Thai PM pledges flood relief as fight for Bangkok goes on

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pledged more than US$4 billion (RM12.47 billion) today to help Thailand recover from the worst floods in half a century, as workers slowed the flow of water threatening the commercial heart of the capital, Bangkok.

Evacuation orders have spread to a third of Bangkok’s districts, mostly in the north of the densely populated city of 12 million people, since late October, as floodwater strewn with trash slowly seeps in from northern and northeastern provinces.

As Floods Drag on in Thailand, Displaced Grow Restless

As Floods Drag on in Thailand, Displaced Grow Restless Ron Corben | Bangkok In Thailand, local aid groups are calling on authorities to better manage and support local communities that are struggling to cope after spending weeks under ...

Thai flood frustration grows, Cabinet eyes recovery

Airplanes are reflected in flood waters in Bangkok’s domestic Don Muang airport at dawn on November 1, 2011. Nearly 400 people have been killed in months of floods that have disrupted the lives of more than 2 million. Don Muang, used by budget airlines for domestic flights and by private planes, has been closed since Oct. 25.


Anger mounted among victims of Thailand’s catastrophic floods today as water flooded new neighbourhoods as it made its way to sea and the government plotted a recovery aimed at securing the long-term confidence of investors.

The floods began in July and have devastated large parts of the central Chao Phraya river basin, killed nearly 400 people and disrupted the lives of more than 2 million.

Inner Bangkok, protected by a network of dikes and sandbag walls, survived peak tides on the weekend and remains mostly dry.

Deadly Thai floods close factories, threaten Bangkok

Nearly 200 factories, including one run by Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co Ltd , closed in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya because of flooding, which could threaten Bangkok this week, officials said today.

About 261 people have died since late July in flood-related incidents, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said. Some 2.3 million people have been affected in the worst flooding to hit parts of Thailand in 50 years, mainly in the centre, north and northeast.

The Rojana estate in Ayutthaya province, run by Rojana Industrial Park Pcl , was flooded after a wall of sandbags failed to hold back water overnight.

Australia floods cover area size of France/Germany

Clash of nature: A boat fighting for attention with a street light post in Bundaberg, today December 31, 2010.

Fishing could be fun for Jim Casey and wife Lesley from their house in Chinchilla, Queensland, December 28, 2010, were the consequences not so potentially devastating.

Flood waters rose across Australia’s northeast today, covering an area bigger than France and Germany combined, inundating 22 towns and stranding 200,000 people, and closing one of the country’s major sugar export ports.

Flooding has already shut major coal mines in Queensland state and its biggest coal export port, forcing a long list of miners such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto to slow or halt operations.

The worst flooding in about 50 years has been caused by a La Nina weather pattern that has resulted in torrential rain over the past two weeks across northeast Australia.

“This disaster is a long way from over,” Queensland state premier Anna Bligh told reporters today.

“We now have 22 towns or cities that are either substantially flooded or isolated. That represents some 200,000 people spanning an area that’s bigger than the size of France and Germany combined.”

Prime Minister Julia Gillard toured the flood-hit sugar city of Bundaberg, which closed its port today after flood debris was washed downstream into shipping channels and damaged navigation beacons.

“This is a natural disaster across Queensland,” said Gillard in announcing a A$1 million (RM3.1 million) government contribution to a flood aid appeal that now totals A$6 million.

Shipments of sugar from Australia, one the world’s leading exporters of the sweetener, have been disrupted because of the closure of Bundaberg’s port. The port normally ships about 400,000 tonnes of raw sugar a year, with three 30,000-tonne vessels due to arrive in the next few days.

Mexico No confirm Death yet in Giant Mudslide

Pounded by incessant rain, a hillside in the state of Oaxaca collapsed onto a village early Tuesday, burying houses in mud and stones and possibly trapping hundreds of people as they slept, state authorities said.

Scores of people killed after heavy rain triggers landslides across Central and South America

Eleven people are missing after a massive landslide buried 300 homes in a remote area of southwestern Mexico.

Rescuers initially feared that hundreds of people could have been buried alive as they slept in their beds in Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec.

