On the morning of Sunday the 13 August 2017, the 18 districts in the southern plains in Nepal, were struck by floods due to continuous torrential rainfall. The Nepal government has reported 115 deaths, 38 missing, and approximately 6 million people being directly affected by the floods. Land in the southern plains are heavily populated and is known as an agricultural farming land. Almost all of the cultivated crops and agriculture farming lands have been affected by the current floods. Livestock has also been affected by the floods. This has also meant the loss of livelihoods.

Alerts_21_2017_Flooding_in_Southern_Plains_Nepal

In the evening of Tuesday the 8 August 2017, the province of Sichuan in China, was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, killing 19 people and injuring 343.^[1]The epicentre of the tremor was in Ngawa prefecture, largely populated by ethnic Tibetans, many of whom are nomadic herders. It was also close to the Jiuzhaigou nature reserve, a popular tourist area and, it is the peak of the summer school holiday tourist season in China.

The earthquake has put the region in a state of crisis. The earthquake affected persons find themselves in a desperate situation, with many unmet vital humanitarian needs such as access to sufficient food and safe shelter and basic non-food items.
The emergency response is currently being coordinated by Ministry of Civil Affairs and China National Commission for Disaster Reduction.
ACT Alliance works in areas affected by the earthquake, and is assessing the impact of the disaster to better understand the needs and vulnerabilities .

ACT Alliance emergency teams are ready/preparing to respond according to the results of a contextual analysis and rapid needs assessment. In collaboration with relevant stakeholders, the ACT member Amity Foundation has identified a gap in Non-food items like clothes and tents and has resolved that if funded, it will have the capacity to bridge the identified gap.

Alerts _20_2017_Earthquake_in_Sichuan_China

[1] Provincial government and official media statistics released in the morning of 10 August 2017

The state of Odisha has been witnessing heavy to very heavy rains since 16 July 2017. These heavy rains have triggered flash floods in parts of Rayagada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts of the state of Odisha in India. Swollen rivers have become a cause for concern in the state. While the Thuamul-Rampur area of Kalahandi received 260 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours, the Kashipur block of Rayagada recorded 237 mm rainfall during the same period, causing flash floods in the Nagabali and Kalyan rivers. The Nagavali and the Kalyani rivers have risen, due to which many areas in Kalahandi and Rayagada were inundated. In Kalahandi, the water level in the river Hati is rising. The flood has claimed the lives of 4 persons and above 100 animals so far.  As many as 28,000 people in 70 villages have been affected in the Rayagada district. In addition, in the Kalahandi district, the administration evacuated 5,731 people to safe places due to flood in Hati, Tel and other small rivers.

Alerts_19_2017_Floods in Southern Odisha, India

There have been heavy torrential rains since 2^nd July 2017 in the North-Eastern state of Assam in India. The rains have continued and the floods have intensified in the last 24 hours. 23 districts of Assam have been affected during this current phase of floods. A population of 1,518,365 have been badly affected by current floods and are struggling with the worsening flood situation in the state.

The situation is likely to worsen in coming days as the water level in major rivers is continually rising above the danger level and more rainfall has been predicted by the Meteorological Department of India.

Alerts_18_2017_Flooding in North-Eastern State of Assam India

Four countries (Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad) in the Lake Chad region are affected by the on-going, Boko Haram conflict. As the needs continue to increase, this slow-onset “forgotten” crisis is urgently requiring attention to save lives and maintain human dignity. Approximately 21 million people live in the conflict-affected areas, of which 2.6 million are displaced and in dire need of support.

The conflict has had devastating effects on the region; visible not only through the widespread destruction of homes, livelihoods, infrastructure and large-scale displacements, but also in the conflict-induced trauma and fear in the affected communities. The already grim situation is further compounded by climate change, as the Lake Chad – the peoples’ principle source of income and livelihoods – is receding at an alarming rate.

In some of the affected areas, humanitarian access is often hampered by insecurity. Access may also be limited due to the rainy season (June – August). Moreover, social and political institutions in the region are fragile or underdeveloped and corruption is widespread.

Call 4 Action_Lake Chad Region Crisis_07_2017

On 23^rd May 2017, nearly 50 gunmen from the Maute Group, supporters of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), entered Marawi City, in Southern Philippines. The government launched a military and law enforcement operation in Marawi City and the President of the Philippines later put the whole island of Mindanao under martial law up to a maximum of 60 days. This escalated to a deadly firefight between government troops and combined forces of Islamic extremists. After nearly two weeks of urban warfare now, a number of affected population were forced to flee and seek refuge to nearby towns and provinces such as Iligan City, Lanao del Norte and Cagayan de Oro.  According to a report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), on 1^st June 2017, over 100,000 ^[1] people or half of the total population of Marawi are displaced (86% staying outside evacuation centres or with relatives and friends) and the number of displaced people is continually increasing. In addition, the deaths of soldiers take the number of security force members killed to 39, with 19 civilians and 120 rebel fighters killed in the Marawi battles^[2].

