UN Malawi’s Flood report from January 12-15

This report is produced by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs

It covers the period from 15 to 16 Jan 2015. The information contained has been obtained from reports from the district coordination structures,

and partner presentations in coordination meetings. The next report will be issued on or around 17 Jan 2015.

Highlights

 An estimated 22,000 households (121,000) people have been displaced and 50 people killed by recent flooding. Reports of more people displaced have been received from Phalombe district. These are being verified.153 people are still missing in Nsanje.

 A State of Disaster has been declared in the 15 affected districts.

 Assistance from the Government of Malawi, local and international

 Over 1,000 people have been rescued to date. 121, 000 people displaced

15  Districts affected

Situation Overview

An estimated 22,000 households (approx 121,000 people) have now been displaced since the floods hit the areas.

The most affected districts are Nsanje, Chikwawa and Phalombe. Reports of more people displaced have been

received from Phalombe district. These are being verified.153 people are still missing in Nsanje.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Nsanje and Chikwawa. More households are arriving at the camps

that have been established to accommodate people that have been evacuated from the affected areas in Chikwawa and Nsanje.

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs and other organizations are continuing to distribute food and nonfood items to the affected. More dispatches are being made today to three worst affected districts including those affected by stormy rains in other parts of the country (Mzimba, Rumphi, Chiradzulu, Luchenza, Blantyre City and Thyolo).

Following the declaration of a state of disaster by the State President, a number of organizations are coming forward to donate assistance to the affected population.

While a decrease in rainfall is forecasted for southern Malawi over the next week, more rains are predicted for the north of the country. This rainfall is expected to contribute to further flooding.

Humanitarian Response Governments and partners have been providing assistance, with the Ministry of Finance reportedly having set aside K300 million