But officials are speculating that four people may now have been killed, based on a calculation of how many houses were on the slope when the landslide occurred.
Governor Ulises Ruiz said: 'So far no one is confirmed dead, only 11 missing who we hope... will be found.'

Desperate search: Rescue workers dig through mounds of mud and rock in Santa Maria Tlauiltoltepec, Mexico, after a massive landslide buried hundreds of homes

Devastation: A swathe has been cut out of the hillside near the town after mud and rock gave way yesterday morning

Pakistani president thanks China for additional flood aid

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari thanked Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the Chinese government and people for their generous assistance of additional 200 million U.S. dollars for the flood affectees, Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Friday.

China pledged another 200 million dollars of aid to flood- stricken Pakistan at the United Nations summit in New York on Wednesday.

"The President while appreciating the gesture said that the additional assistance was yet another demonstration of the strong bonds between China and Pakistan and how the Chinese leaders and people cared for the people of Pakistan," the Presidential spokesman said in a statement.




Doctor Zhao Jie of China's Armed Police General Hospital treats a patient at a tent hospital in Makly town of flood-hit Thatta in southern Pakistan, Sept. 22, 2010, on the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

‘Very large’ Hurricane Igor moves north of Bermuda

Hurricane Igor pounded Bermuda with high winds and driving rain early today as it moved north over the Atlantic, skirting the US East Coast, which should suffer only rough surf and a stiff breeze.

The US National Hurricane Centre said the core of the “very large” category 1 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds near to 120 kph, was about 203km north northwest of Bermuda, a popular resort and global insurance service hub, as of 5am EDT/0900 GMT.

A car makes it way through driving wind and heavy rains in Southampton, Bermuda, as Hurricane Igor strikes the island, September 18, 2010

Donors want Pakistan to tax rich to pay for floods

Pakistan's plea for billions of dollars to recover from this summer's floods has sparked pressure on the country to reform a tax system that collects very little money, even from the rich.

The country's biggest donor, the United States, has issued one of the strongest warnings, saying the world will only be able to fund a quarter of the tens of billions of dollars it will take to rebuild — and it will be difficult to get American taxpayers to help if Pakistanis aren't footing their share of the bill.

But many economists fear the threats are hollow and the U.S. and others will once again bail out Pakistan without insisting on necessary economic reforms because the nuclear-armed country is so important in the war against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Pakistani women who survive floods wait for a relief supply in a camp setup for displaced people in Pubbi, near Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, Sept. 17, 2010. Millions of people are affected and displaced by heavy flooding in Pakistan.

UN hopes Angelina Jolie will draw attention to long-term needs of flood-hit Pakistan - Angelina Jolie Meets Flood Victims in Pakistan - Jolie's Plea for Pakistan Flood Victims

Angelina Jolie condemns planned Quran burning

Angelina Jolie on Wednesday condemned a Florida church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The 35-year-old actress spoke out against the proposed burning during a trip to Pakistan to raise awareness about the floods that have devastated the largely Muslim country over the last six weeks. She visited in her capacity as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N.'s refugee agency.

Jolie's criticism echoed that of top U.S. officials, who have described the church's plan as a disgraceful act and have even warned that it could endanger U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Americans worldwide.

"I have hardly the words that somebody would do that to somebody's religious book," Jolie told reporters in Islamabad after visiting refugees camps in northwestern Pakistan — one of the areas of the country hit hardest by the floods.

Hollywood actress and the goodwill ambassador of UNHCR, Angelina Jolie visits a camp setup for people displaced by heavy floods, in Mohib Banda near Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010.

Raw Video: Earl Causes Flooding in Buxton, NC-Earl Soaks NC Coast, Heads for New England-High Alert: Hurricane Earl makes US landfall

Red Cross aid workers face anger in Pakistan

Red Cross aid workers have faced angry crowds in Pakistan when distributing food and other supplies to flood victims, a disturbing trend that could jeopardise operations, a senior official said on Thursday.

An ICRC relief convoy was forced to halt handouts of supplies and retreat hastily in Punjab province this week, according to Jacques de Maio, head of South Asia operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“We have had two instances where we had to stop distribution because of unrest. And we are worried because if this trend expands and propagates it would put under pressure our ability to help people,” de Maio told a news briefing in Geneva.

