The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
Markets in water rights are likely to evolve as a rising population leads to shortages and climate change causes drought and famine. But they will be based on regional and ethical trading practices and will differ from the bulk of commodity trade. Detractors argue trading water is unethical or even …
Israel said on Monday it was building a 1.5 billion shekel ($423 million) desalination plant, which upon completion in 2013, will join four other plants in providing the country with three-quarters of its drinking water. The government signed with Mekorot, the national water company, to build and operate the reverse …
Abiotic disturbances, disturbances caused by non living factors, are a natural and integral part of forest ecosystems that have major impacts, positive and negative. They influence forest structure, composition and functioning and can be important for maintaining biological diversity and facilitating regeneration. When disturbances exceed their normal range of variation, …
How deep should one dig a bore well in Hyderabad and Secunderabad in order to extract ground water As builders and house owners vie with one another to dig deeper into the soil for perennial sources of groundwater, geologists clarify that the water table in the twin cities is just …
The world must act urgently to save the lives of millions affected by drought in the Horn of Africa, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Friday. This week the UN announced that famine has struck three new areas of southern Somalia, while 12.4 million people in the surrounding …
Global unmilled rice production will expand less than forecast after drought and floods in the US, according to the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Paddy output may be a record 718.3 million tonne in 2011, 1.5 million tonne less than forecast in April, according to the agency’s Rice …
The United Nations declared three new regions in Somalia to be famine zones on Wednesday, expanding the area where the highest rates of malnutrition and deaths are taking place, including the refugee camps in the capital of Mogadishu. Two other areas had earlier been declared famine zones, and the United …
A severe drought looms large over many parts of Orissa due to inadequate rainfall this season. Most of the districts have received half the normal rainfall. According to revenue department sources, Nuapada district in western Orissa has received 56 per cent rainfall while Boudh and Malkangiri recorded 63 and 61 …
Sometimes the British overplay their importance in international affairs, but in the humanitarian crisis in east Africa they have contributed more than most. David Cameron delivered a rebuke to other countries last week for failing to match the UK’s response to famine in the region, while Andrew Mitchell, the international …
The Shabab Islamist insurgent group, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp where it is imprisoning displaced people who were trying to escape Shabab territory. The group is widely blamed for causing a famine in Somalia by …
A historic Texas drought is driving bears into urban areas searching for food and water, the latest in a series of bizarre wildlife stories to come out of the deadly hot and dry weather across the nation. Authorities have reported wayward razorbacks in Arkansas digging through flower beds, and bats …
At a streetside kiosk in Isiolo, the price of camel bones for soup has jumped 250 per cent this year to 100 shillings ($1.10) a kilo, straining the pockets of many in the drought-hit eastern Kenyan town. In a bitter irony that illustrates that the food crisis affecting 12.4m people …
This new report by the Disaster Management Division, Ministry of Home Affairs has detailed information on various types of disasters, institutional framework and policy guidelines in disaster management. It also presents the roadmap in tackling disasters. India’s geo-climatic conditions as well as its high degree of socio-economic vulnerability, makes it …
As sovereign nations, Indian Tribes consistently strive to fully exercise their right of self determination and to maintain their cultural identity, often in the face of the severe economic, societal, and environmental challenges confronting them. Their sovereignty, cultures, and ways of life are profoundly tested in these times by the …
The whole of drought- and conflict-wracked southern Somalia is heading into famine as the Horn of Africa food crisis deepens, the United Nations said yesterday. In a report for countries sending aid, the UN's umbrella humanitarian agency OCHA said the "crisis in southern Somalia is expected to continue to worsen …
Rising sea waters may threaten U.S. coastal cities later this century, while the Midwest and East Coast are at high risk for intense storms, and the West could see compromised water supplies. These are among the expected water-related effects of climate change on 12 cities across the nation over the …
The World Bank on Monday pledged more than $500 million (348 million euros) to aid the drought-strickenHorn of Africa region, asUnited Nations aid chiefs met in Rome to discuss ramping up relief efforts. The bulk of the money will go towards long-term projects to aid livestock farmers while $12 million …
JAIPUR: Implementation of the state government's ambitious 'Mukhyamantri Gramin BPL Awas Yojana' which aims to providing shelter to 10 lakh BPL families in rural areas over the next three years was launched across the state on Monday. Selected BPL families were handed over the sanction letters of the first installment …
A historic drought in the southern Plains intensified in the last week and contributed to dry conditions emerging in the heart of the Midwest crop belt, a weekly climatologists' report said Thursday. The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, produced by a consortium of national climate experts, showed abnormally dry conditions affecting …
