PORTAL RASMI
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
Chile’s fire-ravaged communities pull together as frustrations mount over state response
- Admin UKK
- Berita
CONCEPCION, Chile, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Fires near the southern Chilean city of Concepcion were dying down by Wednesday morning as cloudy weather and humid air brought cooler temperatures to the coastal region after days of extreme heat fueled the deadly blaze.
Plumes of smoke still lingered, and the current death toll of 20 is expected to rise as police and the state coroner searched for bodies in apartment blocks destroyed by the fires.
As searches continued, residents began clearing debris and rebuilding with aid mostly from neighbors and volunteers.
Carlos Lopez, a city councillor from nearby Cobquecura, gathered money, nails, wood, cement and other construction materials with help from local businesses and delivered them by truck to Punta de Parra, one of the hardest-hit areas that saw dozens of homes destroyed.
RESIDENT SAW 'DREAMS DISAPPEAR'
"We saw the desperation and the need and put our hand on our heart," Lopez said.
The truck ran out of wood before local resident Doralisa Silva, 34, could get any, but she received toys and jackets for her two-year-old daughter, Celeste. They were sheltering beneath metal sheets propped against a surviving cement wall.
"It was chaotic and painful, seeing all your dreams disappear overnight," Silva said.
When the fire broke out, Silva tried to flee the town with her daughter but exits were engulfed, forcing her to take refuge in a dirt field by their home.
Silva and other affected residents praised community help but criticized what they described as a lack of national government support.
"All the help we have right now has been from people who’ve delivered meals, food, everything," said neighbor Nancy Barrientos, 44, who called for tents, bathrooms or clear information from authorities.
MAYOR CRITICIZES SLOW RESPONSE
The mayor of nearby Penco, Rodrigo Vera, said local governments were restoring basic services such as electricity but echoed criticism of a slow national response.
"It took 12 hours to declare an emergency," Vera said, adding the delay had hindered deployment of military and firefighting resources. "Everything has been slow. People's pain isn't tomorrow, it was yesterday."
Outgoing President Gabriel Boric visited Concepcion on Sunday but not the destroyed communities, citing security concerns.
In Temuco on Tuesday, Boric said reconstruction would begin once searches for victims were complete and that emergency housing and financial aid were starting.
"We are working at maximum speed, but there are processes that must be respected," Boric said.
His office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Boric's government was criticized for a slow reconstruction following deadly fires in Valparaiso in 2024. President-elect Jose Antonio Kast, who takes office on March 11, has vowed to prioritize reconstruction in fire-hit communities.
"People are hungry and need a roof. This requires a different rhythm and political will," Vera said.
(Reporting by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Cassandra Garrison and Alison Williams)
Tanah runtuh, beberapa individu dilaporkan hilang di tapak perkhemahan di Pulau Utara, New Zealand
- Admin UKK
- Berita
WELLINGTON: Beberapa individu dilaporkan hilang susulan kejadian tanah runtuh berhampiran sebuah tapak perkhemahan di Pulau Utara New Zealand hari ini.
Kejadian itu berlaku susulan hujan lebat yang menyebabkan pelbagai kemusnahan dengan ribuan penduduk dipindahkan, terputus bekalan elektrik dan jalan raya ditutup.
Perkhidmatan kecemasan sedang memberi respons terhadap kejadian tanah runtuh berhampiran sebuah tapak perkhemahan di Mount Maunganui, destinasi pelancongan popular di wilayah Bay of Plenty, di sepanjang pantai utara New Zealand.
Pihak polis dalam satu kenyataan berkata, kerja menyelamat di kawasan tapak perkhemahan itu sudah digerakkan dan perkhidmatan kecemasan sedang berusaha mengesan individu yang masih berada di kawasan berkenaan.
Media tempatan turut melaporkan, helikopter dikerah bagi menyokong usaha mencari dan menyelamat yang sedang berjalan.
Perdana Menteri New Zealand, Christopher Luxon menerusi platform X memaklumkan sedang 'memantau secara aktif situasi di seluruh negara termasuk insiden besar di Gunung Maunganui'.
Katanya, cuaca ekstrem terus menyebabkan keadaan berbahaya di seluruh Pulau Utara.
Menteri Pengurusan dan Pemulihan Kecemasan, Mark Mitchell memberitahu Radio NZ, hujan lebat melanda hampir keseluruhan pesisir timur Pulau Utara.
"Berita baiknya, semua pihak bertindak balas dengan sangat pantas. Ada masa untuk membuat persiapan dan ini membantu mengurangkan risiko serta mewujudkan respons yang kukuh," katanya.
