Heavy rains caused by powerful tropical Cyclone Idai hit the central and northern regions of Mozambique from 14th March 2019, leading to massive floods and leaving at least 202 people dead, according to the President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi. The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days. The situation is likely to deteriorate and the number of people affected is likely to increase, as weather experts predict heavy rainfall in Sofala and Manica provinces from 19 to 21 March. Flood waters may rise up to around eight metres and at least 350,000 people are at risk (OCHA Flash Update, 19 March). There are also growing concerns regarding the potential effects of the overflow of the Marowanyati Dam in Zimbabwe on water levels in Mozambique.

Most of the affected population are located in the provinces of Zambezia (districts of Chiunde, Luabo, Inhassugue, Mopeia, Nicoandala , Maquaival, Mocubela. Mulevala, Mocuba, Milage, Dere and Qualimane), Niassa (districts of Cuamba and Madimba), and Sofala Province (districts of Buzi, Chemba, Caia, Cherigoma, Chibabava, Dondo, Gorongosa, Morremeu, Marrigue , Muaza amd Nhamantanda).

Based on initial assessments from ACT member Comité Ecuménico para o Desenvolvimento Social (CEDES)/Ecumenical Committee for Social Development, 683 of those affected in Zambezia by the floods have been identified as orphans and vulnerable children, and 165 have been identified as elderly. Moreover, 286 classrooms have been total destroyed forcing more 2,450 children out of schools. The damage to agricultural lands is also very significant, with at least 83,813 hectares of crops such as maize, cassava, sorghum and millets flooded, affecting 53,318 small farmers whose livelihoods depends on farm produce.

RRFs_Mozambique_Cyclone Idai-No.RRF3_2019

On the evening of Sunday 27 January 2019, strong winds and torrential rainfall battered parts of Cuba, including the capital city of Havana. Amid the stormy weather, a powerful tornado ripped through parts of the city causing significant damage. The severe weather has been blamed for at least eight deaths while more than 190 others have been hospitalized with varying injuries, according to Reuters. The tornado was classified as an F-3 by the Cuban Center for Meteorology, with estimated winds of 155-199 mph. The tornado is the strongest to strike Cuba in nearly 80 years, since a Category F4 tornado struck the town of Bejucal in December 1940.   The Cuban Council of Churches  in coordination with the local authorities is providing  food security, WASH and psychosocial support to the affected population.

RRFs_ CubaTornado _2019

According to UNOCHA humanitarian bulletin (Dec 2018), over 4.2 m people will need humanitarian assistance and protection services in Somalia in 2019. The humanitarian situation in Somalia is wanting and continues to be affected by climatic shocks, protracted conflict (as a result of Al-Shabab attacks) and face other issues resulting in massive internal displacement and human suffering.

ACT Somalia Forum members namely Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Diakonia Sweden and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH) have submitted a joint 18 months appeal aimed at enabling affected communities establish sustainable livelihoods, improve access to safe water/WASH facilities and enable affected communities improve their coping mechanisms and resilience. In addition, the project will support school children to access quality education as a long-term resilience strategy of supporting diversified livelihoods.

SOM191 appeal budget is US$ 5,032,687 and the balance requested by members is US$ 4,972,987.

SOMALIA – Strengthening Resilience for Crisis-affected Displaced, Returnee and Host community populations in Somalia (SOM 191)

On January 25, 2019 a dam broke in the State of Minas Gerais, releasing more than 12 billion liters of mineral debris broke, with tailings from iron mining. The waters and mudslides  immediately reached the Municipality of Brumadinho and Parque da Cachoeira reserve, and more than 220 km along the course of the Paraopeba River. According to assessment data provided by KOINONIA, ACT Ecumenical Forum Brazil (FEACT Brazil) member with other local partners, the disaster had the following impact:

• 760 pour families affected directly (3,800 persons)
• 5400 families evacuated from households (27,000 persons) from Brumadinho
• 84 fatalities
• 189 persons rescue
• 305 missing persons
• 250 damaged houses
• 25 totally destroyed houses.

