Office of the Resident Coordinator. Bolivia Floods Situation Report # 1, February 18 th, 2010

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1 I. Highlights/Key Priorities United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator Naciones Unidas Bolivia Floods Situation Report # 1, February 18 th, 2010 Severe floods and landslides caused by the El Niño phenomenon are affecting 7 (out of 9) Departments in Bolivia. So far 12 deaths have been recorded and 4 people declared missing due to events related to flooding and landslides. The National Service for Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI) announced that excess rainfall will continue throughout the month of February, and will stabilize from March/April onwards, thus the intensity of El Niño will minimize. According to Viceministry of Civil Defense, more than families are currently affected and in need of assistance including food, shelter and provision of non-food item (NFI) stocks. It is predicted that approximately 70,000 families could be affected in total by the end of El Niño. According to the same source, approximately 110 municipalities (out of the country s 327, see map below) are affected by different emergencies. The GoB has the capacity to attend a total of 36,000 to 40,000 families, therefore if the number of affected families continues to increase over the next two weeks there will be an urgent need to mobilize additional funding. There is a strong need for an information management system to be implemented in order to provide accurate information in a timely manner and in appropriate formats, and that will adequately support coordination and decision making. This has been a long-standing weakness in the national response and which has been documented by several UNDAC evaluation missions. The GoB officially declared a situation of National Emergency on the 29 th of January 2010 in 5 departments (Santa Cruz, Beni, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca and La Paz) but until now there have been no official requests for international resources. UN Agencies and NGOs are already taking actions in several departments and most clusters are working under government leadership and co-led by UN agencies. The map below shows the areas affected by the different emergencies.

2 Source: VIDECI, Presented at COEN II. Situation Overview Information announced by the National Service for Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI) emphasizes that excesses rainfall in relation to historic averages will still be experienced mainly in the Chapare Region; the southern part of Beni, the northern part of Santa Cruz; and the highlands of the East Andes region. Sudden rises of water levels in the Ichilo and Río Grande basins are expected to cause more flooding and landslides particularly in the low lands of Beni between Camiaco and Trinidad along the Mamoré river. In the western part of the country, weather forecasts predict rain and hailstorms above average patterns, with a possible impact on human settlements close to the River Desaguadero, especially in Aroma and Villarroel provinces located in La Paz and Cercado Province in Oruro. The city of La Paz has also been heavily affected by intense rains and hailstorms. In Trinidad, the capital of the Department of Beni, more than a thousand families living in the outskirts of the city have had to evacuate their homes in the last month which has lead this population to build eleven improvised camps located along the main roads around the city, which provides sufficiently high ground to protect themselves from the slowly encroaching flood waters. In the rural area of Beni, several villages are flooded; detailed information will be delivered by the departmental Emergency Operations Centre (COE) and the Civil Defense in the coming days; meanwhile a UNETE mission to the rural municipalities of Loreto and San Javier gathered municipal official data reporting about 1,270 families in Loreto and the TIPNIS area of San Ignacio of Moxos plus some families in San Javier and San 2

3 Andrés, which have already had their houses flooded. According to the meteorological information from SENAMHI and the national Naval Hydrographic Service a rise in water levels is expected to arrive in the Beni area in the next fortnight. It was clear to the UNETE commission carrying out field evaluations, that most of the families living along the river Mamore have lost their agricultural production of mainly maize and rice, among others. On the 29th of January, 2010, the Bolivian government issued the Supreme Decree number 0417, which declared a situation of National Emergency primarily applicable to the departments of La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca and Beni but may be extended to other departments of Bolivia. According to the Supreme Decree, the following responsibilities have been established: Viceministry of Civil Defense (VIDECI) will deliver humanitarian aid, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery in the affected regions. Sectoral clusters within the framework of the National Emergency Operations Committee will be active and will include the participation of the corresponding Ministries as cluster leads, with UN agencies functioning as co-leads. The Ministry of Development Planning is in charge of channeling funds from international development cooperation agencies and the Ministry of Finances is authorized to carry out budget transfers in order to make additional resources available to finance actions of emergency response, recovery and reconstruction. Official information presented by VIDECI on the 10 th of February, during the National Emergency Operations Committee meeting, shows the following general data of the affected families as a result of events of flooding, hail storms and landslides. Table 1. Affected families per Department. Departament Total CHUQUISACA 9,163 CBBA. 15,320 LA PAZ 1,532 ORURO 3,276 POTOSÍ 1,086 SANTA CRUZ 3,700 TARIJA 5 BENI - TRINIDAD 2,081 Gran Total 36,163 Source: VIDECI, 02/11/10. (Note that this total number has probably increased since February 10th; but new official figures have still not been released). III. Humanitarian Needs and Response VIDECI has already coordinated the distribution of emergency supplies (mostly food items) to the affected departments and indicates that approximately 26,000 families have been supported. In addition, VIDECI indicates that it has the capacity to attend between 36,000 to 40,000 families; however, it is felt that the GoB 3

