Day: April 13, 2022

DURBAN (South Africa) —The death toll from floods and mudslides after rainstorms struck the South African port city of Durban and surrounding areas in KwaZulu-Natal province has climbed to 59, authorities said.

The country’s meteorologists forecasted more “disruptive” rains on the way Tuesday night but expected the “rainfall system” to weaken “considerably” on Wednesday.

“Many people lost their lives with Ethekwini (Durban metro) alone reporting 45,” while in iLembe district “more than 14 …have tragically lost their lives,” the provincial government said in a statement.

It said the disaster “wreaked untold havoc and unleashed massive damage to lives and infrastructure” affecting all races and classes from rural areas, townships to luxury estates.

“This is a tragic toll of the force of nature and this situation calls for an effective response by government,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa who is to visit Durban on Wednesday.

African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed “sincere condolences to the families who have lost loved ones following heavy flooding” via Twitter.

Days of driving rain flooded several areas, tore houses apart and ravaged infrastructure across the southeastern city, while landslides forced train services to be suspended.

The rains have flooded city highways to such depths that only the tops of traffic lights poked out, resembling submarine periscopes.

Torrents tore several bridges apart, submerged cars and collapsed houses. A fuel tank was floating in at sea after being tossed off the road.

The rains have flooded city highways, torn apart bridges, submerged cars and collapsed houses.

Several stacked shipping containers fell like dominoes and lay strewn on a yard, while some spilled over into a main road in the city, one of southern Africa’s largest regional gateways to the sea.

South Africa’s public logistics firm Transnet suspended shipping at Durban terminals as did global shipping firm Maersk due to the floods.

The disaster management department in KwaZulu-Natal province, of which Durban is the largest city, urged people to stay at home and ordered those residing in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

More than 2,000 houses and 4,000 “informal” homes, or shacks, were damaged, said provincial premier Sihle Zikalala.

Rescue operations, aided by the military, evacuated people trapped in affected areas.

Fifty-two secondary students and teachers who were marooned at a Durban secondary school, were successfully airlifted to safety following “a long traumatic night, trapped”, education authorities said.

More than 140 schools have been affected by the flooding.

Power stations had been flooded and water supplies disrupted — and that even graveyards had not been spared the devastation.

There have been reports of looting, with TV footage showing people stealing from cargo containers.

The provincial government condemned “reports of the looting of containers” during the flooding.

Southern parts of the continent’s most industrialised country are bearing the brunt of climate change — suffering recurrent and worsening torrential rains and flooding.

Floods killed around 70 people in April 2019.

Source: Nam News Network

The United Nations warns a record 7.74 million people, or two-thirds of South Sudan’s population, are likely to face hunger during this year’s lean season between May and July. This is the dangerous period between planting and harvesting when food stocks are at their lowest.

Among the millions at risk of hunger are an estimated 87,000 people who will face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity during the lean period.

A U.N. analysis of the food situation in South Sudan released last week warns many of these people will likely die of starvation.

This, said the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization representative in South Sudan, Meshack Malo, is because they will have run out of coping options to feed themselves and their families.

“That can only be remedied by urgent and sustained humanitarian assistance in order to save lives and to re-establish livelihoods so that it can see them through to the next harvest season,” he said.

Speaking from the capital Juba, Malo said among those most at risk are some 1.34 million severely malnourished children. He said 676,000 pregnant and lactating women also are expected to be malnourished this year and are in need of special nutritional treatment.

The key drivers of food insecurity and extreme hunger in South Sudan include climate shocks. The country has experienced three consecutive years of heavy flooding, interspersed with periods of drought. This has badly impacted peoples’ ability to cultivate their land and prevent loss of livestock.

Malo said ongoing conflict, high food prices, and poor access to basic services also have contributed to the dire situation in the country.

“These have been compounded by the low crop production and livestock diseases that have continued to deplete the household coping strategies because of the protracted crisis that has shrunk the income opportunities available in the country,” he said.

