Record river tides flood districts in HCM City

Updated October, 29 2011 09:56:15

HCM CITY — Flood tides in HCM City's rivers and canals reached 50-year highs this week, flooding several districts in the country's biggest city.

Residential areas in Districts 2, 8, Thu Duc, and Phu Nhuan began to be inundated late in the afternoon on Thursday when water spilled over dykes, canals, and sewage gates.

The Southern Hydrometeorology Forecast Centre said the tide reached a record high of 1.57m yesterday, the highest in 50 years.

On Thursday it measured 1.55m in the Sai Gon River, or above the third warning level, causing floods of at least half a metre in the four districts.

The first flood tide had occurred in the Sai Gon on Monday, Nguyen Minh Giam, deputy director of the Southern Hydrometeorology Forecast Centre, said.

Hundreds of houses were flooded, with Thu Duc's Linh Dong Ward being the worst affected after being deluged in nearly 1.5m of water.

Civil defence forces, the police, students, workers, and security forces helped move affected people and their properties to safety.

The HCM City Anti-Flooding Programme Management Centre said 20 roads would be inundated, with Luong Dinh Cua Street in District 2, Ben Phu Dinh in District 8, and Bui Huu Nghia in Binh Thanh expected to be submerged in half a metre of water.

The city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development expected water to spill over the dykes in District 12, some parts of Thu Duc, and the Sai Gon basin in Cu Chi District.

Authorities and residents in these areas have been warned. The river tides are expected to last until today.

On Thursday flood waters from upstream coupled with rising flood tides in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River caused floods in the delta region.

In Kien Giang Province, which like the rest of the delta, has been flooded for the last few weeks, at least 10 people, including eight children, have been killed so far and more than 6,000 houses flooded.

Areas around the An Giang capital Long Xuyen saw flood waters rise by up to half a metre since Thursday.

Can Tho has also been flooded.

In Hau Giang sugarcane farms have been flooded, while in Tien Giang schools have been shut down for several days.

The Cai Lay District Education and Training Office said 1,200 students have been affected by the floods and 43 schools are submerged.

Thousands of houses are in danger of being flooded in Soc Trang as the flood tide has reached the highest level in history. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn//Environment/217077/Record-river-tides-flood-districts-in-HCM-City.html

Confab on climate change adaptation adaptation

                        

HA NOI — The 6th international conference on community-based adaptation to climate change will be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ha Noi on April 16-21 of next year, the ministry announced on Tuesday.

The conference would bring together stakeholders and practitioners to share and discuss knowledge of community-based adaptation, including planning and practices from different parts of the developing world, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dao Xuan Hoc.

It was hoped that the event would enhance the capacity of practitioners to help those most vulnerable to climate change improve their livelihoods by disseminating lessons learned through workshops and conference proceedings, Hoc said.

The agenda would include a three-day field trip to community-based projects in different ecosystems in Viet Nam, followed by another three days of interactive discussions.

The conference would be open to anyone interested in community-based adaptation, including policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), research and policy institutes and government officials.

The event's other organisers include the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the International Institute for Environment and Development, the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and related NGOs.

The conference was expected to draw 300 participants, with at least 250 from outside Viet Nam. Last year's conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, drew the participation of 400 from around the world. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn//Environment/217078/Confab-on-climate-change-adaptation-adaptation.html

South Jakarta Floods Recede

South Jakarta Floods Recede
Jakarta Globe | October 31, 2011

Floods in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, recede from a peak of two meters to around 50 centimeters on Monday. (Photo Courtesy Metro TV)

Ten hours after Pondok Labu in South Jakarta was hit by a surge of floods the water has begun to recede, but many houses remain inundated.

On Sunday afternoon the floodwaters reached a peak of two meters, but have already receded by around 50 centimeters, Metro TV reported. Search and Rescue teams are still conducting door-to-door inspections, checking for survivors trapped inside their houses or waiting to be evacuated.

Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo said that 239 families have already been evacuated from their homes.

"The evacuees have found shelter in the homes of neighbors who have been spared from the floods," Sutopo told the Jakarta Globe.

City officials and military officers have also constructed tents, emergency kitchens and health clinics for evacuees.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed Vice President Boediono to take immediate action to help the flood survivors.

“I have spoken with the Vice President [about the] flooding in South Jakarta. I have asked him to ask the governor to handle it well,” Yudhoyono said in a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport before departing to France on Monday.

