197 updates found
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31 Dec 2005

Afghanistan + 27 others
OCHA - Geneva Natural Disasters Highlights No. 3

Report
— UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
"This year has been a year like no other for humanitarian action, bracketed by devastating disasters, - the Indian Ocean Tsunami in the final days of 2004 and the South Asia earthquake of October 2005, on top of the worst hurricane season in living memory - and stretching all humanitarian agencies to their maximum capacity and beyond." (Introduction of Humanitarian Appeals 2006- 30 November 2005)
South Asia Earthquake, 8 October 2005

On Saturday 8 October 2005, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in Northern Pakistan, its epicenter situated just 95

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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21 Dec 2005

Bahamas + 15 others
Pan American Disaster Response Unit Appeal No. 05AA040 Programme Update No. 2

Report
— IFRC
Download PDF (142.61 KB)
The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 181 countries. For more information: www.ifrc.org
In Brief

Period covered: 1 June to 30 November 2005;

Appeal coverage: 66%;

Outstanding needs: CHF 689,002 (USD 532,716 or EUR 444,127).

Appeal target: CHF 2,061,935 (USD 1,594,203 or EUR 1,329,113)

Related Emergency or Annual Appeals:

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15 Dec 2005

United States of America + 10 others
Hurricane season 2005: 'Annus horribilis'

Report
— IFRC
by Manuel Rodríguez and Eva M. Calvo

With 26 tropical storms and 14 hurricanes, the 2005 hurricane season has been rated one of the most active and destructive in history.

Forecasts made at the beginning of the year by experts at the United States National Hurricane Center (NOAA) predicted the formation of at least 12 cyclone systems, five of these reaching categories 3 to 5 in Saffir-Simpson scale. By mid-2005, the forecasts were upwardly revised, predicting the formation of up to 21 hurricanes.

The day before the hurricane season's

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14 Dec 2005

Jamaica + 1 other
Haïti : Près d'une centaine de boat people haïtiens rapatriés de la Jamaïque et de Porto Rico mardi

Report
— Radio Kiskeya
l'accueil des réfugiés haïtiens coûte plus de 10 millions de dollars jamaïcains au trésor public, souligne le gouvernement de Percival Patterson
Par Radio Kiskeya

86 boat people haïtiens arrivés illégalement sur les côtes jamaïcaines ont été rapatriés mardi, selon la presse jamaïcaine. De ces voyageurs clandestins un groupe de 35 était arrivé à Hectors River dans la ville de Portland, le 30 novembre dernier.

"Ils n'étaient pas qualifiés pour bénéficier des privilèges du droit d'asile en vertu de la loi sur l'immigration.

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01 Dec 2005

Cuba + 8 others
End of 2005 hurricane season does not mean end of relief efforts

Report
— UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(New York: 1 December 2005): More than 30,000 people remain displaced in temporary shelters in Honduras, in the wake of tropical storm Gamma, the 24th named storm of the official 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, and the last to cause significant damage in the Americas.
Thirty-four deaths have been attributed to Gamma, which brought heavy rain to the Caribbean coast of Honduras from 18 to 20 November. Overall, some 90,000 people have been affected by the storm, which caused significant damage in six departments of Honduras already suffering the effects of hurricanes Wilma and Beta.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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15 Nov 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: Road maintenance fund approves $120 million for patching

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The Road Maintenance Fund last week approved $120 million for the patching and rehabilitation of some 100,000 square meters of roads, which were damaged due to the heavy rains associated with Hurricanes Wilma and Beta.

Since Hurricane Ivan last September, the Fund has given approval to road rehabilitation projects covering approximately 542,260 square meters of the road network island wide.