4 has limited capacity to support this number of families, which is reflected in the identifications of needs from each of respective clusters in the following areas: Agriculture, Food and Nutrition. The Cluster has identified two major needs: Food security for approximately 10,000 families in the Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Cochabamba for a period of three months. Rescuing livestock from a possible water surge expected in the first week of March in the department of Beni. Food Security. Approximately 10,000 families will require food provisions for the next 3 months, this includes meeting the nutritional needs of children under the age of 2 years. Livestock Saving. The Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT) anticipates the need to evacuate animals from the most vulnerable regions of Beni. FAO has estimated an approximate cost of US$ for this operation. Nutrition. Children are affected by the floods in the area of Cochabamba (Yuquis, Yuracares and Moxeño indigenous groups), in the eleven camps of Trinidad, and in the rural areas in Beni and Santa Cruz. Due to precarious living situations these families are in need of nutritional support, mosquito nets and in the camps, they will need kitchen sets plus beds, blankets and other supplies. Response, including local government Food Security. WFP, in coordination with the government, will provide food for 1 month in the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Cochabamba, attending a total of 9,533 families. Livestock Saving. A plan for livestock rescue has been devised by the MDRyT with FAO providing technical assistance. Nutrition: UNICEF as co-lead of the Nutrition Cluster has made available 5,647 bags of Nutribebe (nutritional therapeutic feeding supplement) to help meet children s nutritional needs, 4,000 impregnated mosquito nets, 1,400 blankets and 500 kitchen sets for affected families.. There are two months of food supply needed for which no funds have yet been allocated. Likewise, operational costs for the rescue of livestock is still awaiting a possible donor. The cost for the operation of livestock rescue is still unfinanced. Due to the increase of the water levels, more children are expected to be affected therefore increasing the demand for nutritional support in the coming weeks. Education The start of the school year has been delayed in many rural areas due to the emergency situation. Therefore, tents, backpacks, teacher and recreational supplies are needed to allow students to go back to school. 4

5 Response, including local government The Ministry of Education, supported by UNICEF and other partners in the cluster, has already helped students affected in the city of La Paz and the municipality of Poroma in Chuquisaca with school material, school tents and supplies. UNICEF as cluster co-lead, will provide support for approximately 2,098 schoolchildren, in the Departments of Beni, Cochabamba, La Paz and Chuquisaca It is estimated that an additional 7,500 school children still need support to go back to school. Emergency Shelter Needs The Departmental COEs have identified need for emergency shelter shown in the table below: Department No. of Families in need of emergency shelter La Paz 90 Beni 543 (not including Santa Ana del Yacuma) Cochabamba 2,500-3,000 Santa Cruz 500 1,000 Gran Total 4,633 The local COEs of Potosi, Chuquisaca and Oruro have also requested support for tools to help recover agricultural losses for around 8,200 families. In the coming week it is expected that the water levels of the basin of Santa Ana del Yacuma will rise to such a level that 25,000 families are expected to be in need of emergency assistance. Response, including local government IOM has assisted the national and four departmental COEs with the provision of technical equipment to help improve coordination and data collection in the field. The Shelter Cluster, made up of over 20 local and international NGOs, can provide local and central governments with the following: 83 tents, 350 plastic sheeting, 14,417 blankets, 6980 hygiene kits, 600 kitchen sets, 1,900 mosquito nets. In La Paz the local COE has assisted 100% of families in need of shelter, however, this assistance is not based on Sphere standards; for instance, some tents hold between families. In Cochabamba the local COE has supported families with medical and food supplies but only has 150 tents in stock to shelter a possible 3,000 families; moreover, the departmental COE of Cochabamba described their plans to house displaced families in medical centres, schools and military bases which IOM hopes to help avoid. In Beni and Santa Cruz very few official government shelters have been set up; rather populations affected are reusing tents from the last flood to set up shelter in high lands, which has principally been next to the main road. 5

