A recent world report revealed that many people died of water borne diseases as a result of floods in 2007.
According to Concern, one of the organisations involved in relief operations in Bangladesh , devastating floods in August 2007 affected up to 28 million people in India , Nepal and Bangladesh . Concern.
The Bangladesh Red Cross (BDRCS) tried all it can to help people after Cyclone SIDR hit the country in November 2007. As a result, many people died and property was devastated. As of 10 December, 3,347 people were reported dead as a result of the cyclone and infrastructure, crops and roads were reported as extensively damaged according to Bangladesh Red Cross (BDRCS).
Others in some pars of the world died because of drinking dirty unclean water due to scarcity of clean treated water.
Many people died of cholera in Malawi , Africa after Blantyre city did not have water for two days in November 2007. People resorted to drinking dirty water. As this report was being compiled over 20 cases of cholera were being treated.
World Health Organisation officials in Malawi expressed concern in December 2007 after over 290 people in Malawi had been attacked by cholera.
Floods also affected many people in Lower Shire, Southern Malawi in 2007. Many diseases like malaria and dysentery were prevalent.
Disasters have not even spared developed countries.
In United States of America , some people have recently died as a result of fires. The government had to shift people to Army Barracks to save them from raving fires in California and other states .Before the fires, many people died as a result of Katrina in New Orleans and other parts of the country. According to Earth Institute, the exact deaths as a result of Katrina may not be actually known.
Are governments serious to plan for disasters?
Others say global warming which has already killed many people in Europe can be avoided? How can this be prevented?
At a disaster reduction workshop which took place in December, 2004 in Nairobi , Kenya organized by the United Nations, participants, all journalists drawn from some African countries, were told that disasters can be avoided.
The seminar was coming at a time when many people died of floods in Mozambique . The lucky ones were saved by helicopters.
Some of the people rescued later died of water borne diseases. They drank from contaminated water from pit latrines washed by floods.
The facilitators cited the example of weather stations which can predict flush floods or lack of rain in some parts of the world saying this can be a wake up call for governments to plan before the actual time of disaster comes.
It was agreed at the workshop that planners should not wait for disasters but plan before hand.
Journalists established a network that would be a source of information in alerting policy makers, among others, so as to plan for disasters to prevent loss of life and diseases.
Stories were filed in Major newspapers and policy makers were told what to do after weather forecasts had predicted disasters. Yet not many countries have headed the warnings.
South East Asia has been experiencing floods for a number of years. Each year many people have lost their lives.
Abdul from Bangladesh said in an interview many people do not heed warnings from the weather experts.
¡°People are always told that there will be flush floods. But people have nowhere to go .They just expect the worst,¡± he said.
He said after the floods many people die of water borne diseases. They are mostly people living in cemeteries and those living along the streets.
At the Commonwealth Heads of State and Governments of 2007 which took place in Kampala, Uganda, President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni bemoaned the wanton cutting of trees saying it has caused lack of rains in some parts of the world.
Lack of water has in most of the times caused famines in some parts of sub Saharan Africa which has led to death of many people.
For example, in Ethiopia and some parts of Kenya , many people died and most children suffered from malnutrition related diseases as a result of famine.
Did the weather forecast in that country or regional centres in Africa warn them in advance? What action did the countries take?
Most disasters cannot be avoided. However loss of life can be minimized if measures are taken in place before the disaster. .
In most African countries, floods have created stagnant water, creating breeding places of mosquitoes. Health officials should ensure they are not a menace to people living around such places.
Most of the victims are children and pregnant mothers.
Already the World Health Organisation say malaria kills more people than wars ravaging in most parts of the world today.
There is therefore need for World Bodies like United Nations to monitor countries to ensure they comply with warnings to ensure there is no loss of life from floods and flood related diseases.
They should make such countries accountable for the deaths as a result of disasters and disaster related diseases because they were warned in advance.
The World Body should also ensure there is no discrimination in saving lives during disasters by countries.
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