"After Hurricane Ivan, we had approved 50,000 square meters of road repair work, then we approved another 26,000 to 30,000 square meters worth of hot patching," Clement Watson, Executive

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14 Nov 2005

Afghanistan + 24 others
General Assembly calls for further strengthening United Nations humanitarian capacity to assist millions of disaster victims worldwide

Report
— UN General Assembly
Download PDF (156.39 KB)
GA/10420
Sixtieth General Assembly
Plenary
51st & 52nd Meetings (AM & PM)

Deeply alarmed over the critical condition of millions desperately awaiting immediate response in Pakistan's high altitude valleys following the 7.6 earthquake that rocked South Asia early on 8 October, the General Assembly requested United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to further strengthen the rapid response capacities for immediate humanitarian relief efforts in the devastated region, building on existing arrangements and ongoing initiatives, in one of four resolutions adopted today.

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04 Nov 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: $187 million in agricultural losses from Wilma

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), in its latest report, has said that the agricultural sector suffered more than $187 million in damage as a result of the heavy rains associated with Hurricane Wilma.

Farmers in 11 parishes suffered losses due to the flood rains associated with the system. The parishes are: St. Catherine, St. Andrew, Portland, St. Ann,

St. Mary, St. Thomas, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Hanover and Westmoreland.

According to RADA's Executive Director, Albert Shand crops such as vegetables, condiments, fruits, and ground provision

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03 Nov 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: Cedar Valley farmers receive fertilizer

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The Moy Hall Coffee Factory in Cedar Valley, St. Thomas has started distributing fertilizer to coffee farmers whose crops were damaged and who lost land due to land slippages caused by heavy rains associated with Hurricane Wilma.
Manager of the Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative, O'Neil Blake, told JIS News that the product was being distributed by the factory's extension services division under its fertilizer revolving credit scheme. "We are presently actively distributing fertiliser to our farmers to ensure that they can carry out their agronomic practices
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03 Nov 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: Road repairs to exceed billion-dollar mark

Report
— Government of Jamaica
Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill has said that the cost to repair damage to the island's road network as a result of the passage of Hurricane Wilma, would likely exceed the billion-dollar mark.
A total 149 roads were damaged due to heavy rains and landslides associated with Hurricane Wilma, with some 22 main roads affected in Clarendon; 12 in Manchester, 22 in Kingston and St. Andrew; and 30 in St. Catherine.

Mr. Pickersgill, who was addressing journalists at Monday's (Oct. 31) post Cabinet press briefing, said that the Ministry

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02 Nov 2005

United States of America + 4 others
Food For The Poor rushes hurricane aid to Florida, the Caribbean & Central America

Report
— Food for the Poor
Food For The Poor, the largest relief organization normally operating in the Caribbean and Central America, is providing assistance to the victims of Hurricanes Wilma, Alpha and Beta. Wind damage and flooding from these hurricanes have left multitudes of poor homeless and hungry in Florida, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Honduras.
For its international efforts, the charity is shipping over 2 million pounds of canned food, water, roofing materials and other emergency supplies. Containers of food, medicine and medical
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31 Oct 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: NWA to spend $94.5 million on phase 2 of disaster mitigation programme

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The National Works Agency (NWA) will spend $94.5 million on Phase 2 of its Disaster Mitigation Programme, as it intensifies work to alleviate the effects of heavy and persistent rains associated with the active 2005 hurricane season and beyond.

Speaking with JIS News, Petra-kene Williams, Acting Communications and Customer Services Manager at the NWA, outlined the extent of work to be undertaken by the Agency under this phase of the programme.

Drains and gullies in all 14 parishes have been earmarked for rehabilitative work. In St. Catherine, drains in

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22 Oct 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: Hurricane Wilma - News release #26

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is reporting that the water levels are rising in the community of New River in St. Elizabeth. According to the St. Elizabeth Parish Disaster Coordinator, eight houses have been flooded and four families have evacuated to friends and relatives. The St. Elizabeth Parish Disaster Committee will however continue to monitor the situation.

