SITUATION REPORT #2 - CYCLONE YEMYIN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ISLAMABAD 003296 SIPDIS AID/ANE FOR: NMADHAV, RSTEELMAN AID/OFDA FOR: RTHAYER, TDOLAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PK SUBJECT: SITUATION REPORT #2 - CYCLONE YEMYIN -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: A USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) Regional Advisor (RA) visited Pakistan from July 10 through 17 to assess additional needs following Cyclone Yemyin in Pakistan. To date 362 people have died in flooding and up to 2.5 million people have been affected. In addition to the USD 390,000 provided through the AmbassadorQs Emergency Fund and OFDA to Mercy Corps for emergency response, the RA recommends that OFDA provide an additional USD 1.6 million for emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and disease surveillance in Pakistan. USAID/OFDA will continue to monitor needs of affected communities and will make further recommendations on needs for livelihoods and IDP returns. -------------- General Situation -------------- ¶2. (U) Four days of drenching rains brought on by Cyclone Yemyin that began June 26, 2007 triggered a severe weather system that caused widespread flooding in the Pakistan provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. An estimated 2.5 million people have been affected by the flooding with 362 people dead, 195 missing and over 377,000 people displaced. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA),2,855 schools, 292 health facilities and 5,197 kilometers of roads have been damaged. In Balochistan, 23 of 29 districts have been affected while in Sindh 5 of 25 districts are affected. ¶3. (U) Many of the affected areas are in arid districts where infrastructure has focused on water retention rather than water drainage. These structures have contributed to flooding problems with many damaged levees preventing a rapid recession of flood waters. This is particularly troubling as the Monsoon season is just beginning. It is estimated that some communities will need emergency assistance for up to 60 days. -------------- Health/Nutrition -------------- ¶4. (U) Thus far, UNICEF and WHO are reporting no outbreaks of epidemic disease. There are reports that skin problems and eye infections are common. The potential for diarrhea outbreaks exists due to hygiene issues and lack of potable water. The UN Health Cluster reports that there is a potential for malaria as mosquito larva mature over the next few weeks in flooded areas. Plans are being made for mosquito fogging, and the Government of Pakistan (GoP) has distributed 60,000 bed nets. Pakistan appears to have enough medicine in-country to handle medical needs. WHO is setting up a disease monitoring and warning system to locate and respond to any disease outbreaks ISLAMABAD 00003296 002 OF 004 in the flood-affected areas. ¶5. (U) NGOs report that the already poor nutritional status of the rural populations in the flood-affected areas will be further exacerbated by anything less than a robust response to food needs following the floods. (NOTE: The GoP has taken responsibility for providing and distributing food assistance and offers of support by WFP have so far not been accepted. END NOTE) -------------- Shelter -------------- ¶6. (U) Every assessment conducted thus far has listed shelter, along with water and sanitation, as the primary needs of flood affected people. IFRC estimates that a total of 167,500 houses have been damaged in Sindh and Balochistan. The GoP has distributed thousands of tents and originally had plans to distribute up to 100,000 tents. This seems to have been based on the fact that most flood affected people requested tents, but because of the extreme heat in the area at this time of the year, few people are sheltering in them. Along with the UN Shelter Cluster, the GoP is now prioritizing tarps and framing materials over tents for distribution to the flood-affected people. Most people live in self- constructed houses of mud and wood materials and should be able to rebuild their own homes once the flood waters recede. A compensation package of 15,000 Rupees (approximately USD 250) has been promised to families who have lost their houses to assist with their immediate needs, and an additional 75,000 Rupees (approximately USD 1,250) will be given to each household for the reconstruction of their home. -------------- Water/Sanitation -------------- ¶7. (U) Water and sanitation are the other main emergency need areas. People are often stranded along dykes or on high areas surrounded by water. Most water points have been inundated and many people have been drinking turbid flood water. Without proper sanitation the surrounding water will become, if it is not already, full of pathogens. A first priority of the GoP response was to get clean drinking water to people by providing bottled water and/or re-mediating tube wells and water points. ¶8. (U) Sanitation is a critical problem but cannot be solved merely by providing latrines. As was the case in the earthquake response, local people are more used to open