Yudhoyono will visit France for four days where he will deliver a speech at a UNESCO plenary session and at the G20 Summit.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/south-jakarta-floods-recede/475264

Water, sanitation top flood meeting agenda

When the United Nation’s Disaster Management Team in Cambodia meets with non-governmental agencies delivering emergency aid to flood victims today, ensuring access to safe water and sanitation to will be at the top of the agenda, UN staff said yesterday.

The meeting follows reports of high rates of pneumonia and diarrhoea among villagers stranded by floods in “safe areas” in Battambang province’s Moung Russei and Sange districts who were reached by “boat doctors” yesterday.

Medical staff who reached one safe area in Ta Phon commune were “overwhelmed with kids with severe diarrhoea”, said John Macgregor, communications director of the Cambodian War Amputees Rehabilitation Society, which is among the NGOs funding emergency relief in the area. “They are re-hydrating as many as possible, to try and prevent deterioration and death,” he said.

The safe areas are elevated land or hilltops that residents of submerged villages have fled to with their livestock. Some have been living at the sites, which have no access to safe water or sanitation facilities, for more than two months.

So Phea, a senior member of the Disadvantaged People’s Organisation, which is also funding the boat doctors, said that at the safe areas, “most children under five years old have diarrhoea and pneumonia”.

Phean Mon, a mother of three at a safe area in Moung Russei district’s Talos commune, said her entire family had fallen ill. She said about 400 families were crowded around a pagoda with their livestock.

They had no access to firewood so that they could boil water, Phean Mon said. “We’re sleeping on damp ground. We’re all squeezed together. If one person gets sick, everyone does,” she said.

The UN’s Disaster Management Team has identified water and sanitation as a priority for immediate aid, noting that the lack of access to safe water and sanitation in rural Cambodia results in about 10,000 deaths a year annually.

“The flooding merely exacerbates an already poor situation,” Belinda Abraham, UNICEF’s chief of water, sanitation and hygiene, said yesterday.

“Even in normal circumstances, access to sanitation is low and water quality is poor, contributing to high incidences of diarrhoeal diseases. These alone account for one-fifth of the deaths of children age five and under in Cambodia, and an estimated 10,000 overall deaths annually,” she said.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011102552322/National-news/water-sanitation-top-flood-meeting-agenda.html

Forum for young Asian leaders to explore ideas

HA NOI — Representatives from Asia will convene for the 11th Hitachi Young Leader Initiative (HYLI) in Ha Noi next January.

Delegates and 28 top students from Viet Nam, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will discuss critical issues affecting the region.

Under the theme "The stage for Asia – an Asian perspective on managing sustainable development and economic integration," leading topics for debate will include energy, the environment and economic partnerships and integration.

Ngu Duy Anh, head of the Ministry of Education and Training's Student Affairs Department, said the forum would be a good opportunity for Vietnamese students to show off their talent.

Kiyoshi Kinugawa, chairman of Hitachi Asia, said HYLI alumni had made a great contribution to society.

The HYLI was launched in Singapore in 1996. Viet Nam, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand each select four students each year to attend the event. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn//Social-Isssues/216891/Forum-for-young-Asian-leaders-to-explore-ideas-.html

China, EU promote exchange among youth

BEIJING - The EU-China Youth Leaders Summit opened here on Saturday with 92 youngpeople from 27 EU countries gathered to discuss with their Chinese peers topics of climatechange, sustainable development and youth development.

The three-day summit, co-organized by the All-China Youth Federation and the EuropeanCommission, is a part of the "flagship events" of the EU-China Year of Youth.

Young people from the two sides hold cluster sessions to discuss four topics of young people inan aging society, as well as world multi-polarity and the role of regional organization, climatechange and sustainable development, and youth entrepreneurship/business leaders of thefuture.

Peter Matjasic, president of the European Youth Forum, said these were taken from severaltopics that had been discussed during the year.

"It's my most impressive experience ever in China," Matjasic said. "Young people areencouraged to speak frankly and openly."

Todor BG is a young man from Bulgaria. He has worked in his own software company for fiveyears since he graduated from college. He came here to search for opportunities to cooperatewith Chinese peers.

"China is a big market. We can exchange ideas on developing software products," Todornoted.

Premier Wen Jiabao and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso jointly initiatedthe EU-China Year of Youth during the 12th EU-China summit held in 2009.

