National and regional authorities in New Zealand are already working on strategies to rebuild areas devastated by the earthquake that struck Christchurch area on Saturday.

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management warns the process could take years, but says the government is committed to ressurecting and improving the resilience of affected comunities.

Meanwhile, reports are coming in of the resilient response of the New Zealand farming community. This article from Radio New Zealand 05 SEP 2010.

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The United Nations says 3.5 million children in Pakistan are at risk from waterborne diseases, warning of a "second wave of death" from the country's devastating floods. U.N. humanitarian spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said Monday as many as six million people face the risk of contracting diarrhea and dysentery if donors do not provide more aid. Sluggish response The U.N. has launched an appeal for $460 million, but charities say the response has been sluggish, with only about 27 percent of the goal being met so far. Hundreds of angry flood victims blocked a highway outside Sukkur in southern Sindh province Monday, demanding government assistance. The protesters held up traffic as they called for food and shelter. Three weeks of monsoon rains have triggered Pakistan's worst flooding, with an estimated 1,600 people killed and 20 million affected in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces. More flooding likely On Monday, authorities said a new wave of flooding was likely along the Indus River in Punjab and Sindh. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled to Pakistan on Sunday and said the flooding was the worst natural disaster he has ever seen. He urged international donors to speed up aid. Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Monday called the international response to the disaster lamentable.

Two-Day Workshop August 11-12, 2010 At East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii Launching a Global Resilience Initiative in Asia: Case of Pandemic Influenza We will hold a two-day workshop, Launching a Global Resilience Initiative in Asia: Case of Pandemic Influenza in August 11-12, 2010 at East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. The Global Resilience Initiative in Asia is a long term and policy oriented effort to create an integrated framework and roadmap for “resilience” in Asia under a Global Disaster Risk Management (GDRM) approach (see “Background Paper”). Pandemic influenza was chosen as the topic of the first workshop as it is emblematic of the type of emerging global disaster risks that urgently requires the GDRM approach and the development of “resilience.” Recognizing that “resilience” is an elusive term and understood in different way the workshop will focus on identifying the key defining features of “resilience” that address the following four major policy issues: 1. While the “resilience” has recently received much attention, few national, regional or international institutions have provided guidance as to what constitutes “resilience” and how to implement it. 2.

Background Paper Prepared by Mika Shimizu and Allen Clark East-West Center Draft 1) Issue/Introduction Traditional case-by-case post-disaster response based disaster management no longer suffices to deal with emerging complex disaster risks the world faces today. The influence of globalization, urbanization and climate change has dramatically changed the scope, severity and impact of many modern day disasters. Specifically, globalization has changed the nature of disaster management and associated public policy, by making both areas more complex, uncertain and difficult to address at the national and global levels. This structural change, largely overlooked by policy and disaster management communities, necessitates a transition from traditional disaster management to a Global Disaster Risk Management (GDRM) approach. The GDRM approach incorporates and focuses on the development of “resilience”(as discussed later) through a better understanding of the impact of the above global changes on policy and disaster management, and pre-disaster (ahead of the event) risk preparedness and management. The “Global Resilience Initiative in Asia (GRIA)” is being initiated to address the existing deficiency of the lack of a GDRM approach in the disaster management regime of Asia.

DATE: July 30, 2010 07:43:03 CST

Statement by Margaret A. Hamburg, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, on the Reopening of some Louisiana State Waters to Commercial Fishing

Key contact numbers
Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: (866) 448-5816
Submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511
Submit your vessel for the Vessel of Opportunity Program: (866) 279-7983
Submit a claim for damages: (800) 440-0858
Report oiled wildlife: (866) 557-1401
Deepwater Horizon Incident
Joint Information Center
Phone: (713) 323-1670
(713) 323-167

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY Lawsuits are already being prepared alleging harm to people who are living near or working to clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. The law firm Smith Stag in New Orleans says it has assembled a group of lawyers in the Gulf states to process such claims. Stuart Smith, a partner in the firm, says he has been in touch with people in Alaska who say they were hurt during the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 by chemicals in the oil and dispersants used to keep it from reaching shore "which are also toxic." He says he's concerned about the potential health effects on the thousands of out-of-work fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen who will be taking part in the cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. So what are the human health risks from a disaster such as this? For more information: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-05-oil-health_N.htm?csp=obinsite

By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY Out of sight, out of mind? As surface oil plumes fade from view in the Gulf of Mexico, courtesy of the capped Macondo well, it would be wrong to think that the oil still isn't there, forensic toxicologists warn. "We're finding less and less oil as we move forward," disaster response chief Thad Allen said last week, noting that skimmer boats were having trouble finding slicks. The retired Coast Guard admiral also pointed out that 40% of the leaked oil — more than 90 million gallons of crude by U.S. Geologic Survey scientist estimates — is unaccounted for. For more information: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-08-02-2Amarshes_N.htm

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the push by congressional Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts without offsetting the costs elsewhere could end up being "disastrous" for the economy. In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Greenspan expressed his disagreement with the conservative argument that tax cuts essentially pay for themselves by generating revenue and productivity among recipients. "They do not," said Greenspan. For more information: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/01/alan-greenspan-extending_n_666549.html