In the afternoon of Sunday, September 1^st, 2019, Category 5 Hurricane Dorian, made landfall in the Bahamas in Elbow Cay, east of Abaco Island and on Grand Bahama Island respectively with the same intensity several hours later.   With an unprecedented behaviour, the hurricane moved slowly through the islands from 1 to 3 of September, The overall death toll from Hurricane Dorian has risen to 58 with roughly 600 people still reported missing. More than 54,000 people was affected in Bahamas and Abaco Islands.

As many as 5,500 people from Abaco and Grand Bahama were evacuated to Nassau, with some 1,500 people now located across seven shelters. Some 52 people remain in two Grand Bahama shelters. Abaco shelters have been discontinued over lack of usage.

ACT Alliance member, Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas (SSID) has responded to the emergency using ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund.

RRFs 212019 Bahamas Hurricane Dorian

Since December 2016, the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been experiencing an ever-increasing situation of unrest and uncertainty. The situation has worsened with increased violent attacks and armed fighting after the presidential elections of October 2018, leading to a downturn of economic activity now in the regional capitals of Buea and Bamenda.

As a result, the number of IDPs has been rising dramatically, reaching 530,000 in March 2019. In addition, around 35,800 persons have fled to neighbouring Nigeria (OCHA: April 2019).

The proposed appeal builds on and complements Mission 21’s longer-term projects in the regions.

Cameroon_Conflict Emergency CMR191.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has recorded 50,930 households/254,473 persons affected by the series of earthquakes in the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and North Cotabato.  UN OCHA estimates about 43,600 displaced people with about 80% of them staying in evacuation centers. They also reported that 33,110 houses have been damaged, 67% of which totally destroyed.  Tulunan and Makilala municipalities in North Cotabato and Magsaysay, Davao del Sur have been most affected.  There is a reported total of 22 dead, 424 injured, and 2 missing persons.

All of these occurrences are considered as part of a sequence of events from interrelated faults in the region.  PHILVOLCS has reported that aftershocks may continue until December this year. Due to the magnitude of the events, landslide incidents were reported, and small to medium-sized earthquakes are experienced by the affected communities.

National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) will provide food for the affected communities from the Rapid Response Fund.  Another assessment will be conducted in December to look at the impact of the earthquake.

RRFs 202019 Philippines Earthquake

More than two years ago (25 August 2017), the world witnessed one of the largest forced displacements of recent times. Currently, about 911,566 Rohingya refugees are living in spontaneous settlements in Cox’s Bazar. They remain largely dependent on essential humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. Over this period the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies and I/LNGOs have supported the crisis affected Rohingya community, but the response is critically underfunded. In the beginning, the local community assisted the Rohingya community with essentials, but as the number of Rohingya in Bangladesh territory exceeded the capacity of the host communities, the challenges of inflated commodity prices, increased competition among locals, and refugees for income generation opportunities and depleting forest/natural resources have emerged. As the markets do not have the capacity to supply products meeting the additional demands of the 900,000 Rohingya, brokers and vendors from outside have entered the markets resulting in increased cost of daily essentials. The conflict situation has been further aggravated through the cheap labour provided by some members of the Rohingya community decreasing the daily wage rate of the local population significantly. In addition to this, problems related to environmental degradation, including the destruction of local forests to make space for the Rohingya settlements, has been a source of tension for the host community.

Bangladesh Forum members ICCO, Christian Aid, and DanChurchAid are requesting a total of USD2 million for this Appeal.  The response will support Shelter, WASH, Health services, Livelihoods, and Protection.

BGD191 Rohingya Crisis Appeal

The region of Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Bomi and Lofa counties in Liberia, have been hit by an extremely heavy downpour causing flash floods, leaving many towns around Monrovia and surrounding counties flooded.  As a result, at least 187 homes have been damaged and property destroyed.

The Lutheran Development Service in Liberia working with other local church partners has raised a 12 months $ 462,038 appeal to support to meet the Shelter, WASH, Food Security and other needs of non-displaced flood-affected persons who suffered a loss of assets or livelihoods.

The project will also support to strengthen Community Disaster Preparedness and Build Community Resilience to Flood and Storm Disasters in regions most affected by floods.

LBR191 – Flood Emergency (Appeal).

On 18th March 2018 the Manaro volcano on the island of Ambae erupted and for the second time in six months triggered a state of emergency and mass evacuations of the population. The heavy outpourings of ash and gas has resulted in hazards of acid rain, flash floods, loss of food and water sources, and damage to infrastructure and human health. Large portions of the island were significantly impacted, all education institutions and key government services were closed and staff and students evacuated to other islands.

Volcanic Alert remains at Level 2 by the end of 2018 but the possibility of escalation is low.  However, the area remains at high risk for flooding, landslides and continued ashfall deposits and volcanic gases.  Residents need to restore their livelihoods and repair their shelter and homes in Ambae island.  They need support on capital inputs for farming and livestock and assistance in shelter repairs.

Anglican Overseas Aid leads this response together with ACT for Peace and Churches of Christ Overseas Aid with support from ACT Alliance’s Rapid Response Fund.

RRFs Vanuatu Volcanic Eruption