Best of our wild blogs: 17 Jun 10

Bleaching at Cyrene
from wild shores of singapore and wonderful creations

Life on a stretch of Kallang River
from Life's Indulgences

Call of the Oriental Pied Hornbill
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Raffles Museum Treasures: Blue-spotted fantail ray
from Lazy Lizard's Tales

Freak floods in US predicted by 2009 climate change report
from Mongabay.com news

Read more!

Singapore to unveil new water targets & strategy during Water Week

S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 16 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's national water agency, PUB, will release a new document on the country's water management strategy.

It will also spell out the long-term plans to increase water supply to meet demand for the next 50 years.

NEWater's targets for Singapore will also be unveiled in this public document.

This will be one highlight of the Singapore International Water Week, which will take place from 28 June to 2 July.

From a country which was seriously short of water to a global hydrohub today, Singapore's experience in the way it manages its water needs and supply is being studied by many countries.

It will share these success stories and challenges when over 400 ministers, officials, industry leaders and experts, as well as 500 companies gather in Singapore for the Singapore International Water Week.

Michael Toh Kim Hock, managing director for Singapore International Water Week, said: "The Singapore International Water Week is always positioned as a platform for water solutions. The idea really is to complement the many good global water events around the world but to present it in a solutions manner. When we talk about solutions, we are talking about governance, technology and financing. So this year, we will have these three themes permeating through the water events. Many countries continue to search for clean and affordable water."

Singapore's expertise in water management is valued overseas.

Its companies have secured S$7.7b worth of overseas projects on water management.

The Singapore International Water Week is also a key platform for companies in this sector to conclude agreements to enhance their research programmes and many MOUs are expected to be signed during the event.

And for the first time, ministers from the Asia-Pacific countries will also be meeting on the sidelines to discuss challenges facing the water industry in their respective nations.

Organisers expect the water industry to continue to enjoy robust growth.

Singapore is now home to over 70 water companies.

The Economic Development Board says that by 2015, the environment and water sector is expected to contribute S$1.7 billion to the country's gross domestic product and employ some 11,000 people, with the majority in the professional and skilled categories.

In July 2006, S$330 million was set aside over a five-year period to boost the development of the local environment and water industry.

So far, 60 per cent of the funds have been used to build R and D and manpower capabilities.

Last year's Singapore International Water Week attracted over 10,000 delegates and trade visitors. Deals exceeding S$2.2b were also sealed during the week.

- CNA/ir

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PUB probes Orchard Rd flood

Worst in area since 1984; losses likely to run into millions of dollars
Grace Chua Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

THERE were no sales, just splash at some parts of Orchard Road yesterday morning when a flood turned roads into tea-coloured canals within three hours, from 8am.

A whopping 101mm of rain - about 60 per cent of what normally falls in the entire month of June - led to flash floods in several other areas too.
from

Straits Times pdf

The prime shopping belt, Orchard Road, was the worst-hit, but flooding was also reported in Bukit Timah Road, Veerasamy Road in Little India, and Thomson Road.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers had to be deployed to help people off buses and stalled cars.

Yesterday's flood was the worst in Orchard Road since the area's main drainage artery, Stamford Canal, was widened in 1984, said the national water agency, PUB.

Retailers estimate losses from flood damage to be in the millions of dollars.

The PUB said at a press conference yesterday that it was still probing the cause of the floods.

Its focus will be on 'localised drainage' in Orchard Road.

The flash floods also caused traffic chaos. A tree which fell and blocked off all three lanes near the Buyong Road exit on the Central Expressway caused the worst incident, a two-hour snarl.

But it was the area around the Scotts Road-Paterson Road shopping nexus that bore the brunt of the storm's ferocity.

Retailers at Liat Towers and Lucky Plaza were inundated, with water reaching waist-high in some places.

The flood waters spilled into underground carparks, soiled luxury handbags costing thousands of dollars at the Hermes boutique, and rendered equipment and furnishings at the three-day-old Wendy's restaurant useless.

Stores at Lucky Plaza were not spared either, and retailers there said the flooding was the worst they had seen in years.

PUB said 'heavy and intense' rainfall began at 8am, with two peaks at 9.15am and 10.30am. The second storm was more intense, it said.

It said it began mobilising staff and contractors at known flooding-prone areas, such as Cuscaden Road, Wilby Road, and Little India, when it began raining.

The Traffic Police were also notified.

With the rain continuing to beat down, a floodgate was opened at the Upper Bukit Timah Road area. Alerts were sent to condominium managements when sensors in the area picked up fast-rising water.

As a result, the area was spared the worst of the flooding.

Only the Cluny Court, Serene Centre and Coronation areas were affected, though the impact was far less than that experienced last November, when numerous underground carparks were flooded, damaging occupants' luxury cars.

Over at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, rainwater leaked through the roof causing play on one of the four badminton courts to be suspended for most of the second day of the Li-Ning Singapore Open.

Similar floods hit Liat Towers and the Orchard Road area in 2007, when 99mm of rainfall coincided with an afternoon high tide.

Then, the Marina Barrage was being touted as being able to relieve flash floods in low-lying areas when the tidal barrier came into operation in 2008.

But Mr Yap Kheng Guan, the PUB's director of its 3P (public, private and people) Network department, said Marina Barrage was not to blame for yesterday's flood - water levels at Marina Reservoir were normal, and six of the dam's nine gates were open. Tide tables also showed low tides at that time.

Nor was Stamford Canal at fault, as it had not overflowed.

'What we are looking at is the localised drainage,' Mr Yap said, referring to smaller drains in the area, which could have been clogged.

But when it was pointed out that such drains are cleared of debris as often as needed, sometimes daily, Mr Yap said that typically, buildings and construction do increase the amount of water running into drains from paved areas.

Asked if construction of several new buildings along Orchard Road might have had an impact, Mr Yap disagreed.

He said such development had been anticipated when Stamford Canal was widened, and such 'preventive drainage' infrastructure is put in place before new towns and industrial estates are built.

Singapore Retailers' Association president Jannie Tay, whose Mercedes-Benz car was trapped in the flooded basement carpark of Tong Building, had her own take on the flooding.

'It can't be just from the rain,' she said. 'There must be a blockage or a drainage problem.' She suggested that construction in the area might be responsible.

Meanwhile, flood waters in the area subsided and clean-up crews such as Wendy's 12-man team were working overnight to get things back to normal.

Ms Patrina Tan, senior vice-president of retail, marketing and leasing at hospitality group Overseas Union Enterprise, said the transformation from flooded zone to damp mess was abrupt.

