort refugees for a particular disaster and avoid suffering or outbreak of any disease.

Also speaking at the camp, the Ringim local government chairman, Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, said already the council had provided over 250 plots for re-settling the victims of Yakasawa village, adding that "we are also in contact with the state ministry of land to resettle other villages at flood-prone areas.

Alhaji Abubakar disclosed that over 16 villages in the local government area were "presently under serious threat by the flood; as I'm talking to you the villages are surrounded by water".

According him, "proper attention is given to the victims in the camp as the council is responsible for their three square meals every day. "We also provided a temporary clinic and water to prevent any possibility of outbreak of disease".

Some of the items delivered by NEMA included 50 bags of rice, 50 bags of maize, 550 bags of guinea corn, 50 bags of millet, 200 pieces of blankets, 200 mosquito nets, 200 mats and 200 pieces of textile materials.

49 communities under threat in Cross River

Also, about 49 coastal communities in seven LGAs of Cross River State are in danger of intensive flooding as the water from the Lagdo dam in Cameroun Swells Rivers. Already the communities are experiencing unprecedented flooding which has submerged thousands of farmlands for yam, cassava, vegetable, cocoyam, melon and other cash crops worth millions of naira.

Hundreds of houses have been flooded while over 10,000 livestock have been affected in Yala, Ogoja, Ikom, Obubra, Abi, Biase and Odukpani local government areas of the state. Our correspondent who visited the disaster areas observed that the state may experience extreme famine, given the persistent flooding of the areas.

Assessing the disaster, the director-general, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Vincent Aquah, expressed fears over the magnitude and severity of the damage to lives and property as the level of flood has risen to unprecedented level.

According to him, apart from extreme famine that would visit the agrarian communities as a result of the destruction of their farms by the flood, housing would be a problem as many are already relocating to makeshift shelters.

"As you can see, these conditions are far below human standard - particularly living in a slum such as this thatch house. Children and women are suffering and there is an urgent need to address the situation before it gets out of hand," he said.

The DG, who was in one of the slums ravaged by water, appealed to the federal government and international organizations to come to the aid of the state government as it apparently has no financial capacity to effectively manage the situation alone.

Mr. Aquah announced that a sensitization campaign had already begun in all the communities along the coastline affected by the flood. Relocation to higher grounds was the only option for the vulnerable villagers, he noted. The SEMA boss assured that every effort would be made by the state government to cushion the effect of the disaster.

Some of the communities along the Cross River observed that several people whose houses were threatened by the flood had relocated to primary and secondary school buildings as well as to the houses of neighbours, relatives and friends.

Obanji Oko lamented, "The water is rising every minute. We have never seen this kind of devastation before and we can no longer sleep because we are afraid that the raging water could sweep us away while at sleep. As you can see, several houses have collapsed. It is pathetic."

Already, over 11 persons have been reportedly killed by flood in Cross River this year while hundreds of houses have been submerged or pulled down, displacing thousands. About 18,000 farms worth millions of naira have also been destroyed.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201209170126.html

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Nigeria: Again, Flood Renders 2,850 Homeless in Kaduna, Destroys 180

Another round of flood yesterday rendered 2, 850 people homeless and destroyed about 187 homes, a farm house and worship centre in Kaduna.

According to the statistics made available to LEADERSHIP by a senior officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Baba Ali Mohammed, no fewer than 187 houses, a Living Faith Church and a farm house were flooded following a heavy rainfall that engulfed Gonigora and Ungwar Romi communities.

According to the NEMA statistics, about 2,850 people from almost 518 households were displaced and are now taking refuge in neighbouring houses.

"Only 20 people, mostly women, were camped at the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Primary School, Ungwar Romi," it said.

LEADERSHIP checks also revealed that a makeshift pedestrian bridge linking Ungwar Romi and Karatudu collapsed, crippling activities between the two communities while Tefan Farms Nigeria Enterprises lost 5,850 fowls and 21,000 fish and feed item worth N2.5 million to the flood.

Areas worst affected are School Road, Dokaji, Sarki, Fulani and Alkali streets where a larger number of the buildings were erected few metres from the riverbanks, making them prone to flood disaster.

A public servant, Mr Lucky Inanse, narrated his ordeal: "My house was completely submerged. In fact, this is double tragedy for me; angry mobs burned down my house in Zaria during the last year post election."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201209180226.html

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Chad:

Floods hit hundreds of thousands in Chad after heavy August rains    

Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August. Thousands of hectares of crops and hundreds of houses have also been destroyed.

The floods have caused at least 13 deaths, affected 445,725 people and inundated about 255,720 hectares of cropland, according to a 3 September update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Some 73,412 houses have been destroyed.

The flooding has come when Chad is still grappling with food insecurity. In late August, residents and officials in an affected area of the Mouraye department, in the south-eastern region of Salamat, told medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that "this year's flooding in the area, although having lasted a shorter time than the flooding in 2010, is much more serious due to the extension of the floodwaters and the impact on crops," according to Stefano Argenziano, the head of Mission of MSF in Chad.

