Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The number of weather-related disasters has increased by five times over the past 50 years, the latest report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday. However, thanks to improved early warning systems and disaster management, the number of deaths from these hazards has been …
Read More »Wetter than usual season expected over most farming areas of East Africa
Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | A wetter than usual season is expected over most farming areas in the central and southern parts of the African region, while a drier than usual season is expected over north-eastern Ethiopia, experts from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have announced. The season …
Read More »How UPDF is fighting voracious desert locusts
Otuke, Uganda | AFP | Under a warm morning sun scores of weary UPDF soldiers stare as millions of yellow locusts rise into the northern Ugandan sky, despite hours spent spraying vegetation with chemicals in an attempt to kill them. From the tops of shea trees, fields of pea plants …
Read More »Kenya landslides kill a dozen people
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | At least 12 people were killed in Kenya when their homes were swept away in a landslide during ferocious rainstorms, local government officials said Saturday. Their homes were hit overnight Friday amid torrential rains in Kenya’s West Pokot region, 350 kilometres (220 miles) northwest of …
Read More »‘Rain for the next five days’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda National Meteorological Authority-UNMA has warned of unusually heavy rainfall over the next five days. The authority attributes the anticipated rains and recent downpours to the moist winds blowing from Indian Ocean and Congo forests. Recent rains have caused flooding, killed people and …
Read More »Mercury tops 45C in France as deadly heatwave roasts Europe
Carpentras, France | AFP | Temperatures in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) Friday for the first time on record as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths. With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe hard hit by the record-breaking temperatures, officials …
Read More »Africa cyclone survivors face ‘ticking bomb’ of disease: Red Cross
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | A powerful cyclone that pummelled southern African countries earlier this month has left survivors facing “a ticking bomb” of looming disease outbreaks, the Red Cross chief warned Monday. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique’s coast 10 days ago, unleashing hurricane-force wind and rain that flooded swathes …
Read More »Mozambique, Zimbabwe cyclone deaths exceed 300
Beira, Mozambique | AFP | The death toll from a cyclone that smashed into Mozambique and Zimbabwe rose to more than 300 as rescuers raced against the clock to help survivors and the UN led the charge to provide aid. “We already have more than 200 dead, and nearly 350,000 …
Read More »Five die in California wildfires, 150,000 forced to flee
Paradise, United States | AFP | Five people were declared dead and 150,000 evacuated Friday as fierce wildfires raged across the western US state of California, with one rapidly spreading blaze threatening the famed resort of Malibu. The victims died in their vehicles trying to escape a massive late-season inferno …
Read More »US Air Force optimistic on hurricane-hit fighter jets
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States Air Force said Sunday that a group of F-22 stealth fighters left behind at a base to ride out Hurricane Michael were intact but it was too soon to say whether all of them would fly again. Tyndall Air Force Base in …
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