Describing SCDF officers pumping water from flooded parts of Orchard Road, she said: 'The water was only on the walkway for close to an hour. Then, as if someone had pulled the stopper out of the bathtub, the water found its outlet and the cars drove off.'

The National Environment Agency (NEA), meanwhile, says more wet days will follow.

It said yesterday's showers were caused by winds converging over Singapore, bringing unstable weather conditions and heavy rain clouds.

It added: 'Although the south-west monsoon months of June to September are characterised by relatively dry weather, it is still possible for Singapore to experience such intense showers from time to time.'

It said showers with thunder can be expected between the morning and early afternoon for the next few days, continuing a streak of soggy mornings that began on Tuesday.

Weather reports are available at NEA's weather forecast hotline at 6542-7788, its website at www.nea.gov.sg or the mobile weather service Weather@SG at weather.nea.gov.sg

Retailers face losses 'in the millions'
Luxury retailer Hermes and three-day-old Wendy's among those hit
Ng Kai Ling & Lim Wei Chean Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

FROM handbags costing thousands of dollars to $10 toiletries, a wide range of wares was destroyed in a flash by the flood that hit Orchard Road yesterday.

Add to that the cost of furnishings and equipment, and retailers say they are looking at millions of dollars in losses.

Among the worst-hit stores were luxury goods retailer Hermes, apparel house Massimo Dutti and three-day-old fast-food restaurant Wendy's, all at Liat Towers.

But stores at Lucky Plaza - including a Watsons outlet and a myriad of shops stocking everything from mobile phones to computer peripherals - also suffered heavy losses.

Retailers there said it was the worst instance of flooding they had seen in years, adding that they should know - the basement of the building floods every year, they said.

Some said they had lost between $8,000 and $10,000 worth of goods.

Mr Albert Lee, the owner of a shoe shop there, estimated his losses at $8,000.

'The water this morning was ankle-deep. It came in so quickly, I couldn't move my things in time,' said Mr Lee.

A neighbouring unit fared worse.

Sales assistant Randy Tan said flood water had destroyed about $10,000 worth of goods at the electronics shop where he works.

'Our cellphones, games consoles and other computer accessories were damaged. I'm not sure whether our insurance covers water damage from flooding,' he said.

A McDonald's restaurant and the Watsons outlet fared much worse, however.

Both were submerged in knee-deep water, and by 5pm - several hours after the worst of the flooding had receded elsewhere - bottles of moisturiser and other sundries could still be seen floating in ankle-deep water at Watsons.

The store's senior marketing manager, Ms Irene Lau, said she was still assessing the damage.

However, it is likely that - in terms of monetary losses at least - the shops at Liat Towers emerged the big losers.

At the Wendy's outlet, which opened on Monday, for instance, $500,000 worth of furnishings and equipment was destroyed.

Wendy's spokesman Goh Wee Ling said food preparation equipment, the IT system and even the seats had been damaged.

It is back to the drawing board for Wendy's.

Clean-up crews are working round the clock at the store, and it may have to remain shut for up to two weeks.

It was much the same story with neighbours Massimo Dutti, Hermes and Starbucks Coffee.

The latter said it had not been able to assess the damage yet, but would be closed for an unknown period of time.

A spokesman for RSH Limited, which runs Massimo Dutti at Liat Towers, did not say how much damage had been caused, but said it was 'adequately insured'.

At the Hermes boutique, a lone Birkin handbag, which costs at least $8,000, remained on a high shelf in the shop window.

Many other bags, along with pricey scarves and leather belts, were damaged.

The store 'is still in the midst of surveying the damage', said marketing director for Hermes Singapore Madeleine Ho.

When contacted, the Singapore Retailers Association and the Orchard Road Business Association (Orba) said it was still too early to tell the full extent of the damage, as retailers were now focused on cleaning up.

When asked if it would be helping retailers cope with the damage, Orba chairman Sng Ngoi May said affected retailers should check with their insurers.

'It depends on their policies. Some do not cover so-called acts of God,' said Mrs Sng.

Facade turned into pool of muddy water
Alexis Cai & Sujin Thomas Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

STAFF at the three-day-old Wendy's restaurant in Liat Towers took service levels to the extreme yesterday.

When flood waters started rising above knee level, they put their customers on their backs and carried them to drier ground.

There were 14 employees working at about 10.20am when brownish rainwater started streaming in, said Wendy's business development manager Faith Wang.

About 10 customers having breakfast in the restaurant were asked by the staff to leave the premises, and those who had trouble getting out in time were carried out.

The staff also found towels from clothing store Esprit upstairs for customers to use.

Outside, passers-by took shelter at the top of the stairs outside Espirit on the second floor. Many snapped pictures as the area outside the Starbucks cafe gradually turned into a lap pool, with furniture from its outdoors area bobbing about.

Meanwhile, clothes and a sodden mannequin floated out of the Massimo Dutti store.

Next door, the Hermes store was similarly in disarray with soaked displays and items such as bags and accessories floating around inside.

Royal Sporting House Limited, which operates Massimo Dutti, said there were no customers in the store at the time.

Starbucks had six customers and six employees at the outlet. No one was injured.

By about 12.30pm, a police cordon had been set up, and Singapore Civil Defence Force officers went to work using three water pumps to drain the area.

Building cleaners picked up the debris floating in the pool, which was drained by around 3pm.

Liat Towers building supervisor Chik Hai Lam told The Straits Times that staff of the four affected stores tried to save whatever they could carry.

He added that the flood also brought down the building's switchboard and air-conditioning.

He said: 'We are doing our best to have it fixed by today so it will be up and running in the morning.'

Vain scramble to save goods
They stand on opposite sides of Orchard Road but both Lucky Plaza and Liat Towers bore the brunt of yesterday's sudden flood while the buildings around them escaped major damage.
Alexis Cai & Sujin Thomas Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

THE first sign that the day would be a bad one for Lucky Plaza retailers came at about 10.30am, when water started cascading down the stairs from the street into basement stores.

Shopkeepers scrambled to save their wares but found themselves in metre-high water just minutes later.

At that hour, only a few shops were open, with many others still setting up for the day. There are about 90 stores on that level, many of them selling electronic goods.

But that was it for the day's business.

In a bid to keep rainwater out, staff at clothing store Giordano pulled down the shop's grille shutters.

They ended up trapping themselves instead as water levels continued to rise both inside and outside the shop, and the force of the water against the shutters prevented them from being opened again.

It took eight passers-by to ram through the grilles to free the five staff members.

Optical shop owner Andy Sim, 45, said he had not even raised the shutters of his basement store when rainwater started streaming in.

