February and March South America (except Colombia for HA) Date of submission 10/04/12 MONTHLY REPORT

Transcription

1 ANNEX IV-3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION HUMANITARIAN AID OFFICE (ECHO) Monthly report number 2012/02 Month February and March Country South America (except Colombia for HA) Date of submission 10/04/12 Author ECHO Quito team 1. SUMMARY / MAIN HIGHLIGHTS MONTHLY REPORT (1) Peru Heavy rains and floods and seismic activity: Since late January up to date heavy rains, cold snaps, snowfall and hailstorms have severely affected several regions of the country. The government has declared in emergency 14 departments. Approximately 141,380 persons have been severely affected, 15,412 are homeless, while 409,939 persons have been affected. 107,297 houses have been damaged, 92 education centres have collapsed and 1,312 are damaged. Several ECHO partners have manifested interest in requesting funds for a humanitarian response. On 3 February, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale was registered 15 km southeast the city of Ica at a depth of 39 km. It was strongly felt in Ica, Parcona, Tinguiña, Ocucaje, Pisco and Lima. At least 145 persons were injured, 1,726 persons have been severely affected and 2,465 affected. The National Civil Defence Institute (INDECI) is delivering humanitarian aid to affected population. (2) Brazil Heavy rains and floods: Heavy rains and floods continue to affect Brazil, were at least 144,730 people (38,200 families) have been affected by heavy rains in the State of Acre; while in the State of Amazonas 22 municipalities have been declared in emergency. A request for Small Scale Response has been submitted to ECHO. (3) Bolivia heavy rains and floods and dengue fever outbreak: La Niña phenomenon has caused heavy rains, rivers overflowing, floods, landslides, and hailstorms in Bolivia, most affected area is the Amazon basin. At least 16,138 families have been affected and 1,879 houses severely damaged; 177 municipalities in 9 departments have been severely affected. National emergency was declared and the government is providing humanitarian aid to affected population. The agricultural sector has suffered a considerable impact, however there is no official data regarding agricultural losses. Several ECHO partners manifested interest in applying for ECHO funds. Since January 14,584 confirmed cases have been registered. At least 25 persons have died of dengue in the country. The department of Santa Cruz has been declared in emergency due to dengue fever outbreak. (4) Ecuador heavy rains and floods and dengue fever outbreak: Heavy rains and rivers overflowing continue to cause damages in most of the country (coastal plains and highlands). At least 79,193 persons have been affected, from which 14,000 persons have been severely affected and are living in temporary shelters (130) and 24 casualties reported, and 724 houses severely damaged due to floods, and 34,000 hectares of crops severely damaged. The national government has released USD 40, 2 million to respond to the emergency. The National Risk Management Secretariat (SNGR) is providing humanitarian assistance to affected population. Several ECHO partners have manifested interest in requesting funds for a humanitarian response. According to the Ministry of Health, since January 3,596 cases of classic dengue fever and 51 cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever have been confirmed, meaning an increase of 61% compared to confirmed cases in /10

2 (5) Paraguay Drought: Lack of rains linked to La Niña phenomenon forced the government to decree national emergency in order to support farmers who have lost their crops. At least 8 departments have decreased its production in approximately 30% to 50% and its situation is critical. The Agriculture Ministry reports a total of 200,000 families (1 million persons) affected by drought. The government is providing aid to affected areas. (6) Chile Wildfires in the south, drought, and seismic activity: 60 communities and 2 million people have been affected in by wildfires in the regions of Bio- Bio, Maule and La Araucania. A total of 25,000 hectares of forests and a wide area of pine trees have been devastated by fires. The government declared zones of agricultural emergency the affected communes as to facilitate the mobilization of resources for the recovery of livelihoods. The Chilean Government declared "agricultural emergency" to 108 localities facing a severe water deficit in 6 departments (Tarapacá - I, Antofagasta - II, Atacama - III, Coquimbo - IV, Valparaíso - V, and Maule VII). The government has allocated $ 20,000 million pesos to tackle the emergency situation. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale hit Central Chile in the coastal region of Maule. The earthquake was strongly felt in Maule, Bio Bio and the Metropolitan Region. As a consequence 14 people were injured and 25,000 persons were preventively evacuated due to tsunami alert from Valparaiso to Bio Bio. Preventive tsunami evacuation alert was not properly managed and caused chaos and confusion within the population. EVENTS Colombia Venezuela Guyana Suriname French Guiana Ecuador: Heavy rains and floods are affecting the coastal and Andean highlands provinces. Dengue fever outbreak registered in the coastal provinces. Ecuador Peru Bolivia Brazil Peru: A 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale southeast the city of Ica. Heavy rains, cold snaps, snowfall and hailstorms have severely affected several regions of the country. Brazil: Heavy rains, floods and landslides are causing damages in the Amazon Department of Acre. Paraguay Bolivia: La Niña phenomenon has caused heavy rains and floods. Dengue fever outbreak is also affecting the country. Chile Argentina Uruguay LEGEND Floods Coldwaves Droughts Earthquakes Landslides Volcanic eruption Storms Fires Tsunami Epidemics Paraguay: Lack of rains, linked to La Niña phenomenon, is causing a severe drought. Chile: Intense wildfires fires have been registered in the Patagonia Region and the regions of Bio Bio and Maule. The Chilean Government declared "agricultural emergency" 6 departments facing a severe water deficit. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale hit Central Chile in the coastal region of Maule. 2/10

