Philippines: Cotabato Earthquake
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the province of Cotabato in the Philippines in the morning of 31st October, 2019. The province has experienced two earthquakes of more than 6.0 magnitude since 16th October and they expect that aftershocks and tremors will still continue until December, as reported by Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).
As of October 31, over 30,045 people are affected in 72 barangays or villages in Regions XI and XII, of which almost 12,800 are in 19 evacuation centres, while 6,850 are staying with host families according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). A total of fifteen deaths, 610 injured and 2 missing persons were reported due to the October 16 and 29 earthquakes. Over 2,600 homes and about 513 schools, frequently used as evacuation centers, sustained damages in Region IX, X, XI, XII, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Secondary hazards were monitored in the said regions such as fire, flooding due to dike damages, and landslides causing isolation of some communities, among others. Affected communities, displaced in evacuation centers, with host families or camping outdoors in makeshift tents are afraid to go indoors for fear of being injured.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines will access ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund to provide food, sleeping materials, shelter repair kits, drinking water, and psychosocial first aid to the affected people.
Alerts Cotabato Earthquake
Heavy rains for eight continuous days have caused havoc in the Upper East Region in Ghana, resulting in loss of life, injured and displaced persons. At least 20 people have lost their lives and 19 are reported injured.
More than 1,550 houses have also been destroyed by the floods across the 15 most affected districts of the region.
The Ghana National Disaster Management Organization (NADM)) is currently coordinating the response.
The flood-affected communities find themselves in a desperate situation, with many unmet vital humanitarian needs such as access to Shelter, WASH, Early recovery/livelihoods, food security, Protection and Psychosocial support.
The ACT Ghana forum is planning to submit a funding proposal to contribute towards providing unmet needs of affected persons.
Ghana_Flood Alert.
Typhoon Hagibis made landfall to Japan on 12th October 2019, and widespread flooding and landslides were observed in many parts of central Japan. In two days, the typhoon brought 30-40% of the annual rainfall, and maximum category of warning (category 5: do whatever it takes to save your lives) have been issued to 13 prefectures. Evacuation warning was given to more than 7 million people. In many areas, a record-high rainfall was observed. As of 14th October, 61 people have died; 15 missing; and 211 injuries reported (based on reports from Japan’s news agencies). Over 300,000 houses are out of electricity. 181 rivers in 8 prefectures breached, and water inundation still continues.
ACT Japan Forum through Church World Service (CWS Japan) and the National Christian Council in Japan (NCCJ), are communicating closely with its partners particularly in Tateyama city of Chiba prefecture and Fukushima prefecture, and discussions are ongoing on collaborative response within ACT Forum Japan, including emergency supplies and skilled labor force to assist the recovery process of the vulnerable households – particularly elderly households without younger members of the family. NCCJ may access ACT’s Rapid Response Fund.
Alerts Japan Typhoon Hagibis
Pakistan: Kashmir Earthquake
In the afternoon of Tuesday, 24 September 2019, the district of Bhimber, Mirpur and Jhelum in Azad Jammu Kashmir and Punjab, Pakistan, was badly struck by an earthquake of magnitude 5.8 that killed 39 people injuring 746 others. Government reported 454 houses including 135 severely and 319 have been partially damaged.
Based on reports from other NGOs, it is estimated that around 9,000 families have been affected. About 1,000 houses have been destroyed out of the 7,000 damaged houses in Mirpur district alone. Aftershocks continues to rock the region, many left their homes and spent the night on the roadside or in parks. Infrastructure including houses, roads, mobile phone towers and electricity poles have been badly damaged and communication channel both through roads and telephones to some of the affected areas has been cut off. Information is still scarce as some areas are still inaccessible.
Community World Service Asia (CWSA) plans to access ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund to provide food, water, shelter and household needs.
Alert Kashmir Earthquake
Zimbabwe: Drought Emergency.
Zimbabwe is currently facing a severe drought caused by poor rains that affected food harvests between October 2018 and May 2019. In August 2019, the government declared the 2018/19 drought and cropping season “a State of National Disaster” and appealed for international humanitarian assistance. Reports from WFP estimate that at least 2 million people are affected.
The prices of staple food (maize) have increased by 31 per cent higher compared to the same time last year. The severe drought crisis is coupled with an economic crisis caused by the uncertainty that arose after the pronouncement of the Statutory Instrument 2019 -142 that pronounced the Zimbabwean Dollar to be the sole currency for legal tender purposes; creating some ambiguity as the currency is facing shortages and limiting household market access hence worsening the situation for poor households.
