USAID/DART GEORGIA COMPLEX EMERGENCY SITUATION REPORT #1

UNCLAS TBILISI 001405


DEPT FOR EUR, S/CRS, PRM
DEPT PLS PASS TO USAID
USAID/W FOR A/AID HFORE; USAID/EE FOR ABREWER, RMAUSHAMMER;
USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS
DCHA/OFDA FOR KLUU, ACONVERY, DHAJJAR, MMICHAUD, GEORGIA COMPLEX
EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM
DCHA/FFP FOR RGRANT; DCHA/OTI FOR RJENKINS
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NSC FOR PMARCHAM
BRUSSELS FOR JADDLETON
NEW YORK FOR FSHANKS
ROME FOR RNEWBERG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PHUM PREF SOCI GG
SUBJECT: USAID/DART GEORGIA COMPLEX EMERGENCY SITUATION REPORT #1

REF: TBILISI 1356; STATE 85957
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SUMMARY
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1. In early August, heightened tension led to armed conflict
involving Georgian and Russian armed forces and a South Ossetian
separatist group, affecting populations along the Georgia-Russia
border and areas within Georgia, including South Ossetia, parts of
Abkhazia, and the town of Gori. While clashes between the parties
have largely ceased since an August 12 ceasefire, tensions remain
high in South Ossetia Region, Abkhazia, in and around Gori town in
Shida Kartli Region, and in Poti port. The fighting displaced more
than 128,000 civilians and reportedly led to the deaths of hundreds
of people.


2. In response to the crisis, USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign
Disaster Assistance deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team
(USAID/DART) to Tbilisi, Georgia, to conduct humanitarian needs
assessments and coordinate with the Government of Georgia (GOG) and
relief agencies.


3. The USAID/DART notes that limits on access to all affected
populations, including in South Ossetia Region, present challenges
for humanitarian service delivery and needs prioritization. In
addition, the proliferation of centers for internally displaced
persons (IDPs) presents challenges for coordination of the response.
The USAID/DART continues to work with relief agencies and U.S.
Government agencies in Georgia to provide needed assistance to
conflict-affected populations. End summary.

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NUMBER OF IDPS
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4. According to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR),the conflict in Georgia has displaced an estimated
128,700 individuals in Georgia, and the Government of the Russian
Federation (GORF) reports that approximately 30,000 individuals were
displaced from South Ossetia into Russia during the clashes.


5. On August 19, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that approximately 100,000
pre-existing internally displaced persons (IDPs) were living in more
than 1,600 collective centers before conflict erupted in August and
provided estimates that more than 550 IDP centers have opened in
Tbilisi alone since the crisis began.

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SECURITY AND HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
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6. As of August 19, international media report no significant signs
of Russian troops withdrawing from Georgia, despite an agreement to
pull back to pre-conflict areas beginning August 18. The security
situation remains tense, particularly in South Ossetia, Gori, and
Abkahzia. Humanitarian agencies remain unable to access South
Ossetia Region, where much of the fighting occurred. According to
OCHA, no humanitarian agencies have undertaken a full assessment
mission or assistance operations in South Ossetia to date, with
access remaining sporadic.


7. As security has improved in Gori, multiple relief agencies have
made preliminary damage assessments of Gori town and surrounding
areas. Despite media reports that Gori sustained critical damage to
most or all dwellings, the assessments indicate that 10 to 15
residential buildings in Gori town that previously housed 300-500
individuals are heavily damaged, and approximately 30 percent of
houses in Gori town sustained window damage.


8. In Gori Region, a non-governmental organization (NGO) assessment
team reported that at least 15 to 20 percent of homes are damaged
and 2 to 3 percent are completely destroyed, affecting 2,000-10,000
households. Community members in shelters for displaced persons are
reluctant to return to communities in the near future but have
considered the possibility of returning to Gori town.


9. Although a damaged rail line between Gori and Tbilisi has
temporarily halted rail transit, humanitarian travel is beginning to
flow on the major east-west highway across the country, allowing the
distribution of humanitarian relief to Gori and as far west as Poti,
along the Black Sea. The USAID/DART notes the need for unimpeded
access to affected populations, as full humanitarian assessments are
necessary for prioritization of assistance. The USAID/DART is
working with NGO and U.N. partners to facilitate information-sharing
regarding planned assessments and humanitarian needs.

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FOOD AID
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10. As of August 18, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) had reached
114,500 beneficiaries in Georgia. WFP is providing IDPs with wheat
flour, vegetable oil, beans, salt, sugar, high-energy biscuits, and
baked bread. Since access to cooking facilities remains a challenge
for IDP populations in some urban IDP collection centers, the U.S.
Government (USG) has provided ready-to-eat food (RUF) and
high-energy biscuits to IDP populations in the Tbilisi and Gori
areas. U.S. European Command (EUCOM) flights of USG
meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) and humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) are
ongoing.


11. According to WFP, regular humanitarian convoys into Gori and
surrounding villages began on August 18, with a consignment of 2,500
10-day rations, including wheat flour, oil, and sugar, to the
village of Arteni, south of Gori, where an estimated 10,000 former
Gori inhabitants have reportedly taken refuge.


12. On August 19, WFP moved its first convoy since the start of the
crisis from the port of Poti to Tbilisi. The convoy consisted of 11
trucks transporting 220 metric tons (MT) of wheat flour. The
establishment of the route provides a critical pipeline of
commodities, including food aid, toward eastern Georgia following
the destruction of the rail line linking the Black Sea and eastern
Georgia.

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HEALTH
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13. USAID/Georgia and USAID/DART staff note that the proliferation
of IDP collective centers, with numerous people living in close
proximity, could pose future health risks. USAID/Georgia has
provided $62,944 to World Vision/Georgia to provide health
activities in six IDP collective centers in Tbilisi. The health
activities, which will be staffed by one nurse and one psychologist,
will provide basic medical and psycho-social support to residents of
the six centers on a daily basis.

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USG RESPONSE TO DATE
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14. The USG has provided more than USD 8.2 million to date in
response to the crisis. On August 9, U.S. Ambassador John F. Tefft
declared a disaster due to the effects of armed conflict in Georgia,
and USAID/OFDA provided an initial USD 250,000 through the U.S.
Embassy in Tbilisi for the provision of emergency relief supplies to
benefit up to 10,000 people. In addition, USAID/OFDA, in
coordination with USAID's Office of Food for Peace, provided USD 1
million to WFP for local procurement of more than 650 MT of
emergency food commodities, including high-energy biscuits, for
displaced people who lack access to cooking facilities.
Distributions of WFP food in Gori began on August 15.


15. U.S. Embassy Tbilisi has released Department of State
pre-positioned disaster packages including medical supplies, tents,
blankets, bedding, hygiene items, and clothing valued at USD 1.2
million. As of August 19, EUCOM had delivered 15 flights of USG
relief and medical supplies to Tbilisi to benefit populations
affected by the conflict. The total value of EUCOM's assistance,
including DOD emergency relief supplies, is more than USD 3.8
million.


16. USAID/OFDA continues to work closely with USAID/Georgia, the
U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy Tbilisi, Department of
Defense, and humanitarian agencies on the ground to coordinate
relief activities.

TEFFT