It has been nine years since the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami struck Aceh in 2004, but as of today the province still has a shortage of proper disaster mitigation infrastructure, including communications systems, disaster relief shelters and escape roads, to combat potential natural disasters in the future.
Tsunami reminders
NINE years after the Indian Ocean tsunami, the capital of Indonesia’s Aceh province is now a bustling city, with a museum and a large ship pushed inland by the wave among few reminders of the devastation. Lives have returned to normal for many of the survivors, but others are still struggling with a lack of adequate housing. “I will never forget that day. It was a terrifying experience,” said 29-year-old Nanda Suhada, whose father, brother and grandmother died when the giant wave stuck their neighbourhood in Banda Aceh.
How technology is transforming emergency preparedness
DAKAR – Mobile phone, geographic information systems (GIS), Twitter and other technologies are increasingly being used to warn communities of potential crises and inform them how to prepare, and to help governments and aid agencies predict how emergencies may unfold.
Natural Disasters: Lessons from Uttarakhand
The recent cloudburst in Uttarakhand and subsequent natural disaster in the form of massive inundation should make many of us sit up and take notice. It is true that notwithstanding all disaster management plans, man is helpless against the vagaries of nature as also borne out by the regular loss of lives and property from tsunami, tornados, typhoons and hurricanes in developed countries like the USA and Japan.
Rainstorms Flood Sichuan Province in China
BEIJING — Rainstorms that are said to be the worst in five decades have flooded large areas of southwest China, washing out bridges, setting off a landslide that buried dozens of people and destroying a memorial to victims of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province that flattened large parts of the same area.
4,000 Still Missing in Indian Floods
With more than 4,000 people still reported missing after flash floods hit Uttarakhand three weeks ago, the state’s chief minister said that those who have not been found by July 15 will be declared dead, entitling their families to compensation.
India floods death toll ‘could rise to 1,000’
The death toll in flash floods and landslides in northern India could climb to 1,000, officials have warned.More than 600 people are confirmed dead with more than 40,000 still said to be stranded in the mountains of Uttarakhand state.
Nigeria hosts top UN Disaster managers
The significant progress that Nigeria has recorded in the area of disaster management and disaster risk reduction, has gained global attention as the two global recognised United Nations disaster managers are scheduled to visit the country next week.
Lightning kills 27 in eastern India
PATNA : A total of 27 people including six children were killed across the eastern Indian state of Bihar after they were struck by lightning, officials said on Wednesday.
Twenty-two of the deaths were reported Tuesday while another five people were killed during pre-monsoon showers on Wednesday, the minister in charge of Bihar’s disaster management said.
Situation ‘dramatic’ as German town underwater after floods
PASSAU, Germany — Swollen rivers gushed into the old section of Passau in southeast Germany on Monday, as water rose in the city to levels not seen in more than five centuries.
The city was one of the worst hit by flooding that has spread across a large area of central Europe following heavy rainfall in recent days. At least eight people were reported to have died and nine were missing due to floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.