The Government of Indonesia is already stretched from various natural disasters, including the imminent eruption of Mt Merapi, and has limited resources to respond to this emergency. In May we told you about efforts to stem sunn pest outbreaks in Faryab - an insect that can cause losses of 20-70 percent in wheat crops with damage reaching 100 percent in the absence of control measures. FAO warned that other Red Sea and Gulf of Aden countries could face important infestations of the cropdevouring insects this winter due to unusually good rains and favorable ecological conditions. Much of Manado's essential infrastructure  -  roads, bridges and drainages  -  have been severely damaged. Of these 301 were rescued by the Norwegian cargo vessel, the Tampa, after their boat sank, and the other 228 were taken from the Indonesian vessel, the Aceng, which was subequently intercepted by the Australian navy. Most parts of India have recorded above normal monsoon rainfall from 1 June to 1 August 2001 (26 out of 35 meteorological sub-divisions covering 75 % of the districts and 83 % area of the country received normal to excess rainfall). The torrential downpour which has been pounding the Indonesian island of Sumatra since last week is having dire consequences. Massive flooding occurring in Kenya has affected up to 70,000 people after torrential rains lashed many parts of the country, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Alarm Level II Dangerous flood condition - Flood plane inundation expected; towns and cities still generally protected by flood defences; high velocity River flows pose danger of bank and dyke erosion; bridge foundations at risk from scour; infrastructure generally safe. Conversely, the virtual absence of rainfall combined with abnormally high temperatures in most of southern Mozambique during the 2006/07 season may result in poor local harvests, especially for maize. Stress and labour migration continued well into 1999 because early warning mechanisms failed to predict and react timely to the disaster situation and furthermore, another belg rain failure in 1999 further aggravated the food security situation See Guinand, 1999b and Hammond, 1999b. Bangladesh, which borders India and is home to 150 million people, has repeatedly born the brunt of devastating and deadly storms in the past. The area that was hit on the northeast coast is the main cash crop-producing area with coffee, cloves and vanilla bean," he says.