Shelter Centre

August 11, 2010: "e;A teenage girl died Wednesday when raging floodwaters swept three cars off a road near Des Moines, and hundreds had to evacuate their homes as widespread flooding struck Iowa after three nights of rain.In Ames, flooding contributed...

July 25, 2010: "Warning sirens are blowing in the small eastern Iowa town of Hopkinton as water continues to flow through a dam on Lake Delhi.Torrential rains have been causing the lake to rise in recent days. Floodwaters from the Maquoketa River have eat...

On 7/18/2010 5:56:44 AM, an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 and depth 10km occurred in United States. This earthquake potentially affected <10000 people.

June 11, 2010: "e;At least 12 people died at an Arkansas campground after heavy rain and flash flooding and many more could be trapped in the area, state authorities said.Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe told CNN there"e;s word from the Red Cross that the...

NEW YORK, 19 May 2010 (IRIN) - The dangers of rapid and chaotic
urbanization were made obvious in the aftermath of the 12 January
earthquake in Haiti as the population of the densely populated capital
city was left vulnerable to the disaster’s consequences.

But the superpower to the north has long overlooked the importance of
urbanization in its deployment of foreign assistance, according to
legislation now being considered by the Senate. The Sustainable Urban
Development Act of 2010 - introduced by Sens. Benjamin Cardin
(D-Maryland), Dick Durban (D-Illinois), and John Kerry (D-Massachusetts)
on 20 April - directs USAID to better tackle the problems of enlarging
slums, increasing levels of pollution, overburdened transport systems,
and lack of affordable housing.

“We all recognize that the 21st century is the century of the city.
There is an explosion of urban growth around the globe - already the
majority of the world’s population lives in urban areas, with
approximately one billion people residing in slums. The phenomenon of
urbanization will be ignored at our own peril. Responsible citizens of
the world must consciously harness their creativity and ingenuity to
increase the livability, economic viability, and environmental
sustainability of our cities,” said Kerry, introducing the bill.

His point was reinforced at the recent World Economic Forum Africa
meeting in Dar es Salaam, when Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of
UN-HABITAT and UN Under-Secretary-General, emphasized that urbanization
was one of the key challenges facing the continent. “Africa is
urbanizing faster that any other continent, so much so that by 2030,
Africa will cease to be a rural continent. Despite this, few African
leaders are taking the issue seriously," she said.

"It is time that policy makers include plans for balanced territorial
urban development. This is one of the keys to economic growth especially
as investment in infrastructure and housing in African cities provides a
great opportunity for the private sector,” she said.

Reversing the trend

William Cobbett, programme manager of the Cities Alliance, told IRIN
the bill was significant because it showed the US was prepared to
formally recognize the importance of urbanization. He said that in the
wake of a “very steady” decline of US aid in this area, he was
heartened by the possibility that trend would be reversed.

“I just applaud its existence,” he said of the bill, which he has
been sending to colleagues throughout the world as an example of
forward-thinking public policy.

The legislation directs the administrator of USAID to update the Making
Cities Work Urban Strategy, which has been in existence for almost a
decade. It also suggests establishing a senior adviser for urban
sustainable development at the agency and launching a “pilot urban
strategies initiative” implemented in select cities in the developing
world.

A spokeswoman for USAID said the agency would not comment on pending
legislation and recommended reviewing the urban programmes in
operation.

Scepticism

However, Alanna Shaikh, a global health professional who blogs at
UNDispatch.com and other sites, wrote: “The ideas in the legislation
are nothing new, and adding another mandatory annual report to an
already overburdened agency is just annoying. Not to mention that the
legislation doesn’t include any new financial resources; it calls for
USAID to support all of this out of its existing budget.

"If Congress really wants USAID to scale up efforts to make
urbanization beneficial, then they ought to allocate more money to make
that happen. If you want a new focus and new programmes to support it,
you need to find new money.”

A congressional aide speaking to IRIN on condition of anonymity
countered that the bill was a “first step”. The objective was to
“bring about some awareness that this
is something that is a
priority”. Nothing would assist that process more, he suggested, than
a piece of legislation that has passed both houses of Congress and been
signed into law by President Barack Obama. Congress would then “put
the money where the policy is”, he said.

The legislation, the aide said, can be seen as part of the broader
effort to rethink the US approach to development, exemplified by the
ongoing Presidential Study Directive on Global Development - conducted
by the White House’s National Security Council - and State
Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.

The bill must first be voted out of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee - of which all three Senators are members - before being
considered by the full Senate.

 

Original Article

May 4, 2010: "The Cumberland River finally began receding Tuesday, exposing mud-caked homes and submerged cars as officials searched door to door for more victims of a record-busting flash flood and weekend storm already blamed for nearly 30 deaths...."

Church World Service February 23, 2010 Miami, Florida -- For Estamene Lamour, 58, and her daughter Stania Jean, 26, and for Alice Michaud, 58, and her daughter Guilene Honore, the earthquake that nearly destroyed the ...

Source: Reuters * U.S. warns of humanitarian crisis in north Darfur camp * Refugees refuse aid from state-backed relief groups * Growing risk of disease in camps (Recasts to add U.S. concerns over Darfur's ...

President Obamas speech on U.S. policy in Iraq Friday was significant for two reasons. First, he announced that by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end and that I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Second, he said that the U.S. will work with Iraq and other countries in the region to help the millions of displaced Iraqis.

He told the Marines at Camp LeJeune, N.C. that these men, women, and children are a living consequence of this war and a challenge to stability in the region, and they must become part of Iraqs reconciliation and recovery. America has a strategic interest and a moral responsibilityto act. In the coming months, my administration will provide more assistance and take steps to increase international support for countries already hosting refugees: well cooperate with others to resettle Iraqis facing great personal risk; and we will work with the Iraqi government over time to resettle refugees and displaced Iraqis within Iraqbecause there are few more powerful indicators of lasting peace than displaced citizens returning home.

 ... 

The arrival of displaced Baro people in a southern Colombian town raises fears that conflict has arrived in the remote region and highlights problems about ID.

Environment News Service
Texas Starts on the Long Road to Recovery
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Environment News Service
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Washington offers aid to hurricane-blasted Cuba
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We are becoming increasingly concerned about the humanitarian situation along southern Colombia's Pacific coast, where thousands of people have been displaced or caught in fighting. In the Cauca region,...