In May 2022, rains started in the state of Assam and resulted in flooding in 27 districts of the state. Approximately 670,000 people were affected by the floods during this first wave. Continued rainfall due to monsoon season in the catchment areas of the main rivers of Assam (Brahmaputra, Barak and their tributaries) since the second week of June resulted in an increase in water levels in all the major rivers in the state and also landslides.
The flood situation remains to be grim on 4 July with the total death toll to 179. Local government stated a total of 17 embankments, 486 roads and 14 bridges were damaged. 1,618 villages were under water and 47,198.87 hectares of crop areas were damaged across Assam. Damage to infrastructure is feared to cause long-term impacts, such as disruptions to supplies of clean water, wastewater treatment, electricity, transport, communication, education and health care.
ACT India Forum members plan to respond to the needs of the affected people through the Rapid Response Fund.
ACT Alert India Assam Floods
An earthquake of 5.9 magnitude have struck southeastern Afghanistan on June 22, 2022, leading to wide-scale destruction across already vulnerable districts in Paktika and Khost provinces.
The event is categorized as medium level emergency as it has badly impacted Barmal, Ziruk, Nikka and Giyan districts of Paktika province, and Spera and Shamal districts in Khost province. Provincial officials initially reported that nearly 1,000 people had been killed, while the UN OCHA has estimated that at least 770 people have been killed and 1,500 people have been wounded. Some 1,500 houses have been damaged in district Giyan only. It is estimated that at least 70% of the houses in the high impact areas have been damaged or destroyed, leaving families without shelter and sleeping outdoor due to damage to houses and fear of aftershocks. In addition to loss of life and devastating injury, the earthquake has resulted in the destruction of critical infrastructures, including health facilities, schools and water sources. It is estimated that a total of 361,634 people is in need of humanitarian assistance across 17 districts in Paktika, Khost and Paktya provinces.
The earthquake affected provinces were already under the crisis level and acute food insecurity. The lean season is underway at the moment when the food resources are already at the borderline of consumption. A rapid onset of the Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) has been reported across most of the earthquake affected areas. Immediate attention is required to this issue to curtail the spread of the outbreak.
Community World Service Asia plans to respond to the affected communities through Rapid Response Fund.
ACT Alert Afghanistan Earthquake
Palestine: Gaza and West Bank Crisis
The situation in the Palestinian Territories can be best described as a protracted protection crisis. The humanitarian conditions continued to deteriorate in 2021 as hostilities, heightened tensions and violence exacerbated an already dire situation.
The Gaza Strip continues to face critical conditions. The entire population has endured for the last 15 years a blockade of land, air, and sea blockade. The already severe strain on the population of having to live through four conflicts in the last 14 years have had devastating consequences for mental health with many across the Gaza Strip struggling to cope with complex trauma.
According to a UN organization, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has experienced a disturbing increase in armed incursions in the past twelve months. These incursion into refugee camps, use of live ammunition against civilians and settler violence, while displacement and demolition remain constant threats.
At the peak of the lockdown and economic restrictions, around 110,000 additional Palestinians entered poverty. The new poor were concentrated in rural areas of the West Bank and were more likely to be living in female-headed households. With 20% of previously employed main income earners losing their jobs, income fell in more than 60% of Palestinian households during the height of the pandemic.
DSPR and EJ YMCA plan to continue their response providing assistance to the Palestinians.
Alert Palestine Protracted Crisis
A heatwave emergency has gripped the country for the last two months and still continues. The heat level peaked on 1 May 2022 when one of the districts in Sindh province hit 49.5 degree Celsius, the hottest temperature recorded in 2022. Another district hit the temperature half of the boiling point. It is estimated that about 3.4 million people who are living below poverty line in Karachi and Umerkot, are vulnerable to the effects of the heatwave.
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has informed that day temperature in certain parts of Sindh province is likely to increase gradually and shall remain between 46-48 degrees. The summer months usually begin from April and last till September . The weather gets extremely harsh from May to July while August and September are more humid which can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. The prevailing hot and dry weather could cause stress on water reservoirs, crops, vegetables, and orchards as well as increase energy and water demand that in current crisis is difficult to manage.
Community World Service Asia plans to provide support to the people most affected through the Rapid Response Fund.
ACT Alert Pakistan Heatwave
Horn and East Africa: Drought
The Horn and East Africa region has been hit by a severe drought affecting Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
The rains in October -December 2020 were below average in addition the rains in March-May and October to December of 2021 were also below average while the current rains March-May 2022 are scanty and below average. The situation is now moving to a critical stage.
With drought being cyclic in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, there have been close to three and in some areas, four failed rainy seasons.
In Ethiopia, 5.5-6.5million people are affected, in Kenya 2.8million are affected and in Somalia, 6 million people are affected[1]. The food security situation of these populations falls between integrated phased classification (IPC) of 3-4 bordering on catastrophic phase. The populations in phase 3 are rapidly moving into an emergency and crisis phase of IPC 4 due to the livestock losses and stretched coping mechanisms.
Country forums from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya are submitting a regional appeal to respond to the drought.
Horn and Eastern Africa_Drought
Due to persistent rains from Friday, the 8th of April 2022, with the heaviest rainfall experienced on Monday and Tuesday (11th and 12th April). In the Durban area, over 300 mm of rain was recorded in the 24-hour period.
Many roads and bridges were washed away, leaving many communities cut off. Houses and buildings were washed away or damaged by mudslides. Many rivers burst their banks. Trucks and cars were washed away. At a shipping container depot, several containers were washed away.
