Latest news with #disastermanagement
Free Malaysia Today
15 hours ago
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
10 dead after violent floods, landslides in Pakistan
Policemen look on as workers remove a fallen railway tower after a storm in Pakistan today. (AFP pic) MUZAFFARABAD : At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured as strong winds and thunderstorms triggered flash floods and destroyed homes in central and northern parts of Pakistan, officials said today. Four women and a man died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and three in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the state disaster management authority said, while other officials said two died in Punjab. 'One person is still missing,' Haroon Rasheed, a senior government official in Pakistan administered Kashmir told AFP, adding that 12 houses and a mosque were destroyed in one village. Storms on Saturday killed at least 14 people and injured over 100 more across the country, which is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events blamed on climate change. Stormy weather is expected to continue in northern and central parts of the country until Saturday, according to the national disaster management authority. Soaring temperatures in April and May are becoming more common in Pakistan, which usually sees summer begin in early June. Temperatures reached near-record levels in April – as high as 46.5°C in parts of Punjab. Schools in Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces have closed early for summer vacations because of the heat.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
In London, DPM Zahid and UK environment minister discuss disaster management, climate change
LONDON, June 3 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi met with United Kingdom Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed yesterday, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the UK. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the meeting covered topics including disaster management, clean water, and the need for new technology to enhance the country's preparedness against global climate change. 'We know these issues directly impact human life, so comprehensive approaches must be taken to address how global warming and climate change affect people. 'While river pollution is a thing of the past here in the UK, it remains a problem in our country. Public awareness about this issue must be increased,' he told reporters after the dinner with Malaysian students sponsored by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in the UK. Also present were Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, 60 Mara-sponsored students, and 40 other guests. During the meeting, both leaders also discussed cooperation in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme and the global halal industry. 'I believe this meeting opens new avenues to elevate Malaysia-UK cooperation to a more strategic level, particularly in building an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future,' he said. Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid emphasised the importance of continuously fostering a sense of belonging among Mara-sponsored students abroad, encouraging them to return and contribute to the country. He added that although the average salary may be higher in the UK, students must remain mindful of their role in Malaysia's development, as it is essential for them to contribute to the country's progress. Ahmad Zahid is currently on a four-day working visit to the UK, concluding tomorrow. — Bernama
The Independent
a day ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Trump's new FEMA head stuns staff by telling them he didn't know US had a hurricane season, report says
The recently installed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency alarmed staff members on Monday when he reportedly said he was unaware that the U.S. has a hurricane season, which formally began on June 1. The reported comments are the latest sign of upheaval at the federal disaster-management agency, which the Trump administration says it wants to 'eliminate, ' handing many of its responsibilities to state governments. FEMA since May, came during a briefing with staff members, Reuters reports, citing four sources familiar with his comments. Richardson, a former Marine artillery officer and Homeland Security official, has no formal disaster-management experience. During the briefing, Richardson also allegedly said he was holding off on unveiling a new disaster plan so as not to contradict the administration's review of FEMA activities, despite previously saying in May one would be ready by later that month. The agency quickly downplayed the reporting, telling Reuters the comments were a joke and that FEMA was prepared for the coming hurricane season. "FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,' the agency said in a statement. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently warned this year's hurricane season, which runs through November, has a 60 percent chance of above-normal conditions. The agency has been in turmoil throughout the Trump administration. It has reportedly cut back on training for state and local emergency managers, and acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton was fired in May, after he testified in Congress he didn't think the administration should shutter the disaster response body. Hurricane preparations inside FEMA have reportedly slowed in the face of the roughly 2,000 people who have been fired or resigned under Trump. 'As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood,' according to an internal agency review prepared at the direction of Richardson that was obtained by CNN . 'Thus FEMA is not ready.' In January, Trump created a FEMA Review Council to determine the future of the agency. The administration has criticized FEMA from a number of angles, ranging from arguments that it's inefficient, to inaccurate claims the agency diverted emergency funding to house migrants. On the campaign trail, Trump also falsely claimed then Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden didn't visit the disaster zones in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, and that the federal government didn't help people in Republican-leaning areas.
Arab News
a day ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan's Punjab issues fresh rain alert after 21 killed by storms last month
ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Monday issued a fresh alert about rains and strong, dusty winds in the province from June 2 till June 5, days after thunderstorms killed nearly two dozen people in Pakistan's most populous province. Thunderstorms killed at least 21 people and injured more than 100 others in Punjab as moist currents penetrated upper parts of Pakistan late last month, according to national and provincial disaster management authorities. More rains and gusty winds are expected in Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiat, Attock, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Okara, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Khushab, Sargodha, Mianwali, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar districts. 'Citizens should stay in safe places to protect themselves from lightning. The public should never go out under the open sky during thunderstorms and storms,' the PDMA quoted its Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia as saying. Due to possible rains, it said, the intensity of heat will decrease during the three-day Eid Al-Adha festival, which begins on Saturday. Kathia said the PDMA has alerted the district administrations as well as health, irrigation, construction and communications, local government and livestock departments. Pakistan has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns which have led to frequent heat waves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones and droughts in recent years. Scientists have blamed the events on human-driven climate change. Thunderstorms last month also claimed more than 10 lives, while 30 others sustained injuries in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan's northwest, according to provincial authorities. In 2022, devastating floods, blamed on human-driven climate change, killed more than 1,700 Pakistanis, affected another 33 million and caused the country over $30 billion in economic losses.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
India's monsoon rains kill at least 30 in northeast
India's annual monsoon season brings widespread death and destruction every year. (AP pic) GUWAHATI : Flash floods and landslides after torrential monsoon rain over the last two days killed at least 30 people in India's northeast, officials said today. State disaster management officials said eight people died in Assam, and nine in Arunachal Pradesh, many of them in landslides as earth loosened by the water slumped into the valley below. Another five people died in a landslide in the neighbouring state of Mizoram, state authorities said. The officials said that six people lost their lives in Meghalaya and at least two others were killed in the states of Nagaland and Tripura. A red alert warning was issued for several districts in the region after the non-stop downpour over the last three days. Rivers swollen by the lashing rain – including the mighty Brahmaputra, which rises in the Himalayas and flows through India's northeast towards its delta in Bangladesh – broke their banks across the region. The Indian army said that it had saved hundreds 'in a massive rescue operation' across Manipur state. 'People have been shifted to safer places', the army said yesterday. 'Food, water and essential medicines were provided.' Conrad K Sangma, the chief minister of Meghalaya state, has ordered officials to remain on high alert 'especially in landslide-prone and low-lying areas', he said in a statement. Scores of people die each year during the rainy season due to flash floods and landslides across India, a country of 1.4 billion people. India's annual monsoon season from June to September offers respite from the intense summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies, but also brings widespread death and destruction. South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting monsoons. Last month, India's financial capital Mumbai was swamped by monsoon rain that began two weeks earlier than usual, the earliest for nearly a quarter of a century, according to weather forecasters.