So far there are no humanitarian organizations active in the region. The federal and state governments requested support only for the rescue and burial of bodies with the Army of Israel and  and firemen of other States of Brazil. The Government of the State of Minas Gerais has decreed a state of humanitarian environmental calamity, which is officially the opening for  external humanitarian aid.

KOINONIA is responsible for project implementation. Office staff, as well as local partners and volunteers from the communities will be involved in organizing implementation in the communities and facilitating a participatory approach in the implementation.  KOINONIA and its local partners will involve local leadership in the response. There is a team of facilitators, promoters and local leaders who will ensure the proper implementation of the humanitarian response, establishing operational committees for an adequate management of the aid.

The ACT Secretariat has approved the use of $149,604 USD from its Rapid Response Fund, Koinonia will provide Psychosocial support, WASH and food security to 750 affected families.

RRFs_Mudslides_Brumadinho

Around 97% of of the people in the island of Ambae have been displaced by the Volcanic eruption that started in 18th March 2018.  As of December 2018, the government still considered Ambae as high risk and have not allowed its residents to return to their homes.  The area remains at risk for flooding, landslides, continued ashfall deposits and volcanic gases.  The government’s response has been focused on Maewo but some of Ambae’s residents have moved to the nearby Espirito Santo.  This response will be focused on providing humanitarian assistance to approximately 8,700 people in Espirito Santo, mostly living in temporary shelters in and around host communities.

Appeals Emergency Response to Manaro Volcano Eruption in Penama Province – Vanuatu – VUT191

The humanitarian crisis in Iraq remains one of the largest and most volatile in the world, with a complex reality, rapidly changing vulnerabilities, and serious economic problems. However, despite the defeat of ISIS over a year ago, there is still great need for help in order to break the cycle that led to the current events. The Iraqi security situation became extremely acute with the conquest of part of the country by ISIS. The conflict altered the balance of power and split the country into those areas held by ISIS, the autonomous Kurdish areas and those controlled by the federal government. The recapture of Mosul marked the beginning of the end of the war, but Iraq remains divided. The military successes of the Iraqi army do not preclude the emergence of tensions in other areas with religious or ethnic minority groups controlling certain regions. Beyond the conflict itself, Iraq is going through a period of acute political instability, which increased after the parliamentary elections in 2018, and the struggle to form a government after the elections. The livelihood and economic opportunities of the Ninewa region have essentially been destroyed or at the very least significantly crippled. The displacement is a result of the offensive to retake Mosul and the efforts to push ISIS out of Hawijah. 1,548,108 individuals (as of 31 August 2018) have been able to return home as the liberation in the province has progressed.  ISIS’s seizure of territory in Nineveh Province, Iraq’s most ethnically and religiously diverse area, resulted in some of the worst atrocities attributed to the terrorist group, including significant inter-ethnic violence. The ongoing ethnic and religious tension, violence and crimes made almost all non-Arab or non-Muslim families reluctant to return, and those who did return are at risk of facing segregation and isolation.  The price paid by the people of Mosul is incredibly high with loss of lives, infrastructure, assets, physical psychological abuse and loss of livelihood. People lost their homes and stayed in temporary camps for years. Displacements coupled with challenges in ensuring physical protection have made the life difficult. In addition, affected people also lost their means of earning and livelihood. Prior to the conflict, the economic status of the people was low which got aggravated during the conflict. As reported by many agencies including UN, livelihood opportunities remain very limited with concern over inter-ethnic conflicts and protection issues. According to study conducted by Welfhungerlife in 2017 the Poverty rates in Northern Iraq have doubled after years of continual conflict and economic stagnation. Unemployment has tripled in many communities. Many government employees have experienced pay cuts or delays in their payments. A 40% decline in agricultural production has forced hundreds of thousands of people to migrate to urban areas for jobs and support.

