Uganda: Govt to Cost Flood Impact
East African Business Week (Kampala)
24 September 2007David Mugabe
Kampala
Despite the devastating effects of the recent torrential floods in parts of Uganda, the Ugandan government has made no official estimates of the economic costs.
Uganda's state minister for disaster preparedness, Mr. Musa Ecweru told East African Business Week last Thursday that it was still difficult to estimate the economic cost of the damage.
UNICEF IS RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN THE AREAS OF HEALTH AND NUTRITION, WATER AND SANITATION, EDUCATION AND CHILD PROTECTION
- Heavy floods and landslides in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan have affected millions of children and their families.
- Thousands of villages have been marooned, leaving millions of people displaced.
- While flood waters have begun to recede, the threat from hunger, disease and malnutrition continues for the affected populations.
- UNICEF’s biggest priority is to prevent serious disease outbreaks and to protect the health and nutritional status of women and children. UNICEF also focuses on getting children back to school.
Special Weather Bulletin; Report on Cyclone Speculated Districts; Flood, Rainfall and River Situation; Summary of Water Levels; Flood Forecast (24 & 48 Hrs); Weather Forecast and District Wise Flood Status
Current Situation: Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Mongla have been advised to hoist local cautionary signal no. three (r) three. All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice. Overall flood situation of the country continued in improving trend and will continue. The Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Ganges–Padma continued falling and will fall further. Flood situation in the South-central part of the country is likely to improve further and will continue. All small rivers surrounding Dhaka district are receding and the trend will continue. The prevailing flood situation in the districts of Sylhet & Sunamganj is improving slowly and is likely to improve further.
SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN (on September 23, 2007 at 0830 BST)
THE ORISSA COAST CROSSING MONSOON DEEP DEPRESSION CROSSED ORISSA COAST OF INDIA NEAR PARADWIP BY EARLY MORNING TODAY (23 SEPTEMBER 2007) AND NOW LIES OVER ORISSA AND ADJOINING AREA AS A LAND DEPRESSION. IT IS LIKELY MOVE IN A NORTH-NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION FURTHER INLAND AND WEAKEN GRADUALLY BY GIVING PRECIPITATION. UNDER ITS INFLUENCE STEEP PRESSURE GRADIENT PERSISTS OVER NORTH BAY. SQUALLY WEATHER MAY AFFECT THE MARITIME PORTS.
MARITIME PORTS OF CHITTAGONG, COX'S BAZAR AND MONGLA HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO LOWER LOCAL WARNING SIGNAL NUMBER FOUR (R) FOUR BUT INSTEAD HOIST LOCAL CAUTIONARY SIGNAL NUMBER THREE (R) THREE.
ALL FISHING BOATS AND TRAWLERS OVER NORTH BAY HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO REMAIN IN SHELTER TILL FURTHER NOTICE.
[NO FURTHER SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN WILL BE ISSUED IN THIS SERIES]
BANGALORE: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Union Minister of State for Home Radhika Selvi will review on Sunday the damage caused by rain and floods in north Karnataka.
Chief Secretary Prahalad B. Mahishi and Principal Secretary (Revenue) S.M. Jamadar told presspersons here on Saturday that Ms. Selvi would leave Bangalore in the morning for Hubli by air and conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas.
Bangalore, Sept. 22 (PTI): A Central study team headed by Union Minister of State for Home Radhika Selvi will undertake an aerial survey of flood-hit areas of Karnataka on September 26, a senior official said on Friday.
Selvi will be accompanied by a team of officials from the Centre and state government, state revenue department secretary C N Seetharam told PTI.
Nature and Location: Monsoon floods across India including Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Bihar
Headlines
- To date, Save the Children has reached approximately 16,802 children in the emergency flood response:
Food Assistance: An initial one-month complementary food package has been distributed to 6,677 children, pregnant and lactating mothers and elderly people.
Health: 6464 patients, including 2500 children, have received medical attention in temporary health camps and through our cholera response.
Water and Sanitation: Approximately 5125 children have benefited through distribution of sanitation materials and oral rehydration salts and repairs to 20 community tube wells
Shelter: 2,500 families, including 5,000 children, have received tarpaulins for temporary shelter.
Education and Protection: 3,300 children have received educational kits and support in returning to school.
