Tropical storm Ketsana (also known as Ondoy) swept across the Philippines on 26 September. The Government of the Republic of the Philippines has declared a state of calamity in several regions and requested international humanitarian assistance to deal with the effects from Ketsana. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has recorded 240 deaths and over 1.5 million people affected by the storm.

 

 

 

The current seasonal floods in West Africa are affecting over 350,000 people. With floods reported in Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mali, Liberia and Guinea, the UNITAR Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) supports sister agencies UNICEF and UNOCHA with satellite image derived analyses of the situation. Using satellite imagery from multiple dates, the evolution of flood conditions is monitored and the latest changes on the ground observed.

The 2009 United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme was successfully completed on 14 August 2009.