Disasters

Sarawak on dengue alert

MIRI: Sarawak has been put on dengue red alert following an explosion of cases – about 10 new hospital admissions in Miri alone every day.

Five people have already died – four in Miri and one in Kuching – and the number of infected cases is closing in on the 4,000 mark.

At Miri Hospital, new wards have to be found to accommodate new patients, with the city already seeing 873 cases.

More information at source

Church sends out SOS over food crisis in Sarawak interior

The Catholic Church here has sent out an urgent appeal to the public to help little children and adults who are facing acute food shortage in the remote Kapit Division in central Sarawak.

The food shortage in the Kapit Division has worsened and the people have sent out another appeal for immediate help.

The Miri Catholic Church, which has received urgent appeal from the folks there, is urging parishioners and the public to help these people who are living from hand to mouth every day.

Notices are being prominently displayed in churches in the Miri Diocese, seeking a swift response from the people.

More at Source

Air Quality In Miri At Unhealthy Level, Other Areas Good Or Moderate

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Only Miri is recording unhealthy air quality with an Air Pollution Index (API) reading at 101, while most areas in the country have good or moderate air quality.

The API classification is as follows: 0-50 (good), 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 300 and above (hazardous).

Source

As a side note, considering that I was in Kuching in 1997 when the API reading went up to 890+ and visibility 20m, this is probably not going to shorten my lifespan any more than it already is.

1,000ha ablaze in Sarawak

MIRI: Wildfires are raging in more than 1,000ha of forests and peat land near the Sarawak-Brunei border, resulting in a heavy concentration of thick smoke and ash which is choking the people living in the Kuala Baram area.

According to the Miri Fire and Rescue Department and local politicians, some 3,000ha have been burnt.

Miri Division Fire Chief Christian Olas said the fires were most intense near the bridge linking Sarawak to Brunei.

“More than 1,000ha in Kuala Baram district are still on fire.

“We have doused many fires over the past few days but they keep spreading due to the strong wind. New fires keep on appearing.

“Our firefighters are already on 24-hour duty. We only have 37 firefighters on the ground because we are short of manpower,” said Olas.

More at Source

...in Miri, a 24-year-old woman suffering from Influenza A(H1N1) died at 4am on Monday, a mere two weeks after giving birth to her first child at the intensive care unit of the Miri Hospital.

Her baby girl is safe. The woman was warded on July 17 after she contracted the disease. At that time she was already in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

The hospital managed to help her deliver a baby girl a few days after she was warded. The baby has been handed over to her father, a labourer in his late 20s.

“This is the first death in Sarawak due to A(H1N1).

Source

Our condolences to the families of those affected. Be sure to read through this link to learn more about AH1N1 and its possible preventions.