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.

alerts_26_2016_hurricane-matthew-in-haiti-and-cuba

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.

alerts_25_2016_-severe-drought-response-in-angola

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.

alerts_24_2016_earthquake-in-tanzania

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.

Alerts_Severe Drought in Malawi

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.

Alerts_21_2016_Europe_Support to Refugees and Migrants

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.

Alerts_20_2016_Floods_in_Northern_and_Central_Bangladesh

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).

Alerts_19_2016_Flooding in North-Eastern State of Assam, India

On July 9^th renewed clashes broke out in the South Sudanese capital of Juba due to a reported power struggle between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the government and the SPLA opposition. Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting between rival armed groups, raising fears of a slide back into full blown conflict. The recent clashes have triggered  massive influx of South Sudanese refugees into Adjumani Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Majority of the refugees are entering through Elegu Border Point which is managed by Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Following the days of the clashes in Juba (July 12th 2016) Elegu Border Point has received over 14,100 new arrivals with about 13,000 of them arriving between the three day period of 17^th and 20^th of July. Refugees cite the fragile security situation, fighting, torture, forceful recruitment of youths, looting of properties and hunger as reasons for fleeing to Uganda. Women and children constitute 90 percent of new arrivals.

Alerts_18_2016_ Uganda_ influx of South Sudanese refugees

People in the state of Madhya Pradesh have been struggling with one of the worst flood situations due to heavy rainfall for past few days. Rivers are over flowing, washing away bridges, breaching embankments, marooning villages. The state capital of Bhopal city has also reported extensive water logging. The slum dwellers of the city have been the worst affected. According to media sources (Indian Express), 22 people have died so far due to the floods and 9 persons are reported missing. An estimated 2,360 houses have been completely damaged and 17,236 houses have been partially damaged. A total of 332,400 persons have been affected due to floods in Madhya Pradesh. The Indian Meteorological Department, in Bhopal, predicted that there will be further rain and thunder showers are likely to occur at most places over Madhya Pradesh in next 24 hours, potentially exacerbating the situation.

Alerts_17_2016_Flooding in India – Madhya Pradesh

As a result of the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine thousands of people were forced to leave their homes in Ukraine. The number of displaced people continues to increase. By 04 July, 2016, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine (MoSP) had registered 1,790,267 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine and 3.1 million people are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. As of 20th June 2016, the UNHCR reported 1,389,452 Ukrainians are seeking – or already received – asylum or refuge in other countries. Out of these – 1,092,212 are in Russia and 139,143 in Belarus. Others are in Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. As a consequence people who reside along contact line have difficulty accessing basic necessities like food, clean water, medicines, medical services and other basic services. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2014 at least 9,449 people have been killed and another 21,843 have been wounded.

Alerts_16_2016_Ukraine_Russia_ IDPs_and Refugees