Global Report may 18, 2010
1500 people left displaced by floods and landslides in Uganda
Ms Catherine, a spokesperson for the Uganda Red Cross, a charity that is coordinating humanitarian assistance to the victims says, more people continue running away from their homes, as the rains continue. She also said the floods and landslides were escalating the danger of water-borne and other sanitation related diseases. She said rising cases of cholera had been confirmed. The latest landslides come barely two months after another devastating landslide struck Bududa and buried an entire trading centre of about 350 people. Three children, two of them from one family, were killed after torrential rains accompanied by hailstorms hit their homes in Mbale District. Their lifeless bodies were discovered two kilometers away from the scene of the landslide after they tried to run away when torrential rains tore through their house. Minister for Disaster Preparedness has discovered that there are huge cracks along the Elgon Mountain and advised people to relocate from these dangerous areas.
Rising water levels in Attabad Lake pose threat to nearby villages
At least five villages have so far been affected by the rising water levels in Attabad Lake in Gilgit-Baltistan and the fear of the lakes bursting is hanging like a democles sword on the inhabitants of the neighboring villages. It is again an example where the technical knowledge and expertise of our seemingly professional scientists and technicians have failed pathetically. No comprehensive scientific report nor any technical insight has been published on a nationwide scale so far. Despite our dozens of doctorate scientists, including geologists and engineers, wresting hundreds of millions of government funds on stale and useless research, Pakistan is once again dependent on international scientific and technical help to prevent and manage this potential disasters. Indeed, it is time for the government to revise its policy relating higher education. After all, our poor country cannot afford spending billions on producing science parrots and paperwork only while the nation is always dependent on outside help in any crisis.