U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) SOUTHERN AFRICA - Cyclone Hudah Fact Sheet #2, Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 April 6, 2000
REGRIONAL OVERVIEW - On April 2, Cyclone Hudah made landfall along the East Coast of Madagascar between Mahanoro and Mananjary. The northernmost area of Madagascar is reported to be the most affected region. The Government of Madagascar (GOM) reports 17 deaths in Antalaha district, and Cable News Network reports 100,000 people left homeless. By April 3, Cyclone Hudah exited the West Coast of Madagascar and continued in a westerly direction across the Mozambique Channel. On April 5, the cyclone stalled approximately 100 km off the coast of Mozambique, and it appears to be gaining strength. Information on the cyclone's projected track is uncertain at this time. MOZAMBIQUE - Weather: Recent U.S. Embassy/Maputo reports indicate that rains have stopped in Nampula. - Food: World Food Programme (WFP) reports that food stocks are pre-positioned in Nampula and Zambezia provinces. - Relief Operations: As of April 5, air assets being used for relief operations in Mozambique include 24 helicopters and 19 fixed-wing planes. These assets are held by AirServ, WFP, the Malawi military contingent remaining in Mozambique, and the South African defense forces. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Response: - On April 5, USAID/OFDA deployed to Maputo a 12-person team from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and four boats from the USAID/OFDA stockpile in New Windsor, Maryland. The team will train NGO partners in search and rescue techniques. In addition, USAID/OFDA is deploying a Communications Officer, Administration Officer, Logistics Officer, and Field Officer on April 5. The search and rescue team and USAID/OFDA team are scheduled to arrive in Maputo tomorrow morning. The search and rescue team will travel immediately to Beira, from where they will deploy to cyclone-affected areas. The USAID/DART has already pre-positioned a coordinator in Beira who will oversee search and rescue and relief activities. - On April 6, USAID/OFDA sent four 15-foot, eight-person capacity Zodiac boats with motors to Maputo. The boats are scheduled to arrive in Maputo on April 8 to be deployed to affected areas. The boats will be consigned to NGOs, and the NGOs will receive training from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to use in search and rescue activities. - Through its grant with Airserv, the USAID/DART has organized an aerial assessment mission of the affected areas, which will take place as soon as weather allows. - In preparation for a response to Cyclone Hudah, the U.S. Embassy, USAID Mission, and USAID/DART have been collecting information on air assets in Mozambique; current assets and projected needs of NGOs already established in the vulnerable areas; and potential actions taken in anticipation of the storm by the Government of Mozambique (GRM), other donors, NGOs, and international organizations. Local Response: - The National Institute for Disaster Management will chair a meeting today with representatives of the USG and the primary NGOs operating in the vulnerable coastal districts of Zambezia and Sofala provinces. The purpose of the meeting will be to develop a contingency plan for a coordinated response to Cyclone Hudah. - According to USAID/DART, the GOM has 60 boats on standby in Beira. International Response: - Information on donor activities and international response to date is available at www.reliefweb.int. - Major NGOs operating in Zambezia and Nampula provinces are collaborating to establish three bases of operations in Pebane, Moma, and Ongoche. MADAGASCAR - Effects of Cyclone Hudah: USAID/Antananarivo reported on April 5 that Antalaha district, with an estimated population of 60,000, was most affected by Cyclone Hudah. According to the U.S. Mission, the assessment teams (see "Local Response") estimated that homes and administrative buildings in Antalaha are 95 percent damaged, and that roofs are completely or partially ripped off the majority of buildings. The airport and port suffered structural damage, and there is no electricity, water, or means of telecommunications. However, local citizens have cleared most of the roads in town. - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization representative on the overflight (see "Local Response") estimated that the population of Antalaha and surrounding areas likely has lost all of the cashcrops, vanilla, cloves, pepper, and coffee crops. - In the Andapa Valley, which is the largest rice producing area in the northeast, most of the rice fields and homes in the low-lying areas are flooded. - The city of Maroantsetra and surrounding rice fields are completely flooded. - USAID/Antananarivo reports that virtually all of the 60,000 inhabitants of the Antalaha area appear to need immediate assistance, as do those of Maroantsetra and its surrounding communities. - Food: WFP has food pre-positioned in affected areas of the northeast and plans to mobilize to those areas helicopters already being funded by USAID/OFDA as part of the USG response to Cyclone Eline and Tropical Storm Gloria. WFP intends to use these helicopters to deliver food to communities isolated by the effects of Hudah. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Response: - A USAID/OFDA regional advisor from the Africa Regional Office was re-deployed to Madagascar on April 4 to assess the situation, and he will be joined today by a water/sanitation expert. Additional personnel will be deployed as determined necessary by the regional advisor. Local Response: - Representatives of the GOM, United Nations Development Programme, WFP, UNICEF, USAID, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and Doctors Without Borders/France participated in four overflights on April 4 to assess the sites affected by Cyclone Hudah. The GOM, through its disaster response office, is organizing rapid assessment teams. It plans to deploy those teams to the field before the end of the week to begin analysis of emergency needs. International Response: - WFP has pre-positioned food in the affected areas and plans to mobilize two helicopters already funded by USAID/OFDA to deliver food to affected areas in the northeast. The helicopters were originally funded as part of the USG response to Cyclone Leon-Eline and Tropical Storm Gloria. One of the USAID/OFDA-funded helicopters arrived in Sambava on April 4 and will begin delivering food and relief supplies to Antalaha, villages along the northeast coast, Maroantsetra, Andapa, and other remote areas. USG Assistance for Cyclone Hudah (to date) Country USG Agency Activities Funded Amount Date Mozambique USAID/OFDA Four Zodiac boats and motors and their transport from USAID/OFDA stockpile to Maputo $37,330 Apr 5 Public Donation Information - In the interest of effective coordination of public response, we encourage concerned citizens to provide monetary donations to appropriate organizations. To find out about contributions, USAID encourages the public to access its web site at www.info.usaid.gov or to contact its Humanitarian Hotline at 1-800-USAID-Relief between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The public can also directly contact those private voluntary organizations (PVOs) currently working in the region to provide monetary donations. Additionally, the public can contact InterAction, a coalition of voluntary humanitarian and development organizations that work overseas, via their web site (www.interaction.org). Those interested in providing specific technical services or commodities should contact Volunteers in Technical Assistance's (VITA) Disaster Information Center for information and guidelines at (703) 276-1914. distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Southern Africa Floods: http://www.vita.org/safflud.htm