At least 28 people killed after rains burst dam in Cameroon
Yaounde, CameroonReuters A wave of water released by a burst dam killed at least 28 people in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde following heavy rains, with the death toll expected to rise, authorities said on Monday. A colonial-era dam gave way at around 4pm on Sunday, unleashing water from a small lake down the steep hillside of […]
Shielded from war, Syria town emptied out by earthquake and floods
Al-Tloul, Syria Reuters Shielded from 12 years of civil war, the small north-west Syrian town of Al-Tloul near the Turkish border has been devastated by Monday’s huge earthquake and ensuing flooding that has pushed out nearly all of its inhabitants, residents said. Three residents told Reuters the earthquake killed between 35 to 40 people and […]
Impacted lives: Brazil’s “people of the river” pay price for Amazon hydropower
DAN COLLYNS, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex in Brazil’s Amazon has impacted the lives of Indigenous people…
Ghost village emerges in Spain as drought empties reservoir
Concello de Lobios, Spain Reuters A ghost village that has emerged as drought has nearly emptied a dam on the Spanish-Portuguese border is drawing crowds of tourists with its eerie, grey ruins. With the reservoir at 15 per cent of its capacity, details of a life frozen in 1992, when the Aceredo village in Spain’s north-western Galicia […]
Pope urges Nile states to continue talks over disputed dam
Cairo, EgyptAP Pope Francis on Saturday urged Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to continue talks to resolve their years-long dispute over a massive dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile that has led to sharp regional tensions and fears of military conflict. Francis, speaking to a crowd gathered at St Peter’s Square on an official […]
HANDS OFF!: KENYAN SLUM DWELLERS UNITE TO PROTECT CITY DAM
KAGONDU NJAGI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the battle over land rights in Nairobi’s Kibera slum…
Myanmar Christian leaders join calls against Myitsone dam revival
Thomson Reuters Foundation Catholic leaders are lending their support to protesters against a Chinese-backed dam project in Myanmar, adding pressure on the government to cancel the hydro-power dam in the country’s north. Ongoing protests have brought together Catholic priests and nuns with hundreds of protesters in Myitkyina city to demand an end to the controversial […]
Landmine risk for thousands displaced by floods in Laos
Phnom Penh, LaosThomson Reuters Foundation Thousands of people in Laos, whose homes were swept away when a dam burst, are sheltering in areas contaminated by landmines, humanitarians said, as floods and mud hamper aid delivery. The United Nations said on Monday that 34 people were reported dead, 97 were missing and 6,000 had been evacuated […]
Laos dam collapse hits communities who already lost homes, livelihoods
Thomson Reuters Foundation Activists called for renewed scrutiny of hydropower projects in Laos after a dam that was under construction broke, killing at least 19 people as it swept away homes in flash flooding. More than 3,000 people need to be rescued in a remote part of the country’s south, where at least seven villages […]