Exactly one week after a 6.4 earthquake struck off the northern shore of Lombok island, another 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck inland on Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 19:46 local time. Based on direct observation, damage is widespread over all of Lombok, especially in North Lombok where more than 90% of buildings were rendered uninhabitable.

Aftershocks still often occur with small intensity. As of August 24, 2018, there have been 1,089 recorded aftershocks. Because of the duration and severity of the aftershocks, most people are in a state of heightened sensitivity and are experiencing some level of distress. The most recent biggest aftershock occurred on August 9, 2018 (6.2 magnitude), and August 19, 2018 (6.9 magnitude). There are 555 casualties recorded so far according to the National Disaster Management Bureau (BNPB), with 14,033 reported injuries. 431,416 people were displaced (72,582 infants, 213,724 children under five, 59,603 pregnant women, and 31,724 elderly). 67,857 houses, 184 health facilities, and 458 school units were damaged.

Concept note Emergency Response to Earthquake-affected vulnerable people in North Lombok

The human rights situation in Nicaragua as observed by the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in relation to the violent events that have been taking place since the State repressed the protests on April 18, 2018, and subsequent events over the following weeks.  According to figures gathered by the IACHR, the State’s repressive action has led to at least 295 deaths, 1,337 persons wounded as of June 19, and 507 persons deprived of liberty as of June 6, and hundreds of persons at risk of becoming victims of attacks, harassment, threats and other forms of intimidation.  According to the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH)) in its report as of July 26 indicates that there are 448 deaths (383 were civilians, 40 paramilitaries, 24 polices and a soldier, 2,720 injured and 718 kidnapped.

Police and paramilitary forces continue their raids in a house-to-house search, arresting people who participated in the protests. Based on the new antiterrorist law, many of them appear in court without any legal defense.  The Permanent Commission of Human Rights (CPDH) informed to receive every day at least 20 complaints of people arrested by police or by irregular armed groups.

Costa Rica has opened two shelters for people fleeing the crisis in Nicaragua and asylum seekers, with a capacity for about 2000 people, one in the north and one in the south of the country, with support from IOM and UNHCR.
Costa Rican Authorities report between 100 to 150 Nicaraguans entering daily to Costa Rica . The Dutch cooperation announced its decision to suspend for two months any cooperation with the government of Nicaragua, due to serious human rights violations. The National Chamber of Tourism estimates 170 million dollars in losses thus far in its sector in two months, plus 60,000 jobs lost as many facilities have closed or are open with few staff.

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South Sudan is a conflict prone country and is currently experiencing a worsening humanitarian crisis characterized by violent armed clashes and widespread insecurity that has resulted in mass displacements of civilians, killing, looting, destruction of property and gross violation of human rights. The situation is compounded by humanitarian impediments that continue to hinder humanitarian access and disrupt planned operations.

The latest South Sudan IPC figures on food insecurity indicate that, in the absence of humanitarian assistance, during the lean season months of May-July 2018, an estimated 7.1 million (63% of the population) faced severe food insecurity, out of which 155,000 would be in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) and 2.3 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). If the current drivers of food insecurity persist and worsen through the end of 2018, there is a heightened risk of Famine in areas where large populations are already experiencing severe food insecurity.

The persisting food insecurity situation in the country coupled by continued prevalence of conflict, violence, insecurity, climatic shocks, economic decline and sporadic displacements has created urgent multi-sectoral needs. These humanitarian needs require immediate coordinated response to bridge widening humanitarian gaps and save lives of vulnerable affected communities.

South Sudan ACT Forum members namely ICCO, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Christian Aid (CA), Dan Church Aid (DCA), The Lutheran World Federation (LWF/WS), HEKS/EPER, Finn Church Aid (FCA), United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Presbyterian Relief & Development Agency (PRDA) are submitting a 24 month appeal to enable them to respond to this humanitarian crisis.

The appeal addresses urgent lifesaving needs and early recovery support and will target IDPs, returnees & vulnerable host communities through provision of services in the sectors of Food Security & Livelihoods, WASH, Unconditional Cash Transfer, Shelter and NFIs, Education (EiE) and Protection/Psycho-social Support.

ACT forum requesting members have strong capacity building approach and accumulated experience in working with local partners, church networks, national/local government and communities in target areas, and these structures will manage the projects once this emergency response has been implemented.

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The Government and people of Bangladesh have displayed extraordinary generosity towards Rohingya refugees. However, the speed and scale of the refugee influx exceeds the capacity of the host country and humanitarian community stepped up its support to respond to the immense needs on the ground. Months after the influx, the refugees remain forced to rely upon humanitarian assistance for their basic needs and survival. The Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis (JRP), requests US$951 million to respond to the needs of 1.3 million people this year. However, funding for the JRP remains at only 16% with notable funding gaps in Food Security and Health. With the monsoon and cyclone season the needs of the Rohingya and host community have increased further, as access to food is more challenging and the congested campsites of the Rohingya are ill-equipped to handle the torrential rains and landslides.