3 ECHO MAIN ACTIVITIES Peru: Monitoring field visit to FAO DIPECHO Project in Puno. Bolivia: Monitoring field visit to DRR Drought Project in Chaco. Bolivia: Monitoring field visit to FAO DIPECHO project in Oruro and DRR Drought Project Chaco. Paraguay: Monitoring field visit to DRR Drought Project in Chaco. Chile: Monitoring field visit to SRC and UNDP DIPECHO Projects in Bio Bio, Iquique and Arica. 3/10

4 ECUADOR Heavy rains and floods Heavy rains and rivers overflowing continue to cause damages in most of the country (coastal and sierra regions). At least 79,193 persons have been affected, from which 14,000 persons have been severely affected and are living in temporary shelters (130), and 24 casualties reported, and 724 houses severely damaged due to floods. Affected provinces are: Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Esmeraldas, Azuay, Cañar, Loja, and Cotopaxi. The national government declared in emergency the provinces of: Manabí, Guayas, Los Ríos, El Oro, Loja, Azuay and Esmeraldas. Through the emergency decree the Finance Ministry has released USD 40, 2 million to respond to the emergency; these funds will be allocated to municipalities and provincial governments; from this amount USD 12 million will be allocated for responding to immediate needs and for rehabilitation of infrastructure, agriculture, health, education and housing. According to the Ministry of Agriculture preliminary information, 34,000 hectares of crops have been completely destroyed being the most affected Guayas and Manabí. Most affected crops are: rice (65%), corn (15%), cacao, sugar cane, banana and pasture; approximately losses are of USD 11 million. The Ministry is providing aid by delivering seeds, urea, and pesticides and has put in force the agriculture insurance. Meanwhile, assessments to quantify damages and identify real needs are in process. The National Risk Management Secretariat (SNGR) is providing humanitarian assistance to affected population. According to weather forecasts rains will intensify on March. The government also announced that affected population in the coastal region will benefit of an economic bonus (USD USD 45 in March and USD 45 in April). The bonus is mainly aimed to benefit farmers who have lost their crops and depend on their agricultural activities for subsistence. Also, the Ministry of Education confirmed that due to the floods situation in the coastal region, start of the school year will be delayed until 16 th April. Education centres have been damaged by floods and others are being used as shelters. Dengue fever outbreak According to the Ministry of Health, since January 3,596 cases of classic dengue fever and 51 cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever have been confirmed, meaning an increase of 61% compared to confirmed cases in 2011 (406 confirmed cases). Guayas concentrates most of the cases. A total of cases have been registered including 26 hemorrhagic dengue fever cases and two deaths. In Manabí, Los Ríos, EL Oro and Esmeraldas provinces cases have been reported, including 13 of hemorrhagic type. The MoH also informed that such considerable increased is due to a new type of Dengue that represents a higher mortality risk. Most affected are the coastal provinces: Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro, and Esmeraldas. The Health Ministry has confirmed that 70% of the Ecuadorian territory presents favorable conditions for the reproduction of Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Tungurahua Volcano According to the National Geophysical Institute, since March, Tungurahua Volcano has increased its activity accompanied by strong explosions, high roars, permanent ash emission and incandescent rocks. During different episodes, ash fall was registered in the volcano surrounding areas affecting crops and pastures. 4/10