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare with support from UN Agencies WFP and FAO are currently coordinating the emergency response. ACT Zimbabwe Forum has been working in Zimbabwe since 2003, now helping/planning to help people affected by the drought
Alerts_Zimbabwe-Drought
Bahamas: Hurricane Dorian
In the afternoon of Sunday, 1st September 2019, Category 5 Hurricane Dorian, the strongest hurricane known this side of the Caribbean, made landfall in the Bahamas in Elbow Cay, east of Abaco island and made another landfall on Grand Bahama island with the same intensity several hours later. The hurricane moved slowly through the islands form 1 to 3 of September, leaving a death toll of 43 people as of 6th September (35 people in Abaco and 8 in Grand Bahama). This number is expected to increase due the hundreds of people still missing.
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that more than 13,000 houses have been severely damaged or destroyed – about 45 per cent of all homes on the two islands. Abaco Islands are the most severely affected with thousands of houses leveled, telecommunications towers down, and water wells and roads damaged, very limited or no water, electricity and sanitation, and most of the Marsh harbor infrastructure is damaged. In Grand Bahama, the eastern part is the most affected, with homes damaged between Freetown and Deep Water Cay.
Across Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, airports and seaports are increasingly becoming operational, allowing humanitarian assistance to be delivered. However, access to affected people, particularly in the Abaco Islands, remains challenging mainly due to damaged roads and infrastructure. Assessments are underway conducted by Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), UN agencies and NGOs to determine the scope of needs.
ACT Alliance is deploying a Rapid Assessment Team to be led by the Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas (SSID) in the Dominican Republic, on behalf of the Caribbean Sub-regional ACT forum. The assessment will identify needs of the affected population, assess local capacities to respond including those of churches, provide recommendations for a possible ACT Response.
Alert Hurricane Dorian Bahamas
An unprecedented number of fires have raged throughout Brazil in 2019, intensifying in August. There have been more than 80,000 fires so far this year, the most ever recorded by the country’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). It’s a nearly 80 percent jump compared to the number of fires the country experienced over the same time period in 2018. More than half of those fires are taking place in the Amazon. Environmentalists have been raising the alarm about deforestation since the country’s current president Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2018. A major part of his campaign message called for opening the Amazon for business, and since he’s been in power, he’s done just that. Most of the worst-affected regions are in the north of the country. Roraima, Acre, Rondônia and Amazonas all saw a large percentage increase in fires when compared with the average across the last four years. In the Brazilian Amazon there is a population of approximately 430, 000 indigenous people, distributed in 419 Indigenous Lands, occupying an area of 115,342,101 hectares, 22.9% of the total area’s surface, including people in voluntary isolation, who are now at great risk due to the uncontrolled fires.
Several other countries in the Amazon basin – an area spanning 7.4m sq km (2.9m sq miles) – have also seen a high number of fires this year. Venezuela has experienced the second-highest number, with more than 26,000 fires, with Bolivia coming in third, with more than 19,000. This is a rise of 79% on last year. Peru, in fifth place, has seen a rise of 92%. The size of the fires in Bolivia is estimated to have doubled since late last week. More than 1.8 million acres in Bolivia have been burned.
In Brazil CESE will work together with partners in the Amazon region. The main partner is COIAB (Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon), which brings together hundreds of indigenous organizations from all over the Amazon, and is acting directly on some of the firefighting fronts. The other partners are indigenous and socio-environmental organizations involved in the various territories. ACT Alliance members in Brazil and Bolivia are monitoring the development of the situation, IEMB (Methodist Church from Bolivia) is preparing to provide humanitarian relief in the affected area in Bolivia and CESE, FEACT Brazil’s member with others local partners is planning to provide support in Food security, mobility and firefighting equipment, communication and advocacy. Other ACT Alliance local members will engage on the external dissemination and advocacy activities related to the disaster.
Alerts_Fire_in_The_Amazon
India and Myanmar: Monsoon Floods
Flooding caused by monsoon rains continued in India and Myanmar that increased the number people leaving their homes and moving to evacuation centers since last month. Five countries in Asia – India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar – have experienced severe flooding from monsoon rains since July. About 1.1 million people in India have been displaced and 105,000 people in Myanmar.
ACT Alliance Members in India: Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), Christian Agency for Rural Development (CARD), and United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) are on the ground for assessments.
Alert India and Myanmar Floods
In the afternoon of Saturday, 10 August 2019, the provinces of Zhengjia, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, and Fujian in China, were hit by Tropical Cyclone Lekima. Peak wind gust was 240km/h with as much as 211 mm rainfall, making it the strongest 2019 typhoon to hit the country so far. As of 12 August, Lekima has left 48 dead and 21 missing, affecting nearly 14.02 million people and forcing the relocation of 1.7million people. Heavy rains and strong gales as well as floods and landslides have caused the collapse of 13,000 houses, damages to 119,000 houses, while 996,000 hectares of crops were affected by the typhoon.
ACT member Amity Foundation will be providing assistance in Anhui Province.
Alert China Typhoon Lekima
