OCHA Situation Report No. 3 Bangladesh - Floods 11 October 2000
The present report is based on the UN Inter-Agency Needs Assessment report presented, discussed and finalised at the UNDMT meeting which took place in Dhaka on 9 October. The information was gathered by personnel from WFP, UNDP and UNICEF. Situation 1. Further to heavy rainfall in West Bangal and water flow from the upper catchment areas of India, flood waters entered Bangladesh through Meherpur district on 22 September 2000. Flood waters spread to Chuadanga district on 23 September, to Jhenidah district on 24 September, to Jessore district on 26 and to Satkhira district on 28 September. From 18 to 23 September, heavy rainfall pounded south-western Bangladesh, aggravating the situation still further and flooding the district of Kushtia. The district of Magura was flooded on 2 October as a result of an outflow of water from Jhenidah district. The affected areas have not experienced flooding for the last 60 years and thus the population and local administration are not used to coping with floods. 2. Water levels are slowly receding in most of the affected areas of Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenidah and Jessore districts, but downstream in Satkhira district waters continue to rise. Several key embankments have been breached in Satkhira, exposing marooned villagers to rushing waters. Floodwaters are not expected to disappear for another 10 to 15 days. Impact 3. The affected population can be divided into two categories; those remaining in flooded areas and those who have sought refuge in shelters established by the local community, private individuals, the local administration and NGOs. 4. A few deaths have been reported. A total of more than 2 million people are believed to have been affected by the floods in the six affected districts as follows: Name of Total Total Affected Affected district area population area population sq km) Meherpur 620 498,189 403 (65%) 250,000 (50%) Chuadanga 1,170 920,000 702 (60%) 400,000 (43%) Jhenidah 1,189 1,393,674 428 (36%) 200,000 (14%) Jessore 2,594 1,858,106 603 (23%) 552,813 (30%) Kushtia 1,672 1,501,126 403 (24%) 250,000 (17%) Satkhira 3,858** 1,597,178 700 (18%) 357,000 (22%) Total 11,103 7,768,273 3,239 2,009,813 ** The affected area and population in Satkhira is expected to rise as new areas are flooded by the escaping waters. 5. 41 shelters have been set up the the district of Meherpur, 52 in Chuadanga, 94 in Jhenidah, 222 in Jessore, 1 in Kushtia and 280 in Shatkhira. The upazilas (sub-districts) which have experienced the worst damages are Mujibnagar and Gangni in Meherpur district, Jibonnagar and Damurhuda in Chuadanga, Maheshpur in Jhendiha, Sharsha and Jhikargacha in Jessore, and Sadar, Kalaroa, Tala and Debhata in Shatkhira. 6. Very few boats were available locally for relief and rescue operations, since major rivers in the area are rare. This shortage of vessels has in part been offset by the use of army and navy boats, and by the arrival of boats from neighbouring districts, but these still fall short of requirements. As floodwaters begin to recede the use of boats will be restricted and possibilities for transport will be further curtailed. It is therefore essential that relief supplies be delivered to affected areas before communications become more difficult. 7. The mission observed that the roads in Sharsha upazila in Jessore, Jibarnagar upazila in Chuadanga and Kalaroa upazila in Shatkhira had been cut off by flood waters. Major damage has been caused to earthen roads and embankments. Large numbers of tube wells have been inundated and may need to be resunk, and there has been widespread arsenic contamination. 8. 80 to 90% of houses in the area are built of mud, which is unlikely to have withstood the onslaught of the floods. Most of these houses will have to be reconstructed. 9. Rice due to be harvested in November has been seriously affected by the floods. In all, approximately 150,000 hectares of rice have been affected, and 23,064 hectares of land cultivated with vegetables, pulses, sugarcane, banana and papaya have been submerged. 71% of all the crops in the severely affected upazila of Kalaroa in Satkhira district have been destroyed. In Chaudanga district about 123,000 metric tons of husked rice and vegetable crops have been lost. 10. Poultry and goats were washed away by the sudden floods. Larger animals usually survived the floods, but families are selling their livestock for much-needed cash as fodder is scarce in the shelters, and animal theft rife. 11. Many victims from flooded areas have been taken in by relatives, while others have taken refuge on high ground above their former villages. In a village in Sharsha upazila the mission observed that 20 families had crowded into 4 houses. The security situation is precarious, with incursions from across the border in India, banditry and incidents of fighting. 12. Flood victims who had fled to high ground appeared to have access to nearby tube wells and some food supplies, either from remaining stocks or in the form of relief supplies provided by local authorities, private indivuals and NGOs. Fishing in flooded areas was observed to be widespread. However, the mission was not able to ascertain how flood victims in more remote areas were surviving, or whether rescue teams were reaching these people. 13. No epidemics have been reported, but there are sporadic cases of diarrhea, ARI, skin disease, eye infections and fever amongst people dwelling in shelters. National Response 14. The Government has been managing the response to the disaster and no request for international assistance has been received by OCHA to date. However, UN Agencies have been approached by their Government counterparts to provide support to flood victims. 15. District and sub-district authorities in the affected areas have initiated rescue and relief operations. On 24 September the Prime Minister requested that the Army and BDR (Bangladesh Rifles: the paramilitary Bangladeshi border security forces) launch rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations with immediate effect. The mission observed army and navy contingents using boats to rescue flood victims. Meanwhile, the local population put together rafts with banana trees as an effective way of crossing flooded areas. In some cases, the armed forces distributed relief supplies but these were insufficient and some isolated areas remained without provisions. The mission doubted whether outlying areas were being reached by rescuers. Airdrops were taking place. NGOs and private individuals were assisting in the relief effort by providing boats and by other means. 