Key Messages

- The cholera outbreak is still spreading, though at a somewhat slower pace since the beginning of the dry season (from January to April). However, there could be a surge in the number affected with the onset of the rainy season (from April to June). The impact on the agricultural sector could me substantial with the fear of contracting cholera discouraging farm laborers and farmers alike from working in irrigated crop-growing areas, particularly in the Artibonite. This is affecting output and the incomes of households dependent on farming activities in this part

On March 1, when interviewed by the media, Zheng Guoguang, Administrator of China Meteorological Administrator (CMA), said that in this year's annual meetings of National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) he would put forward to make meteorological disaster prevention law. In the 12th Five-Year period meteorological disaster prevention and mitigation would still be the key task of Chinese meteorological departments and the investment would rise to 8 to 9 billion yuan.

Zheng Guoguang said that the Meteorological

DISASTER RESPONSE

USAID/OFDA Responds to the New Zealand Earthquake

On the afternoon of February 22, people in Christchurch, New Zealand, were going about their normal lunchtime routine when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake rattled the city, trapping people under collapsed buildings, causing extensive damage to the city center, and killing hundreds of individuals.

San Vicente, 28 de febrero de 2011

El Director General de Protección civil, Lic. Jorge Meléndez, participó recientemente en el lanzamiento de el "Programa para la preparación de comunidades ante desastres y epidemias" y el "Programa para reducir la vulnerabilidad y promover el manejo sostenible de riesgos" hecho por La Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID), con el apoyo de Save The Children y Lutheran World Relief, en los municipios de los Departamentos de La Paz y San Vicente

New Zealand will help the Tonga Red Cross replenish their stocks of emergency supplies following Cyclone Wilma in January.

New Zealand's assistance will support the New Zealand Red Cross to work with their counterparts in Tonga to restock supplies used during the response to Cyclone Wilma.

"Cyclone Wilma cased damage to around 86 homes in the in the Ha'apai group and the Tongan Government has identified food security and the repair of schools and residential houses as priority areas," New Zealand's High Commissioner to Tonga, Dr Jonathan Austin said.

Natural disasters in China left 104,000 people dead or missing from 2005 to 2010, the greatest number of such fatalities in a five-year period since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, a vice minister of civil affairs has said.

Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Luo Pingfei told a national meeting on disasters reduction and relief that opened in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, Thursday that disasters in the past five years caused an aggregate economic loss of 2.5 trillion yuan (about 378.8 billion U.S. dollars).

China was rocked by a series of devastating

Source: Alertnet // Robert ShawPORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (AlertNet) - A month before a massive earthquake derailed pretty much everything in Haiti, the government set up a climate change division within its environment ministry, building on a "National Adaptation Plan of Action" (NAPA) the government announced in 2006.

But in the aftermath of the devastation, climate change has been all but forgotten in Haiti as the country struggles to deal with pressing rebuilding priorities.

BILAN PROVISOIRE

DECEDES : 22

DISPARUS : 13

BLESSES : 73

SINISTRES : 115 142 dont SANS ABRIS : 25 845

CASES D'HABITATION TOUCHEES: 25 464 (dont DETRUITES : 9 732 ET INONDEES/ENDOMMAGEES : 15 732)

INFRASTRUCTURES DE BASE TOUCHEES : 665 dont les plus touchées sont ECOLES : 293, CENTRES DE SANTE :

60,

ROUTES : 86, PONTS : 23, BATIMENTS ET LOGEMENTS ADMINISTRATIFS : 75

RIZIERES INONDEES : 40 523 ha

CHAMPS DE CULTURE ENDOMMAGES : 26 333 ha

Tim Harcourt

Chief Economist

Australian Trade Commission

Sydney

Email: tim.harcourt@austrade.gov.au

Subscribe to Tim's RSS newsfeed

23 February 2011

With harsh floods in Queensland and Victoria, followed by cyclones in far north Queensland and across northern Australia along with the bush fires in Western Australia, we were reminded this summer what a harsh climate we live in on this vast continent. Of course, we saw the best of Australia too, with community spirit and generosity in abundance ensuring that those hit worst by the tragedy got immediate support. The