- The second and third rounds of flooding in Assam have drastically widened the geographic coverage of the disaster. Given the well-established poverty of the rural population and particularly the marginalised communities in Assam most of the affected population will not have the means to cope on their own until normal livelihoods are re-established.
Flood, Rainfall and River Situation; Summary of Water Levels; Flood Forecast (24 & 48 Hrs); Weather Forecast, Districts wise flood status.
Current Situation: Monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and moderate elsewhere over North Bay. The mighty Brahmaputra-Jamuna has started falling at Noonkhawa, Chilmari & Bahadurabad and the river is expected to record fall at Serajganj and Aricha from evening today and the falling trend will continue. The Ganges-Padma continued rising and is likely to rise further at a lower rate. The flood situation in the South-central part of the country is deteriorating and is likely to continue The prevailing flood situation in the districts of Sylhet & Sunamganj has started improving and will continue
FLOOD, RAINFALL AND RIVER SITUATION SUMMARY (as on September 14, 2007)
Flood Outlook
- The mighty Brahmaputra-Jamuna has started falling at Noonkhawa, Chilmari & Bahadurabad and the river is expected to record fall at Serajganj and Aricha from evening today and the falling trend will continue in the next 24-96hrs.
- Indian meteorological department forecast: A low pressure area has formed over north-west Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of West Bengal & north Orissa. Under its influence, fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely to occur over north Orissa (will not affect Bangladesh flood) and West Bengal & Sikkim (little effect) during next 3 days.
Frequency: As required Reporting Period: 6 – 13 September
Nature and Location: Monsoon floods across India including Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Bihar
Headlines
To date, Save the Children has reached approximately 13,500 children in the emergency flood response:
- Food Assistance: An initial one-month complementary food package has been distributed to 4569 children, pregnant and lactating mothers and elderly people.
- Health: 6464 patients, including 2500 children, have received medical attention in temporary health camps and through our cholera response.
- Water and Sanitation: Approximately 4500 children have benefited through distribution of sanitation materials and oral rehydration salts and repairs to 20 community tube wells
- Shelter: 2,500 families, including 5,000 children, have received tarpaulins for temporary shelter.
- Education and Protection: 3,300 children have received educational kits and support in returning to school.
India’s Brahmaputra River was already flooded in early August (bottom image), but those floods turned out to be small compared to the floods that hit the river in early September (top). The river flooded for the third time in 2007 when monsoon rain pounded northeastern India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh in September, reported the BBC on September 11. As these images illustrate, the September floods were the worst of the year, forcing the Indian government to evacuate some 800,000 people from the banks of the river. An additional 500,000 people were evacuated downstream in Bangladesh. The floods damaged crops that had been replanted after the August floods, said the BBC.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured these images of the swollen river. Both images were made with a combination of infrared and visible light, which makes water appear black or dark blue. Plant-covered land is bright green, and clouds are turquoise and white. In the top image, taken on September 12, the Brahmaputra is more than 25 kilometers wide in places. The braided channels of the river disappeared as water levels rose enough to blend the channels into a single wide, blue ribbon. Tributaries flowing in from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan are also swollen. The water is a dusty blue color compared to the dark blue color seen in early August. The lighter shade of blue indicates that the water is thick with sediment, a common sign of recent flooding.
MODIS captured the lower image on August 5, 2007, during the year’s second round of flooding on the Brahmaputra. The river is wider than it had been during the dry season, but it is much smaller than it would become a month later.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC, which provides daily images of India and Bangladesh.
The Federation’s mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world’s largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in 185 countries.
In Brief
Period covered by this update: 9 August to 9 September 2007.
History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:
- CHF 250,000 (USD 207,641 or EUR 151,515) allocated from the Federation’s DREF on 9 August 2007 to respond to the needs of this operation, and to replenish disaster preparedness stocks distributed to the affected population.
- This operation is expected to be implemented for three months, and will be completed by 9 November 2007; a DREF Bulletin Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 8 February 2008). Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.
Programme summary: To date, 2,577 people have lost their lives and an estimated 47 million people1 have been affected by the ongoing floods. New flooding was reported in Orissa in the second week of August, with 13 districts affected by riverine or flash floods. Flash floods in four districts have given rise to grave health risks including cholera, chikungunya and diarrhea.
