Pulau Ubin coast faces erosion risk
Ministry plans to carry out study to help it design control and restoration measures
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 7:35 AM
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Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee doing his part at the reforestation initiative on Pulau Ubin
yesterday. He says that one solution to tackle the island's fast-eroding northern coastline could be to install breakwaters. -PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
BY MELODY ZACCHEUS
Pulau Ubin's northern coastline is fast being eroded by tides and currents.
If left unchecked, the island could lose parts of its coastal forest and mangroves.
To turn the tide, the Ministry of National Development plans to carry out a study to establish
the extent of erosion, the types of vegetation affected and the impact it will have on
hydrology.
Speaking at a reforestation initiative on the island yesterday, Minister of State for National
Development Desmond Lee said the study will help it "properly design restoration measures
and erosion control measures".
One solution could be to install breakwaters, he said.
The fast-eroding shoreline is one of several pressing needs facing the 10.2 sq km island,
which is about the size of Changi Airport.
Another is to fix the dilapidated buildings on the island, some of which have fallen into
disrepair due to neglect.
Capturing the stories of the island's remaining 38 elderly dwellers is another urgent matter,
Mr Lee said.
That is why the ministry has been gathering ideas from different Ubin interest groups and
stakeholders on how to preserve and enhance the island's rustic character and natural
environment, while sensitively providing access to the public. This intention was first
announced by Mr Lee in Parliament in March.
Since then, the Friends of Ubin Network has been set up - comprising nature groups, heritage
groups, academics, anthropologists, sports enthusiasts and artists. It has met twice so far.
The group and other stakeholders have suggested ideas to address these issues, such as by
carrying out a "cultural mapping" of the village there.
Suggested by the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS), it would involve documenting,
extracting and understanding the historical, economic, social and religious layers that used to
exist and those that are still practised on the island.
SHS president Chua Ai Lin said cultural mapping goes beyond a historical study of an area,
looking also at patterns of everyday life, to see how the different facets come together.
"It's really about the conditions of the people and the social, cultural, economic systems,
networks and ways of life, from a holistic viewpoint," she said.
"Putting such ground-up data together can mean more informed policymaking."
Some have also suggested building a field research centre for scientists and nature lovers to
set up camp. This could serve as an outreach point for people interested in learning about
Singapore's biodiversity and the island's history.
Others have called for greater access to nature and nature-based recreation.
Mr Lee said: "So for those who say leave Ubin alone, we need to certainly at least deal with
these things to prevent the island from falling into disrepair."
melodyz@sph.com.sg
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Death toll from Hiroshima landslides reaches 50
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 10:06 AM
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Police officers search for survivors at a site where a landslide swept through a residential area at Asaminami ward in
Hiroshima, western Japan, on Aug 23, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKY (AFP) - The death toll from devastating midweek landslides in Hiroshima rose to 50
on Sunday, as fresh rain stoked fears of more disasters and hampered the round-the-clock
search for survivors.
The regional police headquarters in the western Japan city said 38 other people remained
unaccounted for, four days after unusual downpours triggered landslides that swallowed
dozens of homes, many of them perched on hillside housing areas.
A total of about 3,000 rescuers including ground troops, fire fighters and police continued
digging through mud and debris but the search and rescue operation overnight was halted at
around dawn on Sunday as fresh rain raised concerns about more landslips, public
broadcaster NHK reported.
About 1,700 people remained sheltered at 13 safe public facilities while the Hiroshima city
government upheld evacuation orders and warnings for 164,000 residents in the disaster areas.
The body of a 83-year-old man was found early Sunday, raising the death toll to 50, a
prefectural police spokesman said.
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Mexico on alert as Hurricane Marie threatens coast
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 12:12 PM
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MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Six Mexican states were on high alert for a strengthening Hurricane
Marie, warning that torrential rain could trigger mudslides and cause rivers to break their
banks.
Marie, the eighth hurricane of the eastern Pacific season, was packing maximum sustained
winds of 165 km per hour - increasing it to a Category Two storm on the Saffir-Simpson
scale, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC).
It said the storm was continuing to gain strength, and cautioned it would likely become a
major hurricane by Monday.
Marie was far from land and no storm watches or warnings were in effect for the coast.
However, the NHC said portions of Mexico's south-western coast were already seeing
powerful waves as a result of Marie, and the impact was likely to spread toward the southern
Baja California peninsula and the Gulf of California as the storm strengthens and moves to
the northwest.
"These swells are likely to cause extremely dangerous life-threatening surf and rip current
conditions," the forecasters warned.
In Mexico, the national weather service said heavy rains threatened the states of Michoacan,
Colima, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Jalisco and Nayarit. It urged the millions of people living in those
states to "exercise caution" and to stay tuned for updates.
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Strong earthquakes strike Iceland volcano on verge of eruption
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 7:15 PM
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Picture taken on May 21, 2011, shows a cloud of smoke and ash over the Grimsvoetn volcano on Iceland. Two strong
earthquakes on Sunday shook Iceland’s largest volcano, which is on red alert for imminent risk of eruption, the Icelandic
Met Office said. -- PHOTO AFP
REYKJAVIK (AFP) - Two strong earthquakes on Sunday shook Iceland’s largest volcano,
which is on red alert for imminent risk of eruption, the Icelandic Met Office said.
A large explosion at the Bardarbunga volcano could signal a replay of the global travel chaos
caused by the eruption of another Icelandic peak four years ago, which created a massive ash
cloud across Europe.