[1] http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ocha_phl_siege_of_marawi_1_june_2017.pdf

[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-militants-idUSKBN18S3QE

Alerts_17_2017_Marawi_Crisis_Philippines

Incessant monsoon heavy rains (as high as 553 mm) for the last days have caused floods and landslides in many parts of Sri Lanka (15 districts). As of 29^th May 2017 at 7.00 hrs (Local time), 164 people are reported dead, while 104 are missing; so far, over 471,542  people are affected. Further, 75,236 people were located at 336 safe locations^[1]. Most number of damages to lives and property are reported in Southern and Western part of the country: from Galle, Matara, Kalutara, Gampaha, Colombo and Ratnapura districts. Hill country areas are particularly affected by landslides.

^[1] As per the situation report issued by DMC on 29-05-2017 at 7.00 hrs: http://www.dmc.gov.lk/index_english.htm

Alerts_16_2017_Sri_Lanka_Floods_and_Landslides

Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, nearly 10’000 people have been killed and another 22’420 have been wounded (as of February 2017). The conflict is in its fourth year and constitutes a protracted crisis. Thousands of people left their homes in Ukraine. From Donetsk and Lugansk regions, hundreds of thousands IDPs and refugees fled to the neighbouring regions of Ukraine and Russia as well as to other countries. The number of displaced people continues to increase. By 25^th April 2017, 1’583’827 IDPs in Ukraine had been registered and 3.8 million people are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. As of March 2017, the total number of Ukrainians seeking asylum in neighbouring countries now stands at 434,284 with the majority going to the Russian Federation, Poland and Belarus. An additional 1.3 million is also seeking other forms of legal stay in these same countries. As of the end of 2016, countries of the European Union received 9’625 applications for international protection. Meanwhile, the position of the civilian population in the Non-Government Controlled Areas  remains extremely difficult. Much of the population of these regions have difficulty in accessing basic needs like food, hygiene, clean and safe drinking water, medicines, medical services and other basic services.

ACT members HIA and ROC/DECR plan activities in the sectors of Food Security, WASH, Psychosocial Support as well as Shelter & Non-Food Items in Ukraine and Russia, targeting the most vulnerable IDPs, refugees and conflict affected host community. While HIA will cover both Government Controlled Areas and NGCA in Ukraine, ROC/DECR target regions will be the NGCA in Ukraine and Russia. The follow-on ACT Appeal will start 1^stJune 2017 and end 31^st May 2018 with a total of project duration of 12 months.

Alerts_15_2017_IDPS_Refugees_UKraine_Russia

Ongoing armed conflicts between the DRC government forces and the Kamuena Nsapu militia faction in Lunda Norte Province have triggered large displacements. As of the 13^th of April, it was reported that a total of 11,051 refugees had arrived from the DRC and were settling in two camps. These numbers continue to rise as it is estimated that there is an additional 300-400 refugees arriving each day. The government of Angola has to date not declared an emergency, as the governments of Angola and DRC are analysing the situation and hope voluntary repatriation to DRC will be possible within one month or so. In the meantime, the situation in the camps is dire as the access to basic services is very limited. The situation is further compounded by the fact that the camps are over-crowded causing a lack of shelter, food & NFIs, and poor sanitation.

ACT is planning to respond to the refugee influx crisis in the affected areas, leveraging their technical expertise in humanitarian response and long-term community livelihoods development programming. The Council of Christian Churches in Angola, CICA and their church members will be integral part as implementing partners. Christian Aid and Bread for the World – ACT Angola forum non-resident members – will play a support and advocacy role at global level.

Alerts_14_2017 DRC Refugee Influx Crisis in Lunda Norte

The impact of the ten-year long blockade on Gaza has been exacerbated by the almost continuous closure by Egypt of the Rafah passenger crossing point since October 2014, confining the vast majority of the 2 million Palestinians to Gaza.  No major new displacement was recorded in Gaza during 2017, but an estimated 95,000 internally displace people -IDPs – (the majority United Nations Relief and Works Agency – UNRWA registered refugees) remain homeless as a result of the 2014 hostilities  of whom 78,000 continue to need temporary support. (Gaza Situation  Report 2016).

Alerts_04_2017_Response to IDPs in OPT_PSE171