Latest news with #villagers
New York Times
2 days ago
- Climate
- New York Times
Landslides and Floods Kill 18 in South Korea
At least 18 people have died in South Korea as landslides and floods triggered by torrential rains buried homes and swept away people, cars and livestock, the government said on Monday. The death toll was expected to rise as rescuers removed debris and searched rain-swollen streams for nine people who were still missing, according to the country's disaster management office. Up to 31 inches of torrential rain have poured onto South Korea's southern and western provinces since last Wednesday. The hardest hit was Sancheong, a county near the central south coast, where 10 people were reported dead and four others were missing. Nearly 12 inches of rain fell there on Saturday alone, forcing the authorities to advise all 33,000 residents to look out for floods and landslides. Photos and video footage from the region showed large stretches of strawberry greenhouses destroyed by floods, with cars tossed upside down among the debris. Aging villagers sat dejectedly, gazing at boulders that had been swept in by the rain and were now occupying their front yards. Residents complained of power and water shortages, according to officials and local media. In Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, a family of four was camping near a stream when a landslide and flood hit their tent early Sunday. The son was rescued, but the father was found dead four miles downstream. Rescuers were still searching for the mother and an 11-year-old daughter, while using ropes and rappelling gear to move other stranded campers across streams roaring with dark-brown floodwater. The home ministry said 14,000 people had been evacuated, with their homes and farms lost or damaged. Fields growing rice, watermelon and other produce, equivalent to 40,000 soccer fields, had been damaged, the ministry of agriculture said. Nearly 1.5 million heads of livestock, including 1.4 million chickens, died, it said. President Lee Jae Myung promised to grant special disaster zone status to the worst-hit villages, which would allow the government to provide tax exemptions and other relief measures. By Monday, most of the evacuated villagers had returned to their homes, as the rain eased off and the sun came out. They faced the daunting task of rebuilding their houses. Soldiers were mobilized to help them haul rain-ravaged furniture. Workers used heavy equipment to clear roads and remove debris from under bridges. By Sunday afternoon, weather officials had downgraded their heavy rain alert. However, their forecasts indicated more rain for central and northern areas of the country on Monday. They also warned of a heat wave in the south, where officials sent vehicles weaving through villages, spraying chemicals to prevent outbreaks of disease in the aftermath of the floods.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Rescuers save families, farm animals and one pet hamster after Russian floods
MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - Rescuers ferried more than 100 people to safety this week, along with their farm animals and pets, after floodwaters caused by heavy rain engulfed villages in a sparsely-populated part of eastern Russia. Emergency crews piloted rubber dinghies down flooded streets in settlements in Russia's Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, a vast region larger than Argentina. Some villagers clambered out of windows and were taken on piggyback into waiting boats. Rescuers also took in cows, hens and at least one pet hamster, video released by the region's emergencies ministry showed. Yakutia, a swampy and forested region, has been hit by a string of floods and fires in recent years - extreme weather-related events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change. Authorities have put out 169 forest fires in this fire season alone, which runs roughly from the beginning of May until the end of September. This week, aerial footage showed villages submerged in brackish floods, with just roofs showing among the water. Around a third of those rescued were children, the ministry said. In all, 93 residential buildings were flooded in eight villages, it added.
Free Malaysia Today
15-07-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Activist brings ‘green' toilet, and hope, to Sabah water village
A communal toilet (left), which looks like a wooden shed, and a more modern one belonging to one of the villagers in Kampung Bukit Besi. PETALING JAYA : For many years, activist Lina Ramsah spent her school holidays at her father's village—Kampung Bukit Besi—nestled in the waters of Beluran, Sabah. Although she always enjoyed her time there, there was one reality that Lina was unable to ignore. Despite its charm, the village—located 160km from Kota Kinabalu and accessible only by boat—has long struggled without access to clean water. Its 220 villagers, mostly fishermen, rely on Sg Labuk for their bathing and other daily needs, but the river's waters are not fit for drinking. The lack of a proper sewage system means villagers must either flush their waste directly into the river or bury it in the ground. They would also have to take a one-hour boat ride to Beluran town to buy bottled drinking water. Now, Lina believes she has the solution to Kampung Bukit Besi's decades-old problem. She wants to introduce biogas toilets. Biogas is methane-rich gas produced through the decomposition of organic waste. It is a renewable and sustainable energy source. All that is needed is for the village's existing communal and individual toilets to be retrofitted with a 'biodigester' —a closed container which will capture and store human waste, and allow it to decompose safely. The resulting biogas can be harnessed for energy, while the remaining sludge can be converted into fertiliser. The process will significantly reduce the amount of waste being discharged into the river, Lina said. NGO Beluran Hope founder Lina Ramsah (right), with her cousin, Karim, a resident of Kampung Bukit Besi, in Sabah. 