Disasters and emergency response
An elemental difference has developed among those concerned for wetland conservation
If this year’s severe drought returns next dry season, Uncle Wai Rodtayoy and other salt farmers in tambon Koek Kharm of Samut Sakhon, known as the country’s largest sea-salt-farming area, will see mounting debts. The price of salt this year bottomed at 450 baht per ...
North Korea flooding kills 133, displaces 107,000 - UN
Flooding from heavy rain in North Korea has killed 133 people in its northeast while 395 are missing, with many homes and critical infrastructure destroyed, a U.N. agency said on September 12. News of the natural disaster came as North Korea looked even more isolated from ...
Drought devastates local shrimp industry
This year’s prolonged drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta has destroyed more than 81,000 hectares of prime shrimp breeding areas in eight provinces, says the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Shrimp farmers in Ca Mau Province in the very south of the country, ...
Emergency response in SE Asia gets a fund boost
Emergency response across South-East Asia got a shot in the arm with the 11 countries in the region establishing a fund to build preparedness for natural disasters and health emergencies. The fund aims to make health systems in the region, which is among the most disaster-prone ...
Mekong River level cause for concern in Nong Khai
The Nong Khai water monitoring office under the Department of Water Resources has reported the latest height of the Mekong River at 8 meters and 63 centimeters, up by over 1 meter from the same time on September 7 and only 3.57 meters below its ...
Mekong Delta region awaits floods
The Mekong Delta, the rice, seafood and fruit granary of the country, is facing landslides and sinking, as it no longer receives enough silt because of limited floodwaters. “We have been living here for several generations and we have never seen such poor floodwaters until the ...
One year later, Chin landslide victims wary of promises still yet to be fulfilled
One year after landslides ravaged northern Chin State, and geologists recommended a relocation of the state capital, little on the ground has changed, residents say. Election promises of resettlement by Christmas were largely unmet, and families eventually moved into the new dwellings continue to lack ...
China should provide disaster relief in ASEAN region to ensure sustainability of economic ties
After a powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar on August 24, China and its neighbors should expedite cooperation over disaster relief, despite the fact that the road for promoting political and social links in East Asia and Southeast Asia is always bumpy due to the complexity of ...
Powerful earthquake hits central Myanmar
A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar on August 24, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake, which the agency said struck at a depth of 84 kilometres, was felt in Yangon, as well as in the Thai and Bangladesh capitals. Officials from Myanmar’s Relief ...
Battambang rice-farming families fear floods
About 40,000 Battambang rice-farming families already suffering steep losses from a severe drought are at risk of seeing their crops wiped out entirely by devastating floods as late seasonal rains start to kick in. A drought that meteorologists have blamed on the tail-end of an El ...