May 18, 2012

Recent Natural Events

Peru – heavy rains

Between January and 11 May 2012 intense rains have caused mudslides and overflowing of rivers, resulting in a death toll of 49 and affecting some 783,930 people, of which, more than 269,270 are homeless. Read

Worst flooding in 100 years hits Manaus, Brazil

Brazil's Amazon city of Manus has been hit by the worst flooding in 100 years, crippling the local economy and displacing thousands of families in the country's northwestern region. Read

Northern Brazil -  Worst drought in 50 years takes toll

A severe drought is affecting more than 1,100 towns in northeastern Brazil, where short water supplies have devastated farm output, endangering the lives of local people and their livestock. 'Water wars' are observed in rural areas. Read

Panama - seismic activity of magnitude 4.9 and depth 10.30Km Read

Other Disasters Related News

Looming drought in the Caribbean

In Guyana, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud says that authorities have spent $1.2M to improve irrigation and to pump water into farmlands that are feeling the effects of largely absent year end rains. Read

Rebuilding Joplin a year after tornado

A year ago this week, miles of homes and businesses were flattened by the enormous multivortex storm, one of the worst recorded in U.S. history. Neighborhoods, schools and communities were literally blown away. Read

IOM Colombia hosts Fourth International Conference on Gender and Disasters

Delegates acknowledged the role of women in protecting the rights of children, elderly persons and people with disabilities and the limitations this situation poses to their response capacity and the possibility to migrate in search of work after an emergency. Read

Bolivian Civil Defense implements emergency recovery project

The 6 month project will cover the municipalities of Chipaya, El Choro, Toledo y Soracachi of the Department of Oruro, with a budget of 200,000 Euros. Read

Mexico -  Modernization of National Meteorological Service for improved Climate Change Adaptation

The National Meteorological Service (SMN, in Spanish) modernization plan includes activities such as institutional redesign, human resource recruitment and training, the installation of modernized infrastructure and improvements in the climate modeling tools used to generate weather forecasts and alerts. Read