'I couldn't even find the keyhole near the ground to unlock the shutter as it was submerged,' he said.

When he finally entered his shop at almost 11am, the parquet flooring was damaged and many boxes of contact lenses were soaked. The cost of the damage has yet to be tallied.

Water pumps arrived at about 3pm and drained the area within about three hours. But cleaning up went on until late into the evening.

Shopowners said that while their stores do flood on occasion, it was the most severe flooding they had witnessed in at least the last decade.

Lucky Plaza's strata management declined to comment.

Ms Angela Quek, 40, who was having breakfast with a colleague at McDonald's restaurant, was trapped for over an hour after staff pulled down the shutters in a fruitless attempt to shut out the water.

Ms Quek, who works at the nearby Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, said that she saw shoppers helping themselves to items floating out of retail stores.

'People were picking up items such as hair accessories and perfume boxes,' she said.

Traffic chaos
Fallen tree blocks CTE, resulting in closure, tailbacks
Maria Almenoar Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

A TREE felled by the rainstorm caused a massive tailback and a partial closure of the Central Expressway (CTE) yesterday morning.

The tree fell onto the expressway just after the Kampong Java Tunnel, near Cavenagh Road, at around 11am and blocked all three lanes of the stretch of road.

In order to get the tree removed, the authorities had to close the expressway from just after the Bukit Timah exit to Upper Cross Street - a 3km stretch - for two hours.

Motorists were forced to get off the CTE at the Bukit Timah Road exit. Those who wanted to rejoin the expressway had to head for the Upper Cross Street entrance.

The result? A jam from Moulmein Road to the Bukit Timah Road exit, a distance of just over 1km.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) could not say how many motorists had been affected by the closure, but it is likely to have had a major impact as there is normally very heavy traffic on the west-bound stretch of the CTE in the morning.

This is not the first time a section of an expressway has had to be closed because of an obstruction.

Earlier this month, a stretch of the Pan-Island Expressway towards the east was shut after an accident in which a bus skidded near Stevens Road and hit the central divider before landing on its side.

That resulted in a jam stretching from Toa Payoh to Jurong and took six hours to clear.

Several other stretches of road were also affected by heavy rain yesterday, the LTA said.

But the worst-hit areas were Orchard Road, Scotts Road and Paterson Road.

Traffic flow in this area returned to normal from about 3.30pm, it said.

Buses, taxis affected, MRT trains spared
Maria Almenoar Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

CHAOS reigned on roads in the central and northern parts of the country yesterday, as rising waters brought traffic to a near-standstill in some areas.

Road closures, stalled vehicles and tailbacks caused by slow-moving traffic and other obstructions led to much honking of horns in some parts.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers, meanwhile, were called out to help pull motorists and commuters from stranded cars and buses.

The SCDF said it dispatched two fire engines to assist about 60 passengers from two SBS Transit double-decker buses that were stuck along the junction of Paterson Road and Orchard Road. Passengers had to be helped out because the water level was too high.

The officers also helped 10 people - including some children - who were stranded in their cars to safety. No injuries were reported.

Road diversions also created havoc. SBS Transit said more than 40 bus services were also affected by the flooding.

Close to 500 buses heading to different parts of the island, including Orchard Road, Scotts Road, Farrer Road, Keppel Road and Thomson Road had to be diverted.

SBS Transit said it could not estimate how many passengers were affected by the disruptions.

There were no reports of injuries involving passengers on public transport.

None of SBS Transit's buses were damaged by flooding.

But the company's senior vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan said: 'Nevertheless, we will be checking the affected buses to ensure that they remain roadworthy.'

There was one mode of transport that was unaffected by yesterday's events, however.

MRT train services continued to run normally, and there were no disruptions.

This is despite the fact that several stations, such as Orchard, were underground and in the middle of a heavily flooded area.

The Land Transport Authority explained that MRT stations are designed to withstand flooding and are designed with guidelines set by the national water agency PUB for flood protection in mind.

These guidelines include requiring that entrances to stations are set at least 1m above the highest recorded flood levels in that area, it said.

Little India: Shop owners learn from experience
Area is known for flash floods, so people there are prepared
Ted Chen Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

WATER levels in Veerasamy Road in Little India, reached as high as half a metre yesterday - but previous dealings with deluges have taught shop owners and drivers there to be ready for the worst.

'It's quite well known in this area that there can be flash floods,' said Staff Sergeant Adrian Aw, of Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre, located at the junction of Veerasamy Road and Kampong Kapor Road.

Sergeant Aw added that drivers know they have to take a different route away from Veerasamy Road during heavy downpours.

As a result, no drivers were stranded and none had to be rescued, though parked cars in the area could not be moved for about an hour yesterday morning.

Veerasamy Road, Orchard Road and Bukit Timah Road were a few areas affected by yesterday's flash floods, which saw 100mm of rain bucket down over two hours - accounting for more than 60per cent of June's monthly average rainfall.

But Veerasamy Road shopkeepers fared much better than their Orchard counterparts.

Following previous encounters with such weather conditions, staff at Tai Yong Electric Company - situated in Jalan Besar facing Veerasamy Road - now place their fans and other electronic items on platforms about 10cm off the shop floor.

'Rain usually comes in all the way to the back,' said staff member Lim Beng Hock, 62, in Mandarin.

Previous flooding incidents, such as one in April last year, had taught them to be prepared, he added.

At Tong Ah Radio and Electrical Dealers, 81-year-old Song Geok Liew was mopping up water when The Straits Times visited. The shop, which also faces Veerasamy Road, experienced minor flooding of a few centimetres.

Mr Song admitted, in Mandarin, that 'today's rain was exceptionally big and water flowed in'.

For others, like Mr Robin Ho, who owns Ho Canvas Merchant in Veerasamy Road, the water did not cause any problems. The flood was 'not too bad, because the water drained away quite quickly here', said Mr Ho.

Bukit Timah: No repeat of previous flooding
Hoe Pei Shan Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

EFFICIENT flood gate management and a new water level sensor helped ensure that Bukit Timah was yesterday spared a repeat of last November's severe flooding.

While a section of the Orchard Road area was turned into a large pool, submerging shops and halting traffic, Bukit Timah only had small isolated areas covered by muddy water that had spilled over the Bukit Timah Canal walls.

This was in contrast to how Bukit Timah Road fared last November, when a rainstorm caused large portions of the area to flood.

The Public Utilities Board (PUB) attributed the lighter effects of yesterday's rain to the opening of a canal flood gate, which helped mitigate flooding in the area.

