In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95 billion. The year 2024 was marked by extreme temperature events in Asia that caused thousands of deaths, severe droughts in Africa affecting over 25 …
Aggressively claiming its right over its natural resources post tsunami, Indonesia recently adopted a new law that requires all foreign fishing vessels to give 70 per cent of their catch to the domestic processing industry. These vessels also have to ensure that at least 40 per cent of the crew …
Blunder tourism: Six months after the tsunami disaster, the inhabitants of Arugam Bay on Sri Lanka's east coast are protesting a government move ostensibly aimed at creating a safety buffer zone against any future disaster of the kind. The government is reclaiming their land on the ground that any construction …
un agencies said on May 23, 2005 that even with the help of international aid, it will take at least five to 10 years for countries hit by the December 2004 tsunami to recover fully. "Usually it's more like 10 years,' un Development Programme (undp) disaster recovery specialist Andrew Maskrey …
A NEW understanding of future earthquakes, especially in South Asia, has emerged from studies of the tremor that caused the devastating December 26, 2004 tsunami in the region. The findings of three studies on the Sumatra-Andaman quake have been published in the latest edition of the journal Science (May 20, …
www.fiftycrows.org worth a caw In the aftermath of the recent tsunami, the media sprung into action: we were deluged with images of the tragedy. The fourth estate had once again displayed its proclivity for the sensational. It's almost five months after the tsunami but the mainstream media is conspicuous by …
The Union government has cleared the decks for the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (sscp). The project is part of the United Progressive Alliance government's Common Minimum Programme. It aims to create a route linking India's eastern and western shores by dredging a ship channel across the Palk Straits. Once in …
the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs cleared the Rs 2427 crore plus Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (sscp) on May 19. The very one for which the Prime Minister's Office (pmo) had, about two and a half months ago, raised serious concerns. In early March the pmo mandated a re-look into …
The battle of us shrimpers against Indian and Thai imports is not yet over. On April 25, 2005, the us International Trade Commission (itc) voted for reviewing its decision to impose anti-dumping duties on shrimp imports from the two nations. On the ground that they harm the domestic industry, Indian …
Differences in the structure of the ocean floor off the coast of Sumatra could explain why the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake created a much larger tsunami than a similar magnitude quake the following year, according to a study.
The government seems to have learnt its lesson from the acute difficulty it faced in assessing the true extent of post-tsunami damage to the country's fishing community. It initiated The National Marine Fisheries Census-2005 on April 15, 2005 to update the database on fisherfolk population and help establish an efficient …
Delayed aid: Sri Lanka's tsunami reconstruction work has been delayed by three months due to non-payment of foreign aid. The government announced on February 7, 2005 that donors had finally approved the payment US $1.5 billion aid for and "its from now the construction phase begins'. But this happened only …
The tsunami killed many more women than men, leaving a severe gender imbalance in affected areas, says fresh research by international non-governmental organisation (ngo) Oxfam. Australia-based Oxfam Community Aid Abroad International recently compiled the first report on the tsunami's gender implications. "In some villages it now appears that up to …
When on the islands do not think Land. Think Water. The Tsunami has wreaked havoc. The government is drowned up to its neck in relief work. No, they call it rehabilitation. On one island sit 150 metric tonnes of mostly perishable goods, milk packets and food, waiting for someone, anyone. …
The new environment minister of Somalia's non-resident government has urged the UN to examine the nature of the possible hazardous waste washed ashore in the country following the recent tsunami disaster. The minister, Mohamed Osman Maye, said reports of unusual illnesses and hazardous waste are reaching the government, based in …
Justice prevails: The Supreme Court on March 15, 2005, ruled that states will have to allot alternative cultivable land to even those people who have been affected temporarily by the Sardar Sarovar Project on Narmada River. The judgement is expected to have a major impact on the relief and rehabilitation …
the Prime Minister's office (pmo) has raised serious concerns about the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (sscp) in Tamil Nadu. The sscp aims to provide a route linking India's eastern and western shores, doing away with the current need to circumnavigate Sri Lanka. In a note issued in the first week …
people dependent on the tourism industry in the tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar islands have managed to survive despite the crash in tourist inflow. The relief workers, scientists, journalists and others visiting the islands post-disaster have provided them work: a phenomenon termed by many in the business as "disaster tourism'. "The …
Eu members recently agreed over eu fisheries commissioner Joe Borg's proposal to send fishing boats to tsunami-affected Asian countries. But experts warn that instead of having a positive effect, the move might harm fishing communities and fish stocks of recipient countries. The initiative has yet to be approved by the …
the Tamil Nadu government's effort at coastal regulation in tsunami-affected districts has taken a controversial turn. The government had ordered the relocation of houses within 500 metres of the High Tide Line (htl) and also of those between 500 metres and 1 kilometre (km) if the topography so demanded. But …
