The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has extended additional financial support to UNDP in Pakistan for US$ 1.3 million bringing its total contribution to US$ 6.7 million for community infrastructure restoration and rehabilitation in the crisis affected areas of district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Saudi National Campaign for the Relief of the Somali People, in cooperation with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has concluded all operational procedures to commence implementation of the first set of programmes for the reconstruction and development of Somalia. This package worth US$24 million covers education, health and agricultural sectors in addition to rehabilitation of displaced persons and all aspects of social welfare. The programme will cover the entire regions of Somalia.

The Desert Locust situation remained serious during April in northern Sudan where hopper bands were present near crops along a 1,000 km strech of the Nile River. Swarms could form in May and threaten crops, and a second generation of breeding could take place before the summer or, if early rains fall, adults could move to the summer breeding areas in Sudan. There is also concern in Saudi Arabia where new generation adults could move from the northwest Penninsula, including Yemen, and breed in areas of recent heavy rains.

05/02/2013 15:33 GMT

RIYADH, May 02, 2013 (AFP) - Twenty people have died and four people remain missing in Saudi Arabia after heavy downpours triggered flash floods in the desert kingdom for nearly a week, the civil defence authorities said on Thursday.

People have drowned in several areas of Saudi Arabia, according to a statement by the civil defence quoted by SPA state news agency.

Rescue teams evacuated six villages in the southwestern Bisha province after a sand dam at the valley of Tabala partially collapsed, it said.

05/01/2013 16:40 GMT

RIYADH, May 01, 2013 (AFP) - Sixteen people have died and three more are missing in Saudi Arabia after downpours caused flash floods in several areas of the desert kingdom, the civil defence authorities said on Wednesday.

Two others died in flash floods in neighbouring Oman, local media reported, as cloudbursts swept across most Gulf countries.

The official Saudi SPA state news agency quoted a civil defence statement as saying people died in several areas including in the capital Riyadh, Baha in the south, Hail in the north and in the west.

AQABA, 29 April 2013 (IRIN) - Prevention may be better than a cure, but for the authorities in Arab cities and towns, natural disasters up to now have been largely about coping with them after they have taken place.

"We react to disasters without any planning; we just go for the response, and you know that without any planning you can't do the proper things," Abdulmalek Al-Jolahy, first deputy minister at Yemen's Ministry of Public Works and Highways, told IRIN.

(excerpt)

Djibouti

New Arrivals: In March 2013, an estimated 8,568 migrants arrived on Yemen’s shores via Djibouti, a 12% increase from February. Numbers of Ethiopians crossing the Red sea in March 2013 were 40% more than those who crossed in January. A total of 21,658 migrants crossed into Yemen via the Red Sea in the first quarter of 2013, 16% less than the first quarter of 2012. 90% of the first quarter totals crossing from Djibouti were Ethiopian. The rest were Somali.

La situation relative au Criquet pèlerin est restée préoccupante en mars dans les aires de reproduction hivernale le long des deux rives de la mer Rouge avec la poursuite des opérations de lutte contre des bandes larvaires et des essaims.