The cholera outbreak in Orissa has been quite serious, with up to 83 people having lost their lives to the disease. The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) dispatched a joint assessment team including Federation technical staff to assess the flood situation and health emergency in Orissa. The cholera outbreak was a result of tribes’ traditional practices concerning food and water, leading to contamination. IRCS has been actively distributing relief items since the start of the floods, providing for the daily needs of disaster hit families.
Nature and Location: Monsoon floods across India including Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Bihar
Headlines
- To date, Save the Children has reached approximately 8,250 children (note correction from last week) in its emergency flood response:
Health: 6203 patients, including 2404 children, have received medical attention in temporary health camps.
Water and Sanitation: Approximately 3250 children have benefited through distribution of sanitation materials and oral rehydration salts and repairs to 16 community tube wells.
Shelter: 2,500 families, including 5,000 children, have received tarpaulins for temporary shelter.
Education and Protection: 3,300 children have received educational kits and have received support in returning to school.
- We are now operational in Bihar. A team of three staff is in place. Two local implementing partners in Sitamarhi and Khagaria Districts have been engaged. We aim to reach 4000 households, including 10,000 children with hygiene kits, temporary shelter and food assistance, and child protection systems.
- In the last week rains have started again in Assam and some people have been forced to return to makeshift camps on the roadside.
1. General Situation Update
Gradually the flood situation in Balasore, Jajpur and Kendrapda districts of Orissa has been improving. However, many villages of Bhograi block of Balsore are still marooned by the water. Multiple breaches in the roads and the high current of water hindered the pace of the relief operation in Balasore District. Hundreds of thatched houses have collapsed during renewed rainfall and wind during the last three weeks. This has lead to a further demand for tarpaulins among the communities. Bhograi block, which is politically sensitive with fractions within the political party, has seen some tensions during the distribution process. However, the field volunteers have tackled these challenges through participatory processes with the community.
In the South-Western districts of Orissa the death figure has reached to 93 due to a cholera and diarrhea that includes 49 persons from Kashipur block of Rayagada district, 34 from Dasmantapur block of Koraput, 6 from Rampur block of Kalahandi and many more people have admitted in the hospitals.
Name of State/UT | Population affected | No. of lives lost | No. of villages affected | No. of livestock lost | Cropped area affected (Ha) | No of houses damaged | |
Fully | Partially | ||||||
Assam | 6,848,000 | 50 | 6,018 | - | 360,000 | 12,325 | - |
Bihar | 2,104,000 | 611 | 10,296 | 617 | 1,713,000 | 264,840 | 326,285 |
Orissa | 1,687,000 | 33 | 1,865 | 19,501 | 160,000 | 9,353 | 18,457 |
West Bengal | 6,960,000 | 222 | 3,837 | 4,033 | 2,213,152 | 152,276 | 244,700 |
RAINFALL SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY (during last 24 hours)
Loss of Human lives
- As per provisional information received from the affected States, 09 human deaths have been reported during the last 24 hrs. The cumulative number of people who lost their lives during the South West Monsoon so far is 2374.
IMD
- Yesterday’s low pressure area over west-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal & coastal areas of north Andhra Pradesh persists. Under its influence, widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely over Coastal Andhra Pradesh till tomorrow and decrease thereafter. Fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls also likely to commence over Orissa and Chhattisgarh from tomorrow onwards.
- The current meteorological analysis suggests that fairly widespread rainfall with scattered heavy to very heavy fall likely over northeastern States during next 3-4 days.
- In association with an off-shore trough widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely along the West coast during next 3 days.
- The axis of the monsoon trough passes through Anupgarh, Churu, Gwalior, Satna, Champa Titlagarh, centre of low pressure area and thence south east into west central Bay of Bengal.
CWC
There are 21 Moderate and 20 Low flood situation sites.
Introduction
Several parts of India are still submerged following severe flooding, which has left 1,752 people dead and over 31 million displaced. From mid-June to mid-July, 30-50% of the annual rainfall fell in just 30 days, and resulted in the worst flooding in recent memory.
Many areas previously affected by June flooding are facing severe flooding once again. The floods have destroyed homes, damaged infrastructures and ruined crops across 2.1 million hectares of land.
According to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, 68,160 livestock have perished and 592,427 houses have been damaged, of which 131,754 were completely destroyed. Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the worst affected in terms of loss of life and property in the last two weeks.