Appeals_Iraq_Support to IDPs, Refugees, Returnees and Host Communities-IRQ191

With the Syria crisis continuing into its eighth year, more than half of the population of Syria has been forcibly displaced from their homes, and many people have been displaced multiple times. The number of daily displacements remains high, with approximately 920,000 as Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) in the first 4 months of 2018 (at a rate of almost 7,600 newly displaced persons each day, according to the UN-HNO 2018).  UNHCR, estimates that 13.1 million people need humanitarian assistance, and almost 6.6 million, have been internally displaced (UNHCR¹). There are 12.8 million who require health assistance, with almost 3 million living in UN-declared hard-to-reach or besieged areas exposed to serious protection threats. Estimates show that 2.9 million people inside Syria are living with a disability (Humanitarian International Plan²), while almost 5.6 million people are in acute need due to multiple displacements, exposure to hostilities, and limited access to basic goods and services, and 4.2 million in need of shelter intervention (HNO 2018, OCHA 2017).  Children and youth comprise more than half of the displaced, as well as half of those in need of critical humanitarian assistance.

Appeals_Syria_Humanitarian Crisis-SYR191

SYR191_Appeals_budget total Final

Since 1976, the date of the first cases of viral haemorrhagic fever, the DRC has been facing several episodes of Ebola virus epidemic. The Ministry of Public Health declared the 10th Ebola outbreak in August 2018. Its first confirmation was found in Mabalako health zone, Mangina locality, northwest of Beni. Within a few days, the disease spread to Beni and Butembo cities. So far, suspected cases have been reported in Musienene (N-Kivu), Mandima (Ituri) and Komanda (Ituri) health zones.  At the pace by which Ebola is spreading, it is estimated that there is a great risk of Ebola spreading to other provinces of North Kivu, Ituri province and even beyond the Rwanda and Uganda borders.

Appeals_DRC_Ebola and Cholera Outbreak in North Kivu Province-COD182

Two low pressure systems, one in the Atlantic and the other in the Pacific, caused intense rainfall
conditions, flash floods in several communities in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and
Nicaragua from 5 to 18 October , In El Salvador Civil Protection reported 15 people injured, six dead,
one missing and 768 people in shelters. In addition, 1541 flooded houses and eight houses
destroyed, an affected school and three other collapsed walls; eight roads and 13 damaged streets,
120 contaminated wells. On October 6 a green alert was declared in El Salvador for the entire
country. On October 7, a Yellow Alert was declared for 29 coastal municipalities, which on October
8 increased to 34 municipalities to include three municipalities in Morazán department and two in
La Union department.

In Honduras, the rains have caused flooding and landslides across the country. Most damage has
been reported in Francisco Morazán, Valle, and Choluteca departments, where a red alert was
issued by the government. 12,076 people have been affected by the floods. 963 homes were
damaged, including 169 flooded, and 9 completely destroyed. Among them, 7,234 people have been
evacuated, and 6,789 moved to 78 temporary shelters. According to the National Emergency
Operations Center (COEN) of COPECO, heavy rainfall left about 25,558 people affected and 9 dead.
The number of people in shelter reached to 9,097, 11,552 people evacuated, and some 170 schools
are damaged, eight bridges were affected as well as 63 roads, ten bridges destroyed, seven water
systems damaged; 1,133 houses damaged and another 10 houses destroyed between the
municipalities of Francisco Morazán, Choluteca and Valle. About 89 shelters were enabled most of
them in educational centers in the department of Choluteca.

Appeals_Central_America_response_to_Floods_CAM181

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.

On Thursday 26th July Vanutu’s Council of Ministers held an extraordinary meeting to extend the state of emergency and to revise the previous voluntary evacuation to a compulsory evacuation. Those self-evacuating to the island of Santo did not receive any official government support and humanitarian agencies were initially discouraged from responding on Santo, in favour of the official government response on Maewo. Unfortunately the majority of the displaced communities (~8,700ppl) evacuated to Santo. Most people are still living in temporary shelters in and around host communities. It is estimated that the informal and government supported relocations have impacted approximately 13% of Vanuatu’s population.

Concept Note: Ambae Volcano Evacuation Relief and Resettlement Support