NEW ISSUE OF WORLD RIVERS REVIEW ONLINE
Catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, dam breaks around the world, and drought-caused blackouts in Africa provide ample warning of how global warming is changing our watery world.
The September 2010 issue of World Rivers Review looks at how climate change is affecting rivers and water resources, and examines the risks associated with building dams at a time of great hydrological uncertainty. Get the full story on what these challenges mean for dam safety, river-based communities, energy production, and the environment - and the solutions that can help us survive.
Mapping Africa's Hydrodependency
This special issue features a graphic look at the problem of hydrodependency in Africa (
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/5808) in a time of growing drought; an interview with Dr. Margaret Palmer, an expert on climate change and rivers; and an essay by global water expert Sandra Postel, who explains how we can better adapt to a "new normal" for managing water on our climate-challenged planet.
The issue also has an update on dam- failures caused by extreme rains (
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/5796). It's sadly a growing phenomenon: see below for news about a new dam disaster in Ghana, where at least 17 people have died from a dam-related flood (see below).
Best,
Lori Pottinger
----------------------------------------
Dam spill floods kill 17 in Ghana
(AFP) – 9 hours ago
ACCRA — At least 17 people have drowned in northern Ghana in recent weeks after nearby Burkina Faso opened spillway gates to dams following heavy rains, the country's relief agency said on Friday.
"As at yesterday, the death toll in the three northern regions stood at 17 and a number of farmlands have been destroyed," National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) spokesman Nicholas Mensah told AFP.
He said while the area was already flooded due to torrential rains that have pounded the area recently, the situation was worsened when Burkina Faso released water from its overflowing dams. Burkina Faso authorities opened the floodgates on August 10.
"We have had lots of rains up north. Burkina Faso has also experienced the same pattern of rain and they are spilling water from their dams," he said.
"That has exacerbated the problem we have already been having with rainfall," he added.
Burkina Faso had alerted Ghana of its plans and the agency told people in the most vulnerable areas to move," said Mensah.
Torrential rains have killed more than 30 people in southern Ghana, including in the seasside capital Accra, in what experts described as the worst floods in a decade.
Copyright © 2010 AFP.
No comments:
Post a Comment