What a ridiculous thread.

Updates of news on 23 March 2010

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI and AUSTRALIA ON 23 MARCH 2010 plus interesting article concerning Iceland's eruptions

 

DEVELOPMENT BANK FORGIVES $479 MILLION HAITI DEBT

 

(03/23/2010 | 08:12 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

CANCUN, Mexico – The Inter-American Development Bank said Monday it has agreed to forgive $479 million in debts owed by quake-ravaged Haiti.

 

Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno said the bank's board of governors voted to forgive the debt and will offer $2 billion in financing to the Caribbean nation over the next 10 years.

 

"This commitment is good news for all Haitians, and will help heal the wounds caused by the earthquake," Moreno said at the inauguration of the bank's annual meeting in the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun.

 

The IADB debt was the biggest single chunk of the $1.2 billion Haiti owed as of late January, according to figures of the International Monetary Fund.

 

The measures are meant to help Haiti recover from the magnitude-7 Jan. 12 earthquake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people. The new funds would be directed toward supporting long-term reconstruction and development efforts.

 

The 48-member regional development bank is Latin America's largest lender for projects such as roads and power plants.

 

The administration of President Barack Obama is pushing for the cancellation of other multilateral debt, as well as the $400 million Haiti owes individual countries.

 

Also Monday, European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said in Brussels that the EU foreign ministers agreed to donate euro1 billion ($1.36 billion) in DEVELOPMENT AID to Haiti in the years ahead.

 

Ashton said she will pledge that amount on the EU's behalf at a Haiti donors conference in New York next week.

 

She says what the Caribbean country needs after the devastating earthquake is "long-term development aid."

 

In addition to discussing debt relief for Haiti, Moreno said the board of governors had voted for a $70 billion increase in the bank's current capital of about $100 billion. Moreno called it the biggest capital increase in the bank's history, and said it would allow the bank to become the biggest multilateral lending agency for the region.

 

Colombian Economy Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said the capital increase would allow the bank to continue financing economic and development projects.

 

"With this increase, we have established a basis for the bank into the future," Zuluaga said.

 

In 2009, the bank made loans worth a record $15.5 billion, and it had warned that, without a capital increase, it would have to cut its lending to about half that.

 

But Moreno said that after Monday's decision the bank could boost its lending to an average of about $12 billion per year, focusing especially on "the poorest and most vulnerable" economies. Poverty reduction, climate change programs and extending educational coverage would be among the priorities for new projects. — AP

 

 

EX-PRESIDENTS BUSH, CLINTON VISIT DEVASTATED HAITI

 

(03/23/2010 | 10:53 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton clasped hands with residents of one of Haiti's massive tent cities Monday on a tour of its quake-devastated capital — a visit intended to remind donors of the immense needs facing the recovery effort.

 

The two former leaders, who were tapped by President Barack Obama to spearhead US fundraising for the crisis, made their first joint visit to Haiti. They spotlighted the DRAMATIC NEED FOR HELP ahead of a critical March 31 UN donors conference in New York where Haitian officials will ask for $11.5 BILLION IN RECONSTRUCTION HELP.

 

At a news conference with President Rene Preval on the grounds of the collapsed national palace, Bush said he was struck by the devastation caused by the Jan. 12 earthquake.

 

"It's one thing to see it on TV, it's another to see it firsthand," said Bush, who was making his first visit to Haiti. "Hopefully our visit will remind people that Haiti needs help."

 

Clinton and Bush later greeted quake survivors camped on the Champ de Mars, the national mall filled with 60,000 homeless people. Secret Service agents and Haitian police surrounded the men as they waded into a fenced-in section of the mall where dozens of families have pitched blue, orange and silver tarps.

 

While many of the homeless welcomed the visit as a sign that the US would continue to supply aid, some said they were disappointed the presidents did not bring anything more tangible.

 

"The visit is like no visit at all. They walked inside, it's to show off," said Rene Pierre, a 35-year-old homeless man.

 

About 100 protesters burned tires and an American flag outside the national palace to demand the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was flown from Haiti aboard a US plane during Bush's presidency and now lives in South African exile.

 

Clinton and Bush visited the country as it struggles to feed and shelter victims of the magnitude-7 quake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people. Another 1.3 MILLION QUAKE SURVIVORS are HOMELESS, with many living in CAMPS PRONE TO DANGEROUS FLOODING IN the APRIL RAINY SEASON.

 

The former presidents also visited the Maxima SA woodworking plant where manager Evelien Degier, a native of the Netherlands, said they can build houses for $2,000. She said she hopes the presidents help direct investment to companies like hers that employ Haitians as part of the reconstruction effort.

 

"It's wonderful to have the handouts and the food," she said. "But now people need to go back to work to real life to earn real money."

 

The chairman of Haiti's chamber of commerce, Reginald Boulos, said Monday that Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive will co-chair a task force overseeing the large amounts of international aid expected to pour in next month.

 

Clinton said he had not been formally offered the position but was open to helping in any way. He endorsed creating an independent agency to oversee aid as well as a Web site to track money — ideas he said helped avoid corruption in Indonesia after the 2006 tsunami.

 

Bush left Monday afternoon. Clinton was expected to stay overnight for meetings with business leaders and officials.

 

Named UN special envoy to Haiti last year, Clinton said the former presidents hoped to get all the aid agencies and the Haitian government working together to make the most of the huge global outpouring of support.

 

"The most important thing in the short run is to coordinate what the NGOs do with the long-term plans that the Haitian government has. They can't be a self-sufficient country unless we both are transparent in this aid and build the capacity of the government," he said.

 

Aid was already being announced on Monday.

 

The INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK announced it had agreed to FORGIVE its $479 MILLION SHARE OF HAITI's $1.2 BILLION in FOREIGN DEBT while offering $2 billion in grants over the next 10 years. The EUROPEAN UNION said it will DONATE EURO1 BILLION ($1.36 billion) in DEVELOPMENT AID to Haiti in the years ahead.

 

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT Hugo Chavez has also announced he would cancel Haiti's debt to his country, which the IMF had listed at more than $200 million.

 

The nonprofit CLINTON BUSH HAITI FUND has RAISED $37 MILLION FROM 220,000 INDIVIDUALS including Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who gave $1 million, and Obama, who among other donations gave $200,000 of his Nobel Peace Prize.

 

About $4 million has gone to such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, the University of Miami/Project Medishare mobile hospital in Port-au-Prince and the US branch of the Irish charity Concern Worldwide. The rest has yet to be allocated. — AP

 

German ZDF Text: CLINTON AND BUSH: HAITI AID MUST CONTINUE

 

The former US presidents Clinton and Bush spoke in favour of a continuation of the humanitarian aid to Haiti which was destroyed by the earthquake. According to Clinton the programme HOPE aims at creating jobs for about 100,000 people and restarting agriculture.

 

Both former presidents arrived in Haiti this morning representing President Barack Obama. They are to estimate the rebuilding process in the earthquake-hit region - according to the Haitian broadcaster Radio Metropole.

 

---------------

 

German ZDF Text: AUSTRALIAN CITY, PERTH, FLOODED AFTER BAD WEATHER

Big parts of the westaustralian city, Perth, were flooded after very bad weather. A powerful storm with heavy rain swept across the region with wind gusts of 120 km per hour.

 

Lots of building roofs were damaged including the roof of the airport. More than 150,000 households are without power. The bad weather is expected to continue.

Before this storm there had been a long period of drought in Westaustralia with very rare rain.

 

-------------------

 

ICELAND's ERUPTIONS COULD HAVE GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES

 

(03/23/2010 | 10:56 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Blasts of lava and ash shot out of a volcano in southern Iceland on Monday and small tremors rocked the ground, a surge in activity that raised fears of a larger explosion at the nearby Katla volcano.

 

Scientists say history has proven that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla follows — the only question is how soon. And Katla, located under the massive Myrdalsjokull icecap, threatens disastrous flooding and explosive blasts when it blows.

 

Saturday's eruption at Eyjafjallajokull (AYA-feeyapla-yurkul) — dormant for nearly 200 years — forced at least 500 people to evacuate. Most have returned to their homes, but authorities were waiting for scientific assessments to determine whether they were safe to stay.

 

Residents of 14 farms nearest to the eruption site were told to stay away.

 

Several small tremors were felt early Monday, followed by spurts of lava and steam rocketing into the air.

 

Iceland sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland's history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.

 

Like earthquakes, predicting the timing of volcanic eruptions is an imprecise science. An eruption at the Katla volcano could be disastrous, however — both for Iceland and other nations.

 

Iceland's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, freeing gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the Jet Stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in the British Isles. Crop production fell in western Europe. Famine spread. Some even linked the eruption, which helped fuel famine, to the French Revolution. Painters in the 18th century illustrated fiery sunsets in their works.

 

The winter of 1784 was also one of the longest and coldest on record in North America. New England reported a record stretch of below-zero temperatures and New Jersey reported record snow accumulation. The Mississippi River also reportedly froze in New Orleans.

 

"These are Hollywood-sort of scenarios but possible," said Colin Macpherson, a geologist with the University of Durham. "As the melt rises, it's a little like taking a cork out of a champagne bottle."

 

There are three main places where volcanoes normally occur — along strike-slip faults such as California's San Andreas fault line, along areas where plates overlap one another such as in the Philippines and the Pacific Rim, and in areas like Iceland, where two of the Earth's plates are moving apart from each other in a so-called spreading system.

 

Unlike the powerful volcanos along the Pacific Rim where the slow rise of magma gives scientists early seismic warnings that an eruption is imminent, Iceland's volcanos are unique in that many erupt under ice sheets with little warning.

 

Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geologist at the University of Iceland who flew over the site Monday, said the beginning of Saturday's eruption was so indistinct that it initially went undetected by geological instruments. Many of the tremors were below magnitude 2.6.

 

Using thermal cameras and radar to map the lava flow, Gudmundsson and other scientists were able to determine that the lava from Eyjafjallajokull was flowing down a gorge and not moving toward the ice caps — reducing any threat of floods.

 

He said he and other scientists were watching Katla but Monday's trip was meant to assess immediate risk.

 

"A general expectation is that because of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, the fissure would widen and in that sense, there's a greater risk of extending into or underneath the glaciers and prompting an eruption at Katla," said Andy Russell with Newcastle University's Earth Surface Processes Research Group, who went with a team to Iceland before the eruption. "From records, we know that every time Eyjafjallajokull erupts, Katla has also erupted."

 

Russell said past Katla eruptions have caused floods the size of the Amazon and sent boulders as big as houses tumbling down valleys and roads. The last major eruption took place in 1918. Floods followed in as little as an hour.

 

Those eruptions have posed risks to residents nearby, but most of Iceland's current population of 320,000 live in the capital of Reykjavik on the western part of the island.

 

Southern Iceland is sparely populated but has both glaciers and unstable volcanoes — a destructive combination.

 

The last time there was an eruption near the 100-square-mile (160 square-kilometer) Eyjafjallajokull glacier was in 1821, and that was a "lazy" eruption that lasted slowly and continuously for two years.

 

Iceland is one of the few places in the world where a mid-ocean ridge actually rises above sea level. Many volcanic eruptions along the ocean basin often go undetected because they can't be easily seen.

 

First settled by Vikings in the 9th century, Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice because of its volcanos and glaciers. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the Hekla volcano, the country's most active, the "Gateway to Hell," believing that souls were dragged into the fire below.

 

The last major volcanic eruption in Iceland occurred in 2004 with the Grimsvotn volcano. — AP

Updates of the situation in HAITI on 26 March 2010

 

NO NEWS POSTED ON 24 AND 25 MARCH 2010 AS I DID NOT FIND RELEVANT NEWS ON GMA News.TV, TEXT TV FROM DENMARK, GERMANY, SWEDEN OR BBC WORLD NEWS

 

 

UPDATE OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 26 MARCH 2010

 

EX-PRESIDENT CLINTON ASKS DONORS TO MAKE HAITI SELF-SUFFICIENT

 

(03/26/2010 | 08:40 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

NEW YORK — Former President Bill Clinton is urging the aid groups serving Haiti's devastated communities to help REBUILD the country's government and ultimately put themselves out of business by fostering a self-sufficient nation.

 

Clinton, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, spoke to representatives of the aid groups Thursday, ahead of a critical United Nations donors conference next week at which Haitian officials are expected to ask for $11.5 billion to rebuild.

 

"Every time we spend a dollar in Haiti from now on we have to ask ourselves, 'Does this have a long-term return? Are we helping them become more self-sufficient? ... Are we serious about working ourselves out of a job?'" Clinton said.

 

Haitian leaders have expressed frustration that billions of dollars in aid have bypassed the government and gone to foreign non-governmental organizations, which operate independently and don't always coordinate with local authorities.

 

Clinton asked the groups Thursday to allocate 10 percent of their spending in Haiti for government salaries and employee training, to help the nation's agencies rebuild their decimated staffs.

 

He urged the aid groups to hire local staffers, consult with local authorities and structure their efforts around the Haitian government's plan, which is currently being finalized. Groups should make sure that the money they spend builds communities and infrastructure and creates local jobs, he said.

 

Efforts must focus outside the capital of Port-au-Prince, Clinton said, adding that Haitian President Rene Preval and others were eager to decentralize the country.

 

"For too long, Haiti has revolved around its capital city rather than just being supported by it," Clinton said.

 

The former president also urged the groups to participate in an online registry and make their expenditures transparent.

And he warned that unless they take action to MOVE REFUGEES TO HIGHER GROUND, as many as 40,000 PEOPLE COULD BE KILLED if there are HEAVY RAINS.

 

Liz Blake, a senior vice president for Habitat for Humanity International, said that Clinton's words were inspiring and aid groups were willing to work with him, but what he was asking is difficult.

 

"Working yourself out of a job — which is working to strengthen the government of Haiti so that the support and work of a nonprofit is no longer needed — isn't a standard practice," she said.

 

But, she added, "All of us want to do what we can to support the Haitian people and work with the Haitian government, and do so even if we have to suspend our disbelief." — AP

Update o the situation in the Philippines and CHILE on 27.3.10

 

UPDATE OF THE SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES AND CHILE ON 27 MARCH 2010

 

EARTHQUAKE ROCKS METRO MANILA, PARTS OF LUZON

 

ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV03/25/2010 | 01:50 PM

 

(Updated 2:16 PM) - A 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon past noon Thursday, state seismologists said.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the epicenter of the tectonic quake was traced 111 kilometers west of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro at the South China Sea.

 

The quake was felt at intensity V in Looc, Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro; intensity IV in Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Clark, Pampanga; and intensity II in Bagac, Bataan and Canlubang, Laguna, Phivolcs said.

 

Aftershocks are expected, although the quake is not expected to generate tsunamis because “it was not too strong," Phivolcs added.

 

According to a separate report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake, which occurred at 1:29 p.m., measured at magnitude 6.1, with an epicenter traced off Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro.

 

The epicenter had a depth of 72.4 kilometers, the USGS said.

 

GMANews.TV Facebook fans from various parts of Metro Manila, Bataan, Pampanga and Laguna experienced the earthquake.

 

 

USGS: PREDAWN MAGNITUDE-5 QUAKE ROCKS CENTRAL RP

 

03/27/2010 | 08:32 AM - GMA News.TV

 

A magnitude-5 quake rocked parts of Central Philippines before dawn Saturday, but there was no initial report of casualty or damage.

 

The United States Geological Survey said the quake was recorded at 2:17 a.m., with the epicenter traced to 125 km east-southeast of Pandan, Catanduanes in Bicol Region.