Regional Updates
Bihar
There has been no letup in the Bihar flood situation with the major rivers of the state flowing above the danger level including the Ganga, Punpun, Gandak, Bagmati, Adhvara, Koshi and Mahananda according to the Central Water Commission. Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters are distributing relief materials in the flood-hit areas.
The floods so far have claimed 325 human lives in Bihar and caused large scale damage to crops and private property in 20 districts due to devastating floods since the first week of August.
According to government reports, nearly 16 million people in 7,972 villages in 210 blocks of the 20 districts were badly hit by the floods. It has been estimated that 1.19 million hectares of crop area have been damaged with an estimated value of damaged crops of Rs 26.307 million. The figure for damaged houses comes to 159,541 and is estimated to be worth about Rs 2,710 million.
Over 1,100 relief camps, 456 medical camps and 266 cattle camps continued to function round the clock in the flood hit districts.
Assam
With the floodwaters receding, the situation is improving in Assam, as thousands of people have started returning to their homes. The death toll in the current wave of floods has gone up to 23 as confirmed by government sources. It is reported that most of the villages were affected due to breaches in embankments. Though the flood level this year was lower than 2004, government reports have said that the damage caused would cost huge revenue losses.
According to government estimates, around 26,000 hectares of crops have been affected. About 107,256 people have taken shelter in different relief camps.
The recent floods have affected 26 districts and 5,931 villages. The worst affected districts are reported to be Dhemagi (397 villages), Dibrugarh (148 villages), Nalbari (112 villages), Dhubri (297 villages), Goalpara (153 villages), Kamrup (209 villages), Bongaigaon (207 villages), Morigaon (350 villages), Jorhat (715 villages), Naogaon (69 villages), Sibsagar (57 villages), Darang (56 villages) and Sonitpur (11 villages).
Damage has been reported to 69 embankments, 968 roads and 539 semi-permanent timber bridges. Land erosion continued in the districts of Barpeta, Nalbari, Bangaigaon and Dhubri and waterlogging persisted in the lowland areas of the affected districts. A health alert was also issued in the northeastern state to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases.
West Bengal
Although there are signs of some improvement, the situations in Keshpur, Ghatal and Sabang are alarming as the rivers of Kangshabati, Keleghai and Kapaleswari are still flowing above the danger level. New areas have become flooded. The villages have become like islands and the marooned people cannot even come to collect the relief materials. Thousands of people have taken shelter in relief camps situated on the embankments and are suffering from huge food crisis.
According to government information, 4.7 million people were affected in the recent floods and more than 70,000 people have taken shelter in 450 relief camps across south Bengal. About 33,000 people so far have been rescued and sheltered in 140 relief camps. If rain continues, another 100,000 people would need to be rescued immediately reports the District Magistrate.
All the major rivers including the Kansabati, Silabati, Kasai, Subarnarekha, Jhumi, Keleghai, Kapaleswari and Chandi are flowing above the danger level.
The worst affected areas are Keshpur, Midnapore, Kharagpur, Debra, Ghatal, Sabang, Datan and Narayangarh. As per the District Magistrate’s report, 13 speedboats and 200 country boats have been put into service to rescue people. The district administration has sought 20 more speedboats and additional country boats from the state government.
In West Midnapore district, the Army and Air Force were called on to help rescue about 7,000 marooned people in different areas in the district as the flood situation worsened, affecting over one million people.
Orissa
In Balasore district of Orissa, there is still incessant rain and all the villages are cut off from the main road. The people have become tired of facing repeated floods for the last 40 days. They have never faced a flood situation like this in 50 years. Stored food grains have been damaged and all standing crops have been destroyed.
There is a severe food crisis and there are no livelihood opportunities for people with sand covering the paddy fields. Our relief team reported from Balasore district that most of the main roads are submerged under 4-5 feet of water. Most people in Basta and Baliapal blocks have lost their houses.
Due to continuous rain, major rivers like Baitarani, Brahmani, Kharasrota and Birupa are flowing above the danger level, resulting in flooding of Jajpur and Kendrapara districts. Reports from the field indicate that two major roads are cut off: one from Pattamunda to Aul near Patrapur and another at Bhariagada in the Rajkanika block. This is creating severe impediments to transportation. The floods in Kendrapara and Jajpur have affected 42 and 47 Gram Panchayats respectively in 11 Blocks of the two districts.
