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In 1970-2008, disasters caused by climate change (storms, floods, droughts, forest fires, extreme temperatures, and health) cost LAC countries US$81.4 billion a year.

Provence & Cote d'Azur: 25 reported dead and fears more bodies will be found as massive clean-up operation begins in the Var After the flood Apocalyptic visions are continuing to emerge from the Var in the wake of the torrential rainfall that has been plaguing the region since Tuesday. The scenes are almost impossible to comprehend: battered cars floating down rivers that were just a few days ago normal village streets, residents surrounded by water and stranded on roofs and terraces waiting to be airlifted to safety, buildings destroyed. Most devastating of all: the death toll is rising. The number of dead now lies at 25, the majority of fatalities occurring to people travelling in vehicles. As the water starts to go down, there are fears that more bodies will be found. The situation was not helped this morning as further rain storms hit the worst affected areas, which includes Les Arcs, Draguignan, Roquebrune and Trans. The latest weather disaster to hit the region, the worst flood recorded since 1827, has already left a tragic trail of destruction and death in its wake. Among the victims; a Dutch woman in Fréjus who was swept away in a caravan being towed by her husband; a 19-year-old mechanic who was crushed inside his car in Draguignan; and an 18-month-old baby who was taken by the water from his mother's arms in Roquebrune. Damage to property has been extensive. With homes flooded and commercial buildings torn apart, normal life has come to a standstill in many places and the area resembles more a conflict zone than a popular holiday destination in the South of France. 25,000 homes were still without electricity today and schools, shops and offices remain shut. People are being strongly advised to avoid travelling in the region. The A8 may be open but many of the surrounding smaller roads have been closed and the trains continue to be severely disrupted. Yesterday, government leaders rushed to the disaster site. Brice Hortefeux, Minister of the Interior, in the Var yesterday afternoon, said that this was “an unprecedented disaster in the region.” Joining Hortefeux was Hubert Falco, France’s Secretary of State and the mayor of Toulon, the Var capital. President Sarkozy is expected to arrive in the area early next week. One million euros has been made immediately available, from national funds, for the recovery operation and more will be provided. This same sum was given to Nice and Cannes in the aftermath of the coup de mer in April and the situation this time around is seemingly far worse. It is almost incomprehensible that two “natural disasters” of this scale could occur in the region one so soon after the other. It highlighted for the second time in almost as many months how important it is to be well prepared for extreme weather conditions. As water filled and flooded streets quickly on Tuesday night, it is clear that many urban and residential areas are not designed to cope with heavy rainfall. Furthermore, it has been suggested that this kind of catastrophe can be exacerbated because a culture of risk simply does not exist in France. French senator, Bruno Retailleau, speaking at a press conference this morning, said that France must take better precautions against the risk of floods, which are the nation’s most common 'natural disaster'. He went on to say that the country has the tools to work with and the regulations in place to take preemptive measures against freak weather behaviour but that these are not used adequately. HM

Eight of the 12 most expensive disasters in U.S. history have occurred since 2004, Munich Re said. Weather-related catastrophes have increased at a faster rate than geophysical events, he said. “Global warming has already and will in the future contribute to the increase in the probability of these events,” he said.

“Over the last 30 years, Asia has been the continent with the largest increase in frequency of weather-related disasters. Loss-relevant events have tripled in number which presents new challenges for all exposed economies.”

Alluding to the impact of climate change and its impact, Munich Re said that over the last century, the Asian continent has seen the largest temperature increase.

Add this one to the year’s lengthening list of natural disasters — a bumper crop of poison ivy. It’s flourishing this summer, which, The Wall Street Journal says, “is shaping up to be one of its most virulent and unpredictable seasons.”

Long term, it seems that poison ivy responds positively to global warming, especially the increase in carbon dioxide, which produces bigger and more irritating plants.

Most people in Cambodia depend on farming for their livelihoods. 84 percent live in rural areas. Many live in high risk areas from flooding, droughts and cyclones. Kim Rattana of Caritas Cambodia said, "One of the biggest challenges we are facing in our development work is the increasing occurrence of natural disaster. What we have achieved over many years is being destroyed by storms and washed away by floods." Last year, Typhoon Ketsana destroyed hundreds of homes in Cambodia. Caritas Cambodia had to provide 30,000 people with relief items and food. Low water levels in the Mekong this year, the lifeline that runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, are threatening the livelihoods of more than 60 million people who live along it. In Cambodia, drought has already destroyed harvests and made fishing very difficult.

People in Cambodia don’t have the resources to adapt. That means they are extremely vulnerable to extreme or unpredictable weather. Climate variability has also brought health risks for some of Cambodia's most vulnerable communities. People are vulnerable to diseases like dengue fever, typhoid and diarrhea. Cambodia’s Ministry of Health predicts that under changing climate conditions will increase incidence of malaria by as much as 16 percent. Poor infrastructures and high poverty rates make malaria treatment unaffordable for large segments of the population. Only 55% of the population has access to public health facilities.

Aruvian's R'search presents Global Warming & the Insurance Industry - a new research report which analyzes the impact global warming and climate change is having on the insurance industry, which some say is the worst hit industry when it comes to battling and getting over the growing number of natural disasters.The research report looks at the cause and effect of Global Warming, the technicalities of the Kyoto Protocol, Global Climate Models, the economics of global warming, and then moves on to analyze the impact of global warming on the insurance industry. This is analyzed through growth drivers, issues facing the industry when it comes to global warming, the various action models the insurance industry is following in order to combat global warming, and much more. An analysis of the major insurers which are involved in the global warming debate such as Swiss Re, Munich Re, etc., is also included in the report.

