The current floods in Assam have been termed the worst since 1998. The third wave of floods has claimed 67 lives so far in Assam. The total number of deaths in this year’s flood- related incidents has gone up to 151 in the state. Incessant rains leading to floods have wreaked havoc in 25 of the 32 districts of Assam. In Morigaon district, which has been hit hardest, 5.21 lakh people have been marooned while 4.67 lakh people are affected in Barpeta district. In Bihar, the number of dead in the devastating floods in Bihar has gone up to 514 as the situation worsened with more areas getting affected. Around 17.1 million people are facing the deluge covering 2,371 Gram Panchayats (settlement councils) under 187 blocks of 19 districts of North Bihar. According to the Bihar State Disaster Management Department, 854,936 people have been shifted to 1,646 relief camps in different parts of Bihar  While,  in northern districts of West Bengal are reeling under heavy rains and unprecedented floods since July 21 with the state’s disaster management department reporting that the disaster has so far claimed 55 lives and affected 55 lakh people in north Bengal districts – Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Malda and Cooch Behar.

The ACT India Forum is currently monitoring the situation and is ready to respond, providing, temporary shelter, non-food items, food security, and WASH to 8,000 affected households in the coming months.

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The current floods in Assam have been termed the worst since 1998. The third wave of floods has claimed 67 lives so far in Assam. The total number of deaths in this year’s flood- related incidents has gone up to 151 in the state. Incessant rains leading to floods have wreaked havoc in 25 of the 32 districts of Assam. In Morigaon district, which has been hit hardest, 521,000 people have been marooned while 467,000 people are affected in Barpeta district.

The number of dead in the devastating floods in Bihar has gone up to 253 as the situation worsened with more areas getting affected. Around 12.6 million people are facing the deluge in 18 districts of the state.  Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of Nepal has worsened the already grim situation in the worst-hit Araria district.

Northern districts of West Bengal are reeling under heavy rains and unprecedented floods since July 21 with the state’s disaster management department reporting that the disaster has so far claimed 55 lives and affected 5.5 million people in north Bengal districts – Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Malda and Cooch Behar.

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=2

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Massive floods and landslides triggered by incessant and torrential rains have killed 131 people, and 32 have gone missing since 11^th August 2017 so far, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of Nepal. Approximately 6 million people have been affected by the catastrophe. As per the initial findings till 18^th August 2017, the number of displaced households is over 44,700 and over 301,500 households are affected^[1].

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

^[1] http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Nepal%20Flood%20Sitrep%2018%20August%202017.pdf

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On the evening of the 14th August, mudslides triggered by three days of heavy rains poured in and around the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown. The most severe mudslides occurred in the coastal suburb of Racecourse on the city’s eastern edge, as well as in Regent and Lumley where thousands of makeshift settlements are home to the city’s poorest communities. Torrential rains have led to a series of significant floods and mudslides in several areas of Freetown. According to Freetown Mayor, rescue workers have recovered 270 bodies so far mainly from the Regent neighborhood where the mudslides happened. As rescue operations are still ongoing, the death toll is expected to rise. An estimated 3,000 or more people are believed to have lost their homes and are in immediate need of emergency assistance and shelter according to Sierra Leone’s Office of National Security (ONS).

The ACT Sierra Leone Forum, via the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL), will respond to the Freetown mudslides crisis with a 59,957 USD Rapid Response Fund.

This Rapid Response Fund, published on August 21st, got revised on August 25th. The government decided to move the affected population to a different location and cater for the housing. Targets/allocations were revised based on this changing context and to avoid duplication. Consequent changes in needs have been reflected by a reduction in Shelter of about USD 8,000 and increase in Food Security of about USD 7,500 and WASH about USD 500. The provision of emergency shelter materials was removed (as well as the assistance in location of housing), NFIs distribution remains unchanged, and the additional Food and WASH items will enable the 100 targeted households to have a longer secure period.

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Severe flooding due to monsoon rains and rain waters from the Indian states in the north of Bangladesh inundated 22 of the 64 districts by August 15, 2017. According to National Health Crises Management Centre’s control room; death toll has risen to 89 and approximately 1.7 million people have been affected by this flooding. About 121,170 hectares of cultivated land have been severely affected. Around 1031 primary schools are closed.