6 Key gaps in the response It is of concern to the Shelter Cluster that departmental COEs do not appear to have sufficient tents or NFIs to shelter and support the large number of families in need. Moreover, as of yet no funding has been allocated or secured for the provision of emergency shelter and NFI for the total of 4,633 families or essential tools for families in Potosi, Chuquisaca and Oruro. Health Predominant problems identified so far are diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections, malnutrition in children, skin pathologies and others. Some isolated and hard-to-reach communities are presumed to be facing some critical health problems and have not received any help so far. There is a potential risk of snake bites hence an increased need of serum. Response, including local government Santa Cruz: A total of 9,056 patients with different ailments have been attended. Beni: Cuban health brigades have helped 1,286 people. PAHO, as cluster co-lead, has handed over 2 health kits in Santa Cruz, 1 in La Paz and 1 in Beni. Water treatment pills have also been distributed (50 thousand in each department: Santa Cruz, Beni and La Paz) Gaps in response measures are being currently studied within the Health Cluster. Protection The Protection Cluster has been recently activated by the Viceministry of Security of Citizenship with UNICEF as the co-lead with participation of several NGOs, public offices at departmental level and UNFPA. The departmental offices for Social Support (SEDEGES finits Spanish acronym) in Beni, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba have the following supplies to support children in need of psychosocialrecovery: 131 backpacks of the New Sun for the Wellbeing of the Community to attend about 3,500 children, 25 recreational kits, 3 kits for municipal office of defense of children s rights and have 95 trained volunteers in three departments (Beni, Santa Cruz and La Paz). The sector predicts a gap in attending about another 5,000 children in the coming weeks, for which more supplies will be needed in material and volunteers to help provide children with psychosocial support according to the methodology. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Needs related to the WASH Cluster have been identified in two categories: Response for displaced people, including potable water supply, water filters, latrines, trash cans and hygiene kits. Protection in flood areas, including the construction of low docks with sand bags; pump and drain accessories. 6

7 Response, including local government The cluster has identified key support being provided by different partners that still need to be consolidated, but it can be noted that UNICEF, as cluster co-lead, has been taking actions to provide support and supplies for 1,500 3,000 families in Beni and 1,000 in Cochabamba. NGOs like Oxfam GB, Save the Children and World Vision have been leveraging more information to coordinate within the Humanitarian Network with Civil Defense. UNICEF has already prepositioned 41 water tanks (2,500 lt) in Beni and Cochabamba, 7,200 water containers of 10 lts and 3,000 of 20 liters, plus water tabs to purify water, filters and hygiene kits for 2,280 families. In spite of NGO and UN contributions to the sector an important portion of WASH intervention is still underfunded, which the cluster will be analyzing next week. IV. Coordination Some of the clusters have been successfully activated, especially those related to Food & Agriculture, Health, Shelter and WASH. These clusters have an active leadership by government counterparts and include UN agencies, NGOs and other partners. The rest of the clusters are now starting to work on a more systematic basis. There is also a strong need to work on the overall coordination and the development of cross sector coordination mechanism to improve information for decision making. OCHA in Bolivia is working to strengthen coordination mechanisms. So far the establishment of accurate global and integrated information regarding the humanitarian situation and needs assessment is still a pending challenge. The Office of the Resident Coordinator is supporting with two consultants to strengthen information for coordination mechanisms. OCHA Panama is in Bolivia from February 17 th -19 th to work with UNETT and other counterparts. A meeting of the Humanitarian Network will take place on February 19 th to focus on information and coordination. V. Funding UNETT is in the process of elaborating a proposal for CERF funding, given that agencies will run out of funding and supplies within the next four weeks and the number of victims due to the El Niño is still growing. All humanitarian partners including donors and recipient agencies are encouraged to inform FTS of cash and in-kind contributions by sending an to: fts@reliefweb.int. VI. Contact Please contact: Location:La Paz Bolivia Name: Yoriko Yasukawa, Title: UN Resident Coordinator address: yoriko.yasukawa@undp.org, phone number: (591) and (591) Location:La Paz Bolivia Name: Gordon Jonathan Lewis, Title: UNICEF Representative and Coordinator of the UNETT Group address,jlewis@unicef.org phone number: (591) or (591-2) Location:La Paz Bolivia Name: Lilian Reyes, Title: National Disaster Response Advisor address, lilian.reyes@undp.org phone number: (591)