As Malawi reels from devastating floods, UN food agency delivers vital supplies

 UN, 23 February 2015 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced the delivery of a first round of emergency supplies to more than 288,000 people in flood-affected Malawi, providing much needed relief amid continuing rains.

The UN food agency explained in a press release that it had distributed more than 2,700 metric tons of food to 12 districts late last week and delivered more than 200 metric tons of relief items by air to thousands of people cut-off by flood waters.

Incessant rains have severely affected the African country as flood waters have destroyed roads and rendered some areas entirely inaccessible by land.

Malawi is regularly hit by floods and droughts, requiring emergency responses of varying size each year. This year, flooding has caused displacement of over 170,000 people, while an estimated 116,000 households have lost their crops and livestock. In Nsanje district alone, 79 people are confirmed dead with another 153 people still missing.

Moreover, this year’s rains have come ahead of their usual schedule, repeatedly bursting the banks along the Shire and Ruo rivers, and warnings of flash floods remain in place, with more rain forecast for the country's North. With 86 per cent of the population living in rural areas and engaged in farming and livestock rearing, long-term watershed management infrastructures are urgently needed so that even intense flooding is less damaging than this year.

In addition, the press release noted, WFP is currently participating in a joint rapid food security assessment “in order to understand the latest needs on the ground and the required duration of the emergency response” while also providing recommendations on the duration of the ongoing lean season food insecurity response which has already identified nearly 700,000 people in need of food assistance.

Despite the United Nations’ intensive efforts to reach those affected by the devastating flood waters, the WFP continues to face a funding gap of $3.3 million to cover the outstanding food requirements and logistics services to support the entire humanitarian community.
  [un.org]
23/2/15
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Related:

• Floods claim 158 lives in Mozambique (official)

• 60 morts dans des inondations au Malawi et au Mozambique ...

• Malawi floods kill 176 people ..

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Floods claim 158 lives in Mozambique (official)

A total of 158 people have been killed in storms and floods that have hit central and northern Mozambique this year, the country's state news agency AIM reported Wednesday...
Some 177,000 people were affected, 654 schools, seven health units and around 100 places of worship were destroyed, AIM cited Mouzinho Saide, the official government spokesperson and Deputy Health Minister, as saying.

"The level of the waters is now falling in the Zambezi basin," said Saide.

Saide also pointed out that there is also a decline in the level in the Licungo basin in Zambezia province, while in the Rovuma basin on the border with Tanzania, the level is rising slightly.

The river basins south of the Zambezi are currently all below flood alert level, and are giving no grounds for concern.

Saide said the cholera outbreak in parts of Nampula, Niassa and Tete provinces have claimed 19 lives, adding that 1,671 cases have been confirmed.

Saide added that the cholera situation is being monitored on a daily basis. Groups have been set up, with staff from various government sectors, to improve sanitation, purify drinking water, and disinfect the houses of cholera victims.
  Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
11/2/15
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Related:

• 60 morts dans des inondations au Malawi et au Mozambique ...

• Malawi floods kill 176 people ..

• Thousands of Malawian flood victims unable to receive aid (Doctors without Borders)

Severe flooding hits southeast Asia (Malaysia and Thailand among countries affected)

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Severe flooding has killed 13 people and left at least 180,000 displaced in Malaysia and neighbouring Thailand, officials said.

In Malaysia, rescue teams on Saturday were struggling to reach inundated areas in the northeast as victims accused the government of being slow to provide aid and assistance after the country's worst flooding in decades.

Malaysians have vented their anger at Prime Minister Najib Razak after the release of photos which went viral on social media showing him playing golf with US President Barack Obama during the storms.

The number of people forced to flee their homes climbed past 120,000 with weather forecasters warning of no respite for the northeastern states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. 

The under-fire-Najib was expected to arrive in Kelantan on Saturday to lead the national flood response after cutting short his vacation in Hawaii, his aide Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad told the AFP news agency.

The government has allocated about $14m to manage relief centres. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin admitted rescuers were facing challenges with power outages and roads being washed away by the floods.

"I admit the situation is challenging to the rescue workers and we are trying our best to make sure that the food arrives to the victims depending on the flood situation," he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

Military helicopters and trucks were seen in Kota Bharu area, which is near the border with southern Thailand, but rescue efforts were being hampered by fast rising waters and strong currents while roads to hard-hit areas were impassable.
"The severity and scale of the floods had taken the authorities completely by surprise as it was worse than anticipated, overwhelming all disaster management plans and preparations," Lim Kit Siang, veteran opposition MP with the Democratic Action Party said in a statement on Saturday.

