Disasters and emergency response

Cambodia rice farmers have started planting for the 2015 main rice crop in May and will continue until July end. However, unusually high temperatures and low rainfall are raising concerns that this year’s paddy production will suffer significantly due to the drought-inducing El Nino weather ...

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned farmers to brace for the impact from reduced dam water releases. The government has ordered provincial governors to work with the military and police to stop farmers from diverting water for their farmland, following its move to cut ...

The number of drought-hit provinces has more than halved after rain made an appearance in the upper North and Northeast, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said Sunday. Department chief Chatchai Promlert said 40 provinces were reported as drought-hit until the weekend, when welcome rain eased the ...

A severe drought is affecting many people in provinces across Cambodia and has prompted the government to warn that it will deepen poverty in the developing country. Sivann Botum, secretary of state for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and a member of the National Committee for ...

A series of photos of the severe drought in southwest China. Click to view   ...

A severe lack of rain and higher-than-normal temperatures in parts of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have caused some farmers to leave their fields and rice paddies unplanted, sources inside the developing Southeast Asian countries said. Farmers in Ha Tinh province in central Vietnam have been forced ...

Thailand’s vital rice belt is being battered by one of the worst droughts in living memory with the prospect of a dismal main harvest. Water levels in some of the major reservoirs are at their lowest levels in 20 years, prompting the ruling junta to call ...

Long-awaited rain fell over four drought-struck provinces overnight and during the day, reviving withering rice crops but only slightly raising hopes of the upcountry regions coming out of the crisis.   While rice farmers in Surin, Maha Sarakham and Phayao were grateful for rain replenishing their crops, ...

Drought is persisting in 13 provinces as rain makes an appearance in the upper North and Northeast, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chatchai Promlert said on Sunday. Earlier 40 provinces were reported as drought-hit. The situation in 27 provinces has eased because of the rain. Keep ...

Increasing heavy rains have caused severe flooding in the western state of Rakhine, Myanmar, destroying nearly 200 homes and causing serious damage to another hundred across four townships. During the first few days of the flooding, around 1,500 people were evacuated, and about 300 of ...