Disasters and emergency response
Disasters
Homes, farmland swamped by floods
As heavy rains brought by tropical storm “Rai” persisted over the upper part of Thailand on September 15, many homes and tracts of farmland in downstream provinces were flooded by runoff. Phitsanulok ordered all scenic waterfalls linked to the Wang Thong River to be closed to ...
Rivers, canals gradually dying in Mekong River Delta
Rivers and canals in the southwestern region are becoming depleted as they are not regularly dredged and cleared, and are encroached upon by people’s housing. There are 26 seaports, big and small in Mekong Delta. The dredging capability and canal network in the region are factors ...
Warmer oceans bringing more severe tropical cyclones to land
Human-caused climate change has made certain typhoons more frequent and severe. Tropical cyclones can cause devastating and lethal damage to East and Southeast Asian countries. But accurately tracking changes in the frequency and intensity of typhoons is challenging in part because the data on these storms hasn’t ...
Pulp and paper supplier denies draining peat on island near Singapore
A NASA satellite detected 140 hotspots in West Kalimantan on September 12 as smallholders in the province continued to burn land for agriculture, Indonesia’s disaster management agency said on September 13. Data from Global Forest Watch shows the district of Ketapang recorded 144 fire alerts over the ...
Provinces prepare for worst amid downpour
With the rainy season in full swing, authorities in Oddar Meanchey and Kampong Thom provinces are taking measures to cope with flooding that has resulted from three straight days of downpour. Chea Piseth, spokesman for Oddar Meanchey Provincial Hall, on September 14 said that National Road 67A ...
Hydropower dam tunnel collapses in central Vietnam flash floods, many missing
At least two workers and 14 local residents are missing after a hydropower water tunnel collapsed in Quang Nam Province on September 13. Huynh Khanh Toan, vice chairman of the province People’s Committee, said flash floods triggered by Typhoon Rai caused the water tunnel at the ...
34 provinces on alert as storm Rai covers Thailand
The Meteorological Department issued a warning on September 13 to people in 34 provinces in the North, Northeast and East to brace for heavy rain and stay tuned for weather updates. As of early Wednesday, tropical storm “Rai” was over Laos and the Northeast on September ...
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, ...
