PORTAL RASMI
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
MELAKA: For the past week, Sungai Air Batu in Kampung Paya Rumput Jaya, Sungai Udang, has turned black and foul-smelling, believed to be due to leachate discharge from a landfill.
The pollution has persisted since 2023, causing distress to villagers, including smallholders and padi farmers. Resident Syukur Azzaki Abdul Talib, 47, said numerous complaints had been lodged with the authorities, but the issue remained unresolved.
"This pollution has gone on day after day, month after month, year after year.
"We've reported everything, but it keeps happening due to seepage from the landfill. "The black water causes a stench in the entire village, not just homes by the riverbank, because the water flows into the main river.
"There used to be fish in the river, but now there's no life in the thick, black water. No one dares go into it," he said during a site visit.
Paya Rumput Hilir Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) chairman Mohamad Abdul Rahman said the pollution had affected farmers and padi growers.
"I am dissatisfied with the leachate from the Sungai Udang landfill flowing into Sungai Air Batu and down to the Sungai Lereh estuary.
"It's unacceptable. We've complained for years. Sometimes action is taken, sometimes not, and yet they continue discharging wastewater without informing JPKKs.
"In my area, vegetable farmers are the worst affected. "They can't water their crops because the water is black and contains chemicals that cause plants to die," he said.
Mohamad, who manages a 12ha padi field, said the contamination was affecting his yield.
"I hope the landfill operator and the state government will monitor the situation and ensure the excess retention ponds can contain the leachate before it enters Sungai Air Batu.
"I also hope Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Committee chairman Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh will raise this issue at the next executive councillor meeting."
Crop farmer Mohd Razali Zakaria, 44, said he had suffered losses after his crops were damaged by the polluted river water.
"I didn't get any harvest from my corn. The plants were damaged, and the fruit turned rotten after being watered with the black, foamy water.
"I planted 1,000 corn stalks and nearly every plant had problems.
"Even when I sprayed pesticides using the contaminated water, the pests didn't die. Instead, fruit flies started attacking the crops."
He said he had invested around RM10,000 in the farm.
BARCELONA: Spanish authorities lifted lockdown measures for thousands of villagers in the northeastern Catalonia region on Wednesday as firefighters began taming a forest fire raging for a third day.
The blaze that started on Monday has burned more than 3,300 hectares (8,154 acres) in Tarragona province, with the protected Els Ports natural park making up around one-third of the affected area, Catalan countryside rangers said.
A stay-at-home order for around 18,000 people decreed on Tuesday was lifted except for the municipality of Pauls, where residents were allowed to go outside but not leave the locality, the Catalan civil protection authority announced on X.
Catalonia’s fire service said it had “stabilised” the blaze but continued to work with ground units, helicopters and aeroplanes on several hotspots, including cliffs and areas that are hard to access.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of the extreme heat that fuels forest fires.
Spain recently sweltered through a heatwave that parched the land, while national weather agency AEMET said last month that it was the country’s hottest June on record.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, around 500 fires destroyed 300,000 hectares in Spain in 2022, a record for the continent.
Around 21,000 hectares have burned so far this year. – AFP
NEW DELHI, 9 Julai: Sekurang-kurangnya 10 orang maut selepas kenderaan terjunam ke dalam sungai apabila sebuah jambatan runtuh di negeri Gujarat, barat India, pada Rabu.
Jambatan Gambhira di Sungai Mahi itu menghubungkan daerah Vadodara dan Anand.
Beberapa trak dan kereta terjunam ke dalam sungai apabila sebahagian daripada jambatan berusia empat dekad itu runtuh.
Sepuluh orang terkorban dalam kejadian itu, manakala ramai lagi berjaya diselamatkan dari sungai, menurut laporan media tempatan. -TVS
SEOUL: More than a thousand people have been affected by heat-related illnesses in South Korea, officials said Wednesday, as the country recorded its highest early July temperature since records began.
A heatwave warning was in place and the Seoul city government on Wednesday said the extreme temperatures were a “disaster” that posed a threat to people’s lives.
More than 1,200 people in South Korea have suffered heat-related illnesses since May 15, with eight deaths reported, according to official data released Wednesday.
The figures mark a sharp rise from the same period last year, when 486 cases and three deaths were recorded, the data showed. On Tuesday alone, 238 people went to the emergency room nationwide after suffering heat-related conditions, the data indicated.
Seoul said it would “prioritise preventing casualties through tougher inspections and enhanced measures”.
According to the national weather agency, Tuesday hit 37.8 degrees Celsius, marking the hottest early July day — defined as July 1 to 10 — in the South Korean capital since comprehensive records began 117 years ago.
South Korea experienced last year its highest average summertime temperature since such records began half a century ago -- nearly two degrees higher than the historic average, according to the weather agency.