 

It said the epicenter was 155 km east of Legazpi City in Albay; 160 km north-northeast of Calbayog in Samar province in Eastern Visayas; or 475 km east-southeast of Manila.

 

Last Thursday, a magnitude-6 quake rocked parts of Southern Luzon and was felt in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

 

But the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said no damage was expected from Thursday's quake.

 

On Saturday morning, Phivolcs reported that a magnitude-3.3 quake rocked parts of Bohol province in Central Visayas Friday night, but state seismologists said no damage was expected.

 

Phivolcs said the quake occurred at 7:40 p.m., and was tectonic in origin, with epicenter at about 9 km northeast of Tagbilaran City.

 

Intensity IV was felt in Tagbilaran City, and in Dauis and Corella towns in Bohol. — LBG, GMANews.TV

 

 

TV2 and DR1 Text TV on 27 March 2010: NEW EARTHQUAKE HITS CHILE

 

A new powerful earthquake / aftershock hit Chile. The quake had a strength of magnitude-6.2 according to US Geological Survey. The quake occurred 75 km south of the city of Copiano in a depth of 35 km.

 

The quake could be felt in the capital Santiago 600 km south of the epicentre.

According to the Chilean authorities there were no reports so far of casualties or material damage.

 

Several hundred people were killed in Chile on 27 February 2010 in a even stronger magnitude-8.8 earthquake that triggered tsunamis across the Pacific.

Updates of the situation in Southeast Asia / news from UNICEF and RED CROSS international

 

UPDATE OF THE SITUATION IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 28 MARCH 2010

 

Found no news dated 28 March 2010 - consulted websites of UNICEF and RED CROSS international and found the articles below:

 

http://www.unicef.org/

 

the Press Centre / UNICEF:

 

UNICEF welcomes announcement of next Executive Director

 

Deteriorating water quality threatens global gains towards access to safe drinking water

 

Progress in access to safe drinking-water; Sanitation needs greater efforts

 

Report for MDG Summit highlights successes and gaps for children and women

 

UNICEF to provide support to children affected by earthquake in Chile

 

News note

 

UNICEF to provide support to nearly one million children affected by earthquake in CHILE

 

Second powerful quake hits Chile today = on 11 March 2010

 

SANTIAGO, 11 March 2010 - UNICEF will provide assistance to the estimated one million children and their families affected by the earthquake in Chile which struck on 27 February.

 

It is unclear how much more damage the second quake today has caused, but the first quake followed by a tsunami caused widespread damage and over 500 deaths. Six regions, home to some 80 per cent of the population of Chile were affected by the quake. The government had declared these regions as "catastrophe zones".

 

The worst affected areas are some of the poorest in the country. Roads have been cut off, and entire villages in the coastal zones were wiped out by the Tsunami. Government buildings, schools, health facilities and at least 500,000 homes have been destroyed or badly damaged.

 

"As in any disaster, children are the ones suffering most. They are particularly vulnerable to cold, hunger and outbreaks of disease. Their lives have been brutally disrupted and many of them will have difficulty coping with such an upheaval. We must help them now," said Gary Stahl, UNICEF Representative in Chile.

 

UNICEF is asking for $3.5 million to meet the immediate and medium-term needs of children and women throughout the affected areas. Assistance will include psychosocial support, emergency education and water and sanitation.

 

UNICEF is working closely with the new government of Chile which was sworn in today.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Francisca Palma Communication Officer- UNICEF Chile,

Tel + 00 56 2 422 8840

[email protected]

 

Patrick McCormick, UNICEF Media,

Tel + 1 212 326 7426,

[email protected]

 

 

Former US President Bill Clinton praises crisis response by UN and UNICEF in HAITI

 

By Simon Ingram

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 24 March 2010 – During a visit to Haiti yesterday, former US President and UN special envoy Bill Clinton praised the United Nations for its response to the devastating 12 January earthquake, saying now was the time to help the country escape its impoverished past and build a better future.

 

Mr. Clinton addressed UN staff during his third trip to the Haitian capital since the disaster. He singled out the role that UNICEF plays in tackling the profound sanitation and public health problems caused by the quake, which killed more than 220,000 people and displaced many more.

 

"Water challenges affect children more than anything else," Mr. Clinton said, adding that a large percentage of children's deaths after an emergency are caused by waterborne illnesses.

 

"A lot of lives are going to be saved because of UNICEF," he noted.

 

Chance for 'a brighter future'

 

Mr. Clinton highlighted what he saw as an opportunity to rebuild better than before in Haiti. "In spite of this horrible earthquake," he said, "this is the best chance [Haitians] have ever had to escape the darker chapters of the past and build a brighter future."

 

He went on to remind aid workers about the importance of helping the people of Haiti "become what they've always been capable of becoming, but never had the chance to become."

 

"We're getting there, and we will get there," Mr. Clinton told UN staff. "More than anything else, I want you to know I am profoundly grateful to you."

 

Donor conference upcoming

 

Named a UN Special Envoy to Haiti last year, Mr. Clinton visited the country in advance of a critical 31 March UN donor conference in New York, where Haitian officials will ask for $11.5 billion in reconstruction help.

 

An estimated 3 million people have been affected by the disaster in Haiti, including about 1.26 million children. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

 

In and around Port-au-Prince, many are living in crowded, unsafe spontaneous temporary settlement sites and lack basic shelter as well as social services.

 

On Monday, Mr. Clinton and former US President George W. Bush met earthquake survivors camped on the Champs de Mars, a city park that is currently home to 60,000 displaced people. The park is one of the sites where UNICEF and its partners are delivering water and sanitation services.

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http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/haiti-feature-180310

 

18-03-2010 Feature / HAITI: bringing water and restoring dignity to the elderly

 

The elderly and infirm are among the most vulnerable of the many tens of thousands of people living in crowded, often squalid camps in Port-au-Prince. The ICRC's Jessica Barry has been to see how some of them are faring.

 

In a camp sheltering earthquake victims located in the compound of the Asile municipal nursing home in Port-au-Prince, children crowd around large, black water tanks installed by the Spanish and Haitian Red Cross societies. The spot is a favourite for kids, who come to play while helping their gossiping mothers fill their buckets. The water supply is limited, and what the women carry back to their tents must meet all their family's daily needs for drinking, cooking and washing clothes.

 

Bringing a modicum of privacy to nursing home residents

 

In such cramped surroundings, privacy is an unattainable dream. Taking a bath in a small plastic bowl might be fun for a toddler, but imagine what it is like for the elderly and infirm, trying to wash and keep clean with only minimal water. And how much harder must it be for people confined to wheelchairs.

 

To help address this problem, the ICRC is installing 50 ventilated improved pit latrines in the Asile compound, some of them adapted for the nursing home's wheelchair users. Too fearful to stay indoors, the elderly residents have been spending much of their time since the earthquake out in the garden of their previously tranquil nursing home, sitting in the shade, or propped up in their wheelchairs amid the crush and noise going on around them. Once finished, the toilets, which are sturdy and made of wood and corrugated iron, will provide these extremely vulnerable old folk with a modicum of privacy in the midst of a camp that is seething with people.

 

Building up a sustainable supply of water

 

In the camps that have sprung up all over Port-au-Prince since the devastating earthquake of 12 January, people's access to water has slowly improved. Water trucks ply the parks, where people are living squashed like sardines, and water bladders and water storage tanks like the ones in the Asile compound have been installed.

 

By contrast, the provision of water in slum neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince such as Cité-Soleil – home to over 200,000 people – has always been chaotic. The ICRC has been working in Cité-Soleil, together with the Haitian Red Cross, since 2004. For the past four years ICRC water engineers, in partnership with the Port-au-Prince water board, have been upgrading the shantytown's water distribution network.

 

When the earthquake struck, the water network in Cité-Soleil took a direct hit. The water tower cracked, and now needs substantial repair. The piped water supply was also partially damaged. The ICRC quickly installed six water bladders as a stopgap measure, serving the basic needs of around 9,000 people, pending a decision on who would repair the water tower, and how.

 

The aim of the ICRC's partnership with the water board is to promote more efficient and sustainable water distribution. Achieving this aim requires a long-term commitment to changing attitudes with regard to the supply, use and management of water. The partnership intends not only to improve people's access to clean water, but also to contribute to a comprehensive drive towards strengthening preventive health care in Port-au-Prince's shanty areas.

 

In addition to working alongside the water authorities in Cité-Soleil, the ICRC is also supporting grassroots water committees in their efforts to repair and maintain the water networks. Among other things, it is providing spare parts and tools, helping to stop leaks in the pipes, giving the fuel needed to run pumps and paying salaries of some workers for a limited period.

 

In contrast to the emergency assistance being given in the Asile compound, the work going on in Cité-Soleil is long-term.

 

Restoring dignity

 

Back in the nursing home compound, children race about and play. An improvised market selling fruit, vegetables and cheap household trinkets is crowded. Intense-looking young men play furiously at dominoes in a rare open space between tents. Teenagers mill around doing nothing. The elderly residents of the nursing home doze, skewed sideways in their wheelchairs. Near where the water gatherers are congregated a group of women sit, doing their washing. In the middle of the camp, the workers building the latrines are seated on the concrete foundations beside a line of deeply dug pits awaiting their supervisor. The toilets, once they are ready, will help restore some of the dignity the old folk lost along with so much else, at the quiet ending of their lives, when the earthquake struck.

 

Since the 12 January earthquake, the ICRC has:

 

enabled 29,000 NAMES to be REGISTERED on http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/haiti (the ICRC's site for restoring links between family members) including the names of 6,100 people who wanted to tell their families that they were alive;

 

worked with the Haitian Red Cross and the Haitian government to REUNITE four children aged between two and twelve with their families, while continuing to handle the cases of 70 other unaccompanied children with a view to reuniting them with their families as well;

 

VISITED some 700 detainees in the main police stations of Port-au-Prince and in Cap-Haïtien Prison;

 

SUPPLIED 20 TONNES of FOOD, to feed 4,000 detainees for three weeks;

 

carried out EMERGENCY REPAIRS to the sanitation system, plumbing and kitchen of Port-au-Prince Prison, with other work still in progress;

 

SUPPORTED 10 Haitian Red Cross FIRST-AID POSTS in PORT-au-PRINCE and two in Petit-Goâve, at which first-aiders have so far treated over 17,300 people;

 

REGULARLY SUPPLIED MEDICINES to the Rosalie Rendu maternity/paediatric centre in Cité Soleil, to which over 500 children under five come for consultations every day;

 

SUPPORTED A MAJOR VACCINATION CAMPAIGN carried out by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the authorities in Martissant, Bel-Air and Canapé-Vert, as a result of which over 137,000 adults and children are now protected against German measles, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria;

 

provided training in the management of corpses to 21 staff from the State university hospital mortuary and four volunteers from the Haitian Red Cross, and supplied over 2,000 body bags to the mortuary and other relief organizations;

 

DISTRIBUTED DRINKING WATER TO 18,000 PEOPLE IN PORT-au-PRINCE EVERY DAY and helped the authorities to repair the water network that serves the 207,000 inhabitants of Cité Soleil;

 

distributed essential items to over 20,000 people in Port-au-Prince, Léogane, Jacmel and Cayes, and distributed 50 tonnes of food to over 4,000 people in Delmas 60 and Primature (Port-au-Prince);

 

financed refuse collection at seven sites housing some 45,000 displaced persons and installed 60 latrines in the camps in Delmas

 

RED CROSS NEWS:

 

Psychological Support Remains Vital One Month After Chile Earthquake

 

Friday, March 26, 2010 — As Chilean Red Cross relief distributions to families affected by the massive earthquake that struck central Chile on February 27 continue to gain momentum, special emphasis is being given to psychological support for people traumatized by continuing strong aftershocks.

 

More than 200 aftershocks measuring greater than 5 magnitude have been reported since the disaster a month ago.

 

These strong tremors are particularly distressing to people trying to recover from the trauma of having lost family members and friends, homes, and livelihoods,” explains Gustavo Ramirez, regional representative, currently in Chile. “People who live in the coastal areas are not only afraid of the aftershocks but also of any possible tsunamis they may trigger, and even people whose homes have been assessed as being safe are afraid of staying indoors. They wonder whether these aftershocks will ever end.”

 

The 14-member psychological support team from Spain, supported by staff from the Red Cross societies of Colombia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, as well as by Chilean Red Cross volunteers, have treated nearly 1,700 adults and children since the disaster. They are working in the region of Maule and in Santiago. In addition to holding therapeutic sessions with different groups of people affected by the disaster, with a special emphasis on children, they are also training Red Cross volunteers.

 

Additionally, to ensure people have access to healthcare in areas where hospitals have been destroyed, several other Red Cross teams have been dispatched to the affected regions. A clinic operated by the Spanish Red Cross has treated nearly 1,200 people in Hualañé (Maule region). A second clinic sent by the Japanese Red Cross has been set up in Parral (Bio-Bío region) and the surgical field hospital supported by the Red Cross societies of Canada, Finland and Norway is being set up in Pitrufquén (Araucanía region). These facilities will all be turned over to local staff, who will maintain healthcare services, throughout the next weeks.

 

Chilean Red Cross volunteers also continue their vital work, receiving and packing donated goods, transporting them to the affected areas and DISTRIBUTING FOOD, HYGIENE ITEMS and EMERGENCY ITEMS TO SURVIVORS. To date, more than 2,300 households (approximately 11,600 people) have received kitchen utensils, hygiene items, blankets, water containers and tarps in the most severely-affected regions of Maule and Bío-Bío.

 

In recent weeks, the AMERICAN RED CROSS doubled its contribution to $1 million for relief efforts in Chile and plans to provide additional support in the coming weeks and months as the response progresses. Additionally, it has provided 5,000 water containers, more than 1,100 hygiene kits and one disaster specialist, who is serving on a regional assessment team.

 

The GLOBAL RED CROSS NETWORK collectively aims to PROVIDE HEALTH SERVICES for up to 90,000 people, shelter assistance for 50,000 people, relief items for 75,000 people as well as water and sanitation services for up to 10,000 people within the next year.

 

You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

 

Donations to the International Response Fund can be sent to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at http://www.redcross.org.

Update of the situation in the Philippines on 29.3.10

 

UPDATE OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 29 MARCH 2010

 

Phivolcs: Magnitude-4.6 quake rocks Cagayan

 

03/29/2010 | 05:13 PM - GMA News.TV

 

A magnitude-4.6 quake rocked parts of Cagayan province in northern Luzon, but state seismologists said no damage was expected.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tectonic quake was recorded at 1:39 p.m. and its epicenter was traced about 100 km northeast of Tuguegarao City in Cagayan.

 

It said the quake was felt at Intensity V in Gonzaga town in Cagayan; and Intensity III in Cal-lao town in Cagayan.

 

For its part, the United States Geological Survey said the epicenter was 415 km east of Ilagan, Isabela; 435 km north-northeast of Pandan, Catanduanes; or 610 km northeast of Manila.

 

No aftershock was expected, the Phivolcs said.

 

Early Thursday afternoon, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.

 

— RSJ, GMANews.TV

Updates of the situation in HAITI on 29.3.10

 

Danish DR1 Text TV 23pm: UN ASKS FOR 3.8 BILLION DOLLARS

 

On Wednesday 31 March 2010, the United Nations will ask the nations of the world to donate about $3.8 billion to finance Haiti’s ambitious rebuilding programme after the devastating earthquake on 12 January 2010. Over 100 countries will be represented at the international donors conference to be hosted by Haiti’s President Réne Duval, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

 

The organizers of the conference regard it as a decisive step towards helping Haiti on its feet again. Already before the devastating earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

News in relation to natural disasters on 30 March 2010

 

UPDATE OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 30 MARCH 2010

 

TV2 Text-TV (posted at 21 o'clock): UN: HAITI AID FAILS TO APPEAR

 

Only half of the amount (the equivalent of DKK 7.7 billion) pledged by the nations of the world has actually reached Haiti.

