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Alert  

Myanmar

Flash Floods in Myanmar  

Geneva, 1 November 2011

1.         Brief description of the emergency

On 20 October 2011, Tropical Storm Two, which made landfall near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border on 19 October, dumped up to 150 mm of rain on the area which subsequently triggered flash floods in Magway, Mandalay and Sagaing Regions of Myanmar.

2.         Impact

Magway region was the worst affected with the four worst-affected townships being Myaing, Pauk, Pakokku and Seikphyu. The Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD) of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MoSWRR) estimates that more than 26,000 persons have lost their homes and belongings. As of 26 October 2011 106 people have lost their lives or are missing.  The flood waters have swept away 2,123 houses and inundated an additional 8,000 dwellings.

Access in some areas is restricted due to damages to infrastructure. In Saw Township, the main road between Pakokku, Seikphyu, Saw and Kanpetlet (Chin State) is disrupted due to damage to bridges caused by landslides and only light vehicles can travel on the road. Similarly, in Pauk Township strong winds, heavy rains and strong river currents have damaged bridges and roads, making access to affected areas difficult. In Pakokku and Pauk Townshisp there was also disruption of electricity and telephone lines. 

The proposed LWF response would cover the township of Pakkoku and Seikphyu in Magway division.  Magway division centre is approximately 400 miles north-west of Yangon and is accessible by road.  There are 12 temporary camps, accommodating an estimated 7,237 people. Five schools have been affected by floods two of which can no longer be used for education purposes and for which temporary arrangements have been provided by using community buildings. The remaining three have lost all their furniture.

3.         National and international response

Local authorities, the private sector and the communities themselves, in collaboration with their partners, immediately responded to the floods. On 23 October, the vice president and president visited some temporary camps in the affected areas and provided assistance in cash and in kind worth USD 273,000 and USD 250,425 respectively.

The government and other humanitarian agencies have so far provided food (including rice, oil, salt and beans). The WFP has provided food assistance to a total of 6,433 beneficiaries from 1,550 families in 12 villages with 65.9 MT of rice, sufficient for one-month. Temporary and permanent shelter support and other non-food items, including kitchen and family sets are being distributed.   

In order to restart education, UNICEF will provide cash to procure teaching materials and Save the Children is providing a teacher and student kits for primary school children living in the three temporary camps in Pakokku. Child-friendly spaces will be set up in each camp.

Relief support is being coordinated by local relief committees set up by the authorities and they are closely liaising with the humanitarian partners on the ground. The government Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD) is proactively involved in managing the situation in coordination with all stakeholders. OCHA called a meeting with the representatives from UN agencies and NGOs on 27 October to discuss the situation and mobilize stand-by assistance, based on the information available at the time of the meeting.

4.         ACT Alliance Response

On 21 October 2011, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Myanmar regional representative together with a programme monitoring and evaluation consultant and an administrative officer were at the office of the Director General, RRD, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in the capital city Nay Pyi Daw in relation to the LWF Myanmar memorandum of understanding (MoU).  The Director General made a verbal request for emergency assistance to the flood affected. Accordingly, LWF Myanmar coordinated with the RRD Magway division office and received a request for iron (CGI) sheets for roofing for the temporary shelters in the camps.  LWF Myanmar sent a team of two staff to Magway and supplied 1,400 units of CGI sheets (procured locally) which could also later be used for houses during the rehabilitation phase.

The Myanmar forum comprises Christian Aid (CA), FinnChurchAid (FCA), Church World Service-Myanmar (CWS), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Act for Peace, DanChurchAid (DCA), EED, Church of Sweden (CoS), ICCO & KerkinActie, DKH, and Lutheran World Federation (LWF). LWF is proposing this response, while having Informal discussions with other members. The Forum will meet on 1 November to discuss the situation and the action.      

5.        Planned activities

Based on the assessment report it is clear that most of the emergency needs are already being catered to. The Magway area lies in the dry zone, therefore livelihood is normally a challenge. The challenge is now further aggravated due to the flood damage. People have lost houses and their basis of livelihood, such as livestock.

Depending on the report from the LWF assessment team, LWF Myanmar intends to further respond to the emergency response needs. Once the assessments from the agencies are available LWF Myanmar will make an analysis and possibly plan for physical recovery and livelihood recovery.  Pokkaku and Seikphyu are two of the planned intervention areas and LWF Myanmar is planning to prepare a Livelihood and Physical Recovery Plan in the most affected villages of Seikphyu and Pokkaku townships.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jean-Daniel Birmele, ACT Chief Finance Officer (Jean_Daniel.Birmele@actalliance.org).