Several areas south of Sudan capital at risk of famine, says World Food Programme
GENEVA (Reuters) -Several areas south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, are at risk of famine, the World Food Programme said on Tuesday, with need on the ground outstripping resources amidst a funding shortfall.
"The level of hunger and destitution and desperation that was found (is) severe and confirmed the risk of famine in those areas," Laurent Bukera, WFP Country Director in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Port Sudan.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chile holds seismic drills as chance of a big quake rises
COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) -As the northern Chilean city of Copiapo was preparing last week to hold earthquake drills, it was hit by a real-life one: a 6.4-magnitude quake that cut power to thousands and caused structural damage to buildings. The drills - temporarily suspended - and last week's tremor in the Andean nation that sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, underscores rising concern a big quake could hit soon after the last severe one fifteen years ago. "The probability of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake or larger is around 64% this year, and those odds go up as time goes on," said Sergio Barrientos, director of Chile's National Seismology Center. Chile, a long sliver of a country along the Pacific Ocean, sits at the convergence of three tectonic plates and is the site of the strongest earthquake recorded - a magnitude 9.5 in 1960. The Pacific Ring of Fire has regular volcanic activity and earthquakes, with Chileans wearily used to smaller quakes. "A piece of the roof fell off. In another room the door frames burst, windows broke," Alessandro Girardelli, a citizen of Copiapo, told Reuters about last week's quake - a mild one by Chile's standards. "The walls in three of our four rooms cracked." The planned drills involve students, workers, disaster agencies and the armed forces. They have been organized by Chile's Senapred disaster agency to prepare communities for large-scale natural disasters around the country, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and forest fires. "This is mainly to test our plans and actively participate with communities and evaluate the behavior in different areas of the country," said Roberto Munoz, Senapred's director for the Atacama region, adding that the suspended Copiapo drill was being rescheduled for September. The frequency of powerful quakes has led the country to develop strong and internationally renowned building standards that have helped decrease death tolls during major earthquakes. Most of the 525 deaths from the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in 2010 were due to an ensuing tsunami. Carlos Zuniga, director of the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of Chile's navy, said the goal after an earthquake is to evaluate the threat levels to the country and give Senapred an evaluation of a tsunami alert within five minutes. Barrientos from the seismology center said that each quake was a chance to improve the country's emergency response. "With every earthquake we learn and we prepare in the best way possible," he said. "But nature can always surprise us with something, so I never think we're ever completely prepared."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Severe cold front bringing snow in South Africa causes fatal accident, power outages
By Siyanda Mthethwa JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -A severe cold front sweeping across South Africa since the weekend brought heavy snowfall which has led to road closures, power outages and a fatal road accident, officials said. Five people were killed in a road accident along the N2 highway due to the adverse weather, Eastern Cape transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday. The South African Weather Service warned citizens late last week there would be a big drop in temperatures this week across the country, accompanied by disruptive rain, damaging winds, and snow over eastern areas. South Africa regularly receives snowfall during its winter months from June through August, with temperatures diving below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Snow has been reported since Monday across provinces including Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State, prompting closures along sections of the N2 highway that connects the provinces, according to the KwaZulu-Natal transport department. Power utility Eskom said in a post on X that it was "experiencing a high number of customer calls nationally, due to widespread power outages caused by inclement weather." More resources were being secured to ensure prompt resolution to the power outages, Eskom said. The weather service forecast that the cold front would persist through midweek.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Several areas south of Sudan capital at risk of famine, says World Food Programme
GENEVA (Reuters) -Several areas south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, are at risk of famine, the World Food Programme said on Tuesday, with need on the ground outstripping resources amidst a funding shortfall. "The level of hunger and destitution and desperation that was found (is) severe and confirmed the risk of famine in those areas," Laurent Bukera, WFP Country Director in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Port Sudan.