 

The flow of financial support to Haiti has decreased even though there still exists an enormous need for help in the earthquake-struck country. This was stated today by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs aka. OCHA which has only received barely the half of the amount corresponding to DKK 7.7 billion pledged in aid by the world's nations after the UN APPEAL for help.

 

"To begin with our urgent appeal was well-financed, but since then the donations from the donor countries have stagnated", says OCHA spokeswoman Elisabeth Byers.

 

 

UN SAYS EL NIÑO GOOD NEWS FOR HAITI HURRICANE RISK

 

03/30/2010 | 06:47 PM - GMA News.TV

 

GENEVA — The UN weather agency says the ongoing El Nino weather system could lessen the strength of hurricanes in the North Atlantic and mean good news for earthquake-rattled Haiti.

 

The World Meteorological Organization says the El Nino effect may persist through midyear, halfway through the region's March-November hurricane season.

 

Senior WMO official Rupa Kumar Kolli says it will be difficult to predict before May how long the El Nino effect will last.

 

He told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that past experience indicates neutral conditions are likely by midyear.

 

Kolli says the chance of a swing to the La Nina effect that increases hurricane strength in the North Atlantic is unlikely. — AP

 

 

CHILE PRESIDENT PINERA MARKS MONTH SINCE EARTHQUAKE

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8591330.stm / Page last updated at 02:26

GMT, Sunday, 28 March 2010 03:26 UK

 

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has attended a vigil to commemorate exactly one month since a massive earthquake struck the south of the country.

Mr Pinera, speaking in the city of Concepcion, repeated his vow to rebuild areas devastated by the earthquake.

 

The 8.8 magnitude quake and the tsunami it triggered killed nearly 500 people, with thousands more made homeless.

 

Total damage has been estimated at $30bn (£20bn) with more than 1.5m homes across the country damaged.

 

Speaking at the vigil in Concepcion's cathedral, Mr Pinera repeated his pledge to rebuild areas hit by the quake.

 

"We have a debt, a task to rebuild our country," he said.

 

"As president I will lead that reconstruction process, I'll be the bricklayer, the worker, the carpenter, the engineer and also the architect, representing all Chileans and as we have already said, we will rebuild on stone and not on sand."

Mr Pinera said he also planned to extend the presence of the military in some areas to help speed up the rebuilding process.

 

'Dry your tears'

 

Later, he addressed a mass in the square in front of the cathedral, attended by thousands.

 

He called on people to dry their tears and to start working "in the great task of rebuilding Chile".

 

Concepcion, the second largest city in Chile, was severely damaged by the quake and hundreds of its residents are still living in tents in parks and gardens.

Tens of thousands who lost their homes in the regions of Bio Bio and Maule and are still waiting for temporary housing.

 

Mr Pinera took office less than two weeks after the disaster.

 

 

TORNADO TOPPLES CRANE AT BAHAMAS PORT, KILLING 3

 

03/30/2010 | 07:45 AM - GMA News.TV

 

A tornado touched down during a fierce thunderstorm in the BAHAMAS on Monday and toppled a port crane, killing three people and injuring at least four.

Updates of the situation in HAITI on 31 March 2010

 

UPDATE OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 31 MARCH 2010

 

NEWS IN RELATION TO HAITI ON 31 MARCH 2010

 

DR1 Text-TV: UN: HAITI AID FAILS TO APPEAR

 

Only half of the amount - $1.4 bn (= DKK 7.7 billion) - pledged by the nations of the world has actually reached Haiti.

 

The flow of financial support to Haiti has decreased even though there still exists an enormous need for help in the earthquake-struck country. This was stated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, which has only received barely the half of the amount pledged in aid by the world's nations after the UN APPEAL for help.

 

"To begin with our urgent appeal was well-financed, but since then the donations from the donor countries have stagnated", says OCHA spokeswoman Elisabeth Byers.

 

About 1.3 million Haitians are still without shelter, and there still exists an enormous need for food according to OCHA.

 

 

German ZDF and ARD Text: REPRESENTATIVES FROM 130 NATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATE IN THE DONOR CONFERENCE FOR HAITI

 

Representatives of 130 countries and organizations participate in the international donor conference for Haiti.

 

The United Nations hopes that about $4bn or 2.9 bn Euro will be donated for Haiti which was destroyed by the January earthquake.

 

Haiti's Prime Minister Bellerive will present a "plan of action for national rebuilding and development". The main focus will be on rebuilding of state institutions and infrastructure.

 

According to UN estimates, $11.5bn is needed for rebuilding the country.

 

The earthquake killed 220,000 people and made 1.3 million homeless.

 

 

German ZDF Text: US ESTABLISHES THE AID FOCUS

 

Before the international donor conference for Haiti in New York, the US has established the focus for the rebuilding of Haiti.

 

According to the US State Department, the aid will flow into the sectors of healthcare, agriculture, energy and security.

In addition the Haitian government is to be supported when it comes to organizing elections.

 

Former US president Bill Clinton is chairman of the rebuilding committee for Haiti. He and the Haitian Prime Minister are to co-chair the committee.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8596080.stm

 

UN CHIEF BAN KI-MOON URGES SUPPORT FOR $4bn HAITI PLAN

 

Page last updated at 14:39 GMT, Wednesday, 31 March 2010 15:39 UK

 

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has opened a fundraising conference on Haiti by calling for a "wholesale national renewal" of the earthquake-hit country.

 

Mr Ban gave his support to a plan to rebuild Haiti which will require almost $4bn (£2.65bn) in initial aid payments.

 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told delegates the US would give $1.15bn, and the EU pledged $1.7bn.

 

The 12 January earthquake killed 200,000 people and left one million more homeless.

 

The Haitian government and international officials have spent weeks putting together a plan for the country.

 

The first part of the plan is an 18-month project focusing on rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, government buildings, hospitals and schools - which is expected to cost almost $4bn.

 

Haitian President Rene Preval said he wanted to make education the focus of a new Haiti.

 

"I call on Haitians, both at home and abroad, to add their resources to those of our friends from the international community in order to transform Haiti to a place of knowledge," he said.

 

Officials estimate that a total of $11.5bn in aid will be needed for long-term reconstruction, which will involve strengthening institutions and refocusing the economy.

 

Mr Ban, the UN secretary general, described the plan as "concrete, specific and ambitious" and said he hoped it would build a "better future" for Haiti.

 

But he also urged donor nations not to forget a separate appeal for $1.44bn for food aid and shelter launched by the UN last month - of which he said just half had so far been pledged.

 

Aid agencies have warned that thousands are vulnerable to April rains and the hurricane season in June.

 

Ongoing poverty

 

Earlier, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said it was crucial to get the first step in reconstruction right.

 

"There should be a clear plan of action and a clear vision of how Haiti is going to be reconstructed which is endorsed by the international community," he said.

 

"The pledging of those funds for the immediate future is very important as a sign of the willingness of the international community to actually do that."

 

The country was already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere before the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck.

 

Unemployment and illiteracy were high among its 9 million population, about 80% of whom were living on less than $2 a day.

 

Self-sufficiency

 

The BBC's Barbara Plett, at the UN, says everyone is aware that billions of dollars of aid have failed to fix Haiti in the past.

 

To help make it work this time, the aim is to strengthen the country's weak and corrupt government institutions, she adds.

 

Edmond Mulet, the acting head of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (Minustah), said the international community was "co-responsible" for the weakness of Haitian institutions.

 

"We've always worked not with the government or through the government, because it has been too corrupt, too weak," he said.

 

"But if we don't address the situation we will have a peacekeeping mission in Haiti for the next 200 years."

 

Both Haiti's government and donors are insisting that a strategy of decentralisation is at the heart of the reconstruction plan.

 

They aim to increase development in parts of the country that are less vulnerable to natural disasters than the capital, Port-au-Prince.

 

The capital's population more than tripled to 2.5 million in the three decades before the quake.

 

Officials also hope to develop a rural agricultural strategy that would enable Haiti to become more self-sufficient. Haiti is dependent on food imports, yet about 80% of the population works in agriculture.

 

 

HOW CAN DONORS AID QUAKE-HIT HAITI?

 

Page last updated at 13:15 GMT, Wednesday, 31 March 2010 14:15 UK

 

By Henri Astier, BBC News

 

Wednesday's UN conference in New York on co-ordinating assistance to earthquake-hit Haiti raises an awkward question - what has foreign aid ever done for Haitians?

 

The country has received an estimated $5bn (£3.3bn) over the past decade.

Thousands of charities have been operating there - yet even before the quake devastated the capital, Haiti was a wretched place.

 

It is the poorest country in the Americas. About 80% of the population lives on less than $2 a day and nearly half is illiterate. Jobs are scarce, public services woeful and corruption rife.

 

Haiti, says US political scientist Terry Buss, is largely run by "an army of NGOs and some international development organisations" whose programmes "cost a lot of money and don't make any difference".

 

Mr Buss - author of the book Haiti in the Balance, Why Foreign Has Failed And What We Can Do About It - cites as an example Haiti's judicial system, which he calls a "shambles".

 

The US government, he says, has tried to promote reform by running seminars for judges.

 

But few Haitian judges have extensive legal training, and teaching them US jurisprudence has not led to a noticeable reduction in the number of prisoners languishing without due process in Haiti's overcrowded jails.

 

Band-Aid approach

 

One of the reasons donors get little bang for their aid buck is the scattered nature of their efforts.

 

"One of the problems is a lack of co-ordination to make the most of the generosity of groups and people," says Ruth Levine, from the Center for Global Development, a Washington think tank.

 

NGOs and church groups, she adds, tend to get involved in short-term, local projects and move on.

 

"It's a Band-Aid approach," Ms Levine says. "It's not a sustained effort, so it's hard to build up the kind of trust with the community that would provide ongoing services."

 

Governments too can be fickle. The US, for instance, stopped funding family planning programmes - particularly crucial in Haiti - because of concerns over abortion.

 

Another factor affecting the efficacy of aid is the tendency of donors and charities to bypass local authorities.

 

Such mistrust can be understandable, as Haiti has a long history of oppression and misrule.

 

But by providing services directly, the aid community in effect takes on government functions, reinforcing the divide between officials and the people.

 

"It's the worst (form of) government you can possibly imagine," says US writer Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond Mountains, a book about Haiti.

 

"It is a government whose activities are not co-ordinated and that is not in any way accountable to the people it's supposed to be governing."

 

Meanwhile, Terry Buss says, Haiti's nominal government never feels pressure from people they do not serve. "They don't expect to deliver public services because it never does," he says.

 

Tyranny of emergency

 

Some charities ensure that they work with the Haitian authorities, rather than undermine them.

 

One is the US charity Partners In Health (PIH), which has 10 clinics and hospitals in Haiti. They are run jointly by the health ministry and are staffed with Haitian doctors and nurses.

 

"What we do is really make it a priority to strengthen the institutions in which we're working," says PIH's Donna Barry.

 

However PIH's efforts to involve Haitians are not the rule.

 

According to Pastor Michel Morisset, who heads Eben-Ezer Mission, a local charity in Gonaives, most aid workers regard Haitians as wards rather than partners.

 

"Instead of coming and doing everything for us, they should ask us where the problems are, where we suffer, and help us. Coming with ready-made programmes and dumping things has never worked," he says.

 

"We have been treated as helpless victims and that has stayed with us."

 

The earthquake, according to Pastor Michel Morisset, has reinforced a feeling of helplessness and dependency among Haitians.

 

"We have become a perpetual emergency," he says. "We are ruled by the tyranny of emergency."

 

On the bright side

 

Is Haiti doomed to remain in the grips of well-meaning but ineffectual benefactors? Not necessarily.

 

Jean-Louis Warnholz, a former economic adviser to the Haitian prime minister, speaking to the BBC in January, said that under the current government the country has enjoyed stability and good relationship with the international community.

 

Reforms have been undertaken, and a quarter of the foreign debt was cancelled last June.

 

Last year Haiti's economy grew by about 3% - not a stellar performance, but an encouraging one in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane in 2008 and amid a global financial crisis.

 

Before the earthquake the garment sector was the country's fastest-growing industry, with factories near Port-au-Prince supplying such major brands as Gap and New Balance. Thanks to a new trade deal, Haiti exported $512m worth of apparel to the US in 2009.

 

Tourism is another promising sector in a country with plenty of sunshine and pristine beaches.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises recently spent $55m upgrading the northern port of Labadee, and sent the world's largest cruise liner there on its maiden voyage last year.

 

Mr Warnholz believes that even after the earthquake, the potential for growth remains.

"The pockets of opportunities that still exist need to be expanded," he said. "I don't think that Haiti is forever cursed."

 

Few deny that outsiders have a key role to play in Haiti. An impoverished country that has suffered as many deaths in a single region as the 2004 tsunami inflicted across the Indian Ocean needs all the help it can get.

 

However, as donors gather to discuss reconstruction aid for Haiti, the key question may not be how much they pledge, but whether their efforts are channelled in a way that avoids the failures of the past.

 

HAITI FACTS

 

Poorest country in the Americas

 

80% of the population below the poverty line

 

Two thirds living on small scale farms

 

GDP per capita: $1,300 (2007)

 

 

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES

 

Reuters UK Donors meet on massive Haiti aid drive - at 17 Central European Time = CET

 

People's Daily Online Int'l donor conference for Haiti opens at UN - at 16:30 CET

 

Washington Post* Clinton to co-chair Haiti rebuilding authority - at 16:30 CET

 

France24 HAITI: UN summit seeks to raise $3.8 billion for quake-devastated Haiti at11:30 CET

 

Melbourne Age UN hosts fund-raiser to rebuild Haiti - at 6:30 CET ­­­­­

 

 

TV2 TTV: UN CHIEF: "WE MUST BUILD A BETTER HAITI"

 

The world community pledges billions to reconstruction of Haiti at the donor conference in New York.

 

The US secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, pledged the equivalent of DKK 6.4 bn to long-term reconstruction. The World Bank pledged additional $ 250 mio to the earthquake-hit country.

 

 

ZDF Text: EU PLEDGES 1.2 BN EURO FOR HAITI

 

The money is earmarked for streets and buildings and other infrastructure projects, said EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton at the donor conference in New York.

 

Germany's share of EU's donation is 39.4 mio. EURO.

The US will donate $1.15 bn (850 mio EURO).

 

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon urged the nations to build a "new Haiti".

News in relation to HAITI on 1 April 2010

 

HAITI-RELETED NEWS ON 1 APRIL 2010

 

UN HAITI DONOR PLEDGES SURPASS TARGETS AT ALMOST $10 BN

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8596080.stm

 

Page last updated at 01:06 GMT, Thursday, 1 April 2010 02:06 UK

 

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS PLEDGED A TOTAL OF $9.9 BN (£6.5 BN) IN IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM AID TO EARTHQUAKE-HIT HAITI AT A UN DONOR CONFERENCE.

 

The $5.3bn (£3.5bn) of support over the next two years exceeds the $4bn requested by the Haitian government to rebuild infrastructure.

 

"This is the down-payment Haiti needs for wholesale national renewal," UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in New York.

 

The 12 January quake killed 200,000 and left one million more homeless.