5 2. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES ECHO is closely monitoring the situation together with its partners and the National Risk Management Secretariat (SNGR). BOLIVIA Heavy rains and floods La Niña phenomenon has caused heavy rains, rivers overflowing, floods, landslides, and hailstorms in Bolivia, most affected area is the Amazon basin. At least 16,138 families have been affected and 1,879 houses severely damaged. A total of 177 municipalities in 9 departments have been severely affected. The department of Chuquisaca has also been affected by hailstorms, which have destroyed 70% of its crops (potato, maize, wheat, etc.). At least 1,600 families have been affected and its food security is highly threatened. The Civil Defence is providing aid in order to guarantee food security. The agricultural sector has been severely affected, however, there is no official information regarding agricultural losses; main devastated crops are: potato, vegetables and forage. Also, Manco Kapac province (La Paz Department) has been affected by overflowing of Titicaca Lake, where at least 550 families in 30 communities have lost their crops. National emergency was declared and the government is delivering humanitarian aid to affected departments. Dengue fever outbreak Health authorities informed that dengue fever cases are considerably increasing in a matter of days, since January 14,584 confirmed cases have been registered. At least 25 persons have died of dengue in the country. Santa Cruz municipality (Santa Cruz Department) has been declared in emergency due to dengue fever outbreak, where 4 persons have died to hemorrhagic dengue fever, 201 confirmed cases and 2,332 suspicious cases. The emergency decree will allow authorities to intensify dengue outbreak preventive campaigns. 2. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES ECHO is closely monitoring the situation together with its partners in Bolivia. Due to the emergency situation three concept notes have been presented for possible SSR interventions by our partners FAO (Oruro), COOPI (Oruro) and GAA (Oruro and La Paz). BRAZIL Update on Heavy rains and floods in Brazil Heavy rains and floods continue to affect Brazil, were at least 144,730 people (38,200 families) have been affected and another 5,315 persons have been left homeless by heavy rains in the State of Acre. At least 6,000 have been evacuated to temporary shelters due to overflowing of Branco River; 30 urban and rural neighbourhoods have been evacuated. 14,000 houses have been severely affected. Affected localities are: Rio Branco, Manuel Urbano, Sena Madureira, Santa Rosa, Assis Brasil, Porto Acre, Epitaciolândia, Brasiléia, Cruzeiro do Sul, Sena Madureira, and Xapuri. 5/10

6 The Federal government has allocated R$ 1 million to support affected population in Acre. The funds will be used for food purchasing, water, clothes, NFI's, and cleaning kits. On the other hand, in the State of Amazonas at least 22 municipalities have been declared in emergency due to heavy rains and landslides. 2. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES ECHO Quito is continuously monitoring the situation together with our partners in the field. Due to the emergency situation a concept note have been presented for a possible SSR intervention in Acre by our partner CARE. CHILE Update on Wild Fires in the south of Chile According to ONEMI, 60 communities and 2 million people have been affected in by wildfires in the regions of Bio- Bio, Maule and La Araucania. In the region of Bio Bio, 25,000 hectares of forests and a wide area of pine trees have been devastated by fires, as well as 200 houses have been completely consumed and destroyed by the fires and 600 persons have preventively evacuated. Farmers have been severely affected as wildfires have destroyed their vineyards, fruit trees, cereal plantations, green houses, etc. The government declared zones of agricultural emergency the affected communes as to facilitate the mobilization of resources for the recovery of livelihoods. The Ministry of Housing stated that the reconstruction of some 220 destroyed homes is expected to start before March fires are still active and red alert was declared in Villa Alemana, Limache, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar (Valparaiso Region), and Coltauco and Litueche (O'Higgins Region). On the other hand, the Chilean Government declared "agricultural emergency" to 108 localities facing a severe water deficit in 6 departments (Tarapacá - I, Antofagasta - II, Atacama - III, Coquimbo - IV, Valparaíso - V, and Maule VII). Most affected crops are vineyards which is the main production thus decreasing production and export. The government has allocated $ 20,000 million pesos to tackle the emergency situation. Floods Heavy rains and floods have affected to at least 2,000 persons in the province of Tamarugal (Tarapacá Region) and the government has declared catastrophe zone. At least 900 persons were evacuated to temporary shelters and 236 houses have been severely affected, 136 houses have been completely destroyed. The localities of Camiña, Huara and Pozo Almante have been also declared in agricultural emergency. 20 affected communities were isolated. Affected families will receive a housing bonus that can be use for reparation and reconstruction for an amount of USD 1,636 2,863. Earthquake A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale hit Central Chile in the coastal region of Maule. The earthquake was strongly felt in Maule, Bio Bio and the Metropolitan Region. As a consequence 14 people were injured and 25,000 persons were preventively evacuated due to tsunami alert from Valparaiso to Bio Bio. There were several constraints regarding the preventive tsunami alert issued by ONEMI, which after several minutes of issued and while evacuation was in process it was cancelled as the Hydrographical and Oceanographic Army Service (SHOA) discarded the risk of tsunami. Even so, while observation of the ocean behaviour in some regions it was identified that the sea retired approximately 40 6/10

