Alerts - Page 10 of 33 - ACT Alliance

Indonesia and Timor-Leste: Flash Floods

On Sunday morning, April 4, 2021, flash floods and landslides caused significant damage in 11 districts of East Nusa Tenggara: Flores Timur, Malaka, Lembata, Ngada, Alor, East Sumba, Sabu Raijua, Rote Ndao, South Timor Tengah, Ende, and Kupang city. In Timor-Leste, over 76 percent of the affected population are in Dili, the country’s capital.

Indonesia National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) reported around 55 casualties and 24 people missing in Indonesia and several areas are still submerged by floods and mud. UN agencies reported about 12,980 people were affected in both Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Seven other municipalities were affected in Timor-Leste with 21 reported casualties.

A total of 256 people were evacuated in the East Flores area. Seventeen houses were washed away, and 60 houses were submerged in mud, with five bridges became inaccessible in three affected villages. In East Sumba District, 54 households or 165 people were displaced, while another 109 households or 475 people were affected by the flood, and 19 villages were affected. In Malaka District, 22 villages are inundated by flash floods, and yet so far still no further information for any victims that has been recorded, but most of the community is still flooded.

ACT Indonesia Forum (ACTIF), through Indonesia Christian Association for Health Services (ICAHS/PELKESI) and YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU), plan to respond in East Nusa Tenggara through ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund (RRF). PELKESI is supported by their local partners, CD Bethesda, GKS Synod, and Lindimara Hospital. They are conducting their rapid assessment and plans to provide health services, shelter materials, food, drinking water, and protection services. YEU has started distributing materials to provide soup kitchens in Flores in collaboration with the local church, GMIT Synod.

Church World Service is responding in Dili, Timor-Leste using their own funds initially distributing hygiene kits and household cleaning items to help the affected residents.

ALERT Indonesia and Timor Leste Flash Floods

Lebanon: Lebanon Crisis

Going into its third year of severe economic recession, Lebanon faces its worst and hardest depression ever since the end of the Lebanese Civil War that went on for 15 years. Between the Syrian refugee influx crisis, street protests, COVID-19 pandemic, dangerous depletion of resources, Beirut port explosion on August 4th, 2020, protracted absence of a functional cabinet and overlapping economic, financial and social crises, Lebanon grapples to survive on the edge of collapse.

The ACT Lebanon Forum is planning on submitting a funding proposal to ACT Secretariat to ensure that the affected persons’ basic needs are met with regards targeting Shelter/ NFI’s, food assistance, Health, Protection/MHPSS, WASH including the response to COVID-19, Early recovery/livelihood, Education and CASH assistance sectors.

Lebanon Crisis- Alert

South Sudan: Complex Humanitarian Crisis

Since the year 2021 began, people in South Sudan continued to suffer with high humanitarian needs. Protracted conflict and negative impact of floods, COVID-19 and desert locusts has contributed to an extended and complex humanitarian crisis.

The complex humanitarian situation reveals that over 8.3 million about one- third of the total population in South Sudan are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2021 according to the findings reflected in the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO,2021).

The ACT South Sudan forum is planning an a response to provide sufficient food, adequate nutrition, safe shelter & NFIs, livelihood activities, safe drinking water, sanitation & hygiene infrastructure, GBV/ protection and education services to the crisis affected people.

Alert-South Sudan Complex Humanitarian Crisis

Madagascar: Famine

The southern part of Madagascar has been affected by famine, caused by three years of consecutive drought.

The affected region has experienced poor harvests due to lack of rain and the effects of thunderstorms, which have destroyed farm crops.

The effects of the famine are exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19 that has caused a lack of jobs and a closure of markets.

Many households are surviving on exceptionally low incomes due to loss of livelihoods and many are migrating in search of food and work consequently, school dropouts are common.

ACT Local member SAF/FJKM are monitoring the situation and coordinating regional response efforts.

Madagascar_Famine

Mozambique:Tropical Cyclone Eloise.

In the afternoon of Saturday the 23rd January 2021, the province of Sofala in Mozambique, was hit by a tropical storm ELOISE. Several parts of central Mozambique have been flooded after Cyclone Eloise struck near the port city of Beira with wind speeds of up to 160km/h.

Water levels were already high, even before the tropical cyclone made landfall, causing several rivers in the region to burst their banks.

More than 1,000 houses have been destroyed and another 3,000 badly damaged. It is reported that more than 160,000 people are already directly affected in Beira according to Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Management and Reduction.

Preliminary reports also indicate that nearly 7,000 people have been displaced and more than 5,000 houses have been destroyed, damaged, or flooded, in Buzi, Dondo and Nhamatanda, according to the preliminary data from the Government. These numbers could rise in the days ahead as the full extent of the damage becomes known.

