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UPDATE OF REPORTED CLIMATE-WEATHER IMPACTS
(Courtesy of NOAA Office of Global Programs)
*The information provided in the RRP updates is gathered from a variety of wire and news sources as well as country and international agency reports. It does not necessarily reflect the focus or interest of NOAA's Office of Global Programs and is meant only as source of condensed information. ** All products of the RRP are archived at: http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/rrp RAPID RESPONSE PROJECT: The summaries are broken down into weekly reports. Impacts Reported 02/06/99 - 02/08/99 PHILIPPINES (flooding) Heavy rains since last Thursday the fourth have caused flooding in the southern Philippines. 11 people have died, 4 were injured, 4 are missing. Other reports put the deaths at 15 with 100,000 families displaced in the four provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur. In total ~300 farming villages were affected. 19,000 people were evacuated. Total damage to date is estimated at $3.2 million USD. Defense Secretary Mercado blamed illegal logging practices for a portion of the flooding. RUSSIA (snow storm) Roughly 3,000 Russian fisherman were trapped in Sakhalin by a snowstorm. Over 800 cars were buried on a major highway. It took the GOR the weekend to free the fisherman. No causalities were reported. THAILAND (drought) GOT Civil Defense Division of the Ministry of the Interior has reported that 6 million people in 44 provinces have been affected by drought. Thailand is currently considering alternative measures to obtain water, including digging artesian wells in each of the country's 64,000 villages. Impacts Reported 02/08/99 - 02/12/99 AUSTRALIA (cyclone Rona) Rona struck northern Australia on Thursday (Feb. 11). 2,000 people were evacuated from Queensland prior to its making landfall. Although no casualties were reported, most of Queensland's sugarcane crop was believed destroyed. Flooding is expected to continue for several days. BULGARIA (snow storms) 160 villages were left without electricity following heavy snow fall. CHILE (forest fire) Large fires currently burning around Concepcion. Images available and archived at:http://www.osei.noaa.gov/updaterecent.html CHINA (summer flood, rebuilding) The UN launched an appeal of $46 million USD to help rebuild schools and agriculture. 45,000 schools were destroyed in the summer floods. The number of students affected is estimated at 8.5 million. Total relief efforts have cost at least $2.7 billion USD. EUROPE (snow storms) Snow storms throughout Europe have killed at least 12 people while temporarily stranding thousands. HUNGARY (snow storms) 200 villages have been isolated by heavy snow fall. The Hungarian army was used to deliver supplies to these areas. HURRICANE MITCH (damage to Chiquita) As a result of hurricane Mitch, Chiquita experienced widespread damage during the fourth quarter. Total dollar losses for the company have been estimated at $73 million USD for asset write-offs. Less tangible investments, such as development of the orchards and farms, were also severely affected. Nearly 17,000 acres of banana farm in Honduras were completely destroyed. INDONESIA (flooding) Agriculture Minister Soleh Salahudin told Reuters he believed the recent flooding has not or would not have a significant impact upon rice production in Indonesia. The GOI is still predicting a harvest of 52 million tonnes in 1999 -- up from the 47 tonnes produced in 1998. He went further to state that if flooding were to have an impact, the harvest is still expected to be at least 50 million tonnes. The current rains may, however, cause significant damage to the coffee crop. Rains have prevented its harvest. If they persist the beans will likely rot. Cocoa output in 1999 is expected to rise 10% from production in 1998. Crude palm oil is also expected to rise to 6.3 million tonnes in 1999 from 5.76 million in 1998. PHILIPPINES (flooding) Heavy rains since Thursday (Feb. 4) have caused flooding in the southern Philippines. 11 people have died, 4 were injured, 4 are missing. Other reports put the deaths at 15 with 100,000 families displaced in the four provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur. In total ~300 farming villages were affected. 19,000 people were evacuated. Total damage to date is estimated at $3.2 million USD. Defense Secretary Mercado blamed illegal logging practices for a portion of the flooding. RUSSIA (snow storm) Roughly 3,000 Russian fisherman were trapped in Sakhalin by a snowstorm. Over 800 cars were buried on a major highway. It took the GOR the weekend of Feb. 6-7 to free the fisherman. No causalities were reported. THAILAND (drought) GOT Civil Defense Division of the Ministry of the Interior has reported that 6 million people in 44 provinces have been affected by drought. Thailand is currently considering alternative measures to obtain water, including digging artesian wells in each of the country's 64,000 villages. Impacts Reported 02/15/99 - 02/19/99 EUROPE (blizzards) Snow storms and blizzards continue throughout central Europe leaving many villages and settlements isolated. Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have called in their armies to clear roads and evacuate the stranded. FIRE (Argentina, Chile) Forest and brush fires are burning in Argentina and Chile. Images available at http://www.osei.noaa.gov/updaterecent.html THAILAND (flooding) The Nakorn Srithammarat, Surat Thani, and Songkhla provinces of southern Thailand were affected by a series of flash floods. 20,000 people were evacuated from flood prone areas. 3 fatalities have been reported. It is estimated that 96,000 hectares of farmland has been damaged. UKRAINE (flood threat) The Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, and Zakarpattia regions are again threatened by floods following snow build up and recent storms. Two months earlier flooding in these same regions resulted in 17 fatalities, 2000 houses destroyed, and 100 settlements/villages affected. Impacts Reported 02/22/1999 - 02/26/1999 EUROPE (avalanches) Snow avalanches have taken 36 lives throughout the Alpines. It is feared that the above normal snow cover throughout Europe may lead to spring flooding. GERMANY (flooding) Flooding along the Rhine, resulting from heavy rains and melting snow, has closed a large sections of the river and connecting rivers to shipping traffic. INDONESIA (rainfall) Heavy rainfall over Sumatra is expected to delay the coffee harvest until April. It is unclear how this will affect the overall production -- originally expected to be up 40,000 tonnes from last year. MOZAMBIQUE (floods and harvest) Although floods have affected regions of the country since January Gaza, Sofala, Zambezia), it is believed this upcoming harvest will exceed the 1.7 million mt grain target. In 1997 100,000 hectares of crop was destroyed. This year only 44,000 hectares were destroyed by the floods. PHILIPPINES (flooding) At least eight people have died in parts of the country -- particularly Lanao del Norte -- as flash floods followed heavy rains. UNITED STATES (Nor'easter) A Nor'easter affecting New England cut power to thousands of residents in Cape Cod and Nantucket. 35,000 people were stranded at Logan International in Boston as heavy snow downed planes and cancelled flights.
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