Late Wednesday 19^th October 2016, Super Typhoon Haima (also called Lawin) in the Philippines wrought havoc into the north-eastern Philippine coast with ferocious winds and rain that rekindled fears and memories from the catastrophe wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Typhoon Haima, which has sustained winds of 225 km/h and gusts of up to 315 km/h, had its landfall in Penablanca town in Cagayan province shortly before midnight. Many villages lost power and intense winds tore roofs off houses.

On 20^th October 2016 before dawn, Typhoon Haima was downgraded from a super typhoon into a typhoon. In its bulletin issued at 5 am on October 20, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that Typhoon Haima slightly weakened as it crossed Apayao, another province that was in the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal (TCWS No.5). It now has maximum winds of up to 205 km/h and gustiness of up to 285 km/h. However, the state weather bureau, PAGASA, warned that it remains destructive. Based on the profile created by UNOCHA, 100km radius of the typhoon track covers 13 provinces (185 cities/municipalities).

Various transmission lines in Northern Luzon have been cut due to Typhoon Haima, affecting La Union, Isabela, Cagayan, Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. Communication lines remain down and landslides in the national highway in Nueva Ecija rendered the roads impassable. The focus of local authorities as reported is on clearing the roads and restoring basic services.

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On October 17 2016, Mosul retake operation begun and the humanitarian partners in Iraq have estimated that up to 1.5 million additional people may be impacted. According to UNOCHA Flash Appeal, civilians on the west bank of the Tigris River are likely to flee southwards to Tikrit, where limited services are available. A significant number of families will probably flee northwards toward the Syria-Iraq border and to Iraqi Kurdistan. Displacement towards Tel Afar is also expected. The most immediate needs will be for water, food, emergency shelter, and medical assistance. UN has identified 4 zones of potential displacement locations: 1) Erbil, Duhok (Kurdistan); 2) Zummar, Rabea (Ninewa); 3) Tal Afar (Ninewa); 4) Tikrit (Salah Al Din).  ACT Alliance members will respond to these needs.

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Hurricane Matthew hit Dominican Republic on 4 October triggering heavy rains, winds, floods and landslides. Up to date there are 4 people killed, (2 girls, 1 child and an adult), 447 houses destroyed, 22,745 people displaced. Crops, bridges and water systems were also destroyed. The National Emergency Centre (NEC) maintains the alert for tropical storm in the 22 provinces, 11 in red and 11 in yellow alert.

Due the impact at national level, the national capacity to respond is exceeded at communitarian level and also at governmental level, especially on the areas of National District, Monte Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Barahona, Independencia, San Juan Maguana and Dajabón.

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Very heavy rains and floods have happened on the arrival of Matthew category 4 Hurricane (in the Saffir-Simpson Scale) currently ravaging Haiti and Cuba. The Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti early on October 4^th and on the same day in the afternoon in Cuba.

Hurricane Matthew entered Haiti on the south-western coast on department of Grand’Anse, 230km southeast of Port-au-Prince with winds near 220 km/h causing devastating impact, violent winds, flash floods and mud slides primarily in the Southern Coast of the island, Nippes and Grand’Anse departments, although nearly the whole country has been affected. 11 communes of the Great South have already been flooded, a landslide in Anse Milieu has cut off road access, and violent winds in Pointe-à-Raquette, Gonâve Island, are causing great panic. One person has been reported dead in Port-Salut. Meanwhile 61,302 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are still living in hosting sites or camps rendering them extremely vulnerable to the violent winds and heavy rainfalls expected. Hurricane Matthew is continuing to the North affecting the Nippes, West, Artibonite and Northwest departments in particular.

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The El Nino climatic event has caused the worst drought in 35 years in Southern Africa. The region normally receives rain between October and April, but the 2015- 2016 season rain did not fall until late February (UNOCHA May, 2016). This crippled rain-fed agricultural production which accounts for the livelihoods of most Southern Africans. The subsequent April 2016 harvest proved meagre, with a regional maize production shortfall of 9.3 million tons.  This was the second consecutive poor rainfall season in the region deepening vulnerabilities.