The Wanstead Main Road leading into New River is now inundated and is inaccessible. The Brighton Road, which is used as an alternative route into the community, is in very poor condition

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21 Oct 2005

Honduras + 3 others
The Caribbean: Hurricane Wilma OCHA Situation Report No. 3

Report
— UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2005/0181
Hurricane Wilma - The Caribbean
21 October 2005

This message is not an official hurricane warning or alert for any country

1. The National Weather Center in Miami reports that at 1500GMT today, the center of dangerous category IV Hurricane Wilma was located near latitude 20.2 North, longitude 86.5 West or about 35 miles (55 km) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico.

2. A Hurricane Warning is in effect from San Felipe to Chetumal on Yucatan Peninsula, including Cozumel and nearby islands. Tropical Storm Warning and Hurricane Warning remain in effect

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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21 Oct 2005

Mexico + 1 other
Wilma slams Mexico's Caribbean coast

Report
— Agence France-Presse
by Sofia Miselem

CANCUN, Mexico, Oct 21 (AFP) - Hurricane Wilma hammered deserted resorts along Mexico's Yucatan peninsula with howling winds and torrential rain Friday, toppling trees and power lines as the center of the storm roared ashore, the Mexican weather service said.

"The hurricane's eye is over Cozumel, and the leading edge of the eyewall of the hurricane has struck the coast of Quintana Roo" state on the Caribbean coastal mainland, the national weather service said.

Hurricane Wilma continued to batter Mexico's

Agence France-Presse:

©AFP: The information provided in this product is for personal use only. None of it may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express permission of Agence France-Presse.

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21 Oct 2005

Mexico + 9 others
La Cruz Roja, en alerta ante el huracán Wilma

Report
— Cruz Roja Española
Ginebra, 21 de octubre de 2005 - Mientras todavía se sufren las consecuencias de los diversos huracanes que han arrasado la región estos últimos meses, las Sociedades Nacionales de las Cruz Roja están respondiendo al huracán Wilma, la 21ª tormenta con nombre propio de la actual temporada de huracanes en el Atlántico norte, que según los expertos podría ser el huracán más violento jamás registrado.
Wilma es un huracán de categoría cuatro con vientos de hasta 270 kilómetros por hora. Los meteorólogos alertan que puede haber inundaciones repentinas y deslizamientos de tierra.
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21 Oct 2005

Belize + 5 others
Caribbean, Central America and Mexico: Hurricane Wilma Information Bulletin No. 3

Report
— IFRC
The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 181 countries.

In Brief

This Bulletin (no. 03/2 005) is being issued based on the needs described below. A DREF allocation of CHF 220,000 has been released. Based on further updates on the effects of Hurricane Wilma and details from preliminary assessment reports, the Federation will consider international support through an Appeal. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are needed.

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21 Oct 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: Hurricane Wilma - News release #25

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) wishes to advise that the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has ceased twenty-four hour operations. However, the NEOC will continue to operate during the day to continue the coordination of the response and assessment efforts.

During the period October 16-21, the NEOC received 332 emergency messages. Of this total, 33 evacuation requests were actioned while the office responded to 4 medical evacuation requests.

Five shelters remain open which are housing

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21 Oct 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: ODPEM continues relief efforts

Report
— Government of Jamaica
KINGSTON(JIS) Friday, October 21, 2005 - As Jamaica recuperates from the heavy rains associated with Hurricane Wilma, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is continuing to carry out its relief efforts islandwide.

Speaking at an emergency meeting of the Disaster Preparedness Committee last week, Director General of the ODPEM, Dr. Barbara Carby said foam pads, blankets, and utensils have been sent to the 11 shelters, which were in operation at the time.

Meanwhile officers of the Ministry of

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20 Oct 2005

Jamaica
Jamaica: Hurricane Wilma - News release #22

Report
— Government of Jamaica
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is advising that Relief assistance will continue today with the distribution of food and emergency supplies to isolated and affected areas. Food will be airlifted to the communities of:
  • Westphalia
  • David Hill/Hall's Delight
  • Tower Hill
  • Content Gap
  • Landewey/Orange/Gordon Castle
New Reports of flooding are still coming into the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), from the Scott's Pass Community in Manchester, where some residents were trapped earlier this morning.

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