An earlier incident took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province several weeks ago, forcing the ICRC to interrupt distributions there temporarily.

Pakistan gets IMF relief, tightens security

The International Monetary Fund will give Pakistan US$450 million (RM1.4 billion) in emergency flood aid, providing some relief for a government overwhelmed by the disaster and facing renewed militant violence.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in Washington yesterday that the funds would be dispersed in “coming weeks.”

Strauss-Kahn said discussions with a delegation led by Pakistan’s Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on how to “reorganise” an US$11 billion IMF loan programme would continue.

He said Islamabad remained committed to terms including tax and energy sector reforms.

The floods struck just as the army said it had made progress in the war against the al Qaeda-linked Sunni Taliban.

Pakistan has only secured 63 per cent of the US$459 million in emergency funds it needs.

Pakistan’s flood victims frustrated with medical care

Victims of Pakistan’s floods queued to get medical treatment today as doctors complained of a shortage of medical supplies to treat a rising number of patients.

Monsoon floods have receded in some areas but aid agencies fear disease, food shortages and malnutrition may create new crises as people head back to their shattered towns and villages and try to rebuild their homes and lives.

“Whatever stock of medicines we have is about to finish and the number of patients will increase in the coming days,” said Ashiq Hussain Malik, medical superintendent of Muzaffargarh’s main district hospital in Punjab province.

A flood victim fills a traditional clay water container from a broken pipeline submerged in flood waters in Shikarpur, in Pakistan’s Sindh province, today, August 31, 2010.

Heartbreaking images as floodwaters swamp yet another Pakistan town

Floodwaters inundated a large town in southern Pakistan today, spreading further destruction in an area where hundreds of thousands of people who fled to higher ground are in dire need of food and water.

Almost all of Sujawal's 250,000 residents fled from the town before the water rushed in, but the damage to homes, clinics and schools added to the widespread devastation the floods have caused across Pakistan, said Hadi Baksh, a disaster management official in southern Sindh province.

Authorities in Sujawal were trying to limit the damage, but the water level has already risen to 5ft (1.5m) in the centre of town and up to 10ft (3m) in the surrounding villages, said Anwarul Haq, the top official in Sujawal.


Carrying bundles of food and clothes on their heads Pakistani families wade across flooded terrain in the south of the country

UN fears for children as Pakistan floods threaten towns

A flood victim stands in queue with others to get food handouts while taking refuge with her family in a relief camp for flood victims in Sukkur, in Pakistan's Sindh province.

Flood waters threatened to engulf two towns in southern Pakistan today, a month after the disaster began, as the United Nations warned that tens of thousands of children risked death from malnutrition.

The floods are Pakistan’s worst-ever natural disaster in terms of the amount of damage and the number of people affected, with more than six million people forced from their homes, about a million of them in the last few days as the water flows south.

The disaster has killed about 1,600 people, inflicted billions of dollars of damage to homes, infrastructure and the vital agriculture sector and stirred anger against the US-backed government which has struggled to cope.

Pakistan floodwaters ebb, hunger and disease remain

A two-year-old girl is covered with flies in a village in Rajanpur district of Pakistan's Punjab province on August 28, 2010

A month after torrential monsoon rains triggered Pakistan’s worst natural disaster on record, flood waters are starting to recede — but leaving countless survivors at risk of death from hunger and disease.

The disaster has killed at least 1,643 people, forced more than six million from their homes, inflicted billions of dollars of damage to infrastructure and the vital agriculture sector and stirred anger against the US-backed government which has struggled to cope.

Despite generally lower water levels, officials said they were still battling to save the delta town of Thatta, 70km east of Karachi, in the southern province of Sindh.

Water has broken the banks of the Indus near Thatta and also topped a feeder canal running off the river.

Pakistan orders evacuation of town as flood spreads

Pakistan has ordered the evacuation of a southern town after the swollen Indus river broke its banks, nearly a month after devastating floods first struck, an official said on Friday.

Floodwaters are beginning to recede across most of the country as the water flows down the Indus, but because of high tides in the Arabian Sea, they still pose a threat to towns such as Thatta, 70 km (45 miles) east of Karachi, in the river delta.