Changing climates: the heat is (still) on
The world is getting warmer and natural hazards are becoming more intense, likely bringing higher economic losses in the future. Today, four major weather perils result in expected economic losses of USD
Philippines
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38 Philippines ferry survivors reach shore
BY PAUL ALEXANDER Rescuers considered boring a hole in an overturned ferry on Monday in a desperate attempt to find survivors among more than 800 missing passengers and crew, after Typhoon Fengshen carved its deadly swath through the Philippines. Hopes dwindled by the hour that large groups of survivors might be found in areas where communications were cut off by the weekend storm that left at least 163 people dead in flooded communities.
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Typhoon toll rises to 155 in Philippines
BY PAUL ALEXANDER Two men who struggled to shore after a passenger ferry capsized in the Philippines during Typhoon Fengshen said on Sunday that hundreds of people may have died when they were trapped inside.
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229 killed in Philippines typhoon: official
At least 229 people are confirmed dead and at least six missing after Typhoon Fengshen ravaged the central and southern Philippines, Red Cross and civil defence officials said on Sunday. The toll does not include those dead or missing from a ferry that sank in the central Philippines with about 747 people aboard. Four people have been confirmed dead and there are four survivors from that accident. The rest are unaccounted for.
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Philippines ship sinks, over 700 missing
CEBU : More than 700 people were missing on Sunday after a Philippine passenger ship capsized in a typhoon that has killed scores and left a trail of destruction across the archipelago. Only four people are so far known to have survived the ferry disaster and they said many passengers did not make it off the Princess of Stars in time. Crowded life-rafts sank in the cold, storm-tossed seas.
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Fertilizer prices, a new threat
WASHINGTON/WINNIPEG: It powered the Green Revolution and helped save millions from starvation, but now one of the most important tools on the farm is being priced out of reach for many of the world's growers. With food prices soaring and stocks thinning, the world is in need of bumper harvests but once one of most bountiful of commodities, fertilizer, is becoming scarce and expensive. It's estimated that one third of the protein consumed by humans is a result of fertilizer. So high prices and spot shortages are yet another stress on the world's ailing food system.
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Food Crisis May Open Door To Genetically Modified Rice
Some rice-producing nations may drop their reluctance to use genetically modified (GM) seeds in the next few years to help offset a crisis that has forced millions to go hungry, a top expert said. "If we consider the challenges that face us, I think we would be very foolish and actually irresponsible to not invest in the development of GM crops," said Robert Zeigler, director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
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Quake forces, evacuation
A strong 6.4-magni-tude earthquake rocked the ^northern Philippines and southern parts of Taiwan early Sunday, shaking houses and prompting authorities to order some people to leave their homes. The quake struck at a depth of 22 km under the seabed in the Philippines' Batan Islands region at 0157 GMT, said the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage and no tsunami warning was Issued. There were some weaker aftershocks and residents in some coastal areas were told to evacuate their homes.
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Bytes
rat find: A team of scientists has rediscovered the greater dwarf cloud rat (Carpomys melanurus), last seen 112 years ago. It was in the canopy of a large tree, on a large horizontal branch covered
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Poverty of policy
The current food crisis has been largely policy-driven, which is probably good news because it means that policies can also reverse the process.
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Shock in the rice bowl
Precisely when many in the developed bloc were frantically counting their money at the height of a surreal shock over subprime rate, the globalising world was jolted by a potential crisis of subsistence that would hit the poor and other vulnerable sections very hard. Is there a link, therefore, between the slippery subprime banking rate and the soaring prices of rice and other staples?