7 meters and ONEMI reactivated the preventive evacuation causing even more confusion and chaos within the population. Electricity service was interrupted affecting to 8,000 people. 2. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES ECHO is closely monitoring the situation. PARAGUAY Drought Due to a severe and protracted drought the government declared national emergency in order to support farmers who have lost their crops; the decree will be in force for 90 days. At least 8 departments have decreased its production in approximately 30% to 50% and its situation is critical. A total of 200,000 families (1 million persons) have been affected. Lack of rains, linked to La Niña phenomenon, has destroyed pastures directly affecting cattle and therefore affecting meat production. Most affected departments are: Presidente Hayes, Canindeyú, Concepción, Guaira, San Pedro and Caaguazú. 50% of soy crops will be completely destroyed due to lack of water (soy is a significant commodity for the economy of the country). The crisis in the rural area is generating considerable losses which could reach to USD 1,500 million; this situation might deteriorate by the presence of a cold wave the following months. The government will distribute seeds (peas, beans, maize, and vegetables) in order to tackle drought effects. Food kits are being distributed to 5,289 families: 34 kilo rice, flour, pasta, sugar, beans, salt, oil, and vegetables. 2. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES ECHO is closely monitoring the situation together with its partners in Paraguay. PERU Floods Since late January up to date heavy rains, cold snaps, snowfall and hailstorms have severely affected several regions of the country: Puno, Apurímac, Huancavelica, Piura, Arequipa, Moquegua, Lima, Ayacucho, Huánuco, Cusco, Loreto, Ucayali and Lambayeque. The government has declared in emergency 14 departments. Approximately 141,380 persons have been severely affected, 15,412 are homeless, while 409,939 persons have been affected. 107,297 houses have been affected, 92 education centres have collapsed and 1,312 are affected. It is of major concern food insecurity as most of the population have completely lost their livelihoods in the rural areas of the departments of Arequipa, Apurímac, Puno, Huancavelica, Piura, Cusco and the Amazon departments of Loreto and Ucayali. The national government through the National Institute of Civil Defence (INDECI), State Ministers and the First Lady have visited the main affected areas. Yet, the government has not requested international aid but it is favourable to accept humanitarian aid from the cooperation through the responsible authorities. According to weather forecasts during March rains will continue although with a less intensity than in February. SENAMHI (Meteorology and Hydrology National Service) has also issued a red alert as the main Amazonian rivers (Amazonas, Marañón, Ucayali and Huallaga) have exceeded their overflowing level meaning a considerable threat of severe flooding. 7/10

8 According to INDECI, the Department of Puno has been the most affected, agricultural censuses are in process in order to quantify losses and identify needs. According to INDECI, a total of 696, 73 MT of humanitarian aid have been delivered to affected population. Humanitarian aid consists of: mattresses, blankets, clothing, tents, housing modules, corrugated iron sheets, plastic sheeting, food kits, kitchen kits, hygiene kits, tools, etc. The National Food Programme (PRONAA) in charge of delivering food aid has a very fragile and week capacity to respond to the real food needs and has failed to deliver food in most of the departments; it was not prepared and has faced a food shortage for distribution as well as poor logistics for delivering aid. Regarding agricultural data, the Ministry of Agriculture is undertaking assessments in order to quantify losses, therefore, very basic and preliminary information registers 8,843 hectares of crops severely affected and 1,634 hectares completely destroyed. Earthquake in Ica On 3 February, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale was registered 15 km southeast the city of Ica at a depth of 39 km. It was strongly felt in Ica, Parcona, Tinguiña, Ocucaje, Pisco and Lima. As a result of the earthquake at least 145 persons were injured, 1,726 persons have been severely affected and 2,465 affected; 6 houses collapsed, 358 houses are inhabitable and 505 houses are severely affected. Electricity service was interrupted and telephone lines collapsed; both services were restored immediately. The National Civil Defence Institute (INDECI) is delivering humanitarian aid to affected population (tents, blankets, corrugated iron sheets, mattresses, bed, etc). The government declared sanitary emergency as the drainage system collapsed as consequence of the earthquake. The decree will enable the allocation of resources for immediately restoring of water service; which will be interrupted for 120 days, situation that may increase the risk of diseases. 2. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES ECHO is closely monitoring the situation. DIPECHO ACTION PLAN DIPECHO projects are ongoing in: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. 8/10

9 Regional Humanitarian response and main issues Regional rainfall forecast March - May 2012 Venezuela: More probabilities of precipitation above normal levels in all the country. Colombia: More probabilities of precipitation above normal levels in all the country. Ecuador: More probabilities of precipitation above normal levels in the Andean and coastal regions Peru: More probabilities of precipitation above normal levels in the southern highlands, in the central highlands precipitations below normal levels. In the coastal region more probabilities of normal precipitation. Bolivia: More probabilities of precipitation below normal levels in most of the country. Argentina: More probabilities of precipitation below normal levels in the central region, northeast of the country and the Patagonia region. More probabilities of precipitations above normal levels in the northwest of the country and south of Buenos Aires province. Chile: More probabilities of precipitations above normal levels in the northern Andean highlands and south of the country, while in the central and austral regions normal precipitations. Uruguay: More probabilities of normal precipitation in all the country. Sources: (CIIFEN), International research centre on el Niño 9/10

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