The parched tree branches from Yemen exemplify the deadly dual impact of drought and flash flooding. It’s a phenomenon more and more communities face as weather patterns become less predictable, while sun-baked soils become less able to absorb heavy rains.

These alternating phenomena come on top of nearly a decade of conflict, which has left more than two thirds of the country’s population in need of humanitarian assistance, 14 per cent of the population is internally displaced and more than 16 million face serious food insecurity.

In July 2022, a prolonged drought was followed by deadly flash flooding caused by heavy thunderstorms. More than 31,000 households suffered loss of life, homes or livelihoods.

The Yemen Red Crescent responded immediately to rescue survivors and provide healthcare and psychosocial support at 23 Red Crescent health centres.

The ceramic bottle placed in the center of the table contains water from catastrophic flooding that affected several provinces of Panama in November 2022. But it could have been taken from any number of floods in recent years.  

Flood water is a multi-layered threat to human life. Even small amounts carry untreated human waste, pollutants and toxins that can spread life-threatening diseases. Panama is acutely vulnerable to floods and landslides, and their number and intensity continue to grow as the climate crisis worsens.

In 2022, the main rivers in three provinces burst their banks after days of torrential rain, destroying entire communities and contaminating water supplies. The previous year, heavy rain caused severe flooding across three western provinces, destroying homes, businesses, roads and bridges. 

The Panama Red Cross is still supporting people who lost everything in these climate disasters – and working to build community resilience ahead of the next climate threat.

The people of Syria have suffered conflict, displacement and disasters for more than a decade. This fragile environment is also being threatened by rising temperatures, long periods of drought and water shortages. 

A combination of arid and semi-arid environments, only two per cent of the country’s total land mass is made up of forests (from which some of the wood in this table comes). But forests are not the only ecosystems under threat, as average temperatures in Syria have risen by 2°C in the past 100 years (roughly twice the global average). Most crops are rainfed in Syria and most wheat crops come from particularly drought-prone areas.  

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent is working to reduce disaster risks and empower the most at-risk communities through programmes that jump-start new livelihoods and by promoting safe water, health and sanitation practices, among many other actions. 

People who gather around the table will notice there is a section missing. This is not an ovrersight. This missing section represents the many climate-related disasters not represented by a specific object or piece of debris in the table. Consider the case of Fiji – and other Small Island Developing States.

While these islands do not have an artifact built into the table, they have suffered acutely from intensified weather events such as cyclones, flooding, extreme heat and rising sea levels. In fact, Fiji and other Pacific islands are under existential threat. If urgent action is not taken to curb the climate crisis, they may cease to exist altogether.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent works every day to help communities reduce the risks of climate disasters, and to keep people safe and healthy. Only concerted international action can hold back the tide that threatens to destroy communities facing existential threats due to the climate crisis.