Disasters and emergency response
Disasters
Flash flooding in LuangPrabang kills woman, damages crops
Flash flooding in northern parts of the country including Luang Prabang province has taken one life, destroyed many hectares of rice and other crops and washed away houses and irrigation channels and livestock. Officials also reported that more than 1,000 families in nine districts of Luang ...
Mekong river rising rapidly at Nong Khai
Water in the Mekong River at this border town is rising alarmingly and municipality officials are preparing to shut drainage outlet pipes to prevent water from the river seeping into the city and causing flooding, reports said. On August 17, the river level was 10.19 ...
Nan declared disaster zone as North struggles with inundation
Officials in Thailand’s Nan province have declared six districts in the northern province flood disaster zones, while neighbouring provinces also recover from severe flooding. The Meteorological Department of Thailand warned residents in the North, notably in the provinces of Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai ...
Five dead, two missing as heavy rains cause flash floods in Vietnam northern mountains
Downpours in Vietnam’s northern mountains last week caused flash floods that killed at least five people, including two children, and left two others missing. The National Steering Committee for Search and Rescue said heavy rains between August 10 and 14 have taken a heavy toll, news ...
Severe flooding ravages North
Downpours have triggered severe floods in wide areas in the northern provinces of Nan and Phayao, ravaging properties and prompting officials to warn residents to brace for further damage amid the persistent rain. Schools and several hundred houses in the two northern provinces of Thailand were ...
Government and civil society groups meet for flood aid
Ensuring better coordination was the objective of an August 11 meeting between government officials and civil society groups in Magwe Region. The goal was to strengthen the network of civil society groups to ensure the proper distribution of aid supplies for flood victims while avoiding ...
Floods affect hundreds of thousands in Irrawaddy division
More than 350,000 people from some 700 villages have been affected by flooding in three of the Irrawaddy Division’s districts, said the divisional government. Floods hit Hinthada, Maubin, and Pathein districts in early August and have forced more than 38,000 people into relief camps. “Hinthada district was ...
Vietnam's fast economic growth is quietly slipping, but no one cares
In central Ho Chi Minh City, financial hub of the fast-growing Vietnamese economy, 20-somethings with designer hairdos jump out of polished black sedans to pack the coffeehouses on every block and fill restaurants serving sushi and chicken in passion fruit sauce. It’s odd then that ...
As Irrawaddy river swells, Mandalay prepares for possible flood
As the Irrawaddy River swells due to recent heavy rains, rising water levels are concerning to both locals and authorities in Mandalay, who are preparing for a possible flood. The river is about two feet above the 230.74-foot alert level in Mandalay Division. Local authorities have ...
As clouds head for the poles, time to prepare for food and water shocks
A changing climate means less rain and lower water supplies in regions where many people live and much of the planet’s food is produced: the mid-latitudes of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, including the U.S. Southwest, southern Europe and parts of the Middle East, southern ...