A new water level sensor installed in the canal after last November's flood also gave sufficient warning time, and allowed the PUB to send SMS alerts to the management of condominiums located in the area when the water level sensor reached 75 per cent at about 9.30am.

Still, parts of Dunearn and Stevens Road and areas such as the junction at the entrance of the National University of Singapore's law campus and Cluny Court, at the junction of Cluny Park Road and Bukit Timah Road, were affected.

Water overflowing from the swelling canal also poured into Cluny Court's basement two level carpark, which was flooded with knee-high water at around 10am, disrupting parking services and affecting business at the retail outlets.

Cluny Court's management managed to evacuate all but one of the cars in that carpark by sending security personnel throughout the building to locate the vehicles' owners.

In-house contractors were also called to drain out the water, a task which took three hours.

Other spots along Bukit Timah Road saw flooding of more than 30cm, fully covering open drains, pavements, bus stops and two lanes of the three-laned section of the road between Evans Road and the tunnel near Coronation Road.

Cold and wet commuters waiting for buses were left huddled on the seats at bus stops as rubbish, broken tree branches and dead leaves gathered at their feet.

Meanwhile, traffic along Bukit Timah Road cleared up as the water subsided around noon.

PUB's plans to deepen and widen Bukit Timah Phase 1 Diversion Canal are still in the works, although surveying has been carried out.

The first phase of the project will double the capacity of the main Bukit Timah Canal at its junction with the diversion canal and is slated to begin in the third quarter of this year, with completion projected to be in the third quarter of 2012.

The diversion canal will then be widened and deepened in the second phase, which is scheduled to begin next year.

100mm of rain fell within 3 hours, causing floods
Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 16 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE: About 100 millimetres (mm) of rain fell between 8am and 11am on Wednesday, causing flash floods in some parts of Singapore.

National water agency, PUB, said the amount of rain recorded was approximately more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June (average rainfall for June is 162mm).

When the rain first started at about 8am, PUB mobilised its contractors and staff to be on standby at hotspots including Cuscaden Road, Wilby Road, Jalan Haji Alias and Little India which were likely to flood.

It alerted Traffic Police at about 9.15am, when the rain intensified.

PUB also sent its officers and contractors to help stranded motorists, residents whose homes were flooded and owners of premises at affected locations.

At the Upper Bukit Timah area, PUB said, its officers operated the flood gate and this helped to mitigate flooding in that area.

PUB also sent SMS alerts to the management of condominiums located in the area when the water level sensor reached 75 per cent at about 9.30am.

A second more intense storm fell over the central part of Singapore at about 10.30am.

The worst-hit was the Orchard Road/Scotts Road intersection, where the flood waters reached a depth of 300 mm.

The waters subsided within one hour, at about 11.30am.

The last known major flooding at the Orchard Road/Scotts Road junction was in 1984.

PUB is investigating the cause of the flooding at Orchard Road.

It said investigations can only be carried out when the water level in the drains has fully subsided.

In the meantime, PUB and its contractors cleared up the debris on the roads as well as helped owners of affected buildings to pump out water from the basements.

PUB advised the public to exercise caution as flash floods may still occur in the event of heavy storms.

Ms Devika Misra, who was stuck at Orchard's Liat Towers because of the heavy rain, said the water was knee-high.

"Orchard Road, opposite Lido, is flooded. And there are about half a dozen cars marooned, they can't go forward. And there is a person whom I think is from the Civil Defence Service who is wading into the water to rescue the people, to get them out of the car," she said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they dispatched two fire engines to the junction of Orchard Road and Paterson Road.

They helped about 60 passengers from two SBS Transit double-decker buses and about 10 people from six cars stranded in their vehicles to safety. In some cases, SCDF personnel had to carry children out of the vehicles. None were injured.

SCDF personnel were also called in to pump water out of the flooded basement 1 of Liat Towers.

Alex spoke to MediaCorp from his office at Goldbell Towers, which faces the Newton MRT station.

"The water is too deep. Everyone is stopping and reversing along Bukit Timah Road."

Alex added that at least five cars broke down, and other motorists had to find alternative routes.

Other parts of Singapore were also flooded, including Coronation Road West, Fourth Avenue and Veerasamy Road.

The public can obtain the latest weather reports, including heavy rain warnings, by tuning in to radio broadcasts, calling NEA's weather forecast hotline at 6542 7788, visiting the NEA website at www.nea.gov.sg or accessing the mobile weather service.

The public can also call PUB's 24-hour Call Centre at 1800-284 6600 to report obstructions in drains or to check the flood situation. - CNA/jy/ir

Some Orchard Rd businesses reeling from flood damage
Ryan Huang Channel NewsAsia 16 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE : Some businesses in Orchard Road are reeling from the damage caused by the floods on Wednesday.

But if the retailers are counting on some form compensation from their mall management, the Orchard Road Business Association has hinted that they do not have a strong case.

Basement shop owners at Lucky Plaza were the hardest hit. Nearly half a day after the flash floods began, they are still cleaning up and counting the losses.

Many shopowners say they have seen cases of flooding in the area, but this is the worst in over 20 years.

Helen Tan, managing director, All Watches, said: "Not the first time, very bad, worst than ever before. ... Every year, at least twice."

Kartini Indrawati, owner of Eka Tunggal Enterprise, said: "Today, we didn't have any business or customers coming in. Losses for goods - about a thousand over dollars, manpower about S$300, rental today S$500. So today (we lost) about S$2,000."

Shopowners say the main damage is likely to come from the costs of replacing carpets, furniture and merchandise.

Those with parquet flooring say signs of damage will only appear after a few days. And they will need some time to assess the damage and wait for quotes from contractors.

Sunny Ng, managing director, All Watches, said: "We couldn't do business the whole day, and I believe the parquet flooring is damaged. We will have to see the contractor's quotes for repairs. ... We might have to spend a few thousand dollars."

Elton Chow, owner of Stitchwell Clothiers, said: "We can't claim, nothing can claim. We've tried that before, ... when they come in, they say this damage is very minimal, you don't have enough excess, you can't claim, so we try to pick whatever up and see what we can do."

And they cannot count on the mall management to help foot the bill, said the Orchard Road Business Association, which urged retailers to fall back on their own insurance policies.

Mrs Sng Ngoi May, Chairman of Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) said: "The downpour is the worst as long as we can remember. It affects malls differently.

"If the damage is within the premises, retailers have to rely on their own insurance policies. It is not under the purview of the mall's management or owners unless they have done something to contribute to the damage."

Marriot Hotel, which was in the flood area, said it was not affected. It added that none of the events that are held on its premises were cancelled.

