![Rescuers and relatives sit in front of collapsed buildings after recent flooding caused by Mediterranean storm Daniel, in Derna, Libya, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. [AP Photo/Muhammad J. Elalwany]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Libya-Flood-4-200x150.webp "After protests in flood-hit Derna, Libyan officials order journalists to leave 1")
Protests erupted in Derna on Monday, as anger exploded among workers in the city against authorities who failed to take critical measures to protect it from flooding. When Storm Daniel hit the region, Derna’s poorly maintained dams burst, and a massive wall of water descended on the city, killing an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people. The response to the protests[Read More…]
On September 18 the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu made an announcement in the State Legislative Assembly that his government will be announcing a special aid package for all people who have suffered serious harm in the recent spate of landslides, floods and excessive rain. He said that the state had not yet received the expected help[Read More…]
One of the most important tasks before our troubled world relates to protective steps to reduce the harmful impacts of adverse weather and disasters arising from climate change. As is well understood and adequately documented, climate change leads to much increased possibility of adverse weather events and disasters which can be significantly more threatening than what the world has experienced[Read More…]
This is clearly the time for giving the highest priority to the rescue and rehabilitation effort In Libya where the recent floods have caused massive destruction. At the time of writing this over 5300 persons are reported to have died, and thousands more are reported missing. According to Derna Mayor Abdulbenam al-Ghaithi ( quoted in a Reuter report published in[Read More…]
A catastrophic flooding in Libya has taken its toll: At least 10,000 people died. The flood in Libya is just the latest in a string of intense rain events to hammer countries in four continents over the past two weeks. Whole neighborhoods have been swept into the sea by flooding in Libya. The country also experienced bursting of dams. Dead[Read More…]
Himachal Pradesh has suffered heavier damage during this monsoon season than in any recent year that most people here can recall. While over 300 people have died and economic damage has been put at Rs. 12,000 crore till early September, given the extreme nature of the devastation the mortality figure could have been much higher but for the noble efforts[Read More…]
Following abnormally high damage caused by floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, the role of foreign aid in recovery effort is being discussed, particularly aid likely to be received from the World Bank. A recent report by the Statesman News Service (The Statesman, July 29) has stated, “The World Bank has assured assistance to disaster affected Himachal Pradesh and providing[Read More…]
Following heavy rain in many parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in western Himalayan region in July 2023 there were reports of abnormally high incidence of landslides, floods and flash floods during this month. As there were simultaneous heavy rains in many plain areas below the hills, the local rainfall as well as the floodwater from the hills combined to[Read More…]
Paradoxically, recent past has been witness to strongly different images of India circulating at home and also in global media. Incidentally, lesser space has been taken by the positive side than has been by negative aspects and/or the grimmer reality. Of course, as is well known, the former has been marked by Indian Premier’s foreign trips followed by India’s moon[Read More…]
Several parts of India including the capital Delhi are in the middle of above normal floods. This has happened at a very early stage of the monsoon rains and there is need for a lot of caution at this stage itself as the capacity of land, natural water sources and dams to handle floods, which has been eroded badly over[Read More…]
The situation in mid-July in India and more particularly in North India suggests need for extreme caution to avoid any further or rapid aggravation of the flood situation. At rather an early stage of the monsoon season, excessive floods have taken place in Delhi and neighboring parts as well as in the upper Himalayan catchment areas of Himachal Pradesh and[Read More…]
At least 603 people have been killed by flooding in Nigeria, and all but three of the 36 states in the West African nation have been impacted. The floods have been caused by unusually strong rainfall. Citing the Nigerian humanitarian affairs ministry, media reports said on Sunday: The Nigerian national government also announced that more than 1.3 million people have been[Read More…]
Most countries of South Asia have suffered excessive flood losses this year, peaking in Pakistan. In the last week of August Pakistan, overwhelmed by surging waters, declared an emergency. Nearly 1500 human lives have already been claimed by the disaster. With excessive rains affecting almost half the country and a third of the country submerged during the peak of the[Read More…]
Unprecedented flooding—arising from and demonstrably tied to climate change— continues to ravage Pakistan, with the official death toll rising by more than 250 since last week. 1,391 people are now reported as having perished due to the floods, which have inundated a third of the impoverished South Asian country. A further 12,700 have been injured. On Friday, Pakistan’s National Disaster[Read More…]
Havoc and misery caused by recent floods in Bengaluru, Pakistan and Assam are not only natural disasters but are man made and due to climate change. Over exploitation of urban land and water resources by greedy private real estate developers perhaps the chief cause of floods. Media relentlessly focused on flooded upscale villas, their swanky automobiles of super rich in[Read More…]
Roads are crumbling, bridges are collapsing and railway lines are flooded . The surging waters from the rivers are drowning entire villages all around. It has rained so much that even where there is no flood, the kutcha houses have become wet and some are falling apart. Schools have declared holidays and public transport is closed. People are unable to[Read More…]
30 to 33 million persons are reported to be seriously affected by floods in Pakistan, a country with a population of 220 million. Due to this a national emergency has been declared in Pakistan. The previous worst floods in Pakistan were recorded in 2010 when nearly 20 million people were affected, causing damages estimated at $10 billion. This was followed[Read More…]
Recently the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has written a detailed letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the man-made floods created in her state due to excessive water discharge from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) Dams. In particular she has criticized the discharge of about 10 lakh acre-feet of water between September 30 and October 2 2021[Read More…]
From some of the heaviest rains in a decade that has created monsoon flood, a third of Bangladesh is already underwater, and at least 1.5 million people are already affected, marooned or have left their homes for higher ground along with their cattle and other belongings with villages and roads flooded. Almost four million people have been hit by this[Read More…]
Torrential rainfall for the past three days has triggered floods and landslides in different parts of Nepal, claiming more than 40 lives and displacing thousands of families in western Nepal. Narayani and other major rivers have swollen due to the continuous downpour. Meteorological Department on Friday had forecast that the monsoon rains would last for another three days. Twenty-seven[Read More…]
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My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