At the heart of this crisis, Malo said, is the lack of peace. South Sudan endured a civil war that officially ended a few years ago but parts of the country remained wracked with violence.

The FAO representative said investing in peace will pay huge dividends. It would, he noted, provide people with the space and time to build the resilience needed to prevent households from falling back into a state of severe hunger.

Source: voice of America

MOGADISHU, The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council has dissolved the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), paving the way for a transitional organ that will manage the complete handover of security responsibilities to the Somali army in 2024.

The new organ, which was also approved by the United Nations (UN) Security Council, is the Africa Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

In a statement, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres rallied partners to ensure sustainable and predictable funding for the new organ, ATMIS, to enable Somalia’s security transition.

“We look forward to working closely with the African Union, Federal Government of Somalia and all partners to support a phased handover of security responsibilities to Somali security forces,” Guterres said.

According to the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, ATMIS’s mandate is “to support the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the Somali transition plan and transfer security responsibilities to the Somali security forces and institutions.”

The new deadline for troops to leave Somalia is December 2024.

In 2007, Uganda was the first country to deploy troops on the ground in Somalia. Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti are the other troop contributing countries.

“Building on the experiences and lessons of AMISOM, ATMIS, is designed to be more agile, more mobile, more flexible, and configured to have quick reaction forces and corresponding force enablers, as well as multipliers to better respond to emerging and evolving security threats.

Through ATMIS, the African Union will also realign its mission components and deployments across Somalia to better prepare the Somali Security Forces to take over the security responsibilities of the country by 31 December 2024, as guided by the Somalia Transition Plan. This will be done by prioritizing force generation, mobilisation, and integration as well as enhanced operational competence, and logistical support of ATMIS and the Somali Security Forces,” Adeoye said.

The AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said the new organ reflects the evolving situation in Somalia, and it is in line with the pursuit to restore lasting peace, security, and stability.

ATMIS started operations on April 1.

Source: Nam News Network

Authorities in Cameroon moved 150 children from the streets of the capital to centers for abandoned kids on Tuesday as part of its observance of International Day for Street Children. The government says the number of street children in Cameroon has risen sharply due to poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflicts at the nation’s borders.

Rights and humanitarian groups moved from street to street, visiting markets, riversides and abandoned buildings in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaounde, in search of homeless children.

When they were found, some children agreed to go to shelters. Others refused and were given clothes and food.

Rachel Balafai, of head the Street Child Center, a Yaounde charity, said the search was conducted at night because that is when searchers believe they will find the children and can see the conditions under which they live.

Balafai said her association this week gave food and clothing to 230 street children who are from Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria. She said uninformed people in northern Cameroon make children believe there are opportunities to improve their living conditions in Douala and Yaounde, Cameroon’s largest cities. Balafai said some of the children are orphans.

On International Day for Street Children, nongovernmental organizations and the government invited traditional leaders and the clergy to give support to the children.

The Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon took part at the event. Moussa Oumarou, the council’s coordinator, said family members show know it is their collective responsibility to take care of their children. He said street children need love and care and should not be battered nor rejected nor ostracized by society religious groups. Oumarou said the government should remove all children from the streets and make sure they are given the fundamental human right of an education.

Cameroon reports that the number of street children in major cities increased from 10,000 to about 27,000 within the past three years. Some of the children are refugees fleeing instability in the Central African Republic. Others fled insecurity caused by Boko Haram attacks in northern Cameroon and the conflict between the government and separatist groups in Cameroon’s western regions.

Pauline Irene Nguene, Cameroon’s minister of social affairs, said several conflicts Cameroon and its neighbors are experiencing contribute to the increase in the number of street children. She said the government struggles to contain the crises and is working to return children and displaced persons to their communities. Cameroon is encouraging families and communities to assist the government by providing shelter, accommodation and access to education for the street children.

Speaking on Cameroon state radio CRTV, Nguene said the government will house, feed and educate street children and urged them to leave the streets. She said at least 250 children have either been reunited with their families or enrolled in schools within the past year.

The government says the number of street children may continue to grow in the urban centers where about 40% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Source: voice of America