The hotel also has contingency plans in place, in the form of suction pumps located in its basement.

Despite the wet blanket, it should be business as usual on Thursday, except for some, which will have to stay closed for the time being.

- CNA/al

Wet, wet Wednesday
Joanne Chan Today Online 17 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE - Half-submerged cars and buses, trapped passengers needing to be carried above rising waters, floating tables at cafes and a fallen tree that rendered a major expressway useless.

It was chaos in many parts of central Singapore yesterday morning as a heavy downpour triggered flash floods in several areas, including Orchard Road.

The national water agency, PUB, said almost 100mm of rain was dumped on the island between 8am and 11am yesterday - more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June.

The junction of Orchard and Scotts Roads was the worst hit, where flood waters reached a depth of 30cm.

Ms Devika Misra, who was stranded at Liat Towers, saw Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel wading in knee-deep waters to rescue pedestrians stuck in the middle of the road. SCDF personnel also helped about 60 passengers from two SBS Transit double-decker buses and about 10 people from six cars stranded in their vehicles to safety.

Even the Central Expressway (CTE) was not spared. A section of the CTE was also closed to traffic after a tree fell just after the Kampong Java Tunnel. It was re-opened at about 1pm.

The last major flood to hit the Orchard-Scotts junction was in 1984 and the Stamford Canal was later widened to prevent future flooding.

PUB's director of the 3P Network, Mr Yap Kheng Guan, said the Orchard-Scotts junction is prone to flooding because it is low-lying.

While the exact cause of the flooding was still under investigation, the Marina Barrage had been ruled out as a reason since it was operating normally, PUB said later.

When asked if Orchard Road is more prone to flooding because it is highly urbanised, Mr Yap acknowledged that the presence of more buildings would typically result in higher rain run-off.

But, he noted that in the past few decades, PUB had taken preventive measures, such as expanding the local drainage system.

And the presence of preventive measures built into the structure was the reason why the underground Orchard MRT station and passageway to Tangs Plaza remained dry despite the flooding of nearby areas.

Mr Yap said: "If you were to go to some of the MRT stations, you would have to climb a small step, reach that threshold, before going down (into the station). And that's actually something that's above the road level or surrounding ground level, and that provides protection."

By yesterday evening, businesses in the area were starting to count the cost of Wet Wednesday.

At Lucky Plaza, for example, the basement shops were among the worst hit.

Eka Tungal Enterprise owner Kartini Indrawati said she not only suffered a $2,000 loss in merchandise, but would have to fork out $3,000 to change the carpet of her souvenir shop.

Many businesses hope to recoup their losses by claiming insurance.

But the chairman of the Orchard Road Business Association, Mrs Sng Ngoi May, told MediaCorp: "If the damages are within the premises, retailers have to rely on their own (comprehensive) insurance policies. It is not under the purview of the mall's management or owners unless the latter have done something to contribute to the damages".

The floodwaters also washed out business at Starbucks and fast-food restaurant Wendy's, among other establishments, at Liat Towers.

Wendy's had opened for business on Monday but had to close yesterday because of damage to equipment and its interior, said a company spokesperson. It expects to re-open in two weeks.

Tourist Eduardo Gomez, 33, who was busy taking photographs in the area, said: "It's quite a sight - one that I never expected to see in Singapore - but these things happen, even in the most developed of places."

Additional reporting by Zulkifli Othman, Neo Chai Chin and Ephraim Seow

Freak flood silences Orchard Road tills
Businesses count the costs and insurers gear up for claims as massive downpour wreaks damage
Uma Shankari and Felda Chay Business Times 17 Jun 10;

(SINGAPORE) Businesses in Singapore's foremost shopping district found themselves under water yesterday as a massive downpour flooded the area for the first time in more than 25 years.

Water cascaded into buildings and stores at the junction of Orchard and Scotts roads, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage and lost sales. Retailers and F&B outlets saw takings evaporate as shoppers and the lunchtime crowd stayed away.

'This is the heaviest and most severe flood I can recall in the area,' said Orchard Road Business Association spokesman Stephen Goh.

Almost 100mm of rain - more than 60 per cent of the monthly average for June - fell between about 9am and 11am. National water agency PUB said that flood water was up to 30cm deep at the intersection of Orchard and Scotts roads. The last major flooding at this spot was in 1984. PUB will investigate once the water level in drains subsides.

Other parts of central Singapore such as Coronation Road West, Fourth Avenue, Kings Road, Kheam Hock Road and Veerasamy Road also suffered flooding, though the water had subsided by noon.

In last November's flood in the Bukit Timah area, 92 mm of rain fell in about half an hour during lunch time. The total amount of rainfall logged in the area was 110mm - accounting for 43 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for November.

In yesterday's flooding, older Orchard Road properties such as Lucky Plaza, Liat Towers and Tong Building were hit hardest as water poured into buildings and swamped shops, carparks and some underpasses.

At Liat Towers, retailers Hermes and Massimo Dutti and F&B players Wendy's and Starbucks had to shut up shop as water started rushing into their below-ground space around 10am.

At Starbucks, flooding started just after 10am - and civil defence workers were still pumping out water at 3pm. At its height, the flood was as high as the shop's tables. 'We will assess the condition of the store after the water subsides to determine when we can re-open for business,' a spokesman said.

Wendy's is also checking damage to equipment, goods and infrastructure before deciding when to re-open. The fast-food outlet only started business at Liat Towers on Monday after $500,000 was spent on renovations. A spokesman said that Wendy's hopes to be able to resume operations in two weeks.

At Lucky Plaza, basement shops inundated, and most of the shops were still mopping up in the afternoon. Shoe shop Relantino Leathers put its damage at $7,000-$8,000, and said it may be closed for two or three days. Some hotels in the area were affected, as goods could not be delivered because loading and unloading bays were flooded.

Flooding was also reported in the Tong Building's underground carpark and the underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City, said the Orchard Road Business Association.

Its spokesman Mr Goh said that older buildings took the biggest hit because, unlike newer properties, their design does not prevent rainwater from overflowing into basements.

Newer properties were drenched too, though not as badly. Water seeped into the common area in Wisma Atria's first level, but this was 'promptly addressed', said Jaclyn Ng, general manager of YTL Starhill Global Property Management, which runs the retail trust that owns stakes in Wisma Atria and neighbouring mall Ngee Ann City.

Businesses will now make insurance claims to recoup the losses they suffered in the deluge.

'The Massimo Dutti store (at Liat Towers) is adequately insured,' said a spokeswoman for RSH, which handles the label in Singapore. 'There were no customers inside the store during the flash flood. All staff on duty are safe and no one was injured.'

