Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Eight countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus and five in Southeast Asia are implementing early warning systems to protect against weather-related events, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Today 14 October is International Day for Disaster Reduction, and the agency is highlighting how early warning and disaster risk reduction can save many lives when extreme weather strikes. Similar projects were introduced in seven southeast European countries in 2007.
These national and regional cooperation projects are part of a concerted programme that relies on technical expertise and funding provided by the WMO, the World Bank, UNDP and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).
“Natural hazards are a part of life. But natural hazards only become disasters when people’s lives and livlihoods are swept away…” (Kofi Annan, World Disaster Reduction Day, 2003)
A strong earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale shook eastern parts of Taiwan and Japan’s southernmost Ryukyu islands early Monday morning 17 August. No immediate injuries were reported. Taiwan is still suffering the aftermath of typhoon Murakot, which dumped 2.5 metres of water on the island nine days ago and caused flooding and mudslides that may have killed more than 500 people. CNN, Reuters
Rescue workers have stopped trying to dig out the village of Shiao Lin in Taiwan, with nearly 400 people feared buried by a mudslide caused by Typhoon Morakot, which dumped two metres of rain on the island in a short time. The government says a memorial service will be held on the spot where 170 homes were buried. More than 15,000 people have been rescued after being hit by the storm which provoked Taiwan’s worst floods in 50 years, but rescuers are still trying to reach another 1,900 people. The government has to date confirmed 116 people dead from the storm, not including Shiao Lin. In a strange twist, Taiwan’s media carry the story of what is alternately described as the about-face in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on foreign disaster aid or an administrative mistake that led to a government office initially telling other offices not to accept rescue assistance from abroad. BBC, China Post, Taipei Times
Taiwanese rescuers located up to 700 people 11 and 12 August who were earlier feared engulfed in mudslides in the mountainous south of the country, in Kaohsiung county. “We have found around 700 people alive in three villages last night and 26 more this morning. We are deploying 25 helicopters to evacuate them,” said Richard Hu, a senior official in the rescue effort. The worst flooding in 50 years left at least 60 people dead and many hundreds still missing, after typhoon Morakot passed over the island and dumped 200 cm of rain in 24 hours. A rescue helicopter crashed into a mountain side in remote Pingtung County 11 August, killing all three people on board. CNA, Reuters
Chinese authorities evacuated almost one million people from coastal areas in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces ahead of typhoon Morakot, which made landfall early morning 9 August in China. Sustained winds of over 110 km per hour, and reports of 9-metre waves caused floods and destroyed buildings. Thousands of fishing boats were warned to return to harbour. The typhoon had already wreaked havoc in Taiwan: the BBC shows dramatic footage of an empty hotel being undermined by up to 200 cm of rain in 24 hours as the storm passed over the island. In the Philippines, the storm caused widespread damage, flooding and mudslides.BBC, CNN, Reuters, Xinhua
Crowd at the Piazza Grande - Photo ©Locarno Film Festival
Locarno, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Leopard is alive and well, thank you very much. The 62nd edition of the Locarno Film Festival got off to a great start this week in southeastern Switzerland. Almost 400 films (180 feature and 210 shorts) are on the agenda for the 10-day extravaganza in Locarno, canton Ticino, from 5-15 August.
According to its director, Marco Solari, this is the “edgiest” film festival in the world and it is keeping its cool by shying away from more “mainstream, commercial films.” Thus the movies competing for the Golden Leopard promise to keep the jury and the expected 180,000 spectators busy.
This year, a special Japanese animation retrospective has been scheduled as well as a Swiss films day. The festival’s Open Door Factory event is dedicated to Chinese films from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Nasa photos of solar eclipse 22 July: Taiwan at 08:30 and 09:30 - the world turns black and white
Nasa, the US aeronatics and space administration, has published a series of images of the 22 July total solar eclipse, the most complete eclipse during the 21st century, and it provides a wealth of information about the eclipes, including maps and a link to live coverage on a special Nasa 22 July total solar eclipse web site.
Film reviews from Visions du Réel
For writer and director Shen Ko-Shang, character development is fundamental to movie making. “I have seen many nice films here [at the Visions du Réel Film Festival] but for me to really like a movie, the characters have to have heart,” Ko-Shang explained through an interpreter. Shen Ko-Shang, whose documentary “Baseball Boys” and film short ”Fading” were screened this week at the Visions du Réel Film Festival, shared with GenevaLunch his impressions of the festival and thoughts on filmmaking.
Film characters have to "have heart"
A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Ko-Shang travelled “half-way” around the world for the premier of “Baseball Boys.” The documentary is based in a rural area of Taiwan, characterized by its native inhabitants and traditional lifestyle.
It was this unique background which interested Ko-Shang, and inspired him to document the trials and tribulations of an aspiring Little League boy’s team in Hulien Province on Taiwan’s East Coast. “These kids are unique due to their background and rural heritage. This way of life is very distinct from my reality in Taipei and I find their experiences interesting.”
Some 800 protesters have surrounded the hotel in Taipei where Chun Yenlin, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Taiwan in decades, is staying, reports the BBC, while Xinhua News in China reports that cross-straits agreements signed between Beijing and Taipei this week are drawing strong interest from airline and shipping companies.
Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into Taiwan and is now headed for Japan after killing five people, with seven missing and rescue work underway in some areas, with at least one bridge that has collapsed and a hotel in a resort buried by a mudslide. CNN