 

ACCOUNTABILITY

 

The biggest contributions came from the United States and the European Union, but more than 130 countries, as well as key international financial institutions, took part in the conference.

 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, co-hosting the conference with Mr Ban, offered $1.15bn.

 

The EU meanwhile pledged an additional $1.7bn for FOOD and to support the REBUILDING OF HAITIAN President Rene Preval's GOVERNMENT.

 

International aid will be used to build hospitals, schools and government buildings, create jobs, and reform Haiti's key farming sector.

 

Mr Ban said a "robust" internet-based tracking system run by the UN would be used to "ensure accountability and transparency" of the aid distribution.

 

A commission co-chaired by President Preval and former US President Bill Clinton is supposed to ensure that the aid is well coordinated and well spent.

 

It is an attempt to let HAITI's GOVERNMENT set the priorities for reconstruction while responding to donor concerns about its REPUTATION for CORRUPTION, says the BBC's Barbara Plett at the United Nations.

 

Delegates repeatedly stressed that the only way to produce real and lasting results for Haitians was to strengthen and work with the government, not around it, as has been the case in the past, our correspondent adds.

 

THREE-STAGE PLAN

 

The Haitian government and international officials have spent weeks putting together a plan for the country.

 

The first part of the plan is an 18-month project focusing on rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, government buildings, hospitals and schools - which is expected to cost almost $4bn.

 

Officials estimate that a total of $11.5bn in aid will be needed for long-term reconstruction, which will involve strengthening institutions and refocusing the economy.

 

Earlier in the conference, Mr Ban urged donor nations not to forget a separate appeal for $1.44bn for food aid and shelter launched by the UN last month. He said just half had so far been pledged.

 

Aid agencies have warned that thousands are vulnerable to APRIL RAINS and the HURRICANE SEASON IN JUNE.

 

The country was already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere before the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck.

 

Unemployment and illiteracy were high among its nine million population, with about 80% living on less than $2 a day.

 

Both Haiti's government and donors are insisting that a strategy of decentralisation is at the heart of the reconstruction plan. They aim to increase development in parts of the country that are less vulnerable to natural disasters than the capital, Port-au-Prince.

 

The capital's population more than tripled to 2.5 million in the three decades before the quake.

 

Officials also hope to develop a RURAL AGRICULTURAL STRATEGY that would enable HAITI to BECOME more SELF-SUFFICIENT. Haiti is dependent on food imports, yet about 80% of the population works in agriculture.

 

 

AMOUNTS PLEDGED:

 

EU $1.7bn

US $1.15bn

Spain $466m

Canada $390m

World Bank $250m

France $243m

Brazil $172m

 

 

TIME 'RUNNING OUT' FOR QUAKE-HIT HAITI ORPHANS

 

Page last updated at 15:26 GMT, Wednesday, 31 March 2010 16:26 UK

By Andy Gallacher, BBC News, Port-au-Prince

 

Billions of dollars in aid for Haiti are being pledged at a UN conference in New York, but the gesture is lost in the makeshift orphanages and camps near the capital Port-au-Prince.

 

In the barren windswept mountains a short drive from the capital Port-au-Prince, a tiny Haitian girl sings a hymn as she goes about her daily chores.

 

She, like many at the disaster recovery centre in Fond Parisien, only has one arm - but is incredibly lucky to be here.

 

The field hospital, run by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and the Love A Child Foundation, has been singled out as one of the best facilities of its kind in Haiti.

 

Patients receive a level of care few would believe possible in such a rudimentary place; there are advanced prosthetic limbs, an operating theatre, and doctors from across the world, each experts in their own field.

 

'BLEAK FUTURE'

 

Tiffany Fontonot has just returned to the hospital from the United States, still haunted by what she saw in Haiti in those first few days after January's earthquake.

 

Like all the specialists who volunteer their time, she uses her own money to travel to Haiti, even paying for food and accommodation at the camp.

 

The physical therapist from Louisiana said: "I got so excited to come back. Such a hopeful and grateful people like you couldn't do enough for them.

 

"Coming back and seeing everybody just so progressed from the first time, I go home in peace. It's like 'OK they're going to be good now'."

 

But the outlook for the facility is dire. Despite promises of funding and visits from various officials, no money has emerged.

 

Professor Gregg Greenough, who runs the camp, is afraid to tell his patients they may soon be told to leave.

 

"I cannot meet payroll, and I won't be able to keep the volunteers, and these are highly specialised people," he said.

 

"We will close and these patients will have nowhere to go. There is no other outlet for them."

 

When asked how that makes him feel, his answer is blunt. "Sick, really."

 

Close by, at another site, a group of children orphaned by the earthquake are setting up camp in a field next to a stream, using tents donated from the US.

 

Haitian pastor Jean Guillaume, who has taken many orphans into his home in Port-au-Prince, says his pleas for funding have fallen on deaf ears.

 

But he, like many others, was determined to get by regardless and wanted to remove the children from the capital as soon as possible.

 

The city, with its MAKESHIFTS CAMPS and LACK OF SECURITY, has become a DANGEROUS PLACE for the young, he says.

 

"Some men, very bad and they sexually abuse children now in the camps everywhere in Port-au-Prince. That's why we came here with them to be away from that," the pastor said.

 

By the time the camp is established, there will be about 200 girls and boys living in the tents.

 

Mr Guillaume has plans to build some kind of temporary school house, but without money the children's future remains bleak.

 

The people of Haiti know that millions of dollars have been raised to help them and that billions more are being pledged.

 

But they feel abandoned and forgotten about. In the streets of Port-au-Prince there are signs that aid money is doing some good, but it is not nearly enough and time is running out.

 

The RAINY SEASON is fast approaching and there are still more than a million people sleeping on basketball courts and in riverbeds and hospital car parks beneath hastily constructed shelters and donated tents.

 

Those that realise leaders from across the world are discussing their fate in New York are sceptical - and they have good reason to be.

 

 

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES (CET = Central European Time)

 

The Economist*: Donors and Haiti: Promises, promises - posted at 20 o'clock CET

 

Yahoo! UK and Ireland: World raises nearly $10 bln for quake-hit Haiti - posted at 17 o'clock CET

 

Telegraph: World pledges $10 billion to help Haiti rebuild - posted at 13 ago o'clock CET

 

The Scotsman: 'Let us dream of a new Haiti' as EU and US launch fresh $3.8bn appeal for aid - posted at 6 o'clock CET

 

BusinessWeek: Haiti Gets $5.26 Billion in Reconstruction Aid at UN (Update3) - posted at 5 o'clock CET

 

 

Danish TV2 News: EU PLEDGES $1.67bn (DKK 9bn) TO HAITI

EU earmarks almost $1.67bn (DKK 9bn) for Haiti aid. At the same time the EU countries stress the need for long-term reconstruction of the destroyed Caribbean nation.

 

EU had already earmarked more than $0.3bn (DKK 1.6bn) for reconstruction aid.

 

EU's total contribution from both private and public bodies is $3bn (DKK 16bn). Denmark has pledged $3.9 million (DKK 20mio) to Haiti.

 

 

TV2 News/Live at 10am: UN HOPED FOR 3.9bn (DKK 20bn). THE PLEDGED AMOUNT IS $9.9bn (DKK 50bn). $11.5bn (DKK 64bn) is needed over 10 years for long-term reconstruction of Haiti.

 

DR1 Text-TV: $9.9bn (DKK 50bn) IN AID TO HAITI

The 138 countries at the UN donor conference in New York have agreed to earmark almost $9.9bn (DKK 50bn) for the long-term reconstruction of earthquake-hit Haiti.

 

Over the next two years as many as $5.3bn (DKK 29bn) will be spent on getting Haiti on its feet again. It is far more than the organizers had dared hope.

 

US pledged $1.15bn (DKK 6.4bn) for long-term reconstruction, whereas the World Bank pledged additional $250m (DKK 1.4bn).

 

The EU pledged an additional $1.7bn (DKK 9bn) to be added to the $0.3bn (DKK 1.6bn that EU had adready earmarkd for the reconstruction.

 

German ZDF Text: VENEZUELA PLEDGES $2bn:Venezuela is the greatest donor at the donor conference. Caracas pledged $2.147bn to the destroyed Caribbean nation - almost twice as much as the US.

Venezuela will transfer half of the amount within the next 18 months. The rest will follow over a period of 10 years. (I have not seen this news anywhere else - April's Fool?)

 

The nations pledged a total of almost $10bn or $9.9bn in reconstruction aid.

 

In the earthquake in January more than 220,000 people died and 1.3 were made homeless. Haiti - the poorest country in the western hemisphere - suffered damage at a value of about $14bn.

 

 

German ZDF and ARD Text: NATIONS PLEDGE $9.9bn TO HAITI IN RECONSTRUCTION AID

 

Haiti is in ruins since the earthquake on 12 January 2010.

 

The country can expect about $10bn in reconstruction aid. This sum was pledged to the destroyed nation by 59 nations and institutions at the donor conference in New York. UN had set a target of $3.9bn. - That much was needed within the next 18 months. $11.5bn is needed over the coming 10 years.

 

The US pledged $1.15bn to Haiti. The EU will pay $1.67bn of which $53 million comes from Germany.

 

According to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon Haiti can expect aid at a value of $5.3bn within the next 2 years, of which $1.15bn - as mentioned - comes from USA and $53 million comes from Germany.

 

Swedish SVT text: CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS PLEDGE $9.9bn TO HAITI

Within the next 18 months, the countries participating in Wednesday's donor conference will contribute $5.5bn to the earthquake-hit Haiti. $9.9bn is pledged for a more long-term reconstruction.

 

UN secretary-general Bank Ki-Moon says that this is "far more than expected". UN hoped for $3.9bn for the next 18 months, as hospitals, schools and settlements have to be rebuilt.

 

More than 100 countries participated in the New York donor conference with the aim of rebuilding Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010.

HAITI-related news from GMA News.TV on 1 April 2010

 

HAITI-RELATED NEWS FROM GMA News.TV DATED 1 APRIL 2010

 

DONORS PLEDGE $9.9 BILLION FOR HAITI

 

04/01/2010 | 07:52 AM - GMA News.TV

 

UNITED NATIONS — Countries and international organizations pledged nearly $10 billion on Wednesday to rebuild Haiti after January's earthquake, going far beyond the government's expectations and providing new hope to the impoverished nation.

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that nearly 50 donors pledged $9.9 billion "for the next three years and beyond," demonstrating that the international community had come together "dramatically and in solidarity with the Haitian people" to help them recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake.

 

Haiti had appealed for $3.8 billion for the next two years. The UN chief said the $9.9 billion includes pledges of $5.3 billion from governments and international partners for the first 24 months of reconstruction.

 

"We have made a good start," Ban told a news conference at the end of the daylong donors conference. "We need now to deliver."

 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who co-chaired the conference, called the pledges "an impressive sum by any standard."

 

"To put this effort in perspective, after the 2005 (Indian Ocean) tsunami, more than 80 countries provided immediate humanitarian assistance and more than 20 countries pledged assistance for reconstruction," she said.

 

"As of today, more than 140 countries have provided humanitarian assistance to Haiti and nearly 50 countries have made pledges of support for Haiti's rebuilding."

 

Haiti's President Rene Preval thanked donors, saying "this is a heartfelt effort that demonstrates that Haiti is not on its own."

 

The earthquake destroyed the government and commercial center of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, killed between 217,000 and 300,000 people, and left an estimated 1.3 million people homeless.

 

In the first minutes of the conference, the United States and the European Union pledged more than two-thirds of the $5.3 billion Haiti requested.

 

Clinton announced the United States' pledge of $1.15 billion over the next two years. Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign affairs chief, then announced the EU's pledge of 1.235 billion euros, equivalent to over $1.6 billion.

 

It was not immediately clear if all pledges were new money, as some delegates appeared to be describing existing aid projects.

 

Preval had asked donors to focus on education and help the country's 9 million people provide for their own future.

 

"Let us dream of a new Haiti whose fate lies in a new project for a society without exclusion, which has overcome hunger, in which all have access to secure shelter ... (and their) health needs provided," he told diplomats and ministers from more than 130 countries.

 

The $3.8 billion is just the initial part of a $11.5 billion package Preval's administration wants to rebuild schools, hospitals, courthouses and neighborhoods destroyed in the magnitude-7 earthquake.

 

Haiti's government has detailed its plans for the money in a 55-page rebuilding plan that lays out the interim reconstruction committee. It includes requests for $350 million in direct budget support to the government, which Edmond Mulet, the top resident UN envoy there, said is crucial for the country's progress.

 

"We need Haiti to succeed," Clinton said. "What happens there has repercussions far beyond its borders."

 

She said the donors conference was not only to pledge financial support but "to offer support in a smarter way."

 

Haiti's leaders must guide "a transparent recovery," Clinton stressed, and the international community must change its past practice of working around the government and ensure that it is working with the government.

 

At the core of the quake-ravaged country's request for help is the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, or IHRC, which will be co-chaired by former US President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.

 

The commission's two-dozen members will be tasked with coordinating and paying out the aid money expected to flow in. It is a key step to allaying donor concerns over Haiti's history of official corruption and political unrest who want assurances that the money will go where it is intended.

 

The former US president was tapped for the role earlier this week, Bellerive said. Clinton, who as UN special envoy to Haiti visited three times since the earthquake, will likely be spending much more time in the impoverished country in his new role.

 

In keeping with his work as UN special envoy, Bill Clinton pushed private investment at the conference.

 

Most notably he helped shepherd a $7.5 million project with the Coca-Cola Company to help mango producers supplying the "Haiti Hope Mango Lime-Aid" made by its Odwalla brand.

 

The board Clinton will help lead is a source of consternation among some Haitian lawmakers, who are now considering a legislative package submitted by Preval to approve the commission's authority. Opposition lawmakers are threatening to block the bill unless Preval's administration first publishes a report on how aid money was spent in the initial aftermath of the disaster.

- AP

News in relation to natural disasters on 3 April 2010

 

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 3 APRIL 2010

 

BBC WORLD NEWS on 3 April 2010

 

PERU VILLAGE MUDSLIDE 'KILLS 20'

 

At least 20 people have been killed in north-eastern Peru after heavy rains sparked a mudslide that engulfed a small village, officials have said.

The mudslide struck the village in the Huanuco region. At least another 25 people are reportedly missing.

 

At least 120 homes had been damaged or destroyed, the officials added.

 

Civil defence chief Hipolito Cruchaga said emergency teams were at the scene, and that aid was being provided to those who had been made homeless.

 

The deadly mudslide was the second in as many days in Peru. On Thursday, five people were killed in the town of Cancejos.

 

OVERFLOWING LAKE

 

Mr Cruchaga said 50 people had also been injured in the latest mudslide.

The BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima says days of heavy rains caused a small lake higher up a nearby mountain to overflow into a ravine.

 

The AFP news agency quoted reports from the village as saying hundreds of people might still be missing.

 

Mr Cruchaga said tents, blankets and food supplies had begun arriving in Huanuco for those hit by the latest mudslide.

 

In the past few months the Peruvian Andes have experienced one of the heaviest rainy seasons in decades, our correspondent says.

 

Some meteorologists say it is due to the cyclical El Nino weather pattern, while others attribute the downpours to climate change.

