Disaster Response

Indian villagers stand on the breached embankment of a swollen river. The widespread use of technology played a huge role in preventing a large loss of life when cyclone Phailin hit the country. Photograph: AP

Technology can greatly enhance the ability of disaster-affected communities to help themselves, says world disasters report

theguardian.com - by Mark Tran
October 17, 2013

Lack of access to information and technology has a major bearing on people's ability to prepare for, survive and recover from disasters, according to the 2013 world disasters report.

While new technologies greatly enhance the ability of disaster-affected communities to help themselves, the report, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva . . . says access to technology is deeply unequal. This digital divide is prominent in the most disaster-prone countries around the world.

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Lucky delivery: A south Sudan refugee mother takes a meal after successfully delivering her newborn at Nzjaipi health center III. A number of expecting mothers in limbo due to inadequate health facilities at refugee transit and sattlement sites in Adjumani.  Charles Akena/IRIN

irinnews.org

GULU-NAIROBI, 27 January 2014 (IRIN) - Disease burden is growing among people who fled their homes following the outbreak of conflict in South Sudan.

The mid-December eruption of fighting between army forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those supporting former vice-president Riek Machar has adversely impacted the already weak health system.

“Even before this crisis, South Sudan’s health system was extremely fragile - 80 percent of the health services were provided by international organizations," Raphael Gorgeu, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of mission for South Sudan, told IRIN in an email. “So for MSF, the current conflict exacerbates an already dire situation.”

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iwnsvg.com - December 26, 2013

Thomson Reuters Foundation - Inter Press Service - by Desmond Brown - December 30, 2013

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Dic 30 (IPS) - Ralph Gonsalves fought to hold back tears as he shared how his cousin was killed the night before Christmas.

Raymond Gonsalves was buried alive when a slow-moving, low-level trough dumped more than 400 mm of rain on this island in a less than 24 hours and triggered massive flooding and huge landslides.

"People have lost their lives; families are suffering. I was with a family which lost five in one household," Gonsalves, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, told IPS.

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But between residents who don't understand the dangers and political infighting, that may be difficult.

Pel Tecson, mayor since May of Tanauan town, Leyte island, the Philippines, looks out from his battered town hall balcony over Tanauan, smashed by a Typhoon Haiyan. The city council passed a resolution Monday making a non-build zone from the shoreline to 50 meters inland. The need for relocation of vulnerable communities is the big lesson to be learned from the experience, Tecson said.  (Photo: Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY)

usatoday.com - by Calum MacLeod - November 23, 2013

. . . Despite small signs that this area is recovering, life remains far from normal for countless Filipinos who have struggled through days of horror and hunger. More than 5,000 people died in the typhoon, and hundreds more are missing. The survivors are wondering when they'll have their lives back. . .

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