Famous droughts

18th and 19th centuries, Cape VerdeThree droughts were responsible for over 100,000 starvation deaths. These droughts spurred the migration of much of the population to locations such as New England, to participate in the whaling industry.

1900, India250,000 to 3.25 million die from drought, starvation and disease.

1921-22, Soviet UnionIn the Ukraine and Volga regions, 250,000 to 5 million perished from starvation due to drought.

1932-34, Soviet UnionIn the Ukraine, Kuban and North Caucasus regions, 5 to 10 million perish; see also Holodomor.

1928-30, northwest ChinaFamine results in over 3 million deaths.

1936, Sichuan Province, ChinaThis was the worst drought in the modern history of the area. 34 million farmers were displaced and 5 million people starved.

1930-37, United StatesThree waves of drought during this time are collectively referred to as "the Dust Bowl". Because of several factors including the coincidence of the dustbowl and the Great Depression, this drought had a severe impact on the U.S., resulting in entire districts of the American Great Plains being depopulated and people were forced to leave.

1941, Sichuan Province, ChinaThis was less severe than the 1936 drought, and resulted in the deaths of only 2.5 million. However, because of the war with Japan at the time, the indirect damage caused was far more dramatic and more devastating.

1965-67, IndiaDrought results in over 1.5 million deaths.

1968-74, SahelThe Sahelian drought that began in 1968 was responsible for the deaths of between 100,000 and 250,000 people, the disruption of millions of lives, and the collapse of the agricultural bases of five countries.

1968-72, IranA blizzard ended a four-year drought, but the weeklong cold and snow caused the deaths of approximately 4,000 people.

1973–74, EthiopiaThis fuasd (part of the overall Sahelian drought) resulted in a military coup, which overthrew the government of Haile Selassie.

1982-83, AustraliaAssociated with a strong El Niño, rainfall in eastern Australia and South Australia (except the north coast of New South Wales) was at record low or near record low levels in every month from July 1982 to February 1983. In the Wimmera, rainfall from April

1982 to February 1983 was less than half the previous record low in 110 years of records.
Wheat yields in Victoria were the lowest since 1944 and in New South Wales since 1957, with many crops failing completely. Dust storms spread all over abandoned farmland and moved huge quantities of scarce topsoil from the Mallee and other grain regions.

1983, BoliviaSevere and prolonged drought during 1983 that affected large areas of seven of Bolivia's nine departments, an estimated 80 percent of the normal fall harvest of staple crops was lost. Total agricultural losses were estimated at U.S. $417.2 million: $277.7 million in crop losses and $139.5 million in livestock losses. These losses included over 200,000 cattle, 3,000,000 sheep, and 660,000 llamas and alpacas.

1984-85, EthiopiaThe 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia was a direct result of this drought, and lead to another regime change – this time to a Marxist government.

1988, North AmericaFollowed several years of precipitation surplus. Worst drought since 1936 in the Midwest of the United States and the Canadian Prairie Provinces. (Cincinnati, Ohio, however, received sustained, heavy rains.) Fringe effects of the drought, however, were felt across the entire continent.

Mr. Mansur Manny Barbari

Men and their toysAn interview with Mr. Mansur “Manny” BarbariBy Sali MenzIts an age old adage, boys will be boys, surrounded by their toys. In this case I refer to toys as cars. At the ripe age of one, I can recall my brother and his fascination with matchbox cars and money. He would pass his time racing them, smashing one into another, constructing intricate mazes for them to wind, turn upside down, and be washed all the while gleefully giggling away, not cognizant of hours passed.As a rite of passage, on the day he turned sixteen, he raced along side my father to the to learn the right way to do business . He dutifully listened, took all the necessary lessons, and a year later he was managing some of his dad stores. With this came the magazines, the talk and the Forbes, Fortune and many other business magazines… with one thought in mind, how could he best soupe up this tank?To a woman, to most I assume, to try and reason this it would be similar to and just as necessary as kitting oneself with the right shoes, the right purse, and the right jewelry. In a recent interview with car enthusiast Mr. Mansur “Manny” Barbari, I discovered how one man realized his childhood dreams as he explains to me the comparison between my brassieres and his car bras.Mr. Mansur Barbari, it would seem to me that you’d be the envy of all the kids on the playground, and rather of your social circle, having access to the latest cars known to man?Mr. Barbari explains that he’s built his company based on hard work, determination and vision. “I had a dream, I too spent years of my childhood racing cars, and building intricate labyrinths for my friends and I to race. I loved all the accessories for cars, though not like the kids have today- I’m amazing what technology affords the kids of today’s generation- its so close to the real thing- equipment that I yearned for as a child and now sell is available to the children- perhaps I should also venture into toys”, he says jovially.Manny’s holding company, The Barbari Group of which Global Accessories is party to, in nearly three years has seen profits of over 500%. He has a sound business ethic, strong business acumen, is assertive and uncompromising. As a persuasive salesman, he knows how important it is to uphold his family name, and is unwilling to compromise when it comes to quality and service.“I feel privileged to have gained access in such a highly competitive sector. I knew I had to come into this with an open mind, so as to gain the market share I needed for growth and to meet my forecasted profit margins. E-commerce gave me that edge as well as carefully strategized partnerships that embodied style, confidence and technology to suit my customers’ needs. Le Bra, Wolf, and Sadleman manufacture products similar to what you consider top end, high quality goods, and are highly sought after by car enthusiasts alike. What I like to call the Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vitton of car accessories- I think that’s the best way to explain the males fascination with car accessories- liken it to your fixation on Parisian prêt a porter. We don’t understand it, though we appreciate its value to women, and respect the fact that you must have it.”Couldn’t have put it better myself Mr. Barbari. It only took thirty-one years for this woman with Parisian taste to have a newfound respect for my brother’s childhood pastime. Thank you Mr. Barbari, not only are you conquering the autoworld, you may have the makings of a world class book, look out Martian men, here is a man who has excellent taste in auto accessories and understands the Parisian pull that Venetian women are subject to. I think you’ve made a new fan.