Insurers will pay - as long as the claims are valid. The General Insurance Association of Singapore said that businesses should check their fire insurance policies - which usually cover flooding - and make sure they know what is covered or not covered before making a claim.

It is too early to assess the overall damage and level of claims, said NTUC Income's senior vice-president and general manager for general insurance Pui Phusangmook. 'In the meantime, customers can count on us to honour all policy terms relating to flood damage, and to handle their claims fairly and promptly.'

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Jakarta seeks review of LNG deal with Singapore

Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

JAKARTA: Indonesia wants to renegotiate the terms of its natural gas supply contract with Singapore because it wants to keep more for the domestic market, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said yesterday.

Jakarta has a long-term natural gas supply deal with Singapore.

Mr Hatta said: 'We don't want to break the contract, but what we want is to talk with Singapore... to reduce the gas supply (to keep more) for our domestic need.'

He added that he had asked the Energy Minister to prepare for talks with Singapore. He gave no other details.

Indonesia is the world's third-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, after Qatar and Malaysia. It exports more than 670 million cu ft of natural gas daily to Singapore via two pipelines.

The first pipeline opened in 2001 and the second in 2003.

But faced with rising domestic demand for energy and as its reserves of crude oil dwindle, South-east Asia's biggest economy is turning increasingly to non-oil energy sources, such as natural gas.

REUTERS

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Padang turf topped with recycled materials for stable platform for NDP

Claire Huang Channel NewsAsia 17 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE: For the first time, the Padang grounds have been hardened for the National Day Parade.

This is to ensure that the parade, including the presidential drive-past which will be held on the Padang, takes place without a hitch.

The organisers took about 10 days to complete the job.

First, they covered the field with a layer of plastic membrane. They then added 30 centimetres of recycled material and topped this with 5 centimetres of pre-mix, including tar.

Some 300 lorry-loads of recycled material were used to create a more stable platform for performers.

Ltc Boo Chin Tuan, chairman, Infrastructure & Decoration Committee, NDP 2010, says: "By hardening the performance area, we're able to provide stability for the performers. It means that we can put performances that would have heavy props, each of these props for example like a float that will weigh up to five tonnes per float onto the performance area."

Organisers say the flattened grass will regrow in four to five weeks' time.

He continues: "Compared to previous years, whatever solutions we use, the grass will wither, what was important to us was 'how quickly can we regrow back the grass after the event?', and we're satisfied that by using the recycled aggregate it actually doesn't change the underlying soil conditions." - CNA/jy

Padang NDP breaks new ground
300,000kg of concrete fragments laid across the field to reinforce it
Straits Times 17 Jun 10;

THE green field of the Padang will provide solid ground for this year's National Day Parade (NDP) instead of uneven turf.

About 300,000kg of concrete fragments from demolished buildings have been laid across 10,000 sq m of the green field.

The aim is to reinforce the ground to take the weight of 3,100 participants and up to 10 floats weighing as much as 5,000kg each.

Underneath the concrete is a plastic sheet. Asphalt will be poured over the concrete and painted white.

The solid ground in front of the old City Hall will also bear President S R Nathan's open-top vehicle, which will convey him around the parade grounds to inspect the 30 marching contingents and greet the audience.

Canvas sheets were used to cover the turf in previous NDPs held at the Padang. Organisers said the concrete layer adds stability for dancing and singing performers.

'The hardened ground also enables the parade contingents to execute a more precise drill sequence,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Boo Chin Tuan, chairman of the NDP's infrastructure and decoration committee.

A week-long test was done on the Padang's soil to ensure that the concrete mix would not contaminate it.

Lt-Col Boo said the grass would probably grow back within a month or so.

Work on the ground started earlier this month and it will be ready for the rehearsal this weekend.

Final touches are being made to transform the Padang into a dazzling showground for the Aug 9 birthday bash. The work includes erecting three LED screens and high-rise structures from which fireworks will be set off.

This year, 26,500 spectators will be able to catch the show on the actual day, more than the 25,000 who were at the Padang in 2005.

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Dredging destroying pygmy elephant, monkey habitat in Sabah: activist

Yahoo News 17 Jun 10;

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Sand dredging in a Borneo wildlife sanctuary is threatening the habitats of endangered pygmy elephants and a rare species of monkey, Malaysian activists said Thursday.

Sand-laden barges were once again moving up and down rivers in the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in Sabah state on Borneo island, despite having previously been stopped, they said.

Harjinder Kler from the Hutan environmental group, said the erosion caused by the dredging would affect about 200 pygmy elephants and a few hundred proboscis monkeys living in the sanctuary.

"It will cause more and more of their habitat to be eroded and polluted as a result of the siltation from the dredging," Kler told AFP.

As the Kinabatangan river feeds into the Sulu Sea, she said the silt from the dredging would also pollute the Coral Triangle -- a global centre of marine biodiversity spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guniea, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.

Most sand dredging works were halted following the creation of the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in 2005, a 26,000 hectare (64,000 acre) area in the north of the state.

Sabah state tourism, culture and environment minister Masidi Manjun said he was surprised that new permits were issued to sand dredging companies and promised a full probe.

Masidi said he had last week urged the oil palm industry to donate land along the Kinabatangan riverbank for conservation.

"I am very disappointed that such a thing has happened as we have been talking about creating a corridor of life for the wildlife on both sides of the river and this dredging will destroy all our hard work," he added.

Pygmy elephants on Borneo form a sub-species of the Asian elephant. The creatures have a rounded appearance and are smaller than their mainland cousins.

Authorities say there are around 1,500-2,000 left on Borneo island.

The Proboscis monkey is mainly reddish-brown, with grayish limbs and has a distinctive large protruding nose, from which it takes its name.

It lives in the island's mangrove forests, swamps and jungles but habitat loss and poaching have seen its numbers in the wild dwindle to around 1,000.

Sabah to probe sand dredging at river
The Star 17 Jun 10;

KOTA KINABALU: The state government has ordered a full investigation into how a state agency could have given the green light for river sand dredging activities in the eco-sensitive Kinabatangan area.

The government also wants sand excavation to be temporarily halted pending the outcome of the probe.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said that he has ordered the director of Environment Protection Department (EPD) to give a full report on why it gave permission to a company to dredge sand from the river, which had a high orang utan population.

“I have requested the district officer of Kinabatangan to suspend sand excavation work pending completion of the investigation,” he said yesterday.

Masidi, whose ministry oversees the EPD, was responding to complaints from villagers about river sand dredging by a company which had apparently obtained a permit from the department to dredge sand from the Kinabatangan river.