 

 

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES (CET = Central European Time)

 

Telegraph: Peru avalanche kills at least 20 - at 10am CET

 

IAfrica.com: Peru mudslide kills 20 - at 10am CET

 

Al Jazeera: Deaths in Peru mudslide - at 6am CET

 

Yahoo! UK and Ireland: Avalanche Of Mud And Rock Buries Village - at 4am CET

 

ABC Online: Deadly landslide buries village - at 1am CET

 

 

German ARD Text: DEATHS CAUSED BY LANDSLIDES IN PERU

 

An avalanche of mud and stone has cost at least 28 human lives in the Peruvian Andes after heavy rains.

 

In the Huancon region about 300 km northeast of the capital, Lima, other 25 people were missing after 2 landslides. 54 inhabitants in the town of Cancejos and the village of Porvenir are injuried and a total of 160 homes were damaged there according to the newspaper "El Comercio".

 

Worst-hit is the small village of Porvenir where one fourth of all houses were destroyed or damaged.

 

 

Swedish SVT Text: VILLAGE IN PERU DESTROYED IN LANDSLIDE

 

This week 2 villages in the northeastern Peru have been hard hit by landslides sparked by heavy rains.

 

A whole village and about 400 people have disappeared according to the regional leader Jorge Espinoza. At least 28 are confirmed dead and many more are injured or missing. In the small village of Porvenir 23 and in the town of Cancejos 5 were reported dead.

 

 

Danish DR1 and TV2 text-TV: PERU AVALANCHE KILLS AT LEAST 20 PERSONS / MUD AND LANDSLIDE IN PERU

 

An avalanche of mud and stone/rocks buried a little village in central Peru. At least 20 were killed, and hundreds are reportedly missing. 50 people are injuried after the mudslide.

The series of wild winds / typhoons may have passed

 

but the devastations after

 

- the typhoons / floodings in the

Philippines and Vietnam

 

- the tsunami (in Tonga and

Samoa)

 

and

 

- the earthquakes on Sumatra,

Indonesia

 

are huge and so is the reconstruction work needed!

 

Therefore please HELP / DONATE ! [/size]

 

 

NANCY

 

 

More updates of the situation in Southeast Asia later today or tomorrow.

 

oh my God. Thank you so much for having a time seeing the news about this. Me as the citizen from Indonesia.. I'm really glad that you've been writing and telling us a few conclusions regarding to the news. Once again, thank you so much for noticing. I love you :kiss:

News in relation to natural disasters from GMA News.TV dated 3.4.10

 

NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS - POSTED ON 4 APRIL 2010

 

PERU LANDSLIDES KILL 28, LEAVE 25 OTHERS MISSING

 

04/03/2010 | 09:42 AM - GMA News.TV

 

LIMA, Peru – Landslides caused by heavy rains have hit two towns in northeastern Peru, killing at least 28 people and leaving 25 others missing, regional officials said Friday. At least 54 people were injured.

 

Civil defense chief Hipolito Cruchaga said a landslide in the town of Porvenir killed 23 people Friday and rescuers were still hunting for 25 more. He said 54 people were injured and 120 houses damaged.

 

A mudslide on Thursday killed five people in the town of Cancejos, Cruchaga said. — AP

Updates of the situation in HAITI / news from American Red Cross

 

NEWS IN RELATION TO THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE FROM AMERICAN RED CROSS

 

http://www.redcross.org/haiti

 

HOW THE RED CROSS IS HELPING

 

As part of its largest international response since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the global Red Cross network has helped nearly 1.9 million Haitians since the country’s January 12 earthquake. It has so far spent or allocated $106.4 million to meet the most urgent needs of earthquake survivors and will continue to support hundreds of thousands of additional survivors in the years ahead until the last donated dollar is spent.

 

More than 50 disaster specialists representing the American Red Cross are in Haiti working alongside thousands of Haitian Red Cross volunteers as part of a broader and coordinated network of Red Cross and Red Crescent responders from nearly 40 nations.

 

In the two months since the earthquake, the global Red Cross network has:

 

Provided RELIEF ITEMS for 400,000 people.

 

Handed out nearly 99,000 TARPS, TENTS and TOOLKITS.

 

Supplied MEALS for more than 1 million people.

 

Distributed 40 million liters of CLEAN DRINKING WATER.

 

Built more than 1,100 LATRINES.

 

Helped VACCINATE more than 125,000 people.

 

Coordinated the SHIPMENT of more than 1,800 units of BLOOD to medical facilities.

 

TREATED more than 55,000 PEOPLE at Red Cross hospitals or mobile clinics.

 

Sent more than 23 million TEXT MESSAGES with critical HEALTH ADVICE to survivors.

 

Received more than 28,400 REGISTRATIONS ON its FAMILY LINKING WEB SITE.

 

ASSISTED more than 25,000 PEOPLE who arrived in the U.S. following the earthquake.

 

DEPLOYED more than 600 RESPONDERS to Haiti.

Updates of the situation in HAITI / News from UNICEF

 

NEWS IN RELATION TO THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE FROM UNICEF

 

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_53194.html

 

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

 

A HAITI FIT FOR ITS CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

 

NEW YORK, 30 March 2010 – On the eve of an international donor’s conference for Haiti at the United Nations, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, Plan International, World Vision International, OXFAM and UNICEF have stressed the importance of ensuring children, young people and their families are at the centre of all rebuilding efforts.

 

Haitian children and young people aged 5 to 24 shared their views on issues affecting them such as gender, disabilities, violence and abuse, disaster risk reduction, and their own rights and responsibilities post-earthquake as their country emerges from recent earthquakes at a series of focus group discussions held throughout the country between 26 February and 5 March.

 

Humanitarian organizations working on children’s issues maintain that providing Haiti’s youngest citizens with a strong voice in the discussion around the future of their country and enabling them to actively participate in all aspects of it will be crucial for a successful transformation of Haiti.

 

In a recent post disaster risk assessment study with more than 1,000 children, many said that their priority was to return to school and continue their education as soon as possible. “I want the rights of children to be respected and all children to know what their rights are. I also want everyone to have access to education,” says quake survivor Daphmika, 15, in Port-au-Prince.

 

Children and adolescents under 15 make up nearly 40 per cent of the population in Haiti and young people from 15 to 24 account for another 20 per cent.

 

Even before the earthquake the needs of many Haitian children were not met.

 

Nearly one in every fourteen children did not live to see their fifth birthday and children who survived were afflicted by high rates of malnutrition. About 50 percent of all Haitian children did not attend primary school and only 18 per cent of boys and 21 per cent of girls attended secondary school.

 

The government of Haiti has indicated its commitment to prioritizing the needs of children and youth, but the earthquake has dramatically complicated the difficult task of assuring the well-being of Haiti’s youngest citizens. Many of the more than one million children in the earthquake zone were already in vulnerable circumstances and now face increased risks due to loss, separation from, or displacement of their families, malnutrition, illness, psychological trauma and abuse.

 

Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, Plan International, World Vision International, OXFAM and UNICEF stress that Haiti is a children’s emergency and have been providing children and families with emergency relief supplies including shelter, food, medical supplies, water and sanitation supplies, and child protection services. The establishment of tent schools has given children the opportunity to continue their education and experience a sense of safety and normalcy.

 

If Haiti is to emerge from disaster as a place where children and families can survive and thrive, a holistic and sustained internationally-funded response that creates a strong child protection system and provides access to quality health care and education will be needed. Children and young people must be acknowledged as resourceful, as agents of change and as protagonists in their own development.

 

Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, Plan International, World Vision International, Oxfam and UNICEF are closely collaborating on the ground and internationally to provide consistent and coordinated support to Haiti’s children and its future.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Janine Kandel, UNICEF New York,

Tel: + 1 212 326-7684,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Tamar Hahn, UNICEF Panama,

Tel: + 507 301-7485,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Jenessa Bryan, SOS-Children’s Village International,

Tel: + 1 917 208-3472,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Amy Parodi, World Vision,

Tel: + 1 253 815-2386,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Nicole Widdersheim, Oxfam International,

Tel: + 1 212 687-3018,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Robin Costello, Plan USA,

Tel: + 1 401 829-2796,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Kate Conradt, Save the Children,

Tel: + 1 202 640 6631,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

 

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE, PROTECTING HAITIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM VIOLENCE

 

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/haiti_53204.html

 

By Jennifer Bakody

 

ANSE-A-PITRE, Haiti, 29 March 2010 – The effects of the earthquake that struck Haiti some two and a half months ago have reverberated across the country. Both in and beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, progress made in tackling long-standing human rights issues – including the problem of gender-based violence against women and girls – seems a distant memory.

 

In too many cases, the most vulnerable have been the victims of exploitation and abuse.

 

The small and isolated town of Anse-a-Pitre, located at Haiti’s most southern border crossing with the Dominican Republic, has suffered largely beneath the radar of the international community. Although the community’s modest, one-room houses and schools all remain standing, a population influx measuring in the thousands – combined with security pressures at the border – is breaking the back of families’ ability to cope.

 

Business in Anse-a-Pitre is anything but booming. To make matters worse, pre-existing aid and resources have been diverted to address post-quake needs elsewhere.

 

FEW WOMEN AND GIRLS FEEL SAFE

 

Such dire conditions help to explain why five grassroots advocates travelled many miles recently for a chance to speak with UNICEF Haiti Gender-Based Violence Specialist Catherine Maternowska.

 

The six met in the backyard of small cement house located off a residential dirt road. Despite the importance they attached to this meeting, each of the three men and three women in attendance was patient and respectful.

 

Seated in the shade on a circle on wooden chairs, they spoke and listened in turn.

 

By the meeting’s end, the situation report was bleak: Like the capital’s overcrowded settlements for displaced people, the modest homes of host families in this rural region are under increasing duress. Daily life in the close quarters of a tent or one-room house has taken away any semblance of privacy. Come nightfall, poorly located latrines – or the complete lack thereof – require women and children to steal away to unlit areas. Few people feel safe.

 

“Since the earthquake, as the population here has increased, so have we seen an increase in cases of violence against women,” said Anse-a-Pitre Justice of the Peace Marc-Anglade Payoute. “The police and the justice system, we’re doing everything possible. We’re continuing to pursue arrests.”

 

SEXUAL VIOLENCE IS NOT INEVITABLE

 

Ms. Maternowska first came to Haiti in the 1980s, working alongside local activists to advance women’s issues. She speaks fluent Creole and knows the issues.

 

For her, the problem isn’t new or surprising: Emergencies increase the vulnerability of girls and women to gender-based violence. She stresses, however, that such violence can be avoided. Local women’s, men’s and non-governmental organizations; the justice system; all UN actors; and the media all have crucial roles to play.

 

“Sexual violence is not inevitable,” says Ms. Maternowska. “Haiti’s women’s movement has worked long and hard to change archaic Haitian laws that put women and girls at a grave disadvantage from the day they are born. Today in Haiti, support groups are teaching both men and women how to prevent violence, as well as how to create safe spaces for their daughters.”

 

PREVENTING ABUSE, SUPPORTING SURVIVORS

 

In the aftermath of earthquake, UNICEF staff members have met with nearly a dozen groups in south-eastern Haiti, working to create an effective referral system for survivors of violence. Small plastic-coated referral cards, printed in Haitian Creole, instruct victims on where to go for medical care and support. The cards were developed by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Haitian Government, the International Rescue Committee, and UNFPA.

 

“Information is key,” says Ms. Maternowska, “and placing that information in the hands of a survivor can save her life. The referral cards we’ve developed provide information on how and where to access essential medications to prevent pregnancy and HIV. And of course, the provision of timely information gives survivors access to full medical treatment, psycho-social support and justice.”

 

In partnership with NGOs and other UN agencies, UNICEF supports the Haitian Government’s push to include gender-based violence services as part of a comprehensive approach to women’s and girls’ health. Plans to develop dedicated health centres for women and girls are currently in the works in the areas hardest-hit by the earthquake – including Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.

 

The partners’ goal is to expand these services to even the most remote corners of Haiti, including Anse-a-Pitre.

 

SAFE SPACES FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

 

UNICEF is equally committed to the prevention of future violence through the establishment of child-friendly spaces, with activities designed to educate girls and boys about gender-based violence and help them develop life skills needed in the new and challenging camp settings. Working with an established local Haitian partner, Solidarity for Haitian Women, UNICEF has plans to create women-centered friendly spaces, as well.

 

Safe spaces for women and girls will address issues related to gender roles and violence through a locally produced curriculum based on gender-based violence prevention and basic rights. Group activities such as these provide the community-based psycho-social support that Haitian women and children need..

 

 

FIELD DIARY: CAMP's CHILDREN EXCITED ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL IN HAITI

 

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/haiti_53222.html

 

UNICEF is among the many agencies delivering assistance to hundreds of spontaneous camps that have sprung up in parks and other public places in Haiti since the 12 January earthquake there. UNICEF's Simon Ingram visited one camp in Port-au-Prince and sent this report

 

By Simon Ingram

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 31 March, 2010 – You only have to mention the word 'school' and a sparkle comes into Taïma Celestin's dark brown eyes. It's not hard to understand why. The scheduled reopening of Haiti's schools on 5 April will be the first real opportunity for this confident 10-year-old to leave what is today her home – a tiny lean-to covered with a blue tarpaulin in a former sports ground in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince.

 

In the days after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January, killing some 220,000 people, Taïma, her grandparents and more than 7,000 other terrified people sought refuge here. Nearly three months on, few have managed to return home, and the artificial soccer pitch surrounded by an asphalt running track has become a tent community known by the name Dadadou.

 

PART OF THE HEALING PROCESS

 

During the day, Taïma joins several hundred other children for informal classes run by volunteer teachers inside two large white tents that were provided by UNICEF along with 'School-in-a-box' kits full of learning materials, and a recreation kit.

 

The classes are noisy but good-natured. They pause briefly to allow members of a local non-governmental organization to distribute fruit juice and snacks to the children.

 

[b]"The classes help me forget what happened, if only for a little while," says Taïma. [/b]

 

It may be part of the healing process that has led children in the camp to invent their own name for the earthquake. "When we talk about it among ourselves, we call it 'Monsieur Gudoo-Gudoo'," Taïma says, shaking her arms in rhythm to the words, "because that was the noise it made."

 

The former Dadadou camp coordinator, Dr. Junie Bertrand of the Haitian NGO Kore Timoun (Supporting Children), says the informal classes have helped children come to terms with what happened.

 

"I used to find children having panic attacks at night," says Dr. Bertrand. "But since the classes started, I haven't seen kids nearly so distressed."

 

KEEPING THE CAMP HEALTHY AND SAFE

 

The classes serve other purposes, too. For example, the younger children have been taught a SONG that teaches them the importance of hand-washing and PERSONAL HYGIENE – very important in preventing diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases.

 

So far, Dr. Bertrand says, most camp residents have avoided serious illness. Even so, with the rainy season expected soon, she has real worries for the future.

 

Dadadou camp, its population increasing lately with the arrival of new homeless families, is short of proper shelter materials and adequate food and water supplies.

 

Conditions in the camp are similar to those in many of the hundreds of spontaneous camps for displaced people in Port-au-Prince and other earthquake-affected areas.

 

Today, Dadadou has a generally orderly feel. The tents and tarpaulins are pitched close together, a neat row of toilets fills one side of the perimeter and a 3,000-gallon water tank stands next to grounds that are kept free of litter. Patrols by local police and camp volunteers have kept security fears at bay.

 

'It'll be a great day for me'

 

For Taïma, as for many children, the prospect of going back to school is exciting. "It'll be a great day for me, especially the math and French classes," she says, referring to her favourite subjects.

 

Her one surviving school uniform – retrieved from the family's damaged apartment – has been carefully set aside in the tiny tent in readiness for the big day. But like so many other children in Haiti, Taïma knows her excitement about beginning school anew will be tempered by the tragic realities of the earthquake.