The earthquakes were listed on the Met Office’s website with intensities of 5.3 and 5.1 on the
Richter scale, which makes them the strongest recorded in the region since the current
seismic cycle began last week.
On Saturday, Iceland raised its alert over the Bardarbunga volcano to the highest level and
closed airspace in the area, but all of Iceland’s airports remained open.
Met Office official Gunnar Gudmundsson told Icelandic public broadcaster RUV that it was
difficult to say whether the earthquakes indicated an increased risk of an eruption.
Earlier this week, authorities evacuated tourists and hikers from the area around the volcano,
which is covered by a glacier.
Seismologists had recorded an earthquake of 4.5 in the Richter scale on Monday, when
Iceland decided to raise its aviation alert to orange, the second-highest level of five.
The eruption of Eyjafjoell, a smaller volcano, in April 2010 caused travel mayhem, stranding
more than eight million people in the widest airspace shutdown since World War II.
Iceland’s most active sub-glacial volcano Grimsvotn erupted in 2011, forcing the country to
temporarily shut its airspace and sparking fears of a repeat of the Eyjafjoell flight chaos.
Iceland is home to more than 100 volcanic mountains, some of which are among the most
active in the world.
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Strong 6.0-magnitude quake hits northern California: USGS
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 7:40 PM
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SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted California early
Sunday morning, the US Geological Survey said, though there were no immediate reports of
deaths or serious damage.
The quake struck at 3:20 am (6.20 pm Singapore time) north-west of American Canyon,
California, USGS said, at a depth of just 10.8km below the surface.
The power was out in Napa, about 9.7km from the earthquake's epicentre, as well as in other
towns and cities nearby, affecting more than 10,000 households, according to the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company.
The California Highway Patrol in the San Francisco Bay Area tweeted that it was "checking
over crossings and bridges for obvious signs of structural integrity," and asked residents to
report any signs of problems.
Residents of the cities of San Francisco, some 64.4km south-west, and Davis, just over
64.4km north-east, quickly took to Twitter reporting also feeling the quake.
Twitter user Tyson Winter wrote: "Shook violently here in Napa. Power's out."
Ms Ann Marie Christy,wrote that her mother, also in Napa, said the shaking "was very
violent with a lot of broken glass." And in San Francisco, Mr Om Malik posted "Damn, woke
me up. Was super long. # quake # sf." Further north, Mr Tim Kerbavaz tweeted: "Felt it in
Davis too. Quite long."
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Iceland lowers volcano alert to orange
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 9:06 PM
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Computer screens showing seismic activity from the Bardarbunga volcanic eruption at the Icelandic met office in Reykjavik
on Saturday, Aug 23, 2014. Iceland lowered its alert over the nation's largest volcanic system to orange on Sunday after
keeping it for one day at the maximum level amid fears of an imminent eruption. -- PHOTO: AFP
REYKJAVIK (AFP) - Iceland lowered its alert over the nation's largest volcanic system to
orange on Sunday after keeping it for one day at the maximum level amid fears of an
imminent eruption.
A major explosion at the Bardarbunga volcano, located under a glacier, could signal a replay
of the global travel chaos triggered when another Icelandic peak blew four years ago, creating
a massive ash cloud across Europe.
The Icelandic Met Office said that there had not been a small sub-glacial eruption on
Saturday, as previously announced.
"Presently there are no signs of ongoing volcanic activity," IMO said on its website on
Saturday night.
The red alert level on Saturday led to the closure of airspace in the affected area, although all
airports in the country remained opened.
Seismic activity remains high in the area, with more than 700 tremors recorded during the
night.
Early on Sunday, the strongest earthquakes of the current seismic cycle shook Bardarbunga.
They were listed on the Met Office's website with intensities of 5.3 and 5.1 on the Richter
scale, the highest registered in the area since 1996.
The eruption of Eyjafjoell, a smaller volcano, in April 2010 caused travel mayhem, stranding
more than eight million people in the widest airspace shutdown since World War II.
Iceland's most active sub-glacial volcano Grimsvotn erupted in 2011, forcing the country to
temporarily shut its airspace and sparking fears of a repeat of the Eyjafjoell flight chaos.
Iceland is home to more than 100 volcanic mountains, some of which are among the most
active in the world.
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Tropical storm Cristobal takes aim at Bahamas
PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2014 11:56 PM
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This August 24, 2014 NASA GOES satellite image shows Tropical Storm Cristobal (lower-right) forming near the Bahamas.
Cristobal dumped heavy rains on parts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic before being upgraded to a tropical storm
early on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Tropical storm Cristobal headed toward the Bahamas Sunday after
leaving one person missing in the Dominican Republic, US weather forecasters said.
The storm, which was upgraded from a tropical depression, had maximum sustained winds of
75km an hour, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.
It predicted heavy rainfall of four to eight inches (about 10cm to 20cm) - "with isolated
amounts of 12 inches possible" - for the Turks and Caicos islands and southeastern and
central Bahamas, it said.
In the Dominican Republic, authorities said a man was swept away when he tried to cross a
rain-swollen river in his van.
Flooding near rivers and in cities also damaged more than 800 homes and cut off 23 towns,
the emergency centre said in its latest update.
Some 4,105 people went to take refuge in the homes of family and friends, it added.
A hospital in the country's east, where the rains were heaviest, also experienced flooding on
the ground floor and "patients were moving to dry places," the bulletin said.
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