ANNEX IV-3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION HUMANITARIAN AID OFFICE (ECHO) Monthly report number 2011/6 Month June 2011 Country South America (except Colombia for HA) Date of submission 01/07/11 Author ECHO Quito MONTHLY REPORT 1. SUMMARY / MAIN HIGHLIGHTS (1) Chile Argentina: Eruption of Puyehue/Cordon Caulle Volcano: Large columns of ash and smoke spewed from the mountains, threatening the health of residents living around the area. More than 4 000 people around the Volcano were evacuated. "Disaster zone and economical emergency" has been declared in the Patagonian region in neighboring Argentina. There are worries about possibilities of lahars due to volcanic material that may clog rivers, cause mudslides and threaten dams in the area, especially because the coming winter season. ECHO will follow the possible humanitarian impact of the event. The MIC received a request for experts to be deployed to Argentina in a post disaster assessment mission coordinated by the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environmental Unit. The mission will start on 4 th of July for 2 weeks. (2) Dengue outbreak continues to affect several countries of the region as Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. Dengue fever cases are still rising in Rio de Janeiro, there are 117 922 infected people in this state since the beginning of this year. The number of deaths reaches 88. While in Bolivia, in the Department of Santa Cruz the Dengue fever outbreak has caused the death of 3 persons, raising the number of deceases in this department to 21, there are 5 550 confirmed cases while there are 16 000 suspected cases. These figures prove that the current Dengue outbreak is more serious than in 2009. PAHO and IFRC Epidemics Project for Bolivia and Peru (350.000 EUR) is being implemented. (3) Ecological disaster in Bolivia: Higher sedimentation in the river banks of Pilcomayo River in Paraguay and Argentina plains due to the heavy downpours registered in Bolivia during the last rainy season reducing the availability of fish in the Bolivian side of the river by 90%. Indigenous communities depending on the fish for their living have lost their main source of income and emergency has been declared by the government. (4) Floods in Peru: Two months after the retreat of waters in Ucayali after having suffered the worst floods in decades and the destructions of houses and livelihoods, no assistance has been provided by the government. (5) DIPECHO VII Action Plan for South America Launching events for the VII DIPECHO Action Plan are being carried out: Chile 13 th June, Argentina 17 th June, Peru 7 th July, Bolivia 8 th July, and Paraguay 14 th July. (6) Drought LAC Decision A Funding Decision for drought management in Latin America for 5 million EUR has been approved; 2 millions will be allocated to Central America and 3 millions to South America. In this sense, two drought projects will be implemented in Bolivian and Paraguayan Chaco. 1/5
EVENTS Colombia Ecuador Venezuela Guyana Suriname French Guiana Peru: Impact of floods still high in Ucayali Dengue fever outbreak: Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. Peru Brazil Bolivia: Ecologic disaster in Pilcomayo River. Chile Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay Argentina LEGEND Floods Coldwaves Droughts Earthquakes Puyehue Cordon Caulle Volcano in Chile: The volcano violent eruption caused damages in the volcano surrounding communities and also causing major damages in neighbouring Argentina Patagonia region. Landslides Volcanic eruption Storms Fires Tsunami Epidemics ECHO MAIN ACTIVITIES START UP DIPECHO ACTION PLAN 2011-2012 12.000.000 DIPECHO: Regional Planning Seminar Ecuador. Launching in Chile and Argentina Drought Management Decision 3.000.000 Brazil: Monitoring visit SSR Project in Río de Janeiro 2/5
CHILE - ARGENTINA 1. EVOLUTION OF THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION Puyehue-Cordón-Caulle Volcano range registered a considerable increase of its activity on 4 June. The National Office for Emergency (ONEMI) issued a red alert for the municipalities of Futrono, Lago Ranco and Río Bueno, in the region of Los Ríos, and the municipality of Puyehue in the region of Los Lagos. This measure lead to the evacuation of around 700 people of the areas of Pocura, Pichico, Los Venados, Contrafuerte, El Zapallo in the region of Los Ríos, and El Retiro, Anticura, El Caulle, Forestal Comaco, Anticura Pajaritos in the region of Los Lagos. On 5 June, the Puyehue-Cordón-Caulle volcano eruption caused a considerable steam, gas and ash column of 10km high and 5km wide. The evacuation area was extended, and a total of 4000 persons were evacuated. Due to the direction of the winds the ash column was displaced to the Argentinean territory, heavy ash fall was registered in the touristic zone of Bariloche, Villa Angostura in Patagonia. The border crossing Cardenal Samore, in Chile, the second with the highest traffic of the country and of the international access from Villa La Angostura in Argentina has been closed. Persistent ash fall has forced the authorities of Neuquén and Río Negro to close the airports. The volcanic ash affected an important area of the Argentinean Patagonia towards the Atlantic Ocean, also forcing the Argentinean authorities to cancel flights to the south of the country. There is a real risk of a landslide that might be caused by the sediment that comes down from the volcanic range. Changing wind directions pushed the ash cloud back and forth across southern Argentina and Chile. Ash reached Buenos Aires province and the capital district, causing major disruption of all the flights in the country. Ash fall has also caused affectation in other countries and flights were cancelled in Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The volcanic column, which is going to the South-East, was displaced through South Africa, reaching New Zealand and Australia disrupting flights and affecting thousands of passengers. Argentinean authorities have declared "disaster zone and economical emergency" the Patagonia region. The objective is to speed up the reallocation of the funds for the assistance of the affected areas, in which are located the cities of Villa La Angostura, Traful and Piedra del Aguila. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND MAIN ISSUES The MIC received a request for experts to be deployed to Argentina in a post disaster assessment mission coordinated by the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environmental Unit. The mission is organised following a request from the Ministry of Interior of Argentina to UNEP/OCHA JEU. The UN-led technical cooperation mission with the associated participation of two CP Mechanism experts and a MIC liaison officer is likely to start on 4 July with an estimated duration of two weeks. Initial meetings with authorities will take place in Buenos Aires before deployment to areas around San Carlos de Bariloche, Villa la Angostura and Linea Sur. It will focus on the most affected regions of Neuquen, Rio Negro and Chubut affected by considerable heavy ash fall, and it aims to support national and regional civil protection authorities in dealing with the volcano ashes consequences. VII DIPECHO ACTION PLAN DIPECHO launching meetings are being undertaken in each country and projects are ongoing. 3/5
Regional Humanitarian response and main issues Regional rainfall forecast June August 2011 Sources: (CIIFEN), International research centre on el Niño Venezuela: More probabilities of in most of the country. Colombia: More probabilities of in the Pacific and Andean regions. In the Caribbean region more probabilities of rains near normal levels. Ecuador: More probabilities of in the Andean highlands. More probabilities of precipitation below normal levels in the coastal region. Peru: More probabilities of normal precipitation in the central and southern Andean highlands. Northern highlands and the Amazon region more probabilities of precipitation above normal levels. Bolivia: More probabilities of in the eastern plains and in the northern region of the valleys. Chile: More probabilities of normal precipitations in the central and Austral regions. In the southern region more probabilities of precipitations above normal levels. Argentina: More probabilities of precipitation below normal levels in most of the country, except in the province of Buenos Aires where there are more probabilities of normal precipitations. 4/5
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