defecation, and training/awareness raising will likely be required to persuade them to use pit latrines. There are also issues pertaining to women and their sanitation needs as discussed further under the Protection Issues section. -------------- ISLAMABAD 00003296 003 OF 004 Protection Issues -------------- ¶9. (U) Many of the flood-affected communities have very particular traditions concerning the treatment of women. It will therefore be necessary for all responders to understand these complexities in order not to put women at unnecessary risk. Nowhere is this more true that in the provision of sanitation facilities for women. All NGOs responding in the sanitation sector will need to develop a strategy for addressing protection issues for women. -------------- Government Response -------------- ¶10. (U) Initially the GOP was reluctant to accept international and NGO assistance. This delayed non- government response for several days. However, the GoP dedicated over 15,000 military personnel, 24 helicopters, and several C-130 aircraft to the relief operation. The GoP has flown over 116 C-130 sorties providing over 13,000 tons of relief items. Mobile medical teams have also been dispatched to address health needs. NDMA said that 31 relief camps are established in Dadu, and 73 in Qamber-Shahdadkot districts where a total of 56,268 patients have been treated so far. A GoP official has stated that 29,690 people are living in relief camps in Sindh and 13,000 in 20 camps in Balochistan. ¶11. (U) The GoP has allocated 1.131 billion Rupees (approximately USD 18.8 million) to compensate losses incurred by the flood-affected people near Mirani Dam, in the Kech District, Balochistan. This sum is in addition to the 300 million Rupees (approximately USD 5 million) which the Provincial Government of Balochistan has allocated to compensate the affected population. ¶12. (U) Due to the timely warning by the NDMA on June 23, following reports by the Pakistan Meteorological Office, hundreds of lives of fishermen were saved as the local and district governments prevented fishermen from proceeding to the open seas. Having provided this warning is a credit to PakistanQs fledgling disaster management system. NDMA said it is fully co- coordinating relief activities in flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan. NDMA states that all allocations are being handled through the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities, and that NDMA is only a coordinating authority. ¶13. (U) The GoP has taken on full responsibility for supplying and distributing food and has declined offers of assistance from WFP. While Pakistan certainly has the capability to respond to these needs, many in the disaster response community are concerned that food is still showing up as an urgent need in several district assessments. -------------- ISLAMABAD 00003296 004 OF 004 International Community Response -------------- ¶14. (U) Though perplexed by GoPQs initial hesitation to allow international assistance in response to Cyclone Yemyin, the UN moved rapidly once permission was granted. The Cluster System piloted by the UN during the Pakistan Earthquake response was quickly put into place and supported the development of the UN Flash Appeal. An UNDAC Team was also quickly deployed to Pakistan. The UN is to be congratulated for working with the GoP to deploy a joint rapid assessment teams made up of GoP, International Organizations, and International NGO personnel. This contributed to a more informed Flash Appeal and saved significant resources and duplication by avoiding an endless series of individual agency assessments. It will be important to make additional joint assessments to better understand the changing needs of the affected community and any gaps in assistance. ¶15. (U) While an effective tool for coordination, there are some in the donor community who question the Cluster System as a process in its ability to distinguish the most urgent emergency needs from less urgent needs. Not doing so can lead to inordinately large appeals. While donors can pick and choose which programs to fund under the Flash Appeal, as was seen in the earthquake response, the Flash Appeal can come to be seen as the single indicator of the size and robustness of the international response; although a significant portion of international funding is provided outside the Flash Appeal process. -------------- Recommendations -------------- ¶16. (U) In addition to the USD 390,000 in emergency assistance provided by the AmbassadorQs Emergency fund and USAID/OFDA to Pakistan through Mercy Corps, the Regional Advisor recommends that an additional USD 1.6 million be provided for shelter, water and sanitation, and disease surveillance. Particularly in the provision of assistance for water and sanitation, OFDA should ensure that grantees provide a protection plan for addressing womenQs needs. ¶17. (U) USAID/OFDA will continue to monitor the needs of the flood-affected population and will make further recommendations on livelihood and IDP return issues when more detailed assessments are completed. PATTERSON