Villagers along the Kinabatangan river , where some 26,000ha have been gazetted as a wildlife sanctuary as Sabah’s Gift to the Earth in 2005, had raised the alarm after they spotted barges taking out sand daily since about two weeks ago.

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Malaysia: No Water, No Life

Melati Mohd Ariff Bernama 17 Jun 10;

This six-part article dwells on several environmental issues namely global warming, water vitality, ecosystems, biodiversity and Green Economy. This is the second of the series.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) - While most people believe climate change or global warming as the number one environmental concern of the 21st century, there are some who feel that we have missed something more fundamental.

Thus for people like Dr Chan Ngai Weng, President of Water Watch Penang (WWP), when asked on the most pressing environmental issue that needs to be addressed urgently, 'water' was his answer.

"Without water, there is no life. No water, no food, no industry, no clothes, car or even computers because to produce all these we need water.

"For example to produce one medium-size car, we need 147,000 litres of water," said Dr Chan from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to Bernama recently.

As for Dr Chan, though climate change is a cause of concern, one could still survive with an increase in temperature up to 5 degrees Celsius by using air-conditioning, migrating to cooler areas or applying other suitable alternatives.

"However, there is no alternative for water," he pointed out.

WATER PROBLEMS

And speaking of water, Dr Chan is deeply concerned over the water issues in the country. A big question mark hovers over the state of water resources in Malaysia, namely the absence of a National Water Policy.

While most countries prefer to opt for decentralised water management, Malaysia on the other hand opted for centralisation of the water sector via SPAN (National Water Services Commission).

Also unlike many of the nations, Malaysia relies too much on building dams and treatment plants in meeting the demand for treated water.

"However, most rivers in Malaysia are nearing their maximum capacities and this mean no more dams can be built. But population, industry, agriculture and other sectors keep growing and water demand keeps increasing.

Malaysia, according to Dr Chan has reached the stage whereby we cannot keep on building dams.

"We need to address water problems from the Water Demand Management side. We need to teach consumers how to save water, reduce Malaysian per capita daily water usage from the current 300 litres per person per day (LPCD) to at least 200 LPCD.

"Singapore is only using 150 LPCD. Why should Malaysians be using 300 LPCD?

"We need to make it mandatory to save water or penalise water wasters. Our water tariffs are too low to encourage water conservation, no thanks to the heavy government subsidy, said Dr Chan.

Based on the National Water Resources Study 2000-2050, the nation's water requirement is expected to increase by 63 per cent from 11 billion cubic metre in 2008 to 17.7 billion cubic metre in 2050.

INEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT

S. Piarapakaran, Senior Manager (Environment, Energy and Water) of the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) told Bernama that the country lacks a holistic management in the water usage cycle.

There are different agencies involved in the process and integrated efforts are not in place.

"Sabah and Sarawak are also lacking in a set up like SPAN. The logging activities are not only slowly depleting raw water sources but also polluting the water. Logging in both states is basically carried out both legally and illegally and land is under the state government's jurisdiction.

"When inefficiency plagues the sector, due to the different implementing agencies that work without coordination, managing this precious resource becomes more difficult.

"While climate change gives direct impact to water sources, the inefficiency of the water management is causing more damage than the climate change," he said.

Water usage in Malaysia is basically divided into domestic sector (17 per cent), industrial (21 per cent) and agricultural (62 per cent).

VITAL RESTRUCTURING

Piarapakaran pointed out the pressing need for better water management system to protect the country's water resources.

"The raw water we consume is from the environment. We treat and supply it to all levels of consumers and finally produce wastewater.

"This wastewater needs to be treated before being discharged into the environment that has a limited carrying capacity," he added.

He cautioned the failure to plan and to protect the nation's water sources would only lead to water shortage and high water tariff.

Without a restructured and unified management, Piarapakaran pointed out that there would only be a blame game each time a water crisis occurs.

"We should also move away from blaming climate for everything. Our climate is synonym to flood and drought, and by including both situations in the planning process we can preempt a water crisis. Many developed nations have done this," he said.

POSSIBLE MEASURES

Piarapakaran who is also the Secretary General of Water and Energy Consumer Association of Malaysia (WECAM) said while climate change can cause direct impact on water sources, there are simple measures that can assist Malaysia to prepare itself from such crisis.

One of the first steps is to unify the water related activities under one ministry.

For such purpose, he said, the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water is the most suitable candidate.

"This will help in holistic implementation and will allow a single entity to take full responsibility.

"This ministry should be given the mandate to manage the water sector as a whole and all agencies related to the water sector should be restructured under this ministry.

"In addition, the environment quality (raw water quality) benchmarked by the Department of Environment should remain under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the benchmark for drinking water quality should remain under Ministry of Health as this will help create cross checks.

"In this simple readjustment, the sector will be unified and efficient usage of water can be planned. Unifying them under a Cabinet Committee is not the answer because the implementation will not be done in an integrated manner," he explained.

UNDERGROUND WATER

However, WECAM according to Piarapakaran is not in favour over the proposal to extract groundwater as a solution to negate water crisis.

The core issue is that there is no solid evidence or statistics to prove groundwater extraction can be done in a sustainable manner.

"This is because sustainable groundwater is bound to the recharge rate, the rate of rainwater replenishing the lost groundwater.

"This is difficult to determine and fix. Therefore, we should keep the groundwater for the future generations. Moreover we have ample surface water to utilise," he added.

Dr Chan too echoed similar opinion on the extraction of groundwater. He said Malaysia should only turn to groundwater as a last resort.

"Cities like Bangkok and Mexico City are sinking because of extensive over-pumping of groundwater.

"What we should do first is to protect and properly manage our surface water supply. About 97 per cent of Malaysia's water supply comes from surface resources, particularly rivers.

"Better management of rivers, river basins and water catchments could avert a water crisis but this must go hand in hand with sustainable consumption.

"Malaysians, however, still have a lot to learn on this," he said.

-- BERNAMA

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Whale Poo Helps Offset Carbon Footprint

Michael Perry PlanetArk 17 Jun 10;

Southern Ocean sperm whales offset their carbon footprint by defecating, scientists said on Wednesday, releasing tonnes of iron a year that stimulates the growth of phytoplankton which in turn absorb carbon dioxide.

Each whale releases about 50 tonnes of iron a year, their natural fertilization stimulating the process of photosynthesis.

An estimated 12,000 sperm whales that inhabit the Southern Ocean absorb about 400,000 tonnes of carbon each year, twice the amount they release by breathing, said scientists from Flinders University in South Australia.