'When MYbiogas told me of their project, I kept thinking how suitable it would be for Kampung Bukit Besi,' she told FMT, referring to the non-profit organisation that equips communities with biodigesters. Biogas, she said, can be used as cooking gas, a game-changer in a village where gas tanks are expensive and difficult to transport from the nearest town. With most households still relying on wood-burning stoves, biogas offers a cleaner, more accessible alternative. 'It's also good enough to replace diesel that's used in generator sets. The village has been using generators since I was a child,' said Lina, the founder of local NGO Beluran Hope. Both organisations have now joined forces to launch the biogas toilet initiative in Kampung Bukit Besi, with the first system set to be installed in the home of the village chief. Explaining the two organisations's roles, Lina said MYbiogas was contributing the technical expertise needed to install the system, while Beluran Hope is spearheading on-the-ground coordination, including managing logistics and sourcing for building materials. The project is currently being crowdfunded, with the team so far raising half of their RM10,000 goal. Lina said that the NGOs will have to use a barge to transport the necessary building materials, 'which will be a little expensive'. Another challenge, she said, is roping in the needed manpower, pointing out that it is not easy for those on the mainland to travel to the village. Despite the challenges, Lina hopes the success of the pilot project will draw funding from corporate donors and individual benefactors. 'I hope the biogas toilet will give villagers an electricity supply that is free and relieve their financial burden of having to buy diesel. 'This is not the life we should want for our fellow Malaysian citizens. It's absolutely ridiculous that some people still have to live like this.' To help in this endeavour, please channel contributions to MYbiogas Enterprise, Maybank Account No. 5624 0570 3759.
Independent Singapore
15-07-2025
- Independent Singapore
Sarawak man survives crocodile attack by poking its eyes to escape
Photo: Freepik/kuritafsheen77 (for illustration purposes only) SINGAPORE: A 39-year-old man in Sarawak narrowly escaped death after being attacked by a crocodile while fishing with his family in a lake in Marudi. According to the Malay Mail, Dennis Karon was fishing with his brother and other villagers on Sunday morning (Jul 13), when the incident occurred. The group had crossed the lake by boat to fish and later stopped to have a meal on the shore. At around 10 a.m., they noticed bubbles on the water's surface and initially believed they were caused by schools of fish. Dennis' niece recounted that when Dennis cast a net toward the bubbles, it became entangled. He and his brother jumped into the lake to free it. Moments later, his brother resurfaced, but Dennis was missing. The group immediately became alarmed, boarded the boat again, and began slapping the hull to create noise. Soon, they saw Dennis struggling to rise to the surface in the middle of the lake and realised that he had been seized by a crocodile. See also Bidding on Jho Low's S$344 million yacht ends November 28 Dennis managed to fight off the crocodile by poking the crocodile's eyes and escaped with his life but sustained severe injuries, including a broken right arm and multiple wounds to his head and body. At 4:38 p.m., the Sarawak Civil Defence Force received an emergency call and immediately dispatched a rescue team to the village. They located Dennis at the ferry terminal and rushed him to the hospital for treatment. Dennis' niece added that this was not the first time villagers had encountered such danger. She said there have been three reported cases of crocodile attacks in the area, and in each case, the victims survived by targeting the crocodile's eyes. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
Al Jazeera
11-07-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
‘We belong to this land': Syrians navigate landmines to battle wildfires
Qastal Maaf, Latakia, Syria – Abu Jameel Muhammed's weathered hands, blackened by soot and ash, trembled as he patted the scorched earth around what remained of his beloved olive tree. At 80, the Syrian elder had survived a brutal civil war, economic collapse, and international sanctions – but the sight of his charred courtyard companion reduced him to tears. 'Villagers rescued me as flames approached my home … I survived, but my only daughter on this land was consumed by fire. It was the last thing left for me here,' Abu Jameel said haltingly, his voice breaking as he referred to the cherished tree that had graced his small home in the Qastal Maaf area of Syria's coastal Latakia province for decades. The elderly man lives alone in what has become the epicentre of wildfires that have ravaged Latakia for more than a week, surviving on money sent by daughters who married and moved abroad – a common story in a country where economic devastation has forced millions to seek opportunities elsewhere. 'My home was the smallest but sweetest in the village… I surrounded it with rose bushes and had one precious olive tree in the courtyard. Now all is gone,' he told Al Jazeera, after the blaze consumed much of his village and forced thousands into displacement. The scene around Abu Jameel's destroyed home reflects a broader catastrophe unfolding across Syria's Mediterranean coast. Wildfires have consumed more than 14,000 hectares (34,600 acres) of land over the past week, according to Syria's Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed al-Saleh, who spoke to Al Jazeera by phone from the front lines. A landscape transformed by fire The steep, narrow roads leading to villages in Latakia's highlands are covered in layers of black mud and ash, making access treacherous for emergency vehicles fighting the wildfires, which have continued despite the best efforts of the Syrian Civil Defense. The air is thick with acrid smoke that burns the throat and stings the eyes, while the once-green mountainsides have been transformed into a moonscape of charred earth and skeletal tree remains. Civil Defense volunteer Muhammed Baradei, 32, emerged from a cordoned-off area in Qastal Maaf during a rare break from battling the flames. His uniform was stained black by ash and humidity, and beads of sweat mixed with the soot covering his forehead and forearms. 'I cancelled my leave when fires started near Latakia. I came from Idlib province to help,' Baradei said, describing a roughly 100km (62-mile) journey that would have been unthinkable during Syria's civil war, as it meant crossing the line between the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition. 'We faced unexploded ordnance from past conflicts, steep terrain and shifting winds. Crews from multiple provinces contained many hot spots, but new fires kept igniting.' The inferno, which broke out on July 2, has been fuelled by high temperatures reaching about 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and strong, dry winds characteristic of Mediterranean summers. But this year's fires carry particular significance for Syria, marking the first major natural disaster response since the fall of longtime dictator al-Assad, and the regime his father established more than 50 years ago, in December. Landmines ignite fires Beyond the immediate challenges posed by steep terrain and unpredictable winds, firefighting teams face a uniquely Syrian hazard: the deadly legacy of more than a decade of conflict. 'One of our greatest challenges was encountering unexploded ordnance and remnants of war,' said Wesam Zeidan, 29, a Civil Defense volunteer who drove from Hama province, far to the southeast of Latakia, to join the firefighting efforts. 'These posed grave risks, forcing us to work with extreme caution and delaying access to affected zones.' According to the United Nations, Syria remains one of the world's most contaminated countries in terms of explosive remnants of war, with an estimated 11.5 million people living in areas affected by explosive hazards. The UN also estimates that there are 300,000 landmines still spread across Syria, ready to be ignited by people unknowingly setting them off. Just between December and June, 369 people were killed as a result of what the UN terms 'explosive ordnance-related accidents', including landmines and other explosive devices left behind by the war. These explosives can also be set off by fires raging in their vicinity. The hidden dangers, scattered across the landscape during years of fighting, now complicate every aspect of the firefighting response. Minister al-Saleh, who joined teams on the front lines, described the scale of damage to Syria's forests as 'heart-wrenching'. According to a statement from the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, at least 12 people have been injured in the firefighting efforts: 10 volunteers suffered severe exhaustion, respiratory distress, fractures or contusions, while two civilians sustained minor burns. 'During my field visits, I saw tremendous efforts to save Syria's forests. Yet challenges grow with intense winds and buried landmines,' al-Saleh stated, highlighting the intersection of natural disaster and conflict legacy that defines much of Syria's contemporary challenges. Years of mounting fire risk Syria has grappled with increasingly severe annual wildfires that have stretched the country's sanctions-hit resources thin even as they were already strained by more than a decade of conflict. The 2020 fires were the worst ever recorded in Syria's history, consuming tens of thousands of hectares across multiple provinces. This past experience, Baradei noted, drove villagers to evacuate promptly as flames approached their homes. 'This significantly lowered the possibility of casualties,' he said. However, the dispersed nature of small, sometimes unofficial settlements scattered throughout the highlands has hampered firefighting efforts, he explained. Zeidan said dense forests and a lack of firebreaks have worsened the spread. The absence of firebreaks – vegetation-free zones intentionally created within forests to block wildfire spread and provide safety areas for ground crews – has been attributed to years of governmental neglect. 'No sooner do we extinguish one fire than another ignites. Due to the dry season, unprecedented heatwaves and intense wind speeds, new hot spots keep erupting,' Zeidan said, his exhaustion evident after days of round-the-clock firefighting. Wind speeds increased dramatically on the second day of the fires, prompting multiple Syria Civil Defense centres and firefighting units from several provinces to mobilise. While they initially controlled numerous hot spots, flames had spread to new areas by the following morning, creating a cycle of containment and reignition that has defined the past week. 'Now the situation is different' The change in Syria's political landscape has fundamentally altered the firefighting response, according to volunteers and officials. During the 2011-2024 civil war, residents from opposition-controlled areas couldn't enter government-held provinces due to security concerns and military checkpoints. 'Before the Assad regime was toppled, we couldn't visit these forests. We didn't care that much when we saw similar news of fires in past summers,' Baradei explained. 'But now the situation is different. We are here and we have to do something.' This newfound unity has mobilised firefighting teams from across Syria's Civil Defense and Forestry Department. Syrian, Turkish, Jordanian and Lebanese aircraft hover above the blazes, providing aerial support for containment operations – a level of cooperation that would have been impossible under the previous government's international isolation. Despite the threats posed by buried landmines and unexploded ordnance scattered across the landscape from years of conflict, Baradei said morale among Civil Defense teams remains high. 'We are acutely aware of how dangerous these wildfires are for Syria,' he said. 'These forests are part of our shared heritage. This is precisely what drives us … because we all belong to this land.' This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.