Earlier this year, the South was hit by the country’s deadliest wildfires in history, which were fanned by high winds and ultra-dry conditions.
The country has also been grappling with the invasion of a type of March fly nicknamed “lovebug” -- which leave behind piles of rotting black remains and a foul stench after they quickly die -- that experts say highlights worsening climate change.
Young climate activists scored a resounding victory last year when South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled that much of the country’s climate goals were unconstitutional, because they did not go far enough to protect young people’s futures.
The government was forced to revise its climate targets.
In Europe, scientists said Wednesday human-caused climate change made recent European heatwaves up to 4C hotter in many cities, pushing temperatures into deadly territory for thousands of vulnerable people. – AFP
TOKYO: Japan has warned of a 70–80% chance of a magnitude 8–9 earthquake along the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years, which could trigger a devastating tsunami and widespread damage.
The government has revised its national disaster plan to aim for an 80% reduction in fatalities and to mandate earthquake-resistant buildings by 2035.
The Nankai Trough, an undersea trench off southwestern Japan, has drawn public attention following the occurrence of over 1,000 minor earthquakes across southern Japan within just 13 days. This has prompted widespread concern over the potential for a major earthquake and a powerful tsunami.
Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, located along volcanic belts and oceanic trenches known as the Ring of Fire. The Nankai Trough is considered one of the most dangerous earthquake zones. It stretches approximately 900 kilometres off the Pacific coast, where the Philippine Sea Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate. This continuous tectonic motion causes a gradual buildup of pressure that could be released abruptly in the form of a large-scale megathrust earthquake.
These massive earthquakes tend to occur in the Nankai Trough every 90 to 200 years, and the region is now approaching the estimated timeframe for the next one. Over the past 1,300 years, at least 13 major earthquakes have been recorded along the trough. The two most recent were the Tonankai earthquake (1944) and the Nankaido earthquake (1946), both registering a magnitude of 8.1 and triggering tsunamis between 5 to 10 metres high, causing over 2,500 deaths and 4,500 injuries.
High probability of a major earthquake within 30 years
According to Japan’s Cabinet Office for disaster management, there is a 70–80% probability of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake occurring along the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years. The worst-case scenario could involve a magnitude 9 earthquake striking on a winter night with strong winds (8 metres per second), when many people may be unprepared to evacuate.
This scenario could result in up to 298,000 deaths, the destruction of over 2.35 million buildings, and large-scale tsunamis affecting major cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. The total economic impact is estimated at US$2 trillion, exceeding the damage caused by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The effects would extend beyond Japan. Countries and territories throughout the Pacific Ocean basin, including Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hawaii, and the US West Coast, could also be affected. Global supply chains could face major disruptions due to delayed exports from Japan, interrupted flights, and widespread economic fallout.
Calls for urgent risk mitigation
Professor Nobuo Fukuwa, former professor at Nagoya University and head of the seismic risk assessment team, has called for comprehensive national measures to reduce risk. He urges the government and private sector to reinforce earthquake resistance standards for all buildings and to decentralise urban populations in densely populated cities.
“My greatest regret is that we have been unable to reduce the anticipated risks. Minimising the potential damage is of utmost importance, as the consequences of a major earthquake along the Nankai Trough could be catastrophic for the future of the nation,” he stated.
Revised national disaster management plan underway
Given the unpredictability of earthquake timing and location, the Japanese government has prioritised disaster preparedness. On July 1, the central disaster management council convened at the Prime Minister’s official residence to approve an updated basic disaster management plan, which includes enhanced measures specifically targeting the anticipated Nankai earthquake.
Following a new damage assessment, 16 additional municipalities have been designated as areas requiring intensified disaster measures, raising the total to 723 municipalities in 30 prefectures. These areas are expected to experience earthquake intensities of level 6 or higher or tsunamis of at least 3 metres, particularly along the Pacific coastline, from Ibaraki to Okinawa.
The revised plan, an improvement of the 2014 version, aims to reduce casualties by 80% and structural damage by 50% over the next decade. While previous targets were not fully achieved, the government remains committed to these ambitious, life-saving goals.
Strengthened local measures and public preparedness
The plan includes extensive support for local governments in implementing safety measures, promoting the establishment of tsunami warning zones, developing and distributing hazard maps, and conducting evacuation drills by fiscal year 2030. All homes in designated high-risk areas are required to be earthquake-resistant by fiscal year 2035.
To further prevent disaster-related fatalities, the government will support the stockpiling of essential supplies such as portable toilets and bedding, and improve conditions at evacuation shelters, particularly in tsunami-prone coastal areas. Additionally, municipalities and logistics industry associations will be encouraged to form agreements to secure emergency transportation systems during disasters. - The Nation/ANN