"They eat their diet, mainly squid, in the deep ocean, and defecate in the upper waters where phytoplankton can grow, having access to sunlight," marine biologist Trish Lavery, who led the scientific study at Flinders University, said in a statement.

"Sperm whale poo is rich in iron, which stimulates phytoplankton to grow and trap carbon. When the phytoplankton die, the trapped carbon sinks to the deep ocean," Lavery said.

"They've well and truly bypassed being carbon neutral. They've actually gone one step further," she said. The whale study was published in the Royal Society's biological research journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences.

Lavery said that without whaling there may have been 120,000 sperm whales in the Southern Ocean and, according to her calculations, some 2 million tonnes of carbon may have been removed from the atmosphere each year through this process.

(Editing by Paul Tait)

Whale poop fights climate change: study
Yahoo News 16 Jun 10;

PARIS (AFP) – Southern Ocean sperm whales are an unexpected ally in the fight against global warming, removing the equivalent carbon emissions from 40,000 cars each year thanks to their faeces, a study found on Wednesday.

The cetaceans have been previously fingered as climate culprits because they breathe out carbon dioxide (CO2), the commonest greenhouse gas.

But this is only a part of the picture, according to the paper, published in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

In a heroic calculation, Australian biologists estimated that the estimated 12,000 sperm whales in the Southern Ocean each defecate around 50 tonnes of iron into the sea every year after digesting the fish and squid they hunt.

The iron is a terrific food for phytoplankton -- marine plants that live near the ocean surface and which suck up CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.

As a result of faecal fertilisation, the whales remove 400,000 tonnes of carbon each year, twice as much as the 200,000 tonnes of CO2 that they contribute through respiration.

By way of comparison, 200,000 tonnes of CO2 is equal to the emissions of almost 40,000 passenger cars, according to an equation on the website of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The whales' faeces are so effective because they are emitted in liquid form and close to the surface, before the mammals dive, said the paper.

Industrialised whaling not only gravely threatened Southern Ocean sperm whales, it also damaged a major carbon "sink," the scientific term for something that removes more greenhouse gases than it produces, it added.

Before industrial whaling, the population of this species was about 10 times bigger, which meant around two million tonnes of CO2 were removed annually, said the paper.

The Southern Ocean is rich in nitrogen but poor in iron, which is essential for phytoplankton.

The scientists suspect that because sperm whales cluster in specific areas of the Southern Ocean there is a clear link between food availability and cetacean faeces.

This could explain the "krill paradox," they believe. Researchers have previously found that when balleen whales are killed, the amount of krill in that sea area declines, which thus affects the entire food chain.

The study is lead-authored by Trish Lavery of the School of Biological Sciences at Flinders University in Adelaide.

The EPA's website, on the basis of a calculation made in 2005, says that a passenger car that is driven for 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) a year yields annual emissions in CO2 or its equivalent of just over five tonnes.

The future of sperm whales and other species comes under scrutiny next week in Agadir, Morocco, where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) discusses a plan to relax a 24-year moratorium on commercial whaling.

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Cleared Forests Lead To Rise In Malaria In Brazil

Maggie Fox PlanetArk 17 Jun 10;

Clearing forests in the Amazon helps mosquitoes thrive and can send malaria rates soaring, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

They found a 48 percent increase in malaria cases in one county in Brazil after 4.2 percent of its tree cover was cleared.

Their findings, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, shows links between cutting down trees, a rise in the number of mosquitoes and infections of humans.

"It appears that deforestation is one of the initial ecological factors that can trigger a malaria epidemic," said Sarah Olson of the University of Wisconsin, who worked on the study.

Experts are already worried that the destruction of Brazil's Amazon forests can help drive climate change. Big fires, set by farmers to clear land for agriculture, are the main cause of deforestation.

One team estimated earlier this month that 19,000 square km (7,300 square miles) of forest had been lost every year in Brazil from 1998 to 2007.

The new study shows the immediate health consequences, the researchers said.

"Conservation policy and public health policy are one and the same," Jonathan Patz, the professor who oversaw the work, said in a telephone interview. "How we manage our landscapes and, in this case, tropical rain forest has implications for public health."

Malaria, caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes, kills about 860,000 people a year globally, according to the World Health Organization. Brazil has about 500,000 cases a year of malaria, most carried by Anopheles darling mosquito.

Patz's team has been tracking mosquito populations and how they change as forests are cut down in Brazil and Peru. They took satellite data showing changes in tree cover in one county of Brazil's Amazon region and linked it with health records showing diagnosed cases of malaria.

DETAILED INFORMATION

The malaria data was exceptionally detailed -- some of the teams used Global Positioning Satellite data to show precisely where patients lived. They documented more than 15,000 malaria cases in 2006

The conclusions were clear.

"We show that a 4.2 percent change in deforestation from August 1997 through August 2001 is associated with a 48 percent increase of malaria incidence," the researchers wrote.

Forests in Brazil are cleared by large-scale loggers and subsistence farmers alike.

"Human-altered landscapes provide a milieu of suitable larval habitats for Anopheles darling mosquitoes, including road ditches, dams, mining pits, culverts, vehicle ruts, and areas of poor clearing," the researchers wrote.

Another possible factor is that many of the farmers have started fish farms in the region. Patz said it was not possible to see those in the satellite images, but they could be providing breeding areas for mosquitoes.

"Our findings are likely generalizable to many parts of Amazonia, and build on our past entomological studies in the Peruvian Amazon," Patz added.

"This environmental epidemiology study further shows that rain forest conservation policy should be a key component to any malaria control effort in the region."

(Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Nuclear power vital to cutting CO2 emissions: report

Yahoo News 16 Jun 10;

PARIS (AFP) – Roughly a quarter of global electricity could be generated by nuclear power by 2050, requiring a tripling in nuclear generating capacity but making a major contribution to reduced CO2 emissions, a report said Wednesday.

A study by the International Energy Agency, which seeks to coordinate energy policies in industrialised nations, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development described such a target as "ambitious but achievable."

"Nuclear is already one of the main sources of low-carbon energy today," said Luis Echavarri of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency.

"If we can address the challenges to its further expansion, nuclear has the potential to play a larger role in cutting CO2 emissions."

While no major technological breakthroughs will be needed to reach the goal, "a clear and stable policy commitment (by governments) to nuclear energy as part of an overall energy strategy is a pre-requisite," the report said.

Equally critical will be efforts to win greater public acceptance of nuclear energy programs, it added.

Nuclear power at present provides 14 percent of global electricity.

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