Pihak Berkuasa Pengangkutan New Zealand melaporkan beberapa jalan utama ditutup di Northland, Bay of Plenty dan Waikato.
Pihak berkuasa tempatan berkata, beberapa komuniti kecil masih terputus hubungan akibat kerosakan jalan raya.
Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, agensi ramalan cuaca New Zealand, MetService menarik balik semua amaran cuaca di Pulau Utara susulan sistem tekanan rendah tropika bergerak ke timur.
Beberapa amaran masih berkuat kuasa di Pulau Selatan, namun dijangka beransur reda hari ini.
Sementara itu, hujan lebat berterusan di bahagian utara Pulau Utara New Zealand menyebabkan kerosakan infrastruktur yang memaksa penduduk dipindahkan, ribuan terputus bekalan elektrik, jalan raya ditutup serta dua individu dilaporkan hilang selepas tanah runtuh menyebabkan kerosakan sebuah kediaman.
Menteri Pengurusan Kecemasan dan Pemulihan, Mark Mitchell, berkata pasukan kecemasan sedang mencari dua individu selepas kejadian tanah runtuh merempuh kediaman mereka, manakala tujuh orang terpaksa diselamatkan dari atas bumbung rumah selepas air deras melimpah masuk.
Seorang lagi lelaki masih hilang selepas dihanyutkan bersama kenderaannya semalam.
Pihak Berkuasa Pengangkutan New Zealand memaklumkan beberapa jalan utama ditutup di Northland, Bay of Plenty dan Waikato.
Jabatan Meteorologi New Zealand, MetService pula mengumumkan semua amaran cuaca di Pulau Utara sudah ditarik balik apabila sistem ribut tropika bergerak ke arah timur.
Beberapa amaran masih berkuat kuasa di Pulau Selatan, namun dijangka reda hari ini.
KARACHI, Jan 22 — With pollution in Pakistan hitting record highs in recent years, citizens clutching air monitors and legal papers are taking the fight for clean air into their own hands.
More than a decade ago, engineer Abid Omar had a “sneaking suspicion” that what the government described as seasonal fog was actually a new phenomenon.
“It wasn’t there in my childhood” in Lahore, said the 45-year-old who now lives in coastal Karachi, where the sea breeze no longer saves residents from smog.
With no official data available at the time, Omar asked himself: “If the government is not fulfilling its mandate to monitor air pollution, why don’t I do that for myself?”
His association, the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI), installed its first monitor in 2016 and now has around 150 nationwide.
The data feeds into the monitoring organisation IQAir, which in 2024 classified Pakistan as the third most-polluted country in the world.
Levels of cancer-causing PM2.5 microparticles were on average 14 times the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily maximum.
PAQI data has already played a key role in the adoption of pollution policies, serving as evidence during a 2017 case at Lahore’s high court to have smog recognised as air pollution that is a danger to public health.
Using one of their air monitors, PAQI demonstrated that “the air quality was hazardous inside the courtroom”, Omar said.
The court then ordered the regional government of Punjab to deploy its own monitoring stations — now 44 across the province — and make the data public.
But the government also says private monitors are unreliable and cause panic.
Researchers say, however, that these devices are essential to supplement official data that they view as fragmented and insufficiently independent.
“They got alarmed and shut down some stations when the air pollution went up,” Omar said.
3D-printed monitors
Officials have overhauled the management of brick kilns, a major source of black carbon emissions, and taken other measures such as fining drivers of high-emission vehicles and incentivising farmers to stop agricultural burning.
Worried about their community in Islamabad, academics Umair Shahid and Taha Ali established the Curious Friends of Clean Air organisation.
In three years, they have deployed a dozen plug-sized devices, made with a 3D printer at a cost of around US$50 (RM200) each, which clock air quality every three minutes.
Although they do not contribute to IQAir’s open-source map or have government certification, their readings have highlighted alarming trends and raised awareness among their neighbours.
An outdoor yoga exercise group began scheduling their practice “at times where the air quality is slightly better in the day”, said Shahid.
He has changed the times of family outings to minimise the exposure of his children, who are particularly vulnerable, to the morning and evening pollution peaks.
Their data has also been used to convince neighbours to buy air purifiers — which are prohibitively expensive for most Pakistanis — or to use masks that are rarely worn in the country.
‘Right to breathe’
The records show air quality remains poor throughout the year, even when the pollution haze is not visible to the naked eye.
“The government is trying to control the symptoms, but not the origin,” said Ali.