Uttar Pradesh
The rivers started receding from most of the affected districts. About 2,201 villages in 22 districts with a population of 1.71 million have been affected. The worst affected districts are Gorakhpur, Shravasti, Bhraich, Maharajgunj, Boirampur, Basti, Gonda, Mau, Balia, Azamgarh and Barabanki.
LWSI Response
The crisis phase operation is moving smoothly in Orissa and West Bengal with active cooperation and support from respective state/district/block administrations, local NGOs and the affected communities. Recently, LWSI representatives attended the Inter Agency Group meeting at Patna, Bihar, to assess the overall situation in the state.
LWSI has completed the first phase of relief operation at Sabang block of West Midnapore district in West Bengal, covering more than 2,500 families in 13 of the worst affected villages.
In Balasore, Orissa, LWSI has assisted 4,510 families out of the 5,000 targeted families and relief operations are expected to be completed within the next week. Terrible road conditions combined with continuous rains and floods cut off both our operational camps and caused severe hardships to LWSI staff in the process of relief distribution. However, the people are very happy with the quality of LWSI relief materials and the systematic method for determining deserving families. Distribution is being done without any political influence or consideration of caste, creed, etc.
The following items were provided in Balasore and West Midnapore: polythene sheets mosquito nets, bleaching powder, lime, water purification (halogen) tablets, bed sheets, high protein biscuits, men’s wear, women’s wear and children’s garments for boys and girls.
In Assam, LWSI has conducted a rapid assessment in Udalguri and Barpeta districts. Another assessment team was sent from the Assam Riot Victims’ Rehabilitation & Development Project to the Sonitpur district.
In Bihar, LWSI planned to cover 3500 families in East Champaran district. All necessary arrangements have been made to send the emergency response team to carry out the work from the 1st week of September 2007.
As per IMD report, yesterday's well marked low pressure area over Jharkhand and adjoining areas of north Orissa & Gangetic West Bengal now lies over north Chhattisgarh and neighbouring areas. Under its influence, widespread rainfall is likely over Chhattisgarh during next 24 hours and over Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha during next 48 hours. Fairly widespread rainfall is also likely over north Madhya Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan during 21st to 23rd August. Also an off-shore trough running from Konkan coast to Karnataka coast is likely to cause rainfall over Konkan & Goa and Coastal Karnataka during next 2-3 days (22nd23rdAugust).
RAINFALL SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY
ORISSA
- Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been reported in the State during last 24 hours.
- Due to heavy rainfall in Sundargarh and Sambalbar, several low lying areas have been submerged under water.
- In Sundargarh district, a bridge situated in Goghar under Rajgangpur sub-division has collapsed. 05 persons are reported to be missing.
- About 20 families have been shifted from the low lying areas in above districts to the safer places.
- Orissa Disaster Rapid Force (ODRF) has also been deployed in above two districts for rescue and relief operations.
- Traffic movement/train services have also been affected in the above districts
Full Story
21 Aug, 2007, 1920 hrs IST,
BALASORE: Subarnarekha river, which was flowing at 10.83 metre against the danger level of 10.36 metre at Rajghat is expected to cross 11.5 metre mark by Tuesday. River Jalaka was flowing at 6.72 metres against the red mark of 5.5 metre at NH-60 and rising. Budhabalanga was also rising but was still below the danger level.
Flood waters have inundated hundreds of villages in all north Balasore blocks, said Emergency Officer Bhagaban Behera. Only the BDOs of Bhograi and Sadar blocks have submitted reports on the situation. While 2.54 lakh people in 354 villages under 32 GPs of Bhograi have been affected the figure in 142 villages under 15 GPs of Sadar block stood at 1.12 lakh , Behera added.
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In the eastern Indian state of Bihar -- one of the worst hit -- the Ganges and other rivers surged above the danger mark, a government statement said, adding that efforts to distribute food and drinking water had been affected.
More than 1,900 people have died in India from the annual monsoon rain floods since June and millions have been displaced, the statement said.
In neighbouring Bangladesh, where millions have also been affected, 10 more people died in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 690.
Another 123 people have died in Nepal, where aid officials say nearly 485,000 people were affected in the southern low-land areas of the nation.