The EU-China Year of Youth has been the biggest cultural exchange activity since the twosides established diplomatic relations.

The initiative aims to promote intercultural dialogue and strengthen mutual understanding andfriendship between young people in China and the EU, as well as encouraging them to supportthe development of China-EU relations.

Dong Xia, Deputy Secretary-General of the All-China Youth Federation, said over 100 activitieshave been held since January and have brought positive results and had an extensive impacton the young people and youth organizations of both sides.

Matjasic said discussions are planned to determine when follow-up programs will take place tocontinue the dialogue and cooperation.

"We're looking forward to more youth initiatives between China and EU youth beyond 2011," he said.

Source: 

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-10/22/content_13956570.htm

Burmese Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo Visits China

Burmese Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo Visits China

Flash flood in Myanmar leaves dozens missing - Channel NewsAsia

Flash flood in Myanmar leaves dozens missing - Channel NewsAsia

Upgrade to aid Phu Quoc economic development plan

                        

KIEN GIANG — Phu Quoc Island authorities are building the Vinh Dam industrial-residential complex and a breakwater, upgrading the An Thoi Seaport, and dredging the mouth of Duong Dong River at a cost of VND1.373 trillion (US$66 million).

The works are aimed at boosting economic growth by efficiently exploiting the island's natural advantages.

At An Thoi, the fishing port is being upgraded and expanded at VND62.4 billion ($2.97 million), with the work expected to be finished by 2014.

It is considered to be an important infrastructure project that will make Phu Quoc an eco-tourism and cargo and passenger transport hub. It was built last year at a cost of VND149 billion ($7 million).

The 305ha Vinh Dam Complex, to cost VND1.2 trillion ($57.1 million), will comprise a cargo port, industrial zone, a traditional trade village, entertainment, a resort, restaurants, and public services.

It will be built in three stages and finished in 2014.

Acquisition of land and payment of compensation will be finished by the end of this year.

The mouth of the river will be dredged and a breakwater built at a cost of VND111 billion ($5.28 million).

The dredging and installation of marker buoys will begin next year. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn//Economy/216560/Upgrade-to-aid-Phu-Quoc-economic-development-plan-.html

Third ASEAN+3 Youth meet held

                         

HA NOI — Around 40 young people from 13 countries came together to share their experiences in education, entrepreneurship, employment and regional co-operation at the third ASEAN+3 Youth Caucus yesterday in Ha Noi.

The participants included 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as China, Japan and South Korea.

The Viet Nam National Committee on Youth (VNCY) organised the caucus, which was held in Viet Nam for the first time.

It was one of the sideline activities surrounding the 7th Ministerial Meeting on Youth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AMMY VII) that is officially scheduled tomorrow in Ha Noi.

The caucus aimed to seek solutions for training skilled workers within the ASEAN Community by 2015, said Nguyen Hoang Hiep, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Reika Tachikawa, 22, said: "The Japanese Government focused on promoting the quality of education as a solution to develop human resources, when Japan was in the same situation as Viet Nam is now."

Supporting policies to help Vietnamese youth start business were necessary at this time, said Nguyen Tuyet Nhung, 23.

"Vietnamese youth often encounter difficulties when they want to start a business or begin a new job after leaving school, such as a lack of capital or interpersonal skills," she said.

Vietnamese youth, especially those living in rural and remote areas, actually needed more training courses on soft skills, Nhung said.

As many as 300,000 Vietnamese rural labourers would be trained to work in the modern agricultural sector – one of the national objectives for 2020, said Le Kim Dung, deputy director from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs' International Co-operation Department.

Meanwhile, 600,000 others would partake in training courses to work in industry and service sectors instead of agriculture, she said.

One million labourers in rural areas would be trained to develop specific skills each year from now to 2020 with funding from the State Budget worth VND26 trillion (US$1.3 billion), Dung said.

The discussion's results are expected to be presented at the AMMY VII tomorrow. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn//Politics-Laws/216691/Third-ASEAN3-Youth-meet-held.html

Flood warning for Bangkok suburbs - Channel NewsAsia

Flood warning for Bangkok suburbs - Channel NewsAsia

Burma to Compensate China for Dam Suspension

Burma to Compensate China for Dam Suspension

Government declares one-third of Thailand "disaster" area - Channel NewsAsia

Government declares one-third of Thailand "disaster" area - Channel NewsAsia