Hazards being seen all over the world

Natural Hazards are always occurring. Most of them we never we hear about, earthquakes that are too minor to report, storms that don't quite make it hurricane status. This week has seen some serious incidents around the world.

1. The UK
Heavy rain has been seen all over the UK. Localised flooding has been experienced in many areas, causing disruption to traffic and people. Over a months worth of rain has fallen in 24 hours in some places. Devon has been worst hit. One man died after his car came off the wet road. Events such as motor car racing and music concerts have been cancelled (including the Godiva festival in Coventry)
Click here to read more about English floods

2. Russia
If you think our rain has been bad, they've had much worse in Russia. In one area at least 155 people have been killed after they experienced 5 times more rain than normal and severe floods occurred.
Click here to read more about Russian floods

3. India
In NE India, over 120 people have been confirmed killed after heavy Monsoon rains flooded towns and approximately 2000 villages. 2.2 million people have been displaced (made homeless).Hundreds of animals have also been killed.
Click here to read more about India floods

4. USA
It's not rain that is the problem (yet) in America, but the heat. A heat wave has killed 42 people across the East of the country. The temperatures should drop by Monday (9th July) but there could be thunderstorms and floods afterwards.
Click here to read more about USA heatwave

So, as we wonder if we're ever going to have some sun and a summer, be grateful were not experiencing the loss of life that some parts of the world, rich and poor, are experiencing.

USA-India talks: Obama calls India a "superpower"

On a visit to Delhi, President Obama said India was a world power, and both countries could work together to promote stability and prosperity. In a speech to parliament later, he said he would address Delhi's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.

Mr Singh said Washington and Delhi had decided to "accelerate the deepening of ties to work as equal partners in a strategic relationship". He said he and Mr Obama had agreed protectionism was detrimental for both countries, and that India was not in the business of stealing American jobs. Both sides would expand co-operation on space, civil, nuclear and defence matters, he added. President Obama also announced $10bn (£6.2bn) in new trade deals with India.

Click on the post headline to read more and see a clip of President Obama giving a speech.
 
More on the story here

Water Scarcity Poses International Conflict and Threatens Regional Stability

An interesting article for Year 13 students, currently studying Water Conflicts. This article talks about the potential for conflict in various parts of the world as a result of growing popualtions and resource scarcity.

An extract from the article (read the whole thing by clicking on the post title):

"With the global population expected to reach ten billion people by the year 2050, severe shortages over our most critical resource, water, will certainly arise. The areas of the world that will ultimately confront this challenge already are challenged by instability"

The article then goes on to look at the Middle East and Aftrica and South Asia in more detail.

Cick on the photo for another report into the growing water crisis in Asia

Climate change threatens emerging superpowers

Some of the "big economies of the future" are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to a new study published today.

UK consultancy Maplecroft identified Bangladesh and India as the two countries facing the greatest risks to their populations, ecosystems and business environments after ranking 170 countries based on their exposure to climate-related natural disasters and their social, economic and political ability to adapt to a changing climate.
According to Maplecroft, the countries facing the greatest risks are characterised by high levels of poverty, dense populations, exposure to climate-related events and reliance on flood- and drought-prone agricultural land.
Bangladesh ticks most of these boxes and the report warns that rising climate risks could hit foreign investment into the country, undermining the driving force behind economic growth of 88 per cent between 2000 and 2008.
Similarly, the report warned that India's massive population and increasing demand for scarce resources made it particularly sensitive to climate change.

25 year anniversary of the worlds worst industrial accident (Bhopal, India)

People in the Indian city of Bhopal have been marking 25 years since a leak at a gas plant killed thousands and left many more seriously ill. Activists and survivors marched through the city, chanting slogans against the government and Union Carbide - the US firm that owned the plant at the time.

The incident was the worst industrial disaster in history. Forty tonnes of a toxin called methyl isocyanate leaked from the factory and settled over slums on 3 December 1984.

Campaigners say at least 15,000 were killed within days and that the effects of the gas continue to this day.

The site of the former pesticide plant is now abandoned. The state government of Madhya Pradesh took it over in 1998, but environmentalists say poison is still found there.

Campaigners say Bhopal has an unusually high incidence of children with birth defects and growth deficiency, as well as cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

No-one has ever stood trial over what happened at Bhopal.

Twenty years ago, the American company, Union Carbide paid $470m (£282m) in compensation to the Indian government.

Click on the headline to see a short video of the effects of the disaster

India floods leave 240 dead, 1.5 million homeless

New Delhi - Heavy floods in southern and western India have killed 240 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless, news reports said Monday.

Days of heavy rains led to the worst floods in southern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states in 60 years, inundating hundreds of villages in the region. Karnataka accounted for 178 deaths and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh registered 37 deaths, the PTI news agency reported. At least 25 people were killed in flood-related incidents in western Maharashtra state, the report said. In the worst-hit northern regions of the state, an estimated 1 million people were rendered homeless, officials told the NDTV network.

More than 300,000 flood victims were lodged in 1,200 relief camps in the state. The Government pledged to rebuild 200,000 homes that had been destroyed in the floods, with help from the private sector(businesses). NDTV reported that the river Krishna had turned into a sea in Andhra Pradesh, flooding thousands of homes and forcing residents to leave all belongings and take refuge in government relief camps. Government officials said 500,000 people had been evacuated from their homes across the state.

More than 1,400 people have died across 19 of India's 28 states during the monsoon rains this year. The monsoon season usually begins in June and wanes by September. Heavy cloud formations over the Arabian Sea to the west of India's southern peninsula and a depression over the Bay of Bengal in the east have caused the unusually heavy rains, according to the Meteorology Department.

Click the title to read more

Kids for Sale: Stacey Dooley Investigates (click title to watch programme)

Stacey Dooley, from the BBC Three series Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts, returns with a two-part series exploring the issue of child labour in Nepal and the Ivory Coast. In 2007, fashion fanatic Stacey Dooley's life took an unexpected turn when she travelled to India for Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts to live and work alongside the people in the Indian fashion industry making clothes for the UK high street. In the cramped backstreet workshops of the Mumbai slums she came face to face with child labour and what she saw there changed her life. Stacey realises that this is a global issue and embarks on two separate journeys taking her into the heart of the child labour issue. She begins her journey in Nepal where tens of thousands of children, many under 10, are forced to leave their families to work in factories or within a form of domestic slavery. Stacey's mission is to try and find out how and why this can happen and if it's possible for her to make a difference. In Kathmandu it is estimated that thousands of children work for wages. As the government clamps down on child labour in India more children are crossing the border to work in Nepal's embroidery and carpet factories. Stacey discovers children working in terrible conditions and for very little pay. She befriends a young boy who is beaten by his factory manager and helps him escape to the safety of a children's hostel. Stacey meets children who have been sold into domestic slavery by their families, including a girl in her teens who was rescued three years ago and is now being looked after and educated in a hostel. With the aid of a charity Stacey joins her as she tries to save her 13-year-old sister from the same situation.

Broadcast on: BBC Three, 11:50pm Thursday 1st October 2009, available until Thursday 8th October

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n4fd2