According to the requesting members (based on the JRP, ISCG Situation Reports, recent needs assessments and field information) most urgent needs are currently within the Shelter and NFI,  Food Security, Health, WASH, Protection, and Site Management sectors. However it has to be noted that this Appeal will need to be implemented and targets met with a good degree of flexibility, considering the arrangements for project approvals as part of the government’s leadership of the response.

This revision also comes in light of the concerted efforts of the ACT Bangladesh Forum to strengthen the ACT response in Cox’s Bazar.  This includes a revitalised Forum coordination mechanism, a designated Appeal Lead, a full-time ACT Coordinator, and specific arrangements for internal (ACT) and external coordination. Most significantly, this Revision now has the Christian Commission for the Development of Bangladesh (CCDB) as a requesting member, and we would like to request interested donors to channel your support to CCDB through this Appeal.

We also encourage contributions to be made at Appeal level, as the Forum has developed parameters for allocation in a transparent and coordinated manner, as such we are only publishing the consolidated Appeal budget. However should you need the budget details of each requesting member, these can be requested from the ACT Secretariat.

Bangladesh- Emergency Assistance to the Rohingya Community in Cox’s Bazar – BGD172 (Revision 1)

In a span of four weeks, Typhoon Yagi was the fourth typhoon that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility following the previous three typhoons (TY Son-Tinh, TY Ampil, and Tropical Storm Josie) which already affected 282,447 families or 1,253,697 persons in Regions I, II, CAR , IV-A, IV-B, VI, and NCR. The communities hardly hit by these typhoons were slowly recovering from its aftermath until there was another event that further aggravates the situation.

The southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Yagi (local name Karding) brought heavy rains starting on the 11th of August 2018 which persisted over the areas in Luzon including Region I (Ilocos), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Region III (Central Luzon), Region IV-A (CALABARZON), Region IV-B (MIMAROPA), and the National Capital Region (Metro Manila). Thus, the areas affected by the previous typhoons were put in a much vulnerable position as they were just starting to recover from the previous destructive flooding.

The ACT Philippines Forum  has activated its emergency response team and it is now implementing the Food Security Program through ACT Alliance Rapid Response Fund (RRF) in the affected communities.

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Assam

In the evening of Sunday, 5^th  August 2018, the state of Assam witnessed severe rains that substantially increased the level of water flow in the rivers and breaking river banks. This led to flash floods in some districts of Assam and disrupted the normal life of the people. The floods created widespread damage to houses, fields and livelihoods, affecting thousands of people. These floods exacerbated the recent floods which affected Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Udalguri, Barpeta, Morigaoan and Hojai, districts in Assam. The floods have affected 6 Revenue Circles, 110 Villages, 6,855 Acres of agricultural land and forests. It has been reported that 81,269 people have been affected. 20,651 people took shelter in 109 relief camps. The loss of human life stands at 46 so far since the first wave of floods. The second wave of floods affected 1,05,782 people in 224 villages under 18 revenue circles of eight districts of the State.

Kerala

During the evening of 9^th August 2018 the state of Kerala witnessed severe flooding owing to consistent rains for a couple of days. The vigorous southwest monsoon has left a trail of destruction across Kerala, killing at least 87 people so far.  The monsoon eventually increased the water level in in many dams/reservoirs in Kerala, and flooded many areas in northern districts, namely Idukki, Ernakulam, Malapuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Wyanad. The flooding damaged infrastructure of around 10,000 kms of roads and 20,000 houses. The release of water from dams extensively damaged the district around Idukki and Ernakulam. The excessive rains in other parts also led to flooding in Wyanad, Kozhikode, Palakadd and Malapuram Districts. Idukki and Wayand being hilly terrains, also witnessed severe landslides and road blocks, which reportedly caused 40 deaths. Around 150,000 people have moved to various camps in the state. The army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in all affected districts. Roads have been cut off and many districts are witnessing power shut down as a precautionary measure. The power shutdown us expected to bring in drinking water crisis. This flood is the second wave of Flood in Kerala this monsoon season. The first wave of floods affected Wayanad district and the Kuttanad area of Kerala.