Muddy lake
Kelantan, one of the worst-affected areas, is led by the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and is one of the poorest states in the country.
From the air, parts of the state capital Kota Bharu resembled a vast, muddy lake, with row after row of rooftops peeking out of the murky waters.
Tempers flared among people sheltering at a crowded relief centre just outside Kota Bharu, with fears the situation would worsen as it continued to rain in surrounding areas.
"I am angry with them [the government]. We don't care about their politics. We just want the government to do what they should do and help us," 23-year-old Farhana Suhada, who works for a courier service, told AFP.
Neighbouring Thailand's disaster prevention and mitigation department on Friday declared disaster zones in eight of its southern provinces after floods killed at least 13 people.
The zones are in Surat Thani, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Pattalung, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Songkhla and also Trang, which has been flooded since mid-December.

More than 184,000 households have been affected by the floods and nearly 8,000 displaced, according to the department.
Although the water level is receding in Nakorn Sri Thammarat and Surat Thani provinces, authorities are monitoring the situation around the clock
 [aljazeera.com]
27/12/14
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Related:

• Malaysian government defends flood response amid criticism ...

• Floods displaces 120,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh 

  

   

 

Floods displaces 120,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh

More than 120,966 people have fled home, as floods are afflicting Indonesia's Aceh province in the northern tip of Sumatra Island, an official said here on Wednesday.

The waters submerged by up to 400 cm high in the districts of North Aceh and East Aceh, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster agency told Xinhua via phone.

The evacuation on those being trapped or affected by the floods is underway, involving soldiers, police, and local disaster agency officials, said the spokesman.

The city and other districts being inundated by the waters included the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, the districts of Aceh Tamiang, South Aceh, Pidie, and Lhoksemawe, said Sutopo.

Emergency relief aids have been sent to the centers of evacuation, he said.

The evacuators and the affected persons badly require rubber boats, fast food, blankets, food for baby and children, Sutopo said.

On Tuesday, the agency reported that the number of evacuee stood at 28,000 people.

Indonesia is frequently struck by floods and landslides during heavy downpours.
 Source: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
24/12/14
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Some 22 million displaced by natural disasters in 2013, UN-backed report reveals

UN, 17 September 2014 – A new United Nations-backed report launched today reveals that 22 million people worldwide were displaced in 2013 by disasters sparked largely by earthquakes or climate- and weather-related events – almost three times more than by conflict in the same year. The report, Global Estimates 2014: people displaced by disasters, conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), shows that the risk of displacement due to disasters has more than doubled over the last four decades–largely due to the growth and concentration of urban populations, particularly in vulnerable countries.

“This increasing trend will continue as more and more people live and work in hazard-prone areas. It is expected to be aggravated in the future by the impacts of climate change,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, at a Headquarters conference. Launching the report alongside Mr. Egeland, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said the report was “extremely timely” as it highlights the need for early warning systems and emergency evacuations in today’s world of increasing and intensifying disasters. “The numbers of people who need humanitarian assistance, and the cost of helping them, are skyrocketing. We need to shift our focus to prevention and preparedness in close cooperation with national partners,” said Mr. Eliasson. The report calls for action to be taken to reduce disaster risk and to help communities adapt to changing and more unpredictable weather patterns, to prevent further displacement.
  According to the report, both wealthy and poorer countries are affected, although developing countries bear the brunt, accounting for more than 85 per cent of displacement. But as in previous years the worst affected was Asia, where 19 million people, or 87.1 per cent of the global total, were displaced. In the Philippines, typhoon Haiyan alone displaced 4.1 million people, a million more than in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania combined. 

Seasonal floods also caused significant displacement in sub-Saharan Africa, most notably in Niger, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan – countries with highly vulnerable populations who are also affected by conflict and drought.
Africa’s population is predicted to double by 2050 therefore displacement risk is expected to increase faster than in any other region in the world.
The extent to which populations in the most developed countries are exposed to hazards also led to some of the world’s largest displacements. Typhoon Man-yi in Japan displaced 260,000 people and tornadoes in the United States state of Oklahoma 218,500.
As the world gears up to solidify a post-2015 development agenda, there will also be an opportunity to include the needs and challenges of internally displaced people in negotiations.
“As we prepare for the [Secretary-General’s] climate summit next week the devastating impact of disasters and the massive displacement we see as a result, highlight the need for strong and decisive action to tackle the catastrophic threat of climate change,” Mr. Eliasson said. 
un.org
17/9/14
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