CB2: 3 Crises You Should Know About
Today's CB2 is by far the least uplifting to date with at least three major active crises in the eastern hemisphere:
1. Heat, Smog, and Death in Moscow
7,000 are estimated dead so far from record temperatures in Moscow and may climb as high as 15,000 in the weeks ahead, putting it in competition for the deadliest heat wave in recorded history. This figure comes from a mortality rate that has nearly doubled from 350 to 700 deaths per day, overcrowding hospitals and morgues. This unusual heat wave has forced many to flee the city, where even operating rooms exceed 90 degrees, with vehicle temperatures exceeding a deadly 120 degrees.
To make matters worse, heavy smog has infected the city in recent weeks due to raging forest fires and burning peat bogs in Central Russia. The thick smoke has made it difficult for firefighting planes to do their work and has limited Russian’s ability to travel out of Moscow to escape the heat wave.
2. Pakistan Under Water
Pakistan is currently experiencing one of its worst floods in history with over 14 million people in need of assistance that have yet been reached by aid agencies. The worst flooding is in the industrial city of Hyderabad, but to put the scale of this crisis in perspective, over 4,000 square miles are under water - that's 13 times larger than New York City.
1,600 people are estimated dead from the floods to date, with many more threatened should overwhelmed dams begin to fail. With the scale of this disaster, I fear we may see the numbers continue to rise in the weeks ahead.
Footnote: The compassionate Pakistani Taliban have urged the government not to accept any foreign assistance, claiming they will fund the relief themselves.
3. Landslides in China
Landslides in northwestern China have killed 702 so far with 1,042 still missing. This crisis is again attributed to heavy flooding in the region. While over 1,200 people have been rescued as of today, rough terrain has made rescue efforts difficult.
The Chinese government has pledged to help resettle those who lost their homes by June of next year.
Website of the Week: Healthmap.org
Created by the nephew of one of my colleagues, HealthMap is a simple and effective way to visualize health outbreaks throughout the world in real-time. Don’t miss this one.
About Chris Bennett
Chris Bennett is a self-proclaimed emergency management innovator who is trying to make government better by improving citizen preparedness and crisis communications. He’s a graduate of Wharton with a master’s from Harvard with in “Technology, Innovation, Education.” His portfolio of companies and former projects include OneStorm Hurricane Preparedness, ReadyTown, GovLive, TexasPrepares and America’s Emergency Network. Chris was the recipient of FL Governor Crist’s 2008 Public Information Award. He lives in St. Petersburg, FL, loves to fish, and has been spotted sharing a pint with GovLoop Founder Steve Ressler in Tampa.
Comment
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Comment by Brian Bovaird on August 12, 2010 at 6:08pm -
Chris, I had to re-read the title of this one to make sure it wasn't a PSA for global warming! Great highlight of some scary stuff.
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Comment by Candace Riddle on August 11, 2010 at 9:52am -
Cool health map...great information if you're getting ready to travel
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