According to the initial assessment done by the Disaster Management Centre, about 2000 RDP houses (low income) and 4000 shacks (informal) have been damaged. The number of formal houses damaged is unknown now. Several Business properties were also damaged forcing them to shut down until clean-up is completed. The water and electricity infrastructure was damaged. Parts of the electricity network have been restored and the Company responsible for the water treatment plant is busy trying to repair the damage.
This is a small to medium-scale emergency in the Province of KwaZulu Natal, which lies to the east of South Africa, along the Indian Ocean. To the north lies the border with Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland).
At present ELCSA cannot give a breakdown by gender, and age as people are still streaming into temporary shelters. All race groups have been affected but most that have gone to temporary shelters are black South Africans who were the worst affected.
The immediate need is housing, food, clothes, and blankets. In the medium term to long term, people would need assistance with rebuilding their homes. All the owners that lived in the RPD houses and shacks would not have insurance. It is not sure how many of the formal houses have insurance to assist with rebuilding. Businesses would claim from their insurances but the length of time that they will be paid out or start the rebuilding is not known.
ACT South Africa member, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa (ELCSA) is planning to launch a rapid response fund to respond to those who have been severely affected.
South Africa_Flooding
Civilians fleeing violence – armed conflict in Ukraine
Please note information remains limited as actions on the ground are developing constantly and rapidly.
Armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine erupted on 24th February 2022 and within the first 24 hours extensive violence was presented causing loss of lives and massive movement of people. Martial law is invoked allowing authorities to impose restrictions on movement, block rallies, and ban political parties and organisations, by doing so civilians in Ukraine have to look to the military to enforce laws. Airports are now shut, few number of railways are operational. Since military governance is in place governors of each Oblast hold all the power. Millions of civilians fleeing the violence are heading towards Western districts and towards neighbouring countries such as Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary, final destination is not clear. Many roads are blocked, male Ukrainians (age 18-60) are halted at the borders. Damage to civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity or water. Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed, while bridges and roads damaged by shelling have left some communities cut off from markets.
Besides, even before that, i.e. in the beginning of February, the situation in the demarcation zone in Donbas has worsened. As a result more than 100,000 refugees from Donbass and Eastern Ukraine crossed the border to find refugee to the territory of the Rostov region of Russia.
Civilians fleeing violence – armed conflict in Ukraine
Brazil: floods in São Paulo
The state of São Paulo was hit by heavy summer rains that affected with greater severity the metropolitan area of the state capital. Between January 29 and 30, it rained from 80 mm to 170 mm in several areas of the central and eastern parts of the state. The 4-day accumulation was very close to the historical monthly average of rainfall. On the 1rst of February, because of this accumulation, the summer rain resulted in the displacement of more than 4,500 families in the 37 affected municipalities and 29 deaths. Among these deaths, 8 are children and 4 adolescents. There was also great infrastructures damage.
The highest number of deaths is concentrated in the municipality of Franco da Rocha, where there are also 7 people missing in the landslide area and who are still being searched for by volunteers and rescue teams. The region of Franco da Rocha was the most damaged by the January rains. With 156.4 thousand inhabitants, Franco da Rocha is the third city in the metropolitan region of São Paulo with the most risk areas mapped. There are 382 points at risk of collapse or flooding, where around 19 thousand dwellings are located. The city of Franco da Rocha has issued an alert for the opening of the floodgates of a dam, as it has reached its safety limit, with 81.6% of its operational capacity.
Brazil_Floods_Sao_Paulo_alert
Madagascar: Cyclone Batsirai
A new tropical cyclone named BATSIRAI formed over the Indian Ocean on 27 January and started moving westward, toward Mauritius, Réunion, and Madagascar. On February 05, 2022, around 15.00 UCT, its center was located 118 kilometers from the East coast of Madagascar.
Madagascar was still picking up the pieces after Tropical Storm Ana affected at least 131, 000 people across the island in late January with almost fifty-five deaths (Aljazeera, Feb 2022).
At least 20 deaths are reported with 15,489 households displaced according to CRIC (Intersectoral Reflection Committee for Disasters).
At the national level, the operational structure under the leadership of the National Risk and Disaster Management Office (BNGRC) has coordinated emergency response actions.
The two national ACT members in Madagascar are SAF/FJKM (The church of Christ in Madagascar) and SMT FLM Malagasy Lutheran Church) are planning to respond to the crisis.
Madagascar_Cyclone BATSIRAI (alert).
From January 23rd to 25th 2022, there was accumulated precipitation under influence of Tropical Storm Ana that made Mozambique experience heavy rain across the country, affecting the Northern area of the country. The storm subsequently headed westwards, significantly affecting Nampula, Zambezia, and Tete provinces respectively.
The Tropical Storm Ana reached the province of Nampula, Zambezia, and Tete on the 24th, having entered from Angoche district. This storm influenced the weather, heavy to very strong rains, accompanied by thunderstorms and winds of 85 to 100 km/h and gusts up to 130 km.
The short- and long-term consequences for people are particularly difficult for female-headed households (FHHs), including widows, who are both the income provider and main caregiver.
The identified gaps so far include the need of food and non-food items, water sanitation, temporary shelter, clothing and all the costs to maintain the processes to reduce vulnerabilities and risk, which is incorporated within each sector.
CEDES will support the affected communities with WASH activities which include providing clean water through water filters in Angoche and Meconta in Nampula Province, where CEDES is implementing some projects such as Bread for the World working with communities in components of food security and livelihood.
Mozambique_Storm Ana.