16. Shelters have been set up either spontaneously or in a more organized manner. These are mainly in educational institutes, union parishad buildings, health complexes, government buildings, railway buildings or open spaces. Local communities or individuals are sponsoring the shelters. 60 to 70% of those taking shelter in these refuges are women and children. 17. NGOs, private organizations and individuals have been providing food supplies for the people in shelters, sufficient to provide one meal a day per person. Nothing geared to feeding infants is available. Sanitation in most of the shelters visited by the mission was inadequate. On the other hand, medical teams and medicines were in reasonably good supply. 18. The level of coordination varied from district to district. In general, regular Coordination Committee meetings are being held at district level under the Deputy Commissioner, at upazila level under the Upazila Nirbahi Officer and at Union level under the Union chairman. Major NGOs, such as BRAC, are attending district level meetings, and local NGOs were seen to be present at upazila level meetings. 19. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR) has so far allocated cash and rice to the affected districts of Chapai-Nawabganj, Rajshahi, Chuadanga, Meherpur, Pabna, Shirajganj, Kushtia and Naogaon. Needs Shelter 20. Attention must be given to those members of the population stranded on rooftops with little or no protection from the elements. People living in makeshift camps urgently need plastic sheeting and bamboo poles, and would also benefit from the provision of sleeping mats. Some of the warehouses serving as shelters are too poorly ventilated and too crowded to be considered as a healthy arrangement, and alternative temporary accommodation should therefore be sought. Food 21. As a whole the flood-affected districts have food surpluses, though the people affected by the floods and stranded in specific areas were found by the mission to be receiving irregular and inadequate food supplies. Rice and cash are being distributed locally through the Deputy Commissioner on release orders issued by the Directorate of Relief and Rehabilitation. The cash is being spent on pulses, edible oil and salt. NGOs and private organizations are providing dry rations and other items for people in the shelters. However, people in the shelters have no clear indication as to the quantity or timing of future food supplies. At the time of the mission 1,105 metric tons of rice, 1,498 tins of biscuits, 36.25 metrin tons of pressed rice and 23.8 metric tons of molasses had been distributed, and Tk 742,100 in cash had been released. Most of the available food supplies are being distributed in the shelters and only small quantities are reaching the people still living in the flooded areas. Water and Sanitation 22. Safe water is in short supply and this situation must be remedied. There is an overriding need for construction of more latrines for use in the shelters, where sanitary conditions are wanting. Conditions in flooded areas represent a major health hazard, as no sanitary facilities are available and people are defecating directly into flood waters. Health 23. Once the flood waters have receded the risk of epidemics of diarrhea and skin diseases will be high. People in the shelters need instruction in ways in which to avoid diarrhea. Measles vaccination programmes are highly recommended. Rehabilitation 24. The rehabilitation phase will involve extensive reconstruction in the housing sector. Also, seeds or cash for the purchase of seeds are vital if there is to be a return to normal conditions. Consideration should be given to the idea of introducing short-duration crops such as maize, which can be sewn in wet conditions, and fast growing vegetables. Rural infrastructure, including roads, schools and wells, are in serious need of repair. 25. Food for work schemes would be a valuable means of providing employment opportunities, supporting the rural economy and above all rebuilding the damaged infrastructure. International Response 26. IFRC launched a preliminary appeal on 18 August, seeking CHF 3,239,213 (approximately USD 1,940,000) to meet the urgent food and health needs of 200,000 of the most vulnerable people for 3 months. IFRC has released US$ 120,000 from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund for the victims of the ruinous Bangladesh floods. 27. UNICEF has released US$ 10,000 from its own funds towards transport for local medical teams, and is contributing a further US$ 31,000 for the purchase of food supplements for children under the age of two, and US$ 15,000 for emergency sanitation purposes. 240 metric tons of high protein biscuits purchased by WFP are expected to be delivered in Bangladesh on 12 October, and thence transported to needy communities. WHO have supplied the Ministry of Health with water purifying tablets and anti-venom serum, and UNFPA intend to contribute US$ 50,000 worth of safe delivery kits to the emergency relief effort. A bilateral donation has been made by the Government of Germany, for the sum of US$ 29,645. 28. The UN system in Bangladesh has been closely monitoring the situation in consultation with the Bangladeshi Government. OCHA is in close contact with the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka and will revert with further information, as it becomes available. OCHA has made available USD 40,000 from its own sources and additional USD 30,000 each from the Emergency Grant Reserve from the Governments of Denmark and Norway for procurement of housing materials and agricultural inputs to resume farming immediately after the flood water recedes. 29. This situation report, together with further information on ongoing emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34 Fax: +41-22-917 00 23 In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10 Desk Officers: Ms. S. Metzner-Strack / Mr. R. Mueller / Mr. S. Matsuka Direct Tel. +41-22-917 21 44 / 31 31 / 40 34 Press contact: (in GVA) Mr. Donato Kiniger-Passigli, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53 (in NY) Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32 distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -