Polisie op soek na vragmotor en sleepwa met uiters giftige stof aan boord.

Die polisie is op soek na 'n vragmotor en 'n sleepwa met 'n uiters giftige stof aan boord, wat by Viljoenskroon in die Vrystaat gekaap is. Die vragmotor het meer as vyf-duisend liter van die chemiese stof, metolachlor, aan boord wat uiters gevaarlik vir mense is. Die polisie sê die blou sleepwa het die vlootnommer 615 daarop en het mense wat dit sien gevra om onmiddellik met die naaste polisekantoor in verbinding te tree. Die stof word as 'n onder meer as 'n onkruiddoder gebruik.

- RSG Nuus

Western Cape: Prepared for disaster

Gerry the Giraffe, the Fire and Flood Awareness Campaign's mascot and other members entertained learners and educators at Ruigtevlei Primary School. They visited the school on Tuesday, October 23.

KNYSNA NEWS - Learners at Ruigtevlei Primary School as well as Thembelitsha Primary School were taught about the dangers of fires, floods and other hazards by members of the Fire and Flood Awareness Campaign on Tuesday, October 23
.
The Department of Local Government, through its Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) in the Western Cape presented the awareness campaign across five district municipalities.

This initiative aims to mitigate the prevalence of fire and flood related incidents or disasters that cause injury, loss of life, damage to property and displacement of people. A 30-minute industrial theatre piece is presented to educate communities and primary school learners on the dangers fire and floods, preventative measures, actions to be taken in case of these emergencies, as well as the emergency numbers 10177 and 112.

The purpose of this campaign is to create awareness ahead of the fire season.

The Fire and Flood Campaign was established in 2006 and has been in operation for 6 consecutive years. The target of this year's campaign, was to reach as many vulnerable and rural communities, which had not been covered during the campaign's previous road shows and theatre performances. Gerry the Giraffe, the campaign's official mascot, entertained educators and children alike.

With his long neck, Gerry can spot a disaster from miles away, emphasising the importance of preparedness.

- Knysna/Plett Herald

Swaar reënval waarskuwing vir Suid Kaap

Die Touwrivier in Wildernis en Groot Brakrivier se mondings word tans oopgestoot om die vloei van die water na die see beter te kan beheer.

SUID-KAAP NUUS - Die hoof van Eden-rampbestuur, mnr. Gerhard Otto het 'n ernstige waarskuwing uitgereik vir swaar reën en die moontlikheid van vloede met tot meer as 100mm reënval wat vir môre (Saterdag, 20 Oktober) verwag word.

Die Touwrivier in Wildernis en Groot Brakrivier se mondings word tans oopgestoot om die vloei van die water na die see beter te kan beheer. Plek-plek in die Suid-Kaap is reeds meer as 70mm reën geval sedert Maandag gemeet en volgens Otto is die grond reeds baie versadig na die laaste paar dae se reën.

Huise op die oewer van die Groot Brakrivier word reeds ontruim en die kans dat laagliggende vakansiehuise langs die Touwrivier ook later vandag ontruim kan word, word nie uitgesluit nie. Rampbestuur en ander nooddienste is reeds op bystand geplaas.

Volgens Otto treë hulle pro-aktief op.

Mnr. Barend Nelson, waarnemende direkteur van die George-munisipaliteit se gemeenskapsveiligheid het kort na 12:00 vanmiddag bevestig dat hulle besig is om die munisipaliteit se nood en rampbestuursplan in werking te stel.

Volgens Nelson monitor hulle reeds sedert vanoggend 03:00 die Touwrivier. Gemeenskapsale word ook reeds ingerig om mense te huisves indien nodig.

Die George-munisipaliteit is besig om tot op Uniondale voorsorgmaatreëls in plek te stel vir moontlike vloede.

- George Herald

Strategies during heavy rainfall

National warning issued by SAWS valid for Thursday, 18 October 2012 until Saturday, 20 October 2012:

Heavy falls of rain are expected in the Overberberg, southern parts of the Cape Winelands and western parts of the Eden District on Friday, spreading into the eastern parts Eden District on Saturday.

Type: Watch. Be prepared.

Strategies during heavy rainfall


Heavy rainfall raises the water level. When the water level is higher than the river banks or the dams, water comes out from the river and flooding occurs.

Preventive measures:

Construct proper drainage system – Shallow drains due to silts must be cleaned constantly as they ensure proper water irrigation.
Increased evaporative losses, mechanical land treatment of slopes, such as contour ploughing or terracing, to reduce the runoff coefficient.
Construction of small water and sediment holding areas.
The construction of floodways (man-made channels to divert floodwater).
Terracing hillsides to slow flow downhill.

What to do when heavy rainfall is forecasted:


Avoid-

· Cutting grass in the rainy season (nutrient depletion).

· Appling fungicides and pesticide (plants and animals).

· Applying N fertiliser (burning of plants) (Nitrogen loss is higher during heavy rain), immediately follows a surface application of fertilizer, especially on sloped areas.

· Dumping fertilizer in one spot can cause the roots below the fertilizer to be burned and die).

· Irrigation (waterlogging can occur, nutrient depletion).

· Cover Urea licks to prevent them from becoming toxic.

· Provide shelter for animals (young ones die easily).

· Leave cultivated areas coarse.

· Relocate/ Move animals to a safe place.

Following are a number of concerns and recommendations:

· Be extra cautious for pest and diseases after rain has fallen, as high moisture content and the high temperatures may trigger these.

· Assume that flood water contains sewage and might be harmful for human and livestock consumption.

Before leading livestock across a river, check whether the water level is rising. This is especially necessary if it is already raining, but remembers that there could be a storm further upstream and floodwaters could be on the way.

A comprehensive list of strategies can be found in the monthly NAC Advisory. It can be accessed from
www.daff.gov.za , www.agis.agric.za and www.elsenburg.com websites.

Recommendations issued by


CLIMATE CHANGE DISASTER MANAGEMENT (EARLY WARNING UNIT)

Contact details:

ITSHOKENG ABBEY TSHWEU
Tel: 012 319 6759
Email: ItshokengT
http://mail.wcdm.co.za West Coast Municipality Disclaimer
http://mail.wcdm.co.za West Coast Municipality Disclaimer

RELAY BY: NSRI

EU wants to spend more on preventing disasters, not just relief

BRUSSELS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The European Union wants to spend more aid cash on helping countries prevent humanitarian disasters, rather than simply giving money for repeated relief efforts.

Only a tenth of 1 percent of global aid funding is used to help countries withstand disasters and save money on relief, the EU commissioner for humanitarian aid, Kristalina Georgieva, said at an EU development conference in Brussels.

The proportion is similar for aid provided by the European Union, the world's biggest donor.

Combining humanitarian and development efforts could help countries weather sudden shocks, European Commission officials told the EU conference.

This would include projects to resettle populations from flood plains or earthquake zones and health programmes to make people less prone to malnutrition.

Or existing health project, which the European Union supports with 3 million euros a year, is HarvestPlus - a Washington-based scheme that helps fortify staple crops with vitamins in poor countries, helping to fight malnutrition.

The 27 EU member states are collectively the world's largest source of aid, giving about 53 billion euros ($69.5 billion) a year, including 12 billion euros from the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm.

While the Commission has no direct control over individual member states' aid budgets, its policies are influential.

Although providing long-term funding for projects in states lacking good governance could mean some money goes astray, Georgieva said the potential benefits of lowering repeated disaster bailouts outweighed those risks.

"Two-thirds to three-quarters of countries that are disaster-prone are also conflict-prone, and that makes a kind of vicious circle of misery," she told Reuters on Tuesday.

"Will we be having problems with governance? Of course," she said, but added: "There is no such place where everyone is corrupt and there is no contact to build solutions up." ($1 = 0.7621 euros) (Reporting By Ethan Bilby; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Pravin Char)

- RELIEFWEB

Disaster prevention needs far more investment, say experts

Islamic Relief, which currently works in 26 disaster-afflicted countries across the world, appealed to the UN to create a global contingency fund to finance drought and flood prevention projects.

In 2005, in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed almost 230,000 people in 2004, 168 governments agreed to the UN's Hyogo Framework Agreement (HFA), a ten-year plan to help vulnerable countries reduce the human and economic costs of climate-related disasters. But the commitments were not binding and, to date, the goals are unmet, Islamic Relief says.

The agency has now called for the UN to devise a "bold and binding international agreement to protect poor communities better when the voluntary and rather toothless Hyogo framework for action expires in 2015".

In Feeling the Heat: The human cost of poor preparation for disasters, published this week (1 October), the agency also calls for countries to invest in improving research and knowledge-sharing in particularly weak areas of disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) help communities to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, but they do not share knowledge effectively, said Shahnawaz Ali, head of climate change and disaster resilience for Islamic Relief Bangladesh.

"Many good things are happening around the world, but these good lessons are not adequately documented," he told SciDev.Net, adding that governments with expertise must be encouraged to share findings and solutions.

For example, Bangladesh's exposure to flooding has prompted the government and aid agencies to create early warning systems for severe storms, but these systems have not been transferred to Africa where they could also be of assistance, Ali said.

Pre-emptive DRR strategies are vital for saving lives, businesses and community infrastructure, and are far more cost-effective than emergency disaster relief delivered after or during disasters, according to the report.

In April, for example, Islamic Relief helped villagers in Gaibanda state, Bangladesh, to build homes and farms on a raised earthen mound: when the worst storm for 25 years struck in June, the mound held fast despite the extensive flooding, and homes were left intact.

The cost of the mound and its maintenance for five years was around £8,400 (US$13,576), far less than the US$14,889 needed every month if the families had lost their homes during flooding.

While such prevention measures cost less and save lives, in 2010 world governments spent 23 times as much on emergency relief for the ten countries hit hardest by disasters as it spent on disaster prevention and preparedness (DPP), the report says.

Tom Mitchell, head of climate change at the Overseas Development Institute, said that "the importance of governments prioritising investment in disaster risk-reduction and preparedness cannot be understated" — particularly as the impact of climate change on people and livelihoods is expected to grow.

"A legally binding framework on DRR goals is likely to increase levels of investment but will be politically challenging to agree [upon]," he told SciDev.Net.

Link to full report

-- AlertNet

Suid Kaap - Verwarring oor nooddienste

UNIONDALE - Verwarring oor wie verantwoordelik is vir nooddienste in die Uniondale-gebied, wat De Hoop, Haarlem en Avontuur insluit, het onlangs tydens swaar reën en erge koue frustrasie veroorsaak.

“Ons is George se verantwoordelikheid,” sê Dave Hodgson. “Dit blyk asof die George-beheerkamer dit in ‘n stadium nie besef het nie.

“Ons het daarna mense reguit na Neels Barnard verwys. Barnard is waarnemende hoof brandweer en rampbestuur van George-munisipaliteit.

“Soos enige nuwe stelsel is daar haakplekke. Die grootste fout is dat Wendy Young nooit moes weggegaan het van rampbestuur nie - sy is die beste en ons was bederf om haar by ons te hê. Nou moet almal bontstaan in onkundigheid oor die gebied.

Indien ons Wendy weer by ons kan kry, sal dit wonderlik wees.” Hy was vol lof vir Gerhard Otto, hoof van rampbestuur van Eden-distriksmunisipaliteit en Wayne Young, senior brandweerman: Uniondale, van Eden.

Barnard en Johan du Preez, dorpsbestuurder vir George se wyke 24 en 25 het ook reëlings getref te Ongelegen en Haarlem. Volgens Hodgson is daar ook sprake dat Haarlem-brandweerdepot gaan toemaak. “Dis belaglik, want hoe gaan hulle deur Uniondale bedien word? Hulle betaal brandheffings en moet ‘n effektiewe diens ontvang, en dit is George se verantwoordelikheid.”

Hy wys daarop dat die Outeniquapas een van die kernroetes na Uniondale en Haarlem is. “Elke keer as dit swaar reën is daar ‘n moontlikheid dat die pas gesluit word. Hoe gaan George dan ‘n diens lewer aan Uniondale/Haarlem? “Nege uit tien maal wanneer daar ‘n ramp is, word George EN Uniondale/Haarlem geraak. Hoe hoop George om albei kante te bedien sonder ‘n amptenaar op Uniondale?

“Dis die kern van die probleem. George se begroting kan nie so ‘n persoon dra nie, en tog moet daar so iemand wees. Die persoon kan George tydens rampe help as Uniondale/Haarlem die ramp vryspring.”

“Net soos probleme met die ambulansdiens - daar is nie genoeg ambulanse vir die uitgestrekte gebied nie - kan ons met ‘n nuwe inisiatief na vore kom wat haalbaar is en ons mense se veiligheid kan verseker. Gelukkig kry ons goeie ondersteuning van provinsiale minister van gesondheid Theuns Botha en sy personeel en ons kan ‘n oplossing vind.

“Ons politici en amptenare is bekwaam en ‘n oplossing is haalbaar. Indien ons nie .
oplossings vind nie, gaan dit chaos wees en mense gaan seerkry.”

- AfriFokus

SAWDOS:  Op Maandag, 20 November 2006, het 'n vernietigende haelstorm 'n gebied oos van Haarlem getref.  Die storm het sewe plase erg benadeel waar besproeingstelsels en 389 hektaar vrugtebome vernietig is.  Dit het ook to gevolg gehad dat plaaswerkers beseer is.  Die storm het  die lewensbestaan van baie families ontwrig.  Direkte skadekoste het nagenoeg R9.2 miljoen rand beloop.  SAWDOS stem saam met die gemeenskap van Uniondale/Haarlem dat dit uiters noodsaaklik is dat 'n satelliet nood/brandweer- en rampbestuur depot permanent beskikbaar moet wees in die area.  Die aangeleentheid verg egter die dringende aandag van Eden Distriksmunisipaliteit.

Everest routes lethally crowded

Kathmandu - Mountaineering experts warned on Tuesday that potentially dangerous levels of overcrowding were expected on Mount Everest after four climbers died as "traffic jams" clogged up the world's tallest peak.

Some 200 people will attempt to scale the 8 848m summit this weekend when the weather is expected to provide the next safe window for the ascent, said Nepal tourism official Gyanendra Shrestha.

There were a similar number of climbers attempting the summit last weekend, he said, with four climbers dying of exhaustion and altitude sickness on Saturday on one of the deadliest-ever days on the peak.

German national Eberhard Schaaf, 61, South Korean Song Won-Bin, 44, 33-year-old Nepali-born Canadian Shriya Shah and Chinese climber Ha Wenyi, 55, were all found dead near the summit.

A Sherpa mountain guide had been reported missing but Shrestha said the information turned out to be false.

Due to an increased numbers of climbers in recent years, there is a bottle-neck every season at the Hillary Step, a rock face near the peak that climbers from the Nepal side have to ascend and descend with the help of ropes.

The climbing season runs from late March to the first week in June but this season's first clear conditions for reaching the peak were on Friday, two weeks later than usual.

The window had closed by Saturday afternoon due to high winds, Shrestha told AFP, leading to a rush of climbers attempting the summit.

"The climbers have to rely on a single rope and the traffic jam there will delay the ascents for hours," he said by telephone from base camp.

"Some Sherpas who returned have told me that they had to wait for up to three hours. Not moving means that your hands or feet will be frostbitten.

"Then, there is the issue of oxygen... high up, you tend to use more."

Zimba Zangbu Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said climbers were increasingly taking unnecessary risks when time was running out or conditions were poor.

"Now there are so many people trying to reach the top, vying for this or that record," he said.

Some climbers near the peak - most of whom have paid tens of thousands of dollars on the expedition - often ignore the advice to expert guides to turn back, he added.

"In some cases, they don't even heed the suggestions of their Sherpa guides. The Sherpas can't advise them otherwise because their clients will think 'I'm so close to the mountain, why shouldn't I try a bit more?'"

Nearly 4 000 people have climbed Everest since 1953 when Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first scaled it.

More than 200 people have died on the slopes of the giant peak.

Two Sherpa climbers were killed on Everest in April, one falling into a crevasse at 5 900m and the other succumbing to altitude sickness at base camp.

Elizabeth Hawley, a Nepal-based American former journalist and chronicler of Himalayan expeditions, said overcrowding was being exacerbated by poor preparation.

"The overcrowding has been going on for years... the problem is people who don't belong there getting permits," she told AFP.

"They think anyone can climb Everest. Anyone can, if they know what they are doing and have proper help and have had the right exercise and are fit. But a lot of people keep going when they should go home."

Earlier this month Russell Brice of Himalayan Experience, a major operator on Everest, told clients and staff he was cancelling the rest of their season due to the increased danger of falling ice and rock.

The Nepal government said it had issued 325 Everest permits to foreign mountaineers at $10 000 each for 2012.

- SAPA/News24

Disaster losses set to outpace economic growth - study

A girl paddles past other residents in a street flooded by the rising Rio Solimoes, one of the two main branches of the Amazon River, in Anama, Brazil, May 5, 2012. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

By Megan Rowling

LONDON (AlertNet) - Disaster losses in many low- and middle-income countries are likely to rise faster than economic growth unless governments change their economic policy to take account of increasing disaster risk, warns a new guide from climate experts.

Damage caused by disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, is outpacing wealth creation and efforts to protect people and assets in many places, according to the briefing from the UK-based Climate and Development Knowledge Network.

"Economic exposure to disasters is increasing faster than per capita gross domestic product (GDP), and the impacts of climate change on the severity and frequency of hazards will accentuate existing trends in disaster losses in the future," it says.

"While support for effective disaster relief and recovery must remain, there should be a greater emphasis on proactive efforts to reduce risk, based on comprehensive risk assessments and the integration of risk-reduction measures into national economic and development planning," it adds.

The study notes that 2011 was the costliest year on record for disasters, with estimated global losses of $380 billion. The most expensive events included the Japan earthquake and tsunami, floods in Thailand which affected industrial areas, and extreme weather in the United States.

Average global economic disaster losses have risen by 200 percent over the last 25 years adjusted for inflation, the paper says.

This is due to rapid urbanisation, the movement of people and assets to coastal locations where disaster risk is often greater, and the degradation or loss of natural ecosystem buffers such as mangrove forests. A lack of appropriate legislation and land-use planning are making matters worse.

The trend is particularly strong in Latin America and South Asia, according to the guide. Risks have declined, however, in East Asia, the Pacific and many Western countries, thanks to progress on reducing vulnerability.

A few countries, like Mexico, have started to put aside money from their national budgets to cover the costs of disasters, the briefing notes. And some are investing in insurance to help pay for damage - the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, for example, was set up five years ago.

But the CDKN guide says financial measures alone are not enough.

"To reduce disaster losses, the balance of effort needs to shift towards reducing exposure through national and sector-based economic planning that takes detailed account of risk assessments," it advises.

A starting point should be a regularly updated national risk atlas, which shows where natural hazards are likely to occur, and who and what are most in harm's way. Laws and enforcement measures are also needed to make sure building codes are followed, and people do not build on dangerous flood plains and low-lying coasts, it adds.

BUSINESSES AND CITIES URGED TO ACT

Co-author Tom Mitchell, head of climate change, environment and forests at the London-based Overseas Development Institute, said companies must also take more steps to protect their assets.

"It is no longer acceptable to wait until something happens. A lot of work has been done on planning for disaster mitigation around the world, but rarely proactively by business," he said in a statement.

On Monday, the U.N.'s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) said it will extend to 2015 a campaign to make cities more resilient to disasters. The initiative has attracted 1,020 cities around the world so far.

It will also provide city officials with new tools to assess their progress in tackling risk and climate change, including a handbook for local government leaders.

"Cities and towns are on the frontline when it comes to economic losses due to the rising frequency and intensity of floods and other disasters, which have accelerated since this campaign was launched two years ago," UNISDR head Margareta Wahlström told city leaders at a congress on resilient cities, adding that losses since then amount to $500 billion.

Jurgen Nimptsch, the mayor of Bonn, said the U.N. campaign is helping cities deepen their understanding of risks "accumulated from years of development without attention to proper land-use planning, uncontrolled population growth and other vulnerabilities".

"The key to a sustainable future lies in the hands of cities but only if they are risk-aware and ready to tackle their vulnerability," he said.

- AlertNet

Kariba Dam wall could collapse

Zimbabwe's Energy Minister Elton Mangoma revealed that the dam wall of the giant Lake Kariba is weak and needs repairs.

The lake is one of Zimbabwe's most popular holiday spots and it also provides much of the country's power supply.

Speaking to the Parliamentary portfolio committee, Mangoma said the Kariba Dam wall was weak on the Zimbabwean side.

He said the wall needed anchoring and that his ministry was working on the problem.

The Kariba Dam wall was built between 1955 and 1959 and the work was overseen by Italian engineers.

Around 750 megawatts of electricity is generated at the Kariba power station.

- EWN