Pollution exposure in Pakistan caused 230,000 premature deaths and illnesses in 2019, with health costs equivalent to nine percent of GDP, according to the World Bank.
Frustrated with what they see as government inaction, some citizens have taken the legal route.
Climate campaigner Hania Imran, 22, sued the state in December 2024 for the “right to breathe clean air”.
She is pushing the authorities to switch to cleaner fuel supplies, but no date has been set for a verdict and the outcome remains unclear.
“We need accessible public transport... we need to go towards sustainable development,” said Imran, who moved from Lahore to Islamabad in search of better air quality.
Pollution has multiple causes, she said, and “it’s actually our fault. We have to take accountability for it.” — AFP
JAKARTA, 21 Jan: Kerajaan Indonesia secara rasmi menarik balik lesen operasi 28 syarikat yang didapati melanggar peraturan pemanfaatan hutan, dipercayai mengakibatkan kerosakan alam sekitar serta menjadi antara punca bencana banjir di wilayah Sumatera.
Syarikat-syarikat terbabit beroperasi di tiga wilayah yang terjejas teruk akibat bencana berkenaan, iaitu Aceh, Sumatera Utara dan Sumatera Barat.
Menteri Setiausaha Negara, Prasetyo Hadi, berkata keputusan itu dibuat menerusi mesyuarat terhad yang dipengerusikan Presiden Prabowo Subianto selepas Pasukan Petugas Penertiban Kawasan Hutan (Satgas PKH) membentangkan hasil siasatan terhadap syarikat-syarikat yang didapati melanggar syarat perlesenan serta peraturan alam sekitar.
“Berdasarkan laporan tersebut, Presiden telah membuat keputusan untuk menarik balik lesen operasi 28 syarikat yang terbukti melakukan pelanggaran,” katanya.
Daripada jumlah itu, 22 syarikat merupakan pemegang Lesen Usaha Pemanfaatan Hutan (PBPH) bagi hutan semula jadi dan hutan tanaman, melibatkan kawasan seluas lebih 1.01 juta hektar, manakala enam lagi syarikat membabitkan sektor perlombongan, perladangan serta pemanfaatan hasil hutan kayu (PBPHHK).
Secara terperinci, lesen 22 pemegang PBPH yang ditarik balik melibatkan tiga syarikat di Aceh, enam di Sumatera Barat dan 13 di Sumatera Utara. Manakala enam syarikat PBPHHK masing-masing melibatkan dua syarikat di setiap wilayah berkenaan.
Prasetyo menegaskan kerajaan akan terus memperketatkan pengawasan terhadap semua aktiviti berasaskan sumber alam bagi memastikan pematuhan terhadap undang-undang, demi melindungi alam sekitar serta mengelakkan berulangnya bencana seperti banjir besar di Sumatera. -TVS
TORONTO, Jan 22 — The world is facing irreversible water “bankruptcy”, with billions of people struggling to cope with the consequences of decades of overuse as well as shrinking supplies from lakes, rivers, glaciers and wetlands, UN researchers said yesterday.
Nearly three-quarters of the global population live in countries classified as “water insecure” or “critically water insecure”, and four billion people face severe water scarcity at least one month per year, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warned in a report.
“Many regions are living beyond their hydrological means, and many critical water systems are already bankrupt,” said Kaveh Madani, lead author and director of the institute.
“By acknowledging the reality of water bankruptcy, we can finally make the hard choices that will protect people, economies and ecosystems,” he said.
The report said water supplies are “already in a post-crisis state of failure” after decades of unsustainable extraction rates that have drawn down water “savings” contained in aquifers, glaciers, soils, wetlands and river ecosystems, with supplies also degraded by pollution.
More than 170 million hectares of irrigated cropland — an area larger than Iran — are under “high” or “very high” water stress, and economic damage from land degradation, groundwater depletion and climate change amounts to more than US$300 billion (RM1.2 trillion) a year worldwide, the report said.
Three billion people and more than half of global food production are concentrated in areas already facing unstable or declining water storage levels, while salinisation has also degraded more than 100 million hectares of cropland, it said.
The researchers wrote that the current approach to solving water problems was no longer fit for purpose, and the priority was not “returning to normal” but a new “global water agenda” designed to minimise damage.
However, Jonathan Paul, geoscience professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the report did not address one major factor behind the crisis.
“The elephant in the room, which is mentioned explicitly only once, is the role of massive and uneven population growth in driving so many of the manifestations of water bankruptcy,” he said. — Reuters