Southern Angola has been experiencing consecutive seasons of poor rainfall. The recent El Nino has exacerbated the situation, affecting access to water for human consumption, irrigation and livestock. There has also been an increase in cases of malaria, diarrhoea, cholera, malnutrition in children under age 5, measles, scabies, acute respiratory infections and yellow fever (258 died of yellow fever between January- April 2016). An estimated 756,000 people in rural areas require humanitarian assistance of which 75,593 require immediate food assistance. An estimated US$ 261.423 million is required for the response (Angola Vulnerability Assessment Committee Results 2016). The most affected municipalities are Cunene, Namibe and Huila Provinces.

ACT Angola Forum members, Lutheran World Federation and Norwegian Church Aid plan to respond through ACT  appeal, due to their presence by  providing WASH interventions, Food security  through climate-smart agriculture and community based disaster risk reduction [CBDRR] to 5,000 vulnerable households in the municipalities mentioned.

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A severe earthquake with magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the North-West Tanzania on the 10^th of September 2016 at 15:27 local time. The epicentre was located in close proximity to the border town of Nsunga on the Lake Victoria and nearby Bukoba municipality, a major town and the regional centre for the Kagera region. Less than 72 hours from the quake, 17 persons were reported dead and 170 hospitalized.

While assessments are still on-going, preliminary evaluations record that 840 buildings have been destroyed including three schools and dormitories. Over 1,264 houses are reported to be unsafe and hundreds of people are currently displaced. The Acting Regional Commissioner of Kagera region estimates the need for temporary shelters for over 3,000 people as well as for medical supplies, non-food items, food assistance and psychosocial support.

ACT Tanzania forum plans to respond to the needs of the affected population through ACT Alliance humanitarian mechanism. TCRS and ELCT are planning to support the affected populations through provision of Emergency shelters, Non-food items and Community Based Psychosocial Support. Long-term plan to re-build the education facilities that have been destroyed is also being considered.

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In 2015 and 2016, Malawi experienced the El Niño weather phenomenon, manifested by poor distribution of rainfall and prolonged dry conditions, which resulted in delayed planting and poor crop development. The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report of June 2016 showed that a minimum of 6.5 million people (39% of Malawi’s population) will not be able to meet their annual food requirements during the 2016/17 consumption period, in 24 of the Malawi’s 28 Districts. This protracted drought was combined with floods in some areas of Malawi, which have also increased the risk of water-borne disease outbreaks.

The most critically affected Districts are the following: Balaka, Chikwawa, Kasungu, Nkhota-kota, Dedza, Dowa, Mchinji, Mulanje, Nsanje, Phalombe, Thyolo, Mangochi, Neno, Ntcheu, Salima, Mzimba, Rumphi, Ntchisi, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mwanza, Blantyre, Lilongwe and Zomba.

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Since the beginning of 2015 a mass influx of people seeking asylum in Europe or a better life have been travelling into Europe in increasing numbers. The number of asylum seekers has constantly risen from a few thousand in 2014 to over a million entering Europe in 2015. While the number of people entering Europe via the Balkans has fallen since the second quarter of 2016, there are still significant numbers of people arriving daily in countries along the route. Many people are now staying in the countries of arrival in Europe and not moving further, which has caused both governments and NGOs to respond to new needs or respond to the needs in a different way (at least in the semi-long term), including more integration, education and other services.

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As of 30^th July 2016, 14 people have died and over 340,000 households in 16 districts have been severely affected by the continuing heavy rains during the last few days which has caused floods in Northern – Central parts of Bangladesh.  The continuing downpour and rising waters have now exacerbated an already bad situation.

As of 1^st August 2016 (reliefweb)^,  the rivers Dharla, Ghagot, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Gur, Atrai, Dhaleswari, Lakhya, Kaliganga, Dhaleswari, Padma and Titasare have been all flowing above the danger level by 62 cm on average and in some places as high as 137 cm.

According to Flood Forecasting & Warning Centre and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWBD), rising water level in several major rivers will keep exacerbating the flood situation in the next 24 – 48 hours particularly in the low lying areas adjacent to Rajbari, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Sariotpur districts as well as Dhaka city.

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Heavy torrential rains during the last few days have caused floods in North-Eastern states of India. The flood situation continues to remain grim in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.  As of the 24^th of July, so far 7 people have died and over 600,000 people have been affected in Assam, while over 100 households in Arunachal Pradesh were rendered homeless. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) reported that over 50,000 people in 130 villages have been affected. About 1,206 villages in 14 districts have been affected by the deluge, with Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Laxmipurt, Goalpara and Tinsukia being the worst affected districts. So far, nearly 46,680 hectares of crop area have been inundated by flood water (Indian Express).

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