BURMA CYCLONE: USAID/OFDA SITUATION REPORT #33

UNCLAS RANGOON 000526 AIDAC DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, PRM, DRL STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID AID/W FOR DCHA/FFP AND DCHA/OTI AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA KLUU, ACONVERY, RTHAYER BANGKOK FOR DCHA/OFDA WBERGER AND TROGERS KATHMANDU FOR DCHA/OFDA SMCINTYRE AND MROGERS USMISSION GENEVA FOR NKYLOH USMISSION USUN FOR FSHANKS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SENV KSCA TBIO VM EAGR PREF SUBJECT: BURMA CYCLONE: USAID/OFDA SITUATION REPORT #33 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),initial analysis of the preliminary village tract assessment (VTA) data suggests that widespread destruction was caused by strong wind combined with storm surge and excessive rainfall, faulty early warning systems, and inadequate village disaster response plans. On June 26, the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) logistics officer traveled with the head of the logistics cluster to observe the distribution of relief commodities by helicopter, as well as warehousing operations at the logistics hub in Bogale township. On June 25, the Government of Burma (GOB) granted the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) approval to resume a cash transfer program in nine townships in Rangoon Division. The nutrition cluster noted that the preliminary results from the VTA appear in line with the results of rapid nutrition assessments. End Summary. -------------- HUMANITARIAN SITUATION -------------- ¶2. According to OCHA, initial analysis of the preliminary VTA data suggests that widespread destruction was caused by strong wind combined with storm surge and excessive rainfall, faulty early warning systems, and inadequate village disaster response plans. The preliminary VTA data indicates that in the aftermath of the cyclone, the number of people reporting agriculture as a main source of income declined from 34 percent to 22 percent, while individuals reporting fishing as the main source of income declined from 16 percent to 8 percent. The assessment found that coping mechanisms were under strain, with 79 percent of respondents reporting a lack of access to credit, reducing capacity to restart livelihoods without some form of external assistance. ¶3. Initial assessment data also indicates that 72 percent of schools and educational facilities, 57 percent of religious institutions, and 23 percent of health facilities need rehabilitation in the areas surveyed. The Tripartite Core Group (TCG) indicated that the findings were based on only 60 percent of the household data collected and 50 percent of the key informant interview data. The results may shift once the full dataset is available. ¶4. The GOB New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that the GOB Port Authority has repaired six jetties along Rangoon River, while removing two other heavily damaged jetties. The repairs should enable a better flow of vessels transporting commodities between Rangoon and the Irrawaddy Delta or other regions. ¶5. On June 26, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) traveled by helicopter to visit Bogale township, Set San village and Kyein Chaung Gyi village in the Irrawaddy Delta. In Bogale, the ASEAN Secretary-General was briefed on cyclone damage and recovery efforts, and visited a school, hospital, and temporary shelters. -------------- USAID/OFDA LOGISTICS ASSESSMENT -------------- ¶6. On June 26, the USAID/OFDA logistics officer traveled with the head of the logistics cluster to observe the distribution of relief commodities by helicopter as well as warehousing operations at the logistics hub in Bogale township. The logistics cluster helicopter operations do not have refueling capability at the respective logistics hubs and are therefore limited to the number of flights, or rotations, that the helicopters can perform before returning to Rangoon. The flights from the hubs are limited to 2 metric tons (MT) of cargo per flight, and can offload in less than three minutes. ¶7. The WFP Bogale logistics cluster warehouses are pre-positioned temporary structures for use by the humanitarian community. The food warehouse is a permanent structure located on the river about 300 meters from the helicopter landing pad. Off-loading of food aid from the WFP-contracted barge was ongoing at the time of the assessment. Food aid was being repositioned both to the WFP warehouse in preparation for helicopter distribution and directly to smaller boats for surface transport. All operations appeared to be well coordinated and on schedule. ¶8. Neither the USAID/OFDA logistics officer nor the logistics cluster head were approached by GOB authorities requesting to see travel permission. -------------- VTA METHODOLOGY AND CHALLANGES -------------- ¶9. The TCG reported that the VTA was designed to provide results spatially, via a grid of assessment quadrants overlaying the 30 cyclone-affected townships. The VTA teams selected the nearest village to the center of each quadrant for an initial assessment. The teams then surveyed a minimum of two nearby villages. The VTA reportedly surveyed approximately 5 percent of the 6,000 villages in 1,300 village tracts in the 30 affected townships. The VTA teams also compiled population data throughout the assessment. ¶10. The TCG noted three challenges for the assessment at the June 24 presentation. VTA teams reported logistical challenges in traveling to some of the identified villages, which were magnified by the short timeframe for the assessment. Limited time for initial training also led to some observed inconsistencies in the interpretation of VTA questions by the assessment teams, leading to possible biases in the responses. Certain questions in the VTA questionnaire were poorly structured, resulting in low response rates or subjective answers to the questions. -------------- FOOD ASSISTANCE -------------- ¶11. The food cluster actively participated in analyzing food security-related data for the VTA component of the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment. The preliminary results from the VTA indicated that the cyclone destroyed 42 percent of all food stocks in areas surveyed, while partially destroying an additional 11 percent. VTA assessment teams found that approximately 56 percent of households interviewed obtained food from the markets, while approximately 45 percent received food through humanitarian distributions. In collaboration with cooperating partners, the WFP is planning to conduct a market assessment survey on June 27, covering 35 markets across 21 townships in the Irrawaddy Delta. WFP will regularly monitor rice prices following the assessment. ¶12. As of June 26, the food cluster has delivered 17,993 MT of food assistance to affected areas, of which 9,198 MT has been distributed. The food cluster noted the receipt of approximately 1,670 MT of vegetable oil supplied by USAID's Office of Food for Peace, which arrived in Rangoon on June 23 and is currently moving through the logistics pipeline. The food cluster has reached approximately 729,000 beneficiaries with food and cash assistance as of June 26. The cluster has provided food assistance to approximately 684,000 beneficiaries in the Irrawaddy Division, and provided cash transfers to 45,000 beneficiaries in Rangoon Division, where markets are functioning and food is available. ¶13. On June 25, the GOB granted WFP approval to resume a cash transfer program in nine townships in Rangoon Division. In collaboration with four NGO partners, WFP is targeting a total 200,000 beneficiaries through the program, with a total allocation of USD 2.7 million. Cash transfer activities resumed on June 26, and WFP will accompany NGO partners to each township to explain modalities of the cash distribution to local authorities. ¶14. The food cluster reported that the prohibition of local rice purchases makes regional procurement a priority. The cluster is continuing efforts to import rice from Thailand and India to avoid a pipeline break. Planning for the local production of rice-based blended food for young children is also ongoing. The cluster noted that frequent population movements present a continuing challenge when targeting food assistance. -------------- NUTRITION -------------- ¶15. On June 26, the nutrition cluster meeting focused on better coordination and mapping at the sub-township level, as there have been instances of overlap and duplication in programming. The cluster noted that the preliminary results from the VTA appear in line with the results of rapid nutrition assessments. ¶16. Nutrition cluster representatives presented the GOB deputy health minister with an overview of the cluster's objectives, achievements, and challenges to date. The cluster noted continued strong coordination with the GOB Ministry of Health (MOH). The GOB MOH has established four hospital-based therapeutic feeding units in collaboration with the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF). UNICEF has also provided more than 200 MT of ready-to-use therapeutic food to partners, which are implementing supplementary and therapeutic feeding programs in affected areas. VILLAROSA