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As part of the revision of the ACT Alliance Humanitarian Response Mechanism, the “Preliminary Appeal” is replaced by the “Concept Note”, a shorter more concise document which summarizes the proposed ACT response and emphasizes collaboration amongst the ACT members. For further information on the Revised Humanitarian Response Mechanism, please refer to its online toolkit: https://actlearn.org/course/view.php?id=236

On 22 June 2018, the Peruvian government through its Council of Ministries issued the Supreme Decree N° 062-2018-PCM declaring 122 districts from the high Andean areas from nine departments in state of emergency due to the damages caused by frost, snowfall and heavy rains, causing negative effects on health, education, as well as in agriculture and livestock activities. The severe weather significantly increased the cases of pneumonia and respiratory diseases; 556 cases of pneumonia among children under 5 years have been reported, as well as 185 fatalities. This season’s frost arrived earlier than usual
and has already affected almost 600,000 Peruvians in 11 regions of the country; the most affected,Puno and Cusco, both located in the Andes.

In some areas, mostly those above 3,800 meters above sea level, temperatures plummeted to – 15 °C (5 °F), causing deaths of children, elderly and animals. According to the Office of the Ombudsman, 15 schools were close as well as 02 health centers. 1,327 houses have been affected. As of August 03, 2018, in Puno, 133,864 people were affected by the cold snap, 25,391 animals have died and 1,698,265 were affected. There are 5,059 hectares of damaged crops. This response is mobilized 7 weeks after the frost, owing to the slow onset nature of the emergency. Humanitarian needs manifested over the course of a few weeks.

Through a rapid response intervention, DIACONIA Peru in coordination with the Methodist Church of Peru will provide shelter,  WASH and psychosocial support to 576 individuals affected by the cold snap.

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The outbreak of violence in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as a result of elections scheduled for December 2018, triggered the internal displacement of some 1.4 million people and the flight of over 35,000 refugees into Lunda Norte Province, Angola.

The Government of Angola (GoA) has maintained an open door policy since March 2017, and welcomed Congolese nationals fleeing as a result of conflict in DRC.

LWF in Angola has raised an appeal whose purpose is on providing adequate and safe water supply to refugees living in Lóvua refugee settlement by installing water facilities. In addition, the project will provide communal/individual latrines and shower shelters for refugees. The Water and Sanitation intervention will be accompanied by initiatives to improve community awareness and emphasize on improved hygiene and sanitation practices among refugees with a special focus on safe disposal of refuse.

Through this project, refugees and host communities will have access to essential life-saving items, reduced vulnerability and realized hygiene, safety and human dignity through WASH support. The project will use the approach of training WASH committees and equipping them to manage project WASH facilities.

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In the afternoon of Sunday, 05 August 2018, the district of North Lombok and East Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake at 6:46 PM Indonesia local time. This earthquake exacerbated damage in areas previously affected by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake on 29 July 2018, which killed 17 people and injured over 160. The epicenter of the earthquake was 18 km north-west of East Lombok. A tsunami alert was sounded but later cancelled. The worst-hit areas are North Lombok, East Lombok and Mataram City. The Provincial Disaster Management Agency initially reported that 82 people died, and the latest reports from the National Agency for Disaster Management as of 10 August indicate at least 347 casualties, 1,033 seriously injured, and 270,168 displaced. 67,857 houses and 458 school buildings were seriously damaged. These numbers may still increase in the next few days.

Aftershocks are still going on, and the Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) recorded that there were 344 aftershocks after the magnitude-7 quake 0n 5 August. A strong 6.2 magnitude quake struck Lombok on Thursday, 9 August 2018, causing people panic in the emergency shelters.

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The Fuego Volcano, located 27 miles southwest of Guatemala City, erupted around noon on Sunday, June 3, 2018. According to CONRED, Guatemala’s national civil protection authority, the death toll has reached 113. The agency says that in addition, 58 individuals were injured, 197 are missing, 3,557 are staying in shelters, and 12,407 were been evacuated from the affected zone. As many as 1,713,566 people were affected mainly through ash intoxication and acid rain. Volcanic activity has increased after the first eruption on 3 June. Explosions have ranged between moderate and strong, throwing ash some 5,000m into the air. On June 5, authorities issued evacuation alerts that triggered mass panic in the surrounding population, leading to a massive population movement that caused the collapse of critical roads. On June 6, the National Institute for Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH) reported that the accumulation of volcanic material resulted in lahar flows down the Seca and Mineral ravines, both of which are tributaries of the Pantaleon river. These lahar flows measure 30-40m in width and 4-5m in height, descending with heat and giving off steam and carrying material similar to a cement mix with rocks that are 2-3m in diameter, putting communities near the ravines and Pantaleon bridge at high risk. New lahar flows are possible if current rainfall continues.

The ACT Guatemala forum through its local member CEDEPCA is providing unconditional cash, hygiene promotion and Psychosocial support  to 2160 households affected by the volcanic eruption.

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