 

"When I get to school," she says, "I will also find out which of my friends are alive, and which ones are dead."

News in relation to natural disasters on 5 April 2010

 

UPDATE OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON 5 APRIL 2010

 

EARTHQUAKE ROCKS WESTERN MEXICO

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8603073.stm

Page last updated at 07:28 GMT, Monday, 5 April 2010 08:28 UK

 

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake has hit the Mexican peninsula of Baja California, killing two people and causing tremors as far away as Nevada.

 

Some people are still trapped in their homes in the city of Mexicali, where a state of emergency has been declared.

 

The quake struck at 1540 (2240 GMT), 26km (16 miles) south-west of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California, according to the US Geological Survey.

 

It was the worst quake to hit the region for many years, officials said.

 

The US Geological Survey said some 20 million people felt tremors from the largest quake to affect the area since 1992.

 

It struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10km, the survey said.

 

Bridge checks

 

Mexican civil protection officials said a man had died when his home collapsed outside Mexicali, near the earthquake's epicentre.

 

Another man was run over by a car in Mexicali after he ran out of his house during

the quake, officials said.

 

Rescue teams with digging equipment and sniffer dogs have been despatched to the worst-affected areas of Mexicali from the nearby city of Tijuana.

 

The regional government declared a state of emergency in Mexicali, a city of about 900,000 people.

 

The quake caused buildings to sway in Tijuana, where Easter celebrations were interrupted as families rushed for open ground.

 

There were power cuts and hospitals and public buildings were evacuated in Mexico's Baja California state.

 

In the United States, firefighters were called out to inspect roads, bridges and power-lines.

 

The LA Fire Department also responded to a number of automatic alarms and people being stuck in lifts, reports said.

 

Rides were temporarily suspended at the Disneyland theme park in California.

 

Many readers who contacted the BBC spoke of the "surreal" swaying of buildings for up to a minute, although Steve Rider from Palm Springs in California said it was "the most powerful earthquake I have ever felt".

 

Kyle Stockburger, in Los Angeles, said: "Everyone stopped talking in the restaurant and the overhead lights started swaying back and forth. It wasn't violent, just unreal. It felt like the whole earth was swaying."

 

 

Danish DR1: EARTHQUAKE HITS MEXICO

The state of Baja California on the Californian peninsula in the north-western Mexico has been hit by a magnitude-6.9 (later corrected to 7.2.) earthquake.

According to US Geological Surveys the earthquake occurred immediately after midnight Central European time 173 km east of the city of Tijuana. The epicentre of the earthquake was in a depth of 32 km. According to eye witnesses the tremors could be felt in the American cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix.

 

Danish DR1: 100 damaged after earthquake in Mexico

At least 100 people have been damaged and 2 killed after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in the north-western Mexico, sayns CNN. One man died when his home collapsed outside Mexicali.

Another man was run over by a car in Mexicali after he ran out of his house during the quake, officials said.

Many were buried in the rubble in the city of Mexicali with almost 900,000 inhabitants and situated 8 km from the epicentre of the earthquake.

A state of emergency has been declared and rescue teams with sniffer dogs work hard to find those trapped in their homes. The tremors could be felt as far away as Nevada in the USA.

 

Swedish SVT Text: HEAVY EARTHQUAKE IN MEXICO AND THE USA

A magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook the area of Baja California in Mexico close to the USA border Sunday afternoon local time.

At least 2 were killed in the earthquake and at least 100 damaged; several buildings collapsed, and inhabitants of the cities of Tijuana in Mexico and Los Angeles in the USA ran out in the streets in panic. Power and telecommunication was down, gas pipelines started several fires. A motorway between the city of Mexicali close to the border and the mexican city of Tijuana was severely damaged.

In the USA the quake could be felt in San Diego in South California, Las Vegas in Nevada and in Arizona.

Inhabitants report of toppled cars, overflowing pools and food falling off the shelves in the food stores.

The quake occurred in a depth of 1 mile near the Mexican city of Mexicali close to the border. Several aftershocks occurred in the area of the epicentre.

 

German ZDF Text: POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE IN MEXICO

Mexican civil protection officials said that at least 2 were killed in the magnitude-7.2 earthquake in Northern Mexico.

A carpark collapsed in Mexicali, the capital in Baja California. The power was down in large parts of the city.

Also houses in the southern USA were damaged.

The epicentre of the quake was 60 km southeast of Mexicali in a depth of 10 km.

One of 3 strong aftershocks reached magnitude 5.1 according to the US Geological Surveys (USGS).

 

German ZDF text: 3 STRONG AFTERSHOCKS IN ONE HOUR - TALL BUILDINGS SWAYING

The magnitude-7.2 earthquake in northern Mexico could be felt Sunday (local time) in the American states of California and Arizona.

One of 3 strong aftershocks within one hour reached magnitude 5.1 according to US Geological Surveys. In the million-metropoles Los Angeles and San Diego some tall buildings were swaying. There were only reports of material damage.

On 12 January 2010 a magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit the Caribbean state of HAITI where more than 200,000 were killed.

In CHILE a magnitude-8.8 earthquake killed 350 people.

 

German ARD Text: AN INTENSIVE EARTHQUAKE SHOOK THE BORDER REGION BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE USA

At least 2 were killed and 100 injured in the earthquake that caused wide-spread fear. Several buildings and streets were severely damaged. In particular the Mexican city of Mexicali at the border was severely damaged, and the power was cut.

Even in the US metropole Los Angeles 320 km north-east of the epicentre of the magnitude-7.2 earthquake, several houses were swaying on Sunday.

Updates of the situation in MEXICO / Article from GMA News.TV dated 5.4.10

 

STRONG QUAKE KILLS 2 IN MEXICO, RATTLES US STATES

 

04/05/2010 | 02:24 PM - GMA News.TV

 

TIJUANA, Mexico — A powerful earthquake swayed buildings from Los Angeles to Tijuana, killing two people in Mexico, blacking out cities, forcing the evacuation of hospitals and nursing homes, and prompting an Arizona border town to shut down its downtown area.

 

The 7.2-magnitude quake centered just south of the U.S. border near Mexicali was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit region in decades.

 

"It sounds like it's felt by at least 20 million people at this point," USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said. "Most of Southern California felt this earthquake."

 

Sunday afternoon's earthquake was felt the hardest in Mexicali, a bustling commerce center along Mexico's border with California, where authorities said the quake was followed by at least 20 smaller aftershocks, including three of magnitudes 5.1, 4.5 and 4.3. The initial quake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

 

"It has not stopped trembling in Mexicali," said Baja California state Civil Protection Director Alfredo Escobedo.

 

Escobedo said a man was killed when his home collapsed just outside of Mexicali. He said a second man died when he panicked as the ground shook, ran into the street and was struck by a car.

 

At least 100 people were injured, most of them struck by falling objects. Power was out in virtually the entire city and the blackout was expected to last at least 14 hours, Escobedo said.

 

All 300 patients had to be evacuated from the Mexicali General Hospital to private clinics because the building had no electricity or water. But the emergency generators powering the private clinics might not last long and authorities might have to move patients to hospitals outside the city, he said.

 

The parking garage at Mexicali's city hall also collapsed, Escobedo said, but no one there was hurt.

 

There were growing reports of damage just across the border from Mexicali in Calexico, Arizona, a city of about 27,000. The Calexico City Council met and declared a state of emergency. There were no reports of injuries.

 

Law enforcement vehicles guarded downtown streets in Calexico, where windows were shattered and bricks and plaster had fallen from some buildings.

 

Calexico police Lt. Gonzalo Gerardo said most of the damage occurred in the city's downtown where buildings that were constructed in the 1930s and '40s and not retrofitted for an earthquake of this magnitude.

 

"Downtown is going to remain closed until further notice. I honestly doubt that it will reopen soon," he said. "You've got a lot of cracks. You've got a lot of broken glass. It's unsafe for people to go there."

 

The southeast portion of the city lost electricity for about four hours.

 

Rosendo Garcia, 44, said he was driving his daughter home from work when the quake struck.

 

"It felt like I was in a canoe in the middle of the ocean," he said.

 

He said homes in his trailer park were seriously damaged, including one that was knocked off its foundation

 

The Fire Department responded to several calls to transport sick and elderly people to hospitals because of power outages and gas problems. A senior living center built in the early 1900s was evacuated and the people were moved to a shelter by the American Red Cross.

 

Lights shattered, ceiling tiles fell and shelves collapsed at a Subway sandwich restaurant in Calexico, said manager Rosie Arellano.

 

"Everything is shut down, the whole town," Arellano said. "All the stop lights and the street lights are out. We have no power."

 

Strong shaking was reported across much of Southern California. The earthquake rattled buildings on the west side of Los Angeles and in the San Fernando Valley, interrupting Easter dinners. Some stalled elevators were reported, water sloshed out of swimming pools and wine jiggled in glasses.

 

More than 100 miles (160 kms) west of the epicenter, San Diego's Sheraton Hotel and Marina was briefly evacuated after minor cracks were discovered in the floors, said Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque. All guests were allowed to return.

 

Susan Warmbier was putting away her groceries in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista when her husband asked, "Is the house moving?"

 

"We turned and we looked at the house, and it was actually moving. You could see it slightly moving left to right," she said.

 

Elsewhere in San Diego, there were reports of shattered windows, broken pipes and water main breaks in private buildings, but no reports of injuries, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque said. Coronado Bridge over San Diego Bay was briefly closed by the California Highway Patrol as a precaution.

 

Across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, the quake caused buildings to sway and knocked out power in some areas. Families celebrating Easter ran out of their homes, with children screaming and crying.

 

"I grabbed my children and said, 'Let's go outside, hurry, hurry!'" said Elizabeth Alvarez, 54, who said she was just getting ready to leave her house with her kids in an eastern Tijuana neighborhood when the quake hit.

 

No tsunami warning was issued, but hundreds of people on Tijuana's crowded beach feared the worst and fled when they felt the ground shake, said Capt. Juan Manuel Hernandez, the city fire department's chief of aquatic rescue. The beach filled up again within an hour.

 

Scientists said the main earthquake probably occurred on a fault that hadn't ruptured in over a century. Preliminary data suggest the quake occurred on the Laguna Salada fault, which last broke in 1892 and unleashed a magnitude-7.2.

 

U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Erik Pounders describes the area as a "chaotic" system of faults that needs more research.

 

The main quake was initially reported as magnitude-6.9 and was centered about 38 miles (60 kms) southeast of Mexicali. The updated magnitude was still an estimate, but if it holds it would be California's largest temblor since the 7.3-magnitude Landers quake hit in 1992, Jones said. There were at least two other 7.2-magnitude quakes in the last 20 years.

 

The main quake was felt hundreds of miles away in Phoenix, where residents rarely feel the earth shake.

 

Jacqueline Land said her king-sized bed in her second-floor Phoenix-area apartment felt like a boat gently swaying on the ocean.

 

"I thought to myself, 'That can't be an earthquake. I'm in Arizona,'" the Northern California native said.

 

The quake was felt in the fire and medical dispatch center in downtown Las Vegas, but there were no reports of damage or injuries, according to Tim Szymanski, a spokesman for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

 

Power outages were rare, and mostly brief. Most of the 3,000 customers who lost power in southwestern Arizona, and the more than 5,000 who went dark in Southern California, regained power within minutes, utility officials said. - AP

Updates of news in relation to natural disasters on 6 April 2010

 

UPDATE OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 6 APRIL 2010

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8605386.stm

Page last updated at 15:37 GMT, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 16:37 UK

 

FLOODING IN RIO DE JANEIRO STATE KILLS 31

 

At least 31 people have been killed after torrential rain caused LANDSLIDES and FLOODING in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, officials have said.

 

Eight people died in Rio de Janeiro city after more than 7cm (3in) of rain fell in 15 hours, while 14 others died in the neighbouring city of Niteroi.

 

Officials in nearby Sao Goncalo said flooding there had killed nine people.

 

Rio de Janeiro's mayor has closed all schools and urged workers to stay at home as most main roads are flooded.

 

"The situation is chaos," Eduardo da Costa Paes said in a statement. "All the major streets of the city are closed because of the floods."

 

"Each and every person who attempts to enter them will be at enormous risk," he warned.

 

Mr Paes said the preparedness for heavy rainfall in Brazil's second-largest city - which will host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games - was "less than zero".

 

Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral urged people in high-risk areas to leave their homes.

 

He told TV Globo that to stay inside would be "irresponsible" given the RISK OF NEW LANDSLIDES.

 

Most of the victims in Rio, including a five-month-old baby and a nine-year-old child, died in LANDSLIDES in two SHANTYTOWNS near the city centre, officials said.

 

The CONTINUOUS RAINFALL also forced Santos Dumont airport, which handles domestic flights, to close for two hours on Monday night.

 

Many cars were left abandoned on main roads throughout the city.

 

BBC News website reader Antonio Queiroz Junior said it had started raining after 1700 (2000 GMT) on Monday, during the middle of the rush hour.

 

"It hasn't stopped raining since then," he said. "This is the worst storm in decades."

 

He added: "The city has been abandoned by our government. The current situation is unacceptable, with so many people getting killed because of the rain.

"Everybody knows the danger of living in the hills, and the government does nothing to stop more and more people building houses there."

 

Rio de Janeiro state has experienced a PARTICULARLY HOT AND RAINY SUMMER this year, and meteorologists are forecasting MORE RAIN in the coming days.

 

In January, at least 39 people were killed by mudslides in the resort area of Angra dos Reis, half way between Rio de Janeiro and Santos.

 

 

THE PHILIPPINES

 

EL NIÑO LOSSES HIT ALMOST P10 BILLION AT END-MARCH

 

04/06/2010 | 03:49 PM - GMA News.TV

 

(UPDATED) Agricultural losses due to an El Niño-induced drought reached P9.58 billion at the end of March, with 12 regions experiencing dry spell conditions that affect production of rice, corn, fruits, flowers, high-value-commercial crops and livestock.

 

Still, the government downplayed the effects of the dry spell and Mindanao power shortage on Philippine economic growth this year, which it said could shave 0.57 percentage points off this year’s gross domestic product growth target of 2.6-3.6 percent.

 

"Agriculture makes up only 18 percent of [the gross domestic product]," Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto B. Santos told Cabinet members on Tuesday.

 

He added that the share of Mindanao — where brownouts threaten to limit business activity — in economic output is only 18 percent.

 

Citing the latest National Disaster Coordinating Council report, Santos said about 753,606 hectares of land had been affected, with an equivalent total production loss of 685,485 metric tons.

 

Dennis M. Arroyo, National Economic and Development Authority director for national policy and planning, told reporters in Malacañang growth this year could dip to 3 percent from the high end of the target.

 

The government, he said, was confident of hitting the upper end of the goal unless Greece’s debt crisis explodes and causes another global crisis.

 

"That’s the worst case scenario. Otherwise, we would believe 3.6 percent [could be achieved]," Arroyo said.

 

Meanwhile, Arroyo said the construction industry is threatened by rising iron ore prices after the 40-year old pricing arrangement of annual negotiations was replaced by quarterly pricing.

 

"A 100-percent increase in iron ore prices will lead to a 30-percent increase in steel prices. That will affect both public and private construction and therefore, the real estate industry," he pointed out.

 

In his Cabinet presentation, Santos noted that the shorter the pricing period, the more leeway for market speculation and volatility.

