Environment

Tropical Storm Ian strengthens into a hurricane, heads toward Cuba, Florida

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Ian has strengthened into a hurricane as it moves closer to Cuba on a track expected to take it to Florida in the coming days.

Ian was forecast to intensify rapidly and become a major hurricane as soon as late Monday.

Authorities in Cuba suspended classes in Pinar del Rio province and said they will begin evacuations Monday as Ian was forecast to strengthen before reaching the western part of the island on its way to Florida.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Grand Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ian should reach the far-western part of Cuba late Monday or early Tuesday, hitting near the country’s most famed tobacco fields. It could become a major hurricane before a likely landfall in Florida around the middle of the week, possibly the state’s western coast or Panhandle.

Cuba state media outlet Granma said authorities would begin evacuating people from vulnerable areas early Monday in the far-western province of Pinar del Rio. Classes there have been suspended.

At 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, Ian was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph), about 90 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Grand Cayman, according to the center. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).

Meanwhile, residents in Florida were keeping a cautious eye on Ian as it rumbled ominously through the Caribbean on a path toward the state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency throughout Florida and urged residents to prepare for the storm to lash large swaths of the state with heavy rains, high winds and rising seas.

Forecasters are still unsure of exactly where Ian could make landfall, with current models plotting it toward Florida’s west coast or panhandle regions, he said.

“We’re going to keep monitoring the track of this storm. But it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” DeSantis said at a news conference Sunday, cautioning that “even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state.”

Flash and urban flooding is possible in the Florida Keys and Florida peninsula through midweek, and then heavy rainfall was possible for north Florida, the Florida panhandle and the southeast United States later this week.

The agency placed a tropical storm watch over the lower Florida Keys on Sunday evening and has advised Floridians to have hurricane plans in place and monitor updates of the storm’s evolving path.

President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property. The president postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida because of the storm.

John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based center, said in an interview Sunday that it is not clear exactly where Ian will hit hardest in Florida. Residents should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said.

“It’s a hard thing to say stay tuned, but that’s the right message right now,” Cangialosi said “But for those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare. I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”

Local media in Florida have reported a consumer rush on water, generators and other supplies in some areas where residents moved to stock up on goods ahead of the storm.

Environment

Tornado Tears Through US State Of Mississippi, Kills 23

At least 23 people have died after a tornado tore through the US state of Mississippi on Friday night.

Dozens of residents have been injured while four persons are said to be missing.

The numbers are expected to rise as search efforts are underway to rescue people thought to be trapped under knocked-off buildings, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MSEMA).

The tornado caused devastation in several rural towns, yanking roofs off homes, nearly levelling some neighbourhoods and causing power outages.

Videos shared on social media showed piles of rubble, wrecked cars and search teams sifting through debris for survivors.

Environment

UNICEF Says 78m Children Risk Water Crisis In Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says 78 million children in Nigeria are at the risk of three water-related threats.

UNICEF listed the threats to include inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene, WASH; related diseases; and climate hazards.

This is contained in statement signed by UNICEF Nigeria Chief of WASH, Dr Jane Bevan, on Monday.

According to the statement, one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services.

“Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands due to lack of water and soap at home.

“As a result, Nigeria is one of the 10 countries that carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases, “Bevan said.

She called for an investment in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

According to her, such move is not only a matter of protecting children’s health today, but also ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.

“I believe we need to rapidly scale-up investment in the sector, including from global climate financing, strengthen climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities.

“Also, increase effective and accountable systems, coordination, and capacities to provide water and sanitation services, and implement the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework,“ she said.

Environment

Poultry Farmers Lose Over N30bn eggs To Naira Scarcity, Says Association

The Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN has lamented that its members lost more than N30 billion worth of over 15 million crates of eggs due to the effect of Naira scarcity in the country.

The National President of AFAN, Sunday Onallo-Akpa made this known on Friday in a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

“The poultry farmers in the country have lost over 15 million crates of eggs being unsold and are damaged, The average loss to the poultry industry as at this press release is in excess of over N30 billion,” he said.

Mr Onallo-Akpa described the poultry industry in Nigeria as one of the most consolidated subsectors of the Nigeria agriculture contributing about 25 per cent of the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product, AGDP, and employing over 25 million Nigerians direct and indirect.

He said the poultry industry has been a major employer of labour and a great source of financial empowerment and livelihood for many families, especially women and youths.

“The industry is completely private sector driven worth over N3 trillion,” he said, adding that it has been able to contribute to the local domestication of investments in the country.

Mr Onallo-Akpa however alerted that the poultry industry is on the verge of total collapse and extermination because of the negative and devastating consequences of the new currency policy on the industry.

“The near absence of Naira notes for Nigerians to make daily transactions have made businesses in the poultry industry more difficult.

“Eggs being daily produced by poultry farmers since the first week of February 2023 till date have never been offtaken by 20% because of the near absence and lack of the NAIRA notes to buy basic food items and other necessary proteins like eggs and chickens,” said the AFAN leader.

He therefore called for urgent intervention by the Federal Government to save the industry from eminent collapse.

Mr Onallo-Akpa also appealed to the federal government to mop up the eggs through the association for distribution to the most vulnerable old populations as part of the Social Investment Support to Nigerians.

“Encourage the Armed Forces in various peace keeping operations, the Nigerian Prisons, the Internally Displaced Persons and primary schools (School Feeding Programme) to be immediate offtakers of the eggs,” he urged.

He also appeal to the Presidency to direct the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the Directorate of Peace Keeping Operations of the Nigeria Armed Forces, the Social Investment Programme of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to work with the association on how immediate reliefs can be extended to poultry farmers across the country to prevent the collapse of the poultry Industry.

The AFAN president also appealed to the government to make available direct grants and financial support to the industry through the association in special packages to be worked out by the government and the association.

(NAN)