The flooding occurred after the Bahr Azoum wadi (river) breached its banks, affecting around 4,000 people in 37 different villages, according to the local authorities of the Mouraye department.

At present, all families previously displaced in the Mouraye area have returned home. But about 3,000 hectares of maize and 170 hectares of rice have been flooded for at least two weeks, Argenziano said, noting that residents had told MSF that the already precarious food-security situation there may be aggravated well into 2013 by the destruction of crops.

"We are concerned that Mouraye department will continue to be [in] a food insecure/food crisis context even after the expected end of the current hunger gap," he said. MSF is monitoring nutrition levels, with a rapid nutritional screening of 808 children aged from 6 to 59 months revealing malnutrition rates below the emergency threshold.

Overall, the floods have affected 5.83% of the area sown, according to the National Office for Rural Development. Affected areas include five districts of the capital N'Djamena, as well the Dar-Sila, Salamat, Moyen-Chari, Tandjilé, eastern Mayo-Kebbi and western Mayo-Kebbi regions, Mayanne Munan, advocacy manager at Oxfam in Chad, told IRIN. In eastern Mayo-Kebbi, 81,000 hectares of crops have been inundated.

"Although it is still early to distinguish between flooded crops and destroyed ones, the floods will definitely have an impact on food security in Chad, and part of the 2012 harvests could be ruined. Moreover, as the rainy season is not yet finished, additional heavy rains could worsen the situation," said Munan.

"Besides, there are threats of locusts in the north-east and eastern parts of Chad, which is another risk of crop destruction. Such disasters could have serious consequences in a country that is facing a food crisis, with 3.6 million people being affected by food insecurity, and still vulnerable due to previous food crises and recurrent shocks in the past few years [from floods, cholera]."

Swarms of locusts are breeding in the north of Mali and Niger, which could endanger the livelihoods of up to 50 million people in the region. Flood-affected residents need items such as cooking kits, blankets, mosquito nets and emergency shelter materials, as well as sensitisation about cholera and malaria, said Munan. Waterborne diseases, such as cholera, are endemic in some of the west and central African countries, often peaking during the rainy season between August and December.

In Kerfi, in Dar-Sila region, Oxfam hopes to resume its food voucher distribution in three of the 12 affected villages when access is possible. Maigua Kanja, country director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in Chad, said the floods have affected the availability of flights to areas in need, with access difficult even by car as roads have been washed away. "When there is totally no transportation, activities like food distribution are slowed down as some of the important materials like soap have to be air-lifted in bits."

HIAS is working in six refugee camps in the east, providing trauma counselling, legal advice and humanitarian assistance. According to Kanja, the flooding, which has been accompanied by cold weather and stagnant water, also poses a health risk especially to the elderly.

"Most of the beneficiaries [also] travel long distances during the rainy season to look for cultivatable land away from the flooding areas. Most are women who can fall victim [to] drowning in the rivers, rape or even other physical aggressions," she said, adding that local traders should be supported in using warehouses where they can stockpile relief material for use in the rainy season.

Chad's government is to allocate FCFA 1bn ($1.92m) for emergency assistance and has asked for help from humanitarian actors and donors. Assessment missions are also ongoing to update current data on humanitarian needs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/sep/11/floods-hit...

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Thailand:

Northern flood moving south

Soldiers are battling to repair new breaches in the big bag barrier to hold back water from the flood swollen Yom River which was pouring into Sukhothai's Muang district on Monday.

The water level continued to rise on Monday and spread into the inner areas of the district.

Several schools were closed temporarily while vendors in several flooded markets moved their stalls out onto the main street, causing heavy traffic congestion.

Authorities said the water level in the Yom River had fallen by 10cm, but more than 1,400 residents in Sri Samrong district continued to struggle against the flood tide, which had reached over two metres deep in some areas.

Locals had begun building sandbag walls in their villages to protect their houses from further inundation.

Provincial authorities in Phitsanulok expect the flood surge moving downstream from Sukothai province will reach three northern districts by Tuesday and the flood levels there could rise by 50cm to one metre. The three districts are Bang Rakam, Porn Prompiman and Muang districts.

According to several reports, the flooding had expanded in many areas. Several main roads leading to villages in Porn Prompiman district had been cut and local people were using boats to move around the area. At least 100 houses had been flooded while about 5,000 rai of farmland was already under a metre of flood water.

In Bangkok's neighbouring province of Pathum Thani, the Chao Phraya River overflowed its banks and flooded many houses and schools in Muang district.

Reports said the water in one school, at Wat Pho Luen, was at least 40cm deep, forcing teachers and students to move to higher ground.

In Phichit province, Royal Irrigation official Prawes Sirisil said a large mass of water from Sukhothai and Phitsanulok had reached Phichit.

Mr Prawes said the Yom River in Phichit's Sam Ngam district was about four centimetres higher than usual.

He said sandbags had been brought in to reinforce the flood barriers.

Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said the volume of water moving down from the North was much less than at this time last year, and the government's improved potential for flood management should ensure the situation remains manageable this year.

Mr Plodprasop, who is chairman of the government's Water and Flood Management Committee (WFMC), was confident the situation would remain manageable - unless the country was hit by as many as ten typhoons in just one month, which would be a very rare event.

He said at present a total area of about 850,000 rai in the lower North and upper Central regions had been flooded, only about one-third the area flooded last year.

He said the water in Sukhothai had begun to recede. Some areas along the river banks might still be flooded, but this was not worrying.  

There would not be a prolonged flood like last year, Mr Plodprasop said.

He said the water was now flowing south through the lower North at 1,400 million cubic metres per second and was unlikely to exceed 5,000 million cubic metres per second, unlike last year when the average water flow was recorded as 24 billion cubic metres per second.

Moreover, this year's flooding was caused by the annual monsoon, not by storms.

He said the government would try to keep the public informed of the overall situation at least once every day.

The WFMC would from now on meet every day, issue a daily weather forecast at 10am and a daily water situation report at 3pm.

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said people should not be alarmed about the flood situation because it would only lead to confusion and make the situation worse than it is.

"I ask the people not to be alarmed because all government agencies and the army are ready to provide immediate assistance," Gen Prayuth said.

"The people must also cooperate and try to understand, because if they're against everything how can we help?"

When reporters asked him about the necessity to construct Kaeng Suar Ten dam on the Yom River, he declined specific comment, but did mention that the public should consider ways to store water from the Yom River, particularly for the dry season.

"Flooding happens every rainy season and we should find ways to prevent flooding and to store water for the dry season. If you don't want a dam or water retention areas to be built, and if you're against everything, how else can we solve the problem?" the army chief said.

He said 100 companies of soldiers were ready to provide help in flood-affected areas.

Royal Irrigation Department director-general Lertwiroj Kowattana said the Yom River should return to normal levels in three days if there is no more rain in upstream areas.

"The overall water situation in the country is normal even though the water level is high in some areas because of a low pressure front," Mr Lertwiroj said.

He said the low pressure front and heavy rain in Phrae's Wang Chin district and Sukhothai's Si Satchanalai district had caused a rise in the water level of the Yom River. The flow rate of the Yom River at Sukhothai was more than 1,500 cubic metres per second, causing overflows in areas with low dykes.

"Authorities are now using pumps to drain the flood water and the situation should return to normal in the next few days if there's no more heavy rain," he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/312766/provinces-continue-bat...

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Flood confidence tested

BANGKOK, 17 September 2012: A Bangkok University poll reported city residents believe the government will keep them dry once more during the annual flood season.

Residents in neighbouring provinces, who mainly voted to bring the Phuea Thai party to power, are not so sure after a test went widely wrong and flooded parts of Ayutthaya province.

Of 1,152 interviewed Bangkok residents, 58.2% said if floods occurred this year, the government could handle the situation while 41.8% said it could not.

Asked if the government had used its budget wisely to deal with flood threats, 43.5% thought so, while 21.1% disagreed saying that the budget should be allocated for other matter and 35.4% said they were unsure.

Bangkok residents gave the government 5.96 points out of 10 on their confidence on flood management.

Outside the capital the rating would drop dramatically as residents correctly fear that they will again be sacrificed to save Bangkok if there is another crisis on the scale of last year.

The now infamous test that went wrong, was aborted, or never happened depending on which officials the media talks to  failed to reassure anyone that measures and management are in place  that would remove the threat of serious flooding.

Reliable sources that recognise the challenges say it could take  five years to implement a plan to reduce the risk of flooding in the central plain provinces bordering Bangkok.

But that would depend on a status quo in nature and environment changes. As those two factors are far from stable, due to global warming, it could be a losing battle and a long term plan to shift the capital to higher ground might be in order.

http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2012/09/flood-confidence-tested/

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[mrkontra]

Thank you Stanislav for reporting. Massive research!

[Stanislav]

Floods reach Pathum Thani
Overflow from the Chao Phraya has flooded communities on both sides of the river in Pathum Thani's Muang district.

Flood waters on Monday inundated houses, schools and Buddhist temples on the east and west sides of the swollen river near Pathum Thani Bridge 1 in tambon Ban Krachang, especially at Wat Pho Luan where water almost submerged the first floors of its buildings, reports said.

The situation also forced Wat Pho Luan Primary School located in the same neighbourhood to relocate about 30 kindergarten pupils to study at its multi-purpose building for safety after their classrooms had been flooded by 40 cm of water.

Choonpiman Submeechai, the school’s principal, said the water flowed into a building which had kindergarten classrooms on its first floor on Sunday night. He said he had advised teachers and students to move learning equipment to safer ground after he and the school management observed that the water level in the river was continuing to rise.

The management had assessed the situation and decided to continue holding classes as mid-term examinations were imminent, although he was worried that pupils who were affected by flooding would face difficulty in commuting to school, Mr Choonpiman said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/312776/floods-reach-pathum-...

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