 

The move was led by giant iron ore producers Vale of Brazil and Anglo-Australian BHP-Billiton. Eurofer, which represents European steelmakers, has warned of illicit price manipulation by the biggest iron ore producers.

 

Santos said US steel might turn out as the cheaper alternative since US steel inputs are largely isolated from the global market. America is a net exporter of the chief ingredients of steel: iron ore, coking coal and scrap, he pointed out.

 

"They now offer cheaper iron ore and steel. So we may turn to them. That’s one avenue to explore," Arroyo said. He added that they have yet to know the exact impact of higher steel prices on growth. — N.P. Aquino, GMANews.TV

Updates of the situation in INDONESIA and BRAZIL on 7.4.10

 

UPDATES OF NEWS RELATED TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 7 APRIL 2010

 

From AVAAZ..org : News in relation to HAITI

 

STANDING WITH HAITI - thousands of us contributed more than US$1.3 million for relief and recovery from the Haitian earthquake, helping outstanding local organizations provide life-saving food, shelter, and medical care for thousands of people, and powered a global push that secured $1 billion in debt relief for Haiti.

__________________________

 

BBC World http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8605386.stm

 

FLOODING IN RIO DE JANEIRO STATE KILLS SCORES

 

Page last updated at 08:15 GMT, Wednesday, 7 April 2010 09:15 UK

 

At least 95 people have died in the Brazilian STATE of RIO de Janeiro after the most torrential rain for decades caused landslides and flooding.

 

A state of emergency has been declared and officials have warned the death toll may rise as many more are missing.

 

At least 33 people died in Rio de Janeiro city after 28cm (11in) of rain fell in 24 hours, while 33 were killed in the neighbouring city of Niteroi.

 

Many houses in Rio's hillside shanty towns were buried under mudslides.

 

Rescue teams have been scouring the city's hillsides to find missing people and recover bodies buried under the mud.

 

With no let-up in the rain, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has urged residents to leave their homes if they are at risk of flooding.

 

Otherwise, the authorities have told people to stay indoors and avoid travelling around the city.

 

CHAOTIC SITUATION

 

Authorities say the city of Rio de Janeiro's transport system is close to collapse, after traffic ground to a halt with many streets under water.

 

The situation is chaos," Mayor Eduardo da Costa Paes said in a statement on Tuesday. "All the major streets of the city are closed because of the floods.

 

"Each and every person who attempts to enter them will be at enormous risk," he warned.

 

Mr Paes said the preparedness for heavy rainfall in Brazil's second-largest city - which will host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games - was "less than zero".

 

Public schools will remain closed until at least Friday.

 

State governor Sergio Cabral meanwhile declared a state of emergency and urged people in high-risk areas to leave their homes.

 

He told TV Globo that to stay inside would be "irresponsible" given the risk of new landslides.

 

The victims of shanty town landslides in the city of Rio de Janeiro included a five-month-old baby and a nine-year-old child, officials said.

 

Flooding left another 12 people dead in Sao Goncalo, and one in Petropolis.

The continuous rainfall also forced Santos Dumont airport, which handles domestic flights, to close for two hours on Monday night, causing a number of delays.

 

Many cars were left abandoned on main roads throughout the city.

 

The head of Rio de Janeiro's civil defence department told TV Globo the amount of rain that had fallen was "more than any city is capable of supporting".

 

Paulo Marqueiro, a reporter for the newspaper O Globo, told the BBC it was like the city had "collapsed".

 

Houses had been brought crashing down by the floods and landslides, and there was no public transport whatsoever, he said.

 

'PRAY TO GOD'

 

BBC News website reader Antonio Queiroz Junior said it had started raining after 1700 (2000 GMT) on Monday, during the rush hour.

 

"It hasn't stopped raining since then," he said. "This is the worst storm in decades."

 

He added: "The city has been abandoned by our government. The current situation is unacceptable, with so many people getting killed because of the rain.

"Everybody knows the danger of living in the hills, and the government does nothing to stop more and more people building houses there."

 

Another reader in Rio de Janeiro, Duncan Crossley, said he had witnessed Rio de Janeiro "on the brink of collapse".

 

He said the power had been cut in his neighbourhood at about midday, and that the storm had brought down huge trees, which along with the flooding were blocking major traffic arteries.

 

"The streets were thick with mud," he wrote. "The city reminded me of a war zone."

 

President Lula, who was visiting the city on Tuesday, blamed local officials for not enforcing adequate building standards in areas prone to landslides, particularly in shantytowns.

 

"All we can do is pray to God to hold back the rains a little, so that Rio can return to normal, and so that we can set about fixing the things in the city that need fixing," he told local radio.

 

The president said the work would include improved drainage systems.

 

Rio de Janeiro state has experienced a particularly hot and rainy summer this year, and meteorologists have forecast more rain in the coming days. However, correspondents say heavy rain is more common in January than in April.

 

In January, at least 39 people were killed by mudslides in the resort area of Angra dos Reis, half way between Rio de Janeiro and Santos.

 

 

Danish TV2 LIVE at 12 o’clock (noon): DEATH TOLL REACHING 100 IN BRAZIL.

Floodings and landslides after heavy rains in Rio swept an entire slum district away. It is the worst storm in 50 years. The Mayor advised the inhabitants of Rio City to stay indoors, and the streets are closed due to floods.

 

 

Danish DR1 text-TV: 95 KILLED BY HEAVY RAINS IN RIO, BRAZIL

Flooding after heavy rain cost at least 95 human lives in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where many streets are under water. The heavy rain continued non-stop for 15 hours.

The Mayor of Rio City has urgently appealed to all affected to stay indoors and to avoid Rio City where many streets are impassable. “All the major streets of the city are closed because of the floods.” The Mayor stresses that each and every person who is not listening to the authorities is at enormous risk.

 

 

Danish DR1 text-TV (afternoon CET): STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIO

The heavy rain continues in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.

The state governor of Rio de Janeiro has declared state of emergency. 95 were killed and at least 100 injured in the worst storm in the country in more than 50 years. 28cm of rain fell in 24 hours. The heavy rain has caused floodings and mudslides in Rio. In particular Rio’s hillside slum districts have been hard hit.

 

 

Swedish SVT Text: FLOODING IN RIO DE JANEIRO

In the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro heavy rains, flooding and landslides cost at least 95 human lives according to Reuters having the info from the authorities. About half of the victims died in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where districts and streets are under water. Schools are closed and flights are affected.

The situation is serious in the city of RIO, and Mayor Eduardo Paes advised people to avoid the flooded districts, if possible. . “All the major streets of the city are closed because of the floods,” he wrote in a warning earlier today.

 

 

Swedish SVT Text (afternoon CET): DEATH TOLL GOING UP IN BRAZIL

Heavy rains in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro cost more than 102 human lives.

Most people died in over 180 landslides triggered by heavy rains. Rescue teams are looking for those missing.

About 40 died in Rio City. Landslides swepth through slum districts. Rio was transformed to a large lake and the water was coloured brown according to news agency AFP. The inhabitants of Rio have been advised to stay indoors.

 

 

German ARD Text: MANY KILLED BY LANDSLIDES IN RIO

After heavy rains in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro the death toll has gone up to at least 95. At least 35 people died in Rio de Janeiro city, while 48 were killed in the neighbouring city of Niteroi. The other deaths were reported from other parts of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The more than 180 landslides were triggered by the heaviest rain in the state in decades.

 

 

German ZDF Text: RIO: AT LEAST 96 KILLED BY BAD WEATHER

Heavy rains – the worst in more than 4 decades – triggered chaos in Rio de Janeiro. At least 96 were killed, most of them in landslides. Houses are flooded, trees have fallen on cars, traffic is stuck. Fire fighters succeeded in rescuing people trapped in the rubble of collapsed houses.

 

------------------------------------

 

German ZDF Text: PANIC AFTER EARTHQUAKE OFF SUMATRA

An earthquake off Sumatra in Indonesia has killed at least 11 people and damaged several houses. Thousands rain out into the streets fearing a tsunami according to a local broadcaster. The tsunami alert was lifted after almost 2 hours.

The magnitude-7.2 earthquake occurred in the morning 34 km under the sea bed. The epicentre was off the western coast of Sumatra’s ACEH province.

In 2004 an earthquake destroyed ACEH and killed 170,000 people and made 500,000 homeless.

 

 

German ARD text: POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE OFF SUMATRA, INDONESIA

A powerful magnitude-7.8 earthquake has shaken the Indonesian island of SUMATRA.

It occurred early in the morning in the northern part of Sumatra in a depth of 46 km according to US Geological Surveys (USGS).

For parts of Indonesia and Thailand a tsunami alert was issued, but lifted again after few hours. No reports of deaths or major damage.

In September 2009 a magnitude-7.6 earthquake west of Sumatra killed about 1,100 people.

 

 

Swedish SVT Text: MAGNITUDE-7.8 EARTHQUAKE OFF SUMATRA IN INDONESIA

A powerful earthquake off SUMATRA’s northwestern coast that was destroyed in the tsunami disaster in 2004 caused panic and also tsunami alerts which were lifted again 2 hours later. No reports of deaths or damage.

There was also a tsunami alert in Thailand, where people were asked to leave the coastal areas.

 

 

Danish DR1 text: INDONESIA LIFTS TSUNAMI ALERT

The Indonesian authorities have lifted the tsunami alert for the region after the powerful earthquake that shook the Indonesian island of SUMATRA immediately after midnight Central European Time (CET).

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit the northern part of SUMATRA was followed by SEVERAL AFTERSHOCKS and caused power cuts and panic according to eye witnesses.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not expect a major tsunami in the region. Also Thailand has lifted its tsunami alert.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8606438.stm

 

TSUNAMI ALERT LIFTED AFTER EARTHQUAKE HITS INDONESIA

 

Page last updated at 00:55 GMT, Wednesday, 7 April 2010 01:55 UK

 

A tsunami alert has been lifted after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

 

The quake's epicentre was 204km (127 miles) northwest of Sibolga on Sumatra's coast, at a depth of nearly 48km, the US Geological Survey said.

 

Three aftershocks were reported in the northern province of Aceh, but there were no reports of casualties.

 

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the world's most active areas for earthquakes and volcanoes.

 

It has recently been struck by a string of quakes; one off Sumatra in September killed more than 1,000 people.

 

The latest quake - the largest in the area since March 2008 - struck at 0515 on Wednesday morning (2215 GMT on Tuesday).

 

Although the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said a small tsunami would possibly hit coasts within 100km of the quake's epicentre, a destructive widespread tidal wave was said to be unlikely.

 

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported blackouts in Medan and Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province.

 

Local television reported that people rushed to higher ground in some areas.

 

Thai authorities also warned people in coastal areas to evacuate to a safe place.

 

In December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Aceh triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed quarter of a million people in 13 countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

 

 

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES

 

CNEWS: No deaths in 7.7 magnitude Indonesia quake – (at 12 o’clock CET)

 

Financial Times: Magnitude 7.7 quake shakes Indonesia – (at 11 o’clock CET)

 

The News International: Tsunami alerts lifted after major Indonesia quake – (at 10 o’clock CET)

 

Reuters UK UPDATE 3-LNG, oil,rubber, palm oil unaffected by Indonesia quake – (at 8 o’clock CET)

 

Times Online: Strong earthquake shakes Indonesia (at 7 o’clock CET)

Updates of the situation in BRAZIL on 8 April 2010

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN BRAZIL ON 7 AND 8 APRIL 2010

 

German ARD and ZDFtext: DEATH TOLL IN RIO NOW 145

After the bad weather in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro the death toll has gone up. The authorities expect the death toll to increase further with a view to the dozens of missing according to the Brazilian fire department and civil defense authorities. Wednesday evening, another powerful landslide buried up to 40 houses in a slum district in the city of Niterói. Worst hit is Niterói where 79 so far have been confirmed dead. In Rio de Janeiro as many as 1,700 were made homeless. Since the bad weather on Tuesday, at least 11,000 inhabitants had to flee out of their homes. In less than 24 hours, 28 cm rain fell - a record in Rio de Janeiro's history. Rescue teams are still looking for missing and trapped people.

 

German ARD text: BAD WEATHER IN RIO: MORE DEATHS

After 9 landslides in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, rescuers are looking for survivors. In Niterói, which is located 13 km from Rio City, a new mudslide trapped more than 30 houses. The civil defence authorities fear 200 dead.Since Monday evening, 153 people have been killed in the Rio de Janeiro region due to bad weather and ensuing landslides. The heaviest rain in more than 40 years had flooded large parts of Rio City and created chaos.

 

Danish TV2 text-TV: 200 FEARED DEAD IN LANDSLIDE

About 200 are buried by landslides near Rio de Janeiro, says Pedro Machado, the head of the local fire department. 6 dead bodies were recovered from the mud after a landslide in Niterói near Rio de Janeiro. Wednesday evening, the area was hit by a big landslide that buried about 50 houses.

 

Swedish SVT text: MANY VICTIMS IN BRAZIL LANDSLIDE / LANDSLIDE MAY HAVE BURIED HUNDREDS

More than 200 people may have been buried after a landslide that destroyed about 40 houses in a city near Rio de Janeiro. The landslide occurred Wednesday in Niterói according to Globo News with reference to the mayor's office and the fire department. These are the worst floods hitting southeastern Brazil after heavy rains in almost 50 years.

Since Monday more than 130 people died in landslides and floods in the state of Rio de Janiero.

 

Danish TV2 Text-TV: EXPERTS EXPECT 8 HURRICANES IN 2010

In 2010 the hurricane season over the Atlantic will presumably lead to 8 hurricanes of which 4 will be very powerful according to a team of researchers at Colorado's university. The prominent team of researchers established by the hurricane expert William Gray estimate that 15 tropical storms will be generated during the 6-month-long season. The risk of a major storm crossing the US coastline is 69%.

During the hurricane season in 2009, there were 9 storms of which 3 were hurricanes. It was the most calm season since 1997.

Updates of the situation in Brazil state Rio de Janeiro on 8 and 9 April 2010

 

UPDATES OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 8 and 9 APRIL 2010

 

08.04.10: URBAN (a free paper) + berlingske.dk (website of the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende):

95 KILLED BY HEAVY RAINS

BRAZIL: At least 95 people have lost their lives during the worst weather in Brazil in 50 years. The bad weather triggered floodings and landslides. According to the Brazil Civil Defence most victims were killed by a landslide in a slum district on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro city, which has 16 million inhabitants. 288 mm rain fell in 24 hours. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes estimates that the rain has made at least 10,000 houses dangerous to stay in, while 1,200 people are homeless.

 

 

AT LEAST 200 BURIED, FEARED DEAD IN RIO MUDSLIDE

(04/08/2010 | 11:41 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

NITEROI, Brazil – At least 200 people were buried under tons of mud and feared dead on Thursday after a slum built atop a former landfill gave way in the latest deadly landslide to hit metro Rio de Janeiro.

 

If confirmed, the deaths would raise the toll sharply from the 153 people already known to have died this week in slides triggered by record rains.

 

Pedro Machado, subsecretary of Rio state's Civil Defense department, told Globo TV that as many as 60 houses and at least 200 people were buried in the Morro Bumba slum in Niteroi, a city of about 500,000 just across the bay from Rio.

 

"In our experience, it's an instant death" for anyone caught in such a slide, Machado said.

 

The shantytown was built on a former garbage dump where trash had accumulated for decades — making the ground there especially unstable and vulnerable to the heavy rains, said Agostinho Guerreiro, president of Rio's main association of engineers and architects.

