disaster Archives - Page 2 of 3

‘Disaster emergency’ underway in Asia-Pacific, warns ESCAP

·July 25, 2023·1 min read

According to a new report from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in 2022 alone, over 140 disasters struck the region, leading to over 7,500 deaths. They impacted 64 million people, and caused economic damage estimated at $57 billion. Under a 2°C warming scenario,...

‘Crushing’ debt crisis spells development disaster for billions: UN chief

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·July 13, 2023·1 min read

According to a new report by the UN Global Crisis Response Group, entitled A World of Debt, a total of 52 countries – almost 40 per cent of the developing world – are in “serious debt trouble”, Mr. Guterres said, backing calls for them to receive urgent fiscal relief. Last year global...

Kakhovka dam disaster a health crisis in the making: WHO

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·June 13, 2023·2 min read

WHO’s representative in Ukraine Dr. Jarno Habicht told reporters that after the collapse of the dam caused severe flooding and massive displacement, the agency’s primary concern was the potential outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, as well as rodent-borne diseases. The agency’s teams were monitoring the situation...

‘We stand by you’ declares UN relief chief, outlining emergency plan for Ukraine dam disaster

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·June 10, 2023·3 min read

“We need to focus on an emergency response right now”, he said, highlighting a three-step plan to provide humanitarian assistance to all Ukrainians impacted, who have faced more than one year of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. “We need to save people and get them to places...

Ukraine flood disaster: needs grow as long-term impacts loom

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·June 9, 2023·4 min read

Speaking to journalists from Bilozerka, a town on the Dnipro River about 20 kilometres west of Kherson and five kilometres from the frontline, Ms. Brown, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, said that on Friday, the UN brought in a five-truck convoy to the affected areas, with desperately needed drinking water,...

Dam disaster: UN ‘committed to reaching all Ukrainians in need’, says top aid official

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·June 8, 2023·3 min read

Denise Brown, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, offered reassurance to Dmytro Kuleba that UN agencies and other humanitarian partners have been delivering water, food and cash to those displaced or suffering the impact of the dam breach, and collapse of the crucial hydroelectric plant in the southeast region near the city of Kherson....

Ukraine dam disaster: Lack of clean water, spread of disease, major risks

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·June 7, 2023·3 min read

Homes have been flooded, forcing many to leave, and access to water, specifically clean water, is emerging as a major challenge. In an interview with UN News, International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Olivia Headon, speaking from Kyiv, said the agency along with other humanitarian partners, had been rushing clean...

India train disaster: UN chief deeply saddened by loss of life

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·June 4, 2023·1 min read

Latest news reports said the death toll is at least 275. More than 1,000 people were hospitalised but close to 800 of those involved in the crash have reportedly been discharged. According to reports, railway officials and India’s minister in charge of the vast network, said on Sunday that a...

Avoiding disaster in a dangerous world

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·May 13, 2023·6 min read

For Malawians, Cyclone Freddy was an unmitigated disaster. In March this year, the storm ripped through the African country twice during its record-breaking month-long destructive rampage through southern Africa. The unprecedented duration of the extreme weather event would have been difficult for any country to deal with, but for Malawi,...

UN agencies brace for disaster as Cyclone Mocha intensifies in Bay of Bengal

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·May 13, 2023·3 min read

The very severe cyclonic storm is quickly strengthening in the Bay of Bengal, threatening the region with violent winds, flooding, and landslides that could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people, said Clare Nullis, of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The agency’s regional specialized meteorological centre...

Haiti: Amid rising hunger levels, ‘world cannot wait for disaster before it acts’, WFP warns

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·March 27, 2023·2 min read

“Haiti can’t wait,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director for the country. “We cannot wait for the scale of the problem to be expressed in deaths before the world responds, but that is where we are heading.” Half the population – 4.9 million people – are now...

1.5 million now homeless in Türkiye after quake disaster, warn UN development experts

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·February 21, 2023·3 min read

“This makes this clearly the largest earthquake disaster in Türkiye’s history and perhaps the largest natural disaster the country has ever faced,” said Louisa Vinton, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Türkiye Resident Representative. Two further earthquakes measuring 6.4 and 5.8 on the Richter Scale killed six more on the Türkiye-Syria border...