Europe Sections of northwest France were inundated by flash floods near mid-month. Water levels in some
areas were as much as 2 meters above normal near Brittany, along the coast.
In Spain, at least 3 people were killed as very heavy rains and wind gusts up to 93 mph swept the Cantabria region. The torrential rains caused a number of rivers in the northern part of the country to
burst their banks and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. The same storm impacted
Potugal and the UK.
(Reuters, DRO, CIP)
Health
South Africa A cholera
outbreak continues in Kwazulu-Natal with nearly 12,000 cases and 60
deaths since its start in mid-August. Heavy rains in the region have
likely contributed to the high number of cases of this waterborne disease.
(UNwire,
WHO)
Water Resources
Tanzania
Officials of the electricity industry indicated on Dec 3 that they were easing
a 10-day old power rationing program by half, following good rains. Two years of irregular rainfall and drought had forced
power rationing as water levels in the main reservoirs are near minumum levels for
power production. Heavy rains in early Dec helped ease dry conditions - and in some areas in
northwestern areas near Lake Victoria, produced flash floods. (Reuters, PMA)
Sri Lanka Anomalously low monsoon rainfall over Sri Lanka has led
to receding water levels in reservoirs used for irrigation and
hydro-power. Usually at the end of monsoon in December, the operators
attempt to fill up the reservoirs, however, this year the storage is
only
20% of capacity. (Ceylon Daily News)
Iran Two years of consecutive drought, considered the worst since 1964, has affected more than 37 million
people - over half of the national population. The drought was
especially harsh in 18 of the 28 provinces and crop yields were down
significantly. Up to 80% of drinking water wells have
failed in some areas, either drying up, or becoming contaminated with salt water. Recent rains, mainly
in the northwest of the country and along the Caspian coast, have helped to ease conditions there, but
water table levels still remain very low.
Pakistan Water levels remain at low levels in many irrigation reservoirs due to drought over the past 2 years and a
lack of significant precipitation over the past few months. Unless recharged, the current low water levels
will limit canal irrigation water availability, impacting the current growing season. (OCHA, CIP)
Agriculture
Kenya
The widespread onset of the Oct-Nov "short rains" helped to boost tea production. Widespread failure
of the "long rains" during the spring had caused numerous crop failures during the earlier growing
season. Although the short rains were a boost to crops during the fall, water rationing remains in effect
in Nairobi due to the previous drought conditions. Reports also indicate that the drought has resulted in
a 40% loss to the nation's cattle with 10-20% losses to sheep and goat herds nationwide. (Reuters, CNN, CIP)
Middle East Significant rain increased moisture reserves in the eastern Mediterranean and Iran. (JAWF)
Argentina
In central Argentina, flooding subsided and drier weather favored winter wheat maturation and harvesting. (JAWF)
Australia Drier weather allowed later winter crop harvesting to resume in the southeast, while beneficial rains covered Queensland's crop regions. (JAWF)
Fisheries
Peru Peruvian catch of small pelagics for the month of December remained
low due
to a combination of reduced fishing effort due to the holiday season
and
partial restrictions on fishing due to the small size of anchovy in
the
catch. There are expectations of continued partial bans on fishing in
January while fish size remains small. The total cumulative catch of
small
pelagics for 2000 is approximately 9.7 million metric tons, compared
with
8.1 million for 1999. (FEO)