Flood-affected households have taken shelters on higher grounds, some are marooned and disconnected due to this flooding. Roads and railway communication between northern districts and Dhaka (capital) remain disconnected. Flood waters are flowing downstream and new areas in central part of the country are being affected. Affected people have taken shelters along the highways, road sides, embankments or in schools.

Bangladesh Government has already allocated 11.66 million BDT (USD $ 0.15 million) and 3,607 MT of rice to 22 flood-affected districts. Armed forces have been assigned to provide rescue services along with embankment repair and food distribution. Affected communities are also involved in repairing breached embankments and rescue operations.

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A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Jiuzhaigou, a popular tourist destination in southwest China‘s Sichuan province on August 8th, 2017. So far, At least 19 people were killed and 343 injured after the earthquake, according to the information office of the provincial government. Around 1680 houses from 17 townships were collapsed or destroyed. The situation and extent of damage of the disaster in still being assessed.

ACT member Amity Foundation is improving the affected population’s access to temporary emergency shelter by providing tents, via a Rapid Response Fund of 59,770 USD.

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The state of Odisha in India has been witnessing incessant rainfall from 15 July 2017, due to which flash floods occurred in river Nagabali and Kalyani of Rayagada district. More than 28,000 people in 50 villages under Rayagada Block and 20 villages under Kalyansinghpur Block have been affected. Five persons have been injured due to a wall collapse in Rayagada district.

The ACT India Forum is planning to respond to this emergency via ACT member Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA). The 76’800 USD target project is aimed at providing relief assistance in the form of Food and Shelter/Non Food Items to the flood-affected people in the district of Rayagada, in order to address many of their survival needs.

The appeal document can be accessed below

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On May 23, 2017, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) launched a military and law enforcement operation in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur province in Mindanao, in pursuit of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was believed to be the designated leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Philippines. His forces fought back with reinforcement from the Maute Group, a local militant group that has pledged its allegiance to the ISIS. This led to a firefight between the AFP and the Islamic extremists, which has displaced a total of 353,358 persons or 74,981 households from the 96 barangays of Marawi City and 20 municipalities of Lanao del Sur. Of the total affected population, 4,086 households/18,294 persons are currently staying in 78 evacuation centres while 70,895 households/335,064 persons are staying with their relatives tracked in 7 Regions (NDRRMC, July 5, 2017).

Latest data from the government (Ibid) revealed that there are 418 reported dead and 209 reported missing, though more are expected because of the continuous airstrikes and ground assaults from the opposing parties. The insecure situation has not allowed any detailed damage assessments to take place; however, extensive damages are expected on homes, livelihoods and infrastructures, including academic and religious structures. The President of the Philippines declared Martial Law in the Mindanao group of islands on the same day of the conflict, while Marawi City declared the State of Calamity on May 25, 2017.

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There have been heavy torrential rains since 2^nd July 2017 in the North-Eastern state of Assam in India. The rains have continued and the floods have intensified in the last 48 hours. 24 districts of Assam have been affected during this current phase of floods. A population of 1,718,135 has been badly affected by current floods and is struggling with the worsening flood situation in the state.

According to a report by the Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), lately, 7 people were killed in various flood-related incidents in Goalpara, Jorhat and Lakhimpur districts. In Lakhimpur, 3 people were killed by drowning and landslides. The toll in the Assam flood has risen to 44 with five more deaths being reported on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Approximately 1 million animals, including poultry have been affected and 1,652 houses have been damaged during this flood. Large scale destruction of infrastructure, cropland and wildlife has been reported from different areas. 2,498 villages with more than 140,837 hectares of standing crops have been badly affected due to floods. The flood water has caused widespread destruction in the world-famous Kaziranga National Park, where more than 560 animals, including 14 rhinos, were killed. Road services have been affected at 2,847 places while railway tracks, damaged by landslides in the Lumding-Badarpur Railway division, were yet to be restored. The situation is likely to worsen in coming days as the water level in major rivers is continually rising above the danger level and more rainfall has been predicted by the Meteorological Department of India.

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