 

"It is very fragile soil. It couldn't hold (the rain). The houses came down, destroying the ones below them," Guerreiro told Globo. "It was a tragedy foretold."

 

The federal government announced an emergency fund of 200 million reals ($114 million) to help the state deal with the mudslides and flooding.

 

A fire department spokesman said six bodies had been found so far in the Morro Bumba and 28 people were rescued after the mudslide hit late Wednesday.

 

Alves Souza, commander of the firefighters in the Niteroi rescue operations, said the wet, steep terrain posed a continued threat to anyone trapped in the wreckage and emergency crews as well.

 

"The work is very intense, given the fact that the volume of material we have here is very large," Souza said.

 

Record rainfall since Monday has triggered deadly mudslides across Rio's metropolitan area.

 

Firefighters said the official death toll stands at 153, but that does not include those buried in Morro Bumba.

 

Nearly all the deaths occurred in mudslides that smashed through slums — yet another reminder that life in one of the world's most famous playgrounds is much different for the poor than it is for the rich.

 

Residents of the shantytowns often endure dangers such as the frequent shootouts between police and heavily armed drug gangs, and when heavy rain falls on slopes crowded with poorly built shacks, nature itself can deal out death.

 

Rio officials said they are going to step up forced evictions of slum residents living in at-risk areas.

 

Mayor Eduardo Paes announced that 1,500 families were going to be removed from their homes in at least two Rio slums, and that more evictions were likely.

 

"I don't want to spend next summer sleepless, worrying if the rains are going to kill somebody," he told reporters, without saying when the relocations would occur.

 

The heavy rains plunged Rio into chaos this week, snarling traffic, knocking down trees and power lines, opening up enormous craters in streets and sending wastewater flowing to the white sand beaches of the city of 6 million.

 

In the Rocinha slum, officials said 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain has fallen so far this month — three times the amount normally expected for all of April. Similar figures were seen across Rio's metropolitan area.

 

Rio state Civil Defense said at least 11,000 people were forced from their homes. Officials said potential mudslides threatened at least 10,000 houses in the city.

 

The toll in Rio has already surpassed that of 2008 flooding and mudslides in the southern state of Santa Catarina that killed nearly 130 people and displaced about 80,000. - AP

 

 

SLUM DISAPPEARS IN RIO MUDSLIDE; 200 FEARED DEAD

 

(04/09/2010 | 07:38 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

NITEROI, Brazil – They are all gone. The Evangelical church where worshipers were praying. A daycare center where kids were playing. The pizza parlor where a family was eating.

 

All were buried under a mountain of mud, garbage and stone when yet another landslide hit metropolitan Rio de Janeiro late Wednesday. This one swept through the Morro Bumba slum, engulfing as many as 200 people and 60 homes. Nothing was left behind but a massive crater of blackened, sodden earth and the remnants of flimsy brick shacks.

 

"I had just picked up my 10-year-old son from the day care. We walked down the hill to the street, and within 10 minutes, my community collapsed," said Patricia Faria, 28, crying as she watched heavy machinery dump the remains of her life into a waiting truck. "All I have left is what you see on me — and my son. Thank God, I have my son."

 

Rio state health secretary Sergio Cortes said it was hard to say how many people were buried in the latest slide. "A worse-case scenario is 200," he told The Associated Press. "We know that about 60 houses were buried."

 

Already 161 people have been confirmed dead in the heavy rains that began Monday in Rio, most of them swept away in landslides that roared through city slums built on steep, unstable hillsides.

 

The death toll surpasses that of flooding and mudslides in the southern state of Santa Catarina in 2008, which killed nearly 130 people and displaced about 80,000.

 

"In our experience, it's an instant death," Pedro Machado, undersecretary of Rio state's Civil Defense department, said of the victims buried by landslides.

 

Faria said she was certain people were buried inside the Morro Bumba slum's Assembly of God church, which collapsed during nightly services.

 

Clesio Araujo, 39, said he narrowly escaped the slide, leaving a pizza parlor just a few minutes before the earth gave way. He said a family was still inside.

 

The destruction was compounded because the slum is largely built atop an old garbage dump, making it especially unstable and vulnerable to the heavy rains, said Agostinho Guerreiro, president of Rio's main association of engineers and architects.

 

"It is very fragile soil. It couldn't hold. The houses came down, destroying the ones below them," Guerreiro told Globo TV. "It was a tragedy foretold."

 

The federal government announced an emergency fund of $114 million to help Rio state, where the slum is located, to deal with the mudslides and flooding.

 

But the money will be of little help to people who have no choice but to live in such precarious sections of the city, said Rosana Fernandes, 43, whose sister, brother-in-law and two young nieces were buried under the mud.

 

Holding a faded photo of the smiling family, she didn't bother holding back the tears as she explained what it is that leads families to live atop a landfill formed by decades of accumulated garbage.

 

"Yes, it was a dump. But people are desperate to have a home anywhere,"

she said. "What else were they going to do? Where else were they supposed to go? This is our reality. They knew the risks, but when you have no money, you have no choice," she said.

 

Rio officials said they are going to step up forced evictions of slum residents living in at-risk areas. Mayor Eduardo Paes announced that 1,500 families are going to be removed from their homes in at least two Rio slums, and that more evictions are likely.

 

Officials from Rio state's Civil Defense department said that at least 14,000 people were forced from their homes by the mudslides and that potential slides threatened at least 10,000 other houses in the city.

 

On Thursday, scores of rescue workers poked at the massive mountain of earth that slid down the hills of the Morro Bumba slum toward a paved road in Niteroi, Rio's sister city of 500,000 people across the Guanabara Bay.

 

Mounds of soil and garbage rose 40 feet (12 meters) high. A dozen dump trucks were lined up to carry off the debris. Hundreds of onlookers watched as firefighters carried at least four coffins out of the crater created by the slide.

 

Homeless residents sought shelter in two Evangelical churches just down the road from the slum, where water, food and clothing were handed out. Small children played and slept on dozens of mattresses laid out on church floors.

 

Niteroi recovery operations were moving slowly: The wet, steep terrain posed a continued threat to anyone trapped in the wreckage and to emergency crews as well, said lead firefighter Alves Souza.

 

"The work is very intense, given the fact that the volume of material we have here is very large," Souza said.

 

While it rained only lightly Thursday, the forecast was for heavier rains later in the day and throughout the weekend. — AP

 

German ZDF Text: CHAOS AFTER HEAVY RAINS: DEATH TOLL IN RIO GOING UP

In Rio's metropolitan area the death toll after heavy rains and numerous landslides has gone up to 182. Most victims died in Niterói 13 km from Rio City. Niterói has 480,000 inhabitants. In Niterói 107 were found dead according to information given by the fire department on Friday. Wednesday evening a mudslide destroyed 50 houses in a poor district. Among the destroyed buildings were a daycare center and a pizza parlor.

Updates of the situation in Brazil in April 2010

 

UPDATES OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 10 APRIL 2010

 

Danish DR1 and TV2 TTV: DEATH TOLL RISES TO 219 IN BRAZIL

219 people have lost their lives in connection with the heaviest downpours in Brazil in almost 50 years. This info was given by the state's authorities which fear that the death toll may rise to about 400.The state of Rio de Janeiro, where the second-largest Brazilian city - RIO de Janeiro - is situated, has been hit by bad weather during the week.

Most victims died during a landslide. The most massive landslide buried a shantytown in the city of Niterói near the city of Rio de Janeiro.

 

 

Swedish SVT Text: DEATH TOLL RISES AFTER BRAZILIAN LANDSLIDE

The rescue work continues, but the authorities fear that the death toll will pass 300 after the past week's massive floods.

Late friday the rescuers announced that 219 were found dead in the state of Rio de Janeiro. An additional 150 may be buried after a landslide wednesday. About 5,000 were forced to leave their homes due to the risk of landslides after heavy rains and floods that hit the region the last couple of days.

 

 

ZDFTEXT and ARDTEXT: AFTER CHAOS TRIGGERED BY HEAVY RAINS: THE DEATH TOLL IS NOW 200 IN RIO

After the heavy rains and the ensuing floods and landslides in the Rio de Janeiro region, the death toll has gone up to more than 200. Until Friday 205 dead bodies had been recovered. About 160 people were injured due to the record-bad weather tuesday. A further increase in the death toll is feared because many people are still missing.

Most people died in Niterói 13 km from Rio de Janeiro City. With a view to the safety of the rescuers, the relief work proceeds slowly. Heavy rains continue to threaten to trigger more landslides.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8612699.stm

 

BRAZIL LANDSLIDE DEATH TOLL RISES

 

Page last updated at 01:12 GMT, Saturday, 10 April 2010 02:12 UK

 

Search crews have found more bodies buried in homes by a massive landslide that hit a shantytown near the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

 

Rio de Janeiro state's governor said as many as 150 bodies could be underneath the mud in Morro do Bumba, which would almost double the death toll of 192.

A week of heavy rains triggered floods and landslides on Monday that hit shantytowns on steep hills the hardest.

 

Officials have said further landslides are possible given the saturated soil.

 

The BBC's Paulo Cabral in Rio de Janeiro says there is now little hope of finding more survivors in Morro do Bumba, in the municipality of Niteroi, across the bay from the city of Rio de Janeiro.

 

Morro do Bumba was built on top of a disused landfill, making it prone to landslides, and the 300 rescue workers on the site are having to conduct their search with great caution, our correspondent says.

 

A nursery was among the 50 buildings either destroyed or buried, officials said.

Rio de Janeiro state Governor Sergio Cabral said: "There are about 100 to 150 bodies, according to what the fire department told me.

 

"The responsibility for what happened here rests with all of us, the authorities and society."

 

Torrential downpours that began on Monday afternoon set off dozens of landslides in Brazil's second biggest city and surrounding areas. Most of the victims were residents of shantytowns.

 

Rio de Janeiro's Mayor, Eduardo Paes, said up to 2,000 families would be moved from high-risk areas, but gave no further details.

 

He said 4,000 families had been made homeless and 10,000 houses remained at risk, mostly in the slums where about a fifth of Rio de Janeiro's population live.

 

Brazil's national weather service, Inmet, said the rainfall has been the heaviest in 48 years and was likely to continue in the coming days.

 

 

INTERESTING ARTICLE ON 7 APRIL 2010 from BBC World Service:

 

RIO's SHANTY TOWN DWELLERS PICK UP THE PIECES

 

By Paulo Cabral, BBC NEWS, Rio de Janeiro

 

Often the poorest favelas in Rio have the prettiest names. Morro dos Prazeres, for example, means Hill of Pleasures but it seemed sadly misnamed in the wake of the landslides that left at least 15 people dead in this shanty town.

 

The hills all over the city are part of Rio de Janeiro's beauty but the unstable soil that covers them can be a recipe for disaster when there is heavy rainfall.

 

Landslides happen almost every rainy season but the level of rainfall and the scale of destruction seen this time are unparalleled in living memory.

 

"I have been living here for 37 years and of course we know we are at risk in this area. But I have never seen anything like this," said Silvio de Oliveira, a private security agent.

 

Most of the people who died in Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding cities - including Niteroi, in the greater Rio area, the place with the highest number of fatalities - were those who lived in the shanty towns that cling precariously to the hillsides overlooking the city.

 

HIGH RISK

 

Both President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Rio's governor, Sergio Cabral, said that part of the blame for the death toll lies with people continuing to build in areas known to be high risk.

 

"I know it is not easy but we need to take these people out of these high risk areas, it doesn't matter what," the president said.

 

But, in Morro dos Prazeres, people do not seem to think that would be possible.

"Of course I would like to go and live somewhere else, but how?" responds Mr de Oliveira.

 

"Ask anybody and they'll all say the same - we just don't have money to buy a proper house."

 

He was among the many people watching the firefighters searching for the unaccounted, those possibly buried under the mud in his favela.

 

Many others, not content to remain on the sidelines, took whatever tools they had available - some even used their own hands - to try and find victims, this despite rescue teams complaining that the presence of so many people could actually make the situation more dangerous.

 

"Actually, the people from this community were the first to attend to this disaster and try and help the victims. The firefighters only arrived many hours later," said Luis Odison, a self-employed local resident. "The rescue works that started this morning should have been going on since last night," he added.

 

'AFRAID'

 

The federal government has sent helicopters and rescue teams to Rio from other states to help with the searches but even so it doesn't seem to be enough for the scale of the disaster. To make things worse, it is also very dangerous to try to rescue people from landslides.

 

The rain is now intermittent rather than intense but the soil remains extremely wet and therefore prone to fresh landslides. Mr Odison lives in a house a little further downhill from where the landslide happened in Morro dos Prazeres.

 

"I'm afraid the authorities will condemn my house and tell me to leave," he tells me. "I don't know what I would do if that happened." He says he cares little whether Rio de Janeiro has the capacity to host games of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

 

"What I want is politicians to stop worrying about World Cup or Olympics and think a bit more about the needs of the people who live here," he said.

Updates of the situation in relation to natural disasters on 11 April 2010

 

UPDATES OF NEWS IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON SUNDAY 11 APRIL 2010

 

HAITI:

 

Swedish SVT Text: TENT CITIES EMPTIED IN HAITI's CAPITAL

 

German ZDFtext: RAINY SEASON IN HAITI: RELOCATION OF EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS

In Haiti the first survivors of the earthquake disaster have been relocated, because they were threatened by flooding. As many as 50,000 people should be relocated due to the beginning of the rainy season.Saturday the first homeless were brought from Petionville to Corail-Cesselesse, an extremely dry region, situated 15 km north of Petionville. Volunteers had erected new homes and prepared for the arrival of the first inhabitants.

 

German ARD Text: EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS ARE RELOCATED

Haiti's government and foreign relief organizations have started the relocation of thousands of earthquake survivors. Many homeless are currently living on the golf course of Petionville which is threatened by mudslides and flooding at the beginning of the rainy season, said president René Préval. The people should be brought to places where there is no risk.

About 300,000 people were killed in the earthquake which occurred in the middle of January. About 1 million people were made homeless.

 

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS:

 

DANISH DR1: EARTHQUAKE SHAKES THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

A powerful earthquake measured at a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the Solomon Islands in the West Pacific according to the US Geological Surveys (USGS). The epicentre of the earthquake was in a depth of 60 km almost 102 km from Kira Kira on the Makira of the Solomon Islands. The tremors occurred at 20:40 local time Sunday. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre the earthquake - originally measured at magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale - may trigger local tsunamis which may cause destruction alongside coasts within 100 km of its epicentre.

 

Danish TV2 (at 12:20 CET): EARTHQUAKE SHAKES THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

A powerful earthquake measured at a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale hit the Solomon Islands in the West Pacific according to the US Geological Surveys (USGS). The epicentre of the earthquake was in a depth of 52 km almost 100 km from Kira Kira on the Makira of the Solomon Islands. The tremors occurred at 20:40 local time (10:40 Central European Time) on Sunday.

A magnitude 7.1-earthquake may cause substantial damage, but there are no reports of casualties or damage on the Solomon Islands.

Updates of news on 11.4.10 in relation to the Rio de Janeiro landslides

 

German ZDFtext: BAD WEATHER KILLED 223 IN THE REGION OF RIO CITY

About one week after the very bad weather in Rio de Janeiro the number of deaths in the region of the big city Rio de Janeiro has gone up. Until late Saturday evening local time as many as 223 dead bodies have been recovered according to the fire department. Worst hit was the city of Niteroi - located 13 km from Rio City - where 140 were killed. There a massive landslide swept away 50 houses. The authorities fear that more than 100 have died under the masses of mud.