In China, an estimated 200 million people are impacted by natural catastrophes every year. The rising number of severe weather-related natural catastrophes, also due to climate change, is increasing losses and impacting economic development.

“Due to its exposure to all weather-related perils, its large population and the fast growth in economic values, China is especially affected by climate change – and will be even more so in the future,” said Prof. Peter Höppe, Head of Geo Risks Research at Munich Re . “Over the last 30 years, Asia has been the continent with the largest increase in frequency of weather-related disasters. Loss-relevant events have tripled in number, which presents new challenges for all exposed economies.

Over the last century, with a rise of more than 1°C, Asia has been the continent with the largest temperature increase.

Mumbai has over the last four years seen a gradual decline in the number of rain days, states data compiled by the disaster management department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). While it rained on 106 days during the monsoon season in 2006, it only rained on 92 days in 2008. The number further came down to 86 in 2009.

Interestingly, however, even as the number of rain days decreased by almost 19%, for the last year when rains were deficient, the total rainfall witnessed has not deviated much.

Extreme rain events have increased due to climatic changes and global warming, a senior civic official said.

Spring did not come for the oaks of Martha's Vineyard. For three years, the residents here watched a stunning outbreak of caterpillars that stripped an oak tree bare in a week, then wafted on gossamer threads to another.  In the denuded branches, scientists see a fingerprint of climate change - and a pattern of things to come. The islanders fought through clouds of drifting filaments with brooms, brushed off the showers of excrement after they walked under trees, and tiptoed through a maze of half-inch worms on the sidewalks. The local newspapers ran pictures of building sides covered with caterpillars, looking like horror-movie outtakes. 

Spring did not come for the oaks of Martha's Vineyard. For three years, the residents here watched a stunning outbreak of caterpillars that stripped an oak tree bare in a week, then wafted on gossamer threads to another. 

In the denuded branches, scientists see a fingerprint of climate change - and a pattern of things to come.

A storm system that stagnated over the Lower Mississippi Valley on May 1st–2nd killed 29 people and flooded thousands of homes and businesses. The storms spawned dozens of tornadoes and brought record amounts of rain to numerous locations in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Preliminary reports indicated that more than 200 daily, monthly, and all-time precipitation records were broken across the three states. According to the National Weather Service, Bowling Green, Kentucky set an all-time daily rainfall record for May of 4.75 inches (120 mm) on May 1st. However, that record was broken the following day as 4.92 inches (125 mm) of precipitation was recorded. The combined total of 9.67 inches (246 mm) was the greatest two-day rainfall total for the area since records began in 1870. In Nashville, the most rain ever recorded in a single calendar day fell on May 2nd—7.25 inches (184 mm)—making the precipitation received on the previous day (6.32 inches or 161 mm) the third-greatest rainfall total in Nashville's history. This led to a record two-day total of 13.53 inches (344 mm), more than doubling the previous record of 6.68 inches (170 mm) received from the remnants of Hurricane Fredrick on September 13th–14th, 1979. By just the second day of the month, Nashville had already recorded its wettest May on record and fifth wettest month ever. The torrential rains caused several rivers to crest at record levels. According to a local U.S. Geological Survey official, the flows on various rivers in the Nashville area exceeded those from the historic 1927 and 1975 floods. The Cumberland River in Nashville crested at 51.85 feet (15.80 m) on May 3rd, nearly 12 feet (3.7 m) above its flood stage—the highest level since an early 1960s flood control project was built (Source: AP). The Duck River in Centerville, Tennessee crested at 47.5 feet (14.4 m), smashing the old record of 37 feet (11.7 m) set in 1983. Fifty-two of Tennesse's 95 counties were declared disaster areas by the governor, as were 73 of Kentucky's 120 counties. Preliminary estimates placed damages at more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has declared a state of emergency in seven Russian regions because of wildfires fuelled by a heatwave. The death toll from the fires has risen to at least 34. The Russian emergencies ministry said 500 new blazes had been discovered over a 24-hour period, but most had been extinguished. Homes have been burnt in 14 regions of Russia, the worst-hit being Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh and Ryazan. The state of emergency was announced in a decree that also restricted public access to the regions affected. Moscow is again shrouded in smoke from peat and forest fires outside the city. The fires, caused by record temperatures and a drought, have affected cereal harvests, driving wheat prices up.

Russians are bracing themselves for another week of high temperatures, with forecasts of up to 40C (104F) for central and southern regions. Officials also expect stronger winds in some regions, which will fan the flames. By Sunday night, wildfires were still raging across some 128,000 ha (316,000 acres).

Thousands of people have lost their homes and nearly a quarter of a million emergency workers have been deployed to fight the flames. President Medvedev described the situation on Saturday as a "natural disaster of the kind that probably only happens every 30 or 40 years". Moscow doctors say the elderly and toddlers should wear gauze masks outdoors.

Killer heat hits Korea, little relief this month

The temperature in South Jeolla hit highs of 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) at the start of the month.

“We are considering announcing the number of heat fatalities on a weekly basis,” said an official at the Health Ministry, “to inform the public of the danger outside.”According to ministry records, 24 people rushed to emergency rooms on Aug. 2 and 3 had no other health problems. Another 16 who went to the hospital had conditions that were made worse by the heat.