Cyclone Eloise is heading towards Zimbabwe and bringing heavy rainfall to the far north of South Africa, and eastern Botswana.

ACT Mozambique Forum member CEDES are conducting assessments in the affected regions.

Mozambique_Tropical Storm Eloise

Mozambique:Tropical Cyclone Eloise

Water levels were already high, even before the tropical cyclone made landfall, causing several rivers in the region to burst their banks.

Cyclone Eloise is heading towards Zimbabwe and bringing heavy rainfall to the far north of South Africa, and eastern Botswana.

ACT Mozambique Forum member CEDES are conducting assessments in the affected regions.

Mozambique_Tropical Storm Eloise

Madagascar: Cyclone Eloise.

In the evening of Tuesday 19^th January 2021, at 7.30 p.m. local time, the region of SAVA in Madagascar, was affected by an intense tropical cyclone from the Indian Ocean named ELOISE (Meteorological department Madagascar). Tropical cyclone Eloise came with winds reaching up to 100 Km/hour, touching the south of Antalaha district. The cyclone has also brought heavy rains of 100mm over 24 hours to several districts in the North West coast of Madagascar. Homes have been damaged and agriculture land destroyed leaving a high possibility of landslides. The intense tropical storm is foreseen to pass the Region of Analanjirofo, Sofia, Boeny and Melaky.

The dire situation is further compounded for the cyclone affected people with vulnerabilities and those belonging to a lower cast. Affected households are living with limited food stocks.

ACT Madagascar forum member SAF/FJKM (The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar) is ready to respond, by providing basic immediate needs to the affected persons in the coming weeks.

Madagascar_Cyclone Eloise

Madagascar: Cyclone Eloise

The dire situation is further compounded for the cyclone affected people with vulnerabilities and those belonging to a lower cast. Affected households are living with limited food stocks.

ACT Madagascar forum member SAF/FJKM (The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar) is ready to respond, by providing basic immediate needs to the affected persons in the coming weeks.

Madagascar_Cyclone Eloise

Indonesia: West Sulawesi Earthquake (Updated)

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the districts of Majene, Mamuju and Polewali Mandarin in West Sulawesi, Indonesia on 15th January, 2021. This was preceded by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in the same region. Recent reports from UN OCHA and BNPB said that it caused damages to 300 houses, 1 bridge, 2 hospitals, 1 port, 1 hotel, 2 government offices, landslide on 3 spots, 242 casualties, 189 people with serious injuries, 637 people with minor injuries, and around 15,000 people are in evacuation centers where they will . The number of casualties is predicted to increase as reports from local authorities will come in. The earthquake has also affected and disrupted the community’ activities such as health facilities (including hospitals), offices, marketplaces, shops, and religious facilities. The disaster has also resulted in the cut-off of electricity, communication, water, transportation access (by air and land), and lack of food security. Indonesian government has started to deploy rescue and assistance to the affected areas.

ACT Indonesia Forum plans to give assistance to 5,000 people affected by the earthquake through ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund. They plan to aid and support the disruption of health services, household items, protection for vulnerable groups, shelter materials, WASH services and materials, and assistance to support the disruption of livelihoods.

ALERT Indonesia West Sulawesi Earthquake

Alert 01 2021 Summer Floods Brazil Sao Paulo

Alert 01 2021 Brazil Summer Floods Sao Paulo

On the morning of Wednesday the 6 January 2021, the district of Sao Paulo in Brazil , was hit by summer storms.
The São Paulo State is home of around 45 million people ranging from very vulnerable communities to well structure urban and rural areas. From the beginning of the pandemic, the state has been the epicentre of the COVID-19 in Brazil, with more than 1.5 million cases and 47,768 deaths until this day(https://covid19br.wcota.me/), a quarter of the national numbers.

Data from INPE (National Institute of Space research) and the State University in São Paulo (UNESP), shows that an outstanding season of summer storms will continue in the next months, with its peak from February to April, increasing the alert for areas hit by the floods in the first weeks of 2021.
In the São Paulo Municipality, the most affected districts are in the East and in the South of the city. In the East, the Jacuí and Jardim Santa Helena neighbourhoods are in an area that follows the river course of the Rio Tietê – one of the longest and most polluted rivers in Brazil. That river has a system of dams and barriers that overflows during the rainy season affecting the life of the most vulnerable communities alongside its course. In the south, the Grajaú district has many very poor communities living in the shore of the city’s larger reservoir in informal settlements.

This situation leads to at least 1200 families affected by the floods, causing food insecurity and very low health sanitation standards. The situation is especially bad for around 2400 children, in those areas, for a total 6000 people.
Because of the fact that Summer Floods have started earlier than usual, it is expected that the amount of affected population will increase in the following months.