AFP Marshall Islands says climate change behind floods <\/p>\n
Majuro (Marshall Islands) (AFP) - Officials in the Marshall Islands blamed climate change Wednesday for severe flooding in the Pacific nation's capital Majuro which has left 1,000 people homeless. <\/p>\n
The Marshalls declared a state of emergency in the wake of the flooding, which peaked Monday when surges caused by so-called \"king tides\" inundated areas of the low-lying capital. <\/p>\n
Senator Tony de Brum, the Minister Assisting the President, said king tides were a regular phenomenon, but not at the damaging levels seen this week. <\/p>\n
\"This is far, far from being a normal situation,\" he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. <\/p>\n
\"I put that down to climate change... these things are far more intense than before and leave more destruction behind than they used to.\" <\/p>\n
Alson Kelen, a resident of a small island located about a mile from the downtown area of Majuro, said this week that the king tide was the highest he had ever experienced. <\/p>\n
The UN Office for the Cooordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there had been no reports of fatalities or serious injuries due to the flooding. <\/p>\n
Climate change is a major concern for Pacific island states such as the Marshals, Kiribati and Tuvalu, where many atolls are barely a metre (three feet) above sea level and risk being engulfed by rising waters. <\/p>\n
The Pacific Islands Forum regional bloc signed a declaration calling for renewed global efforts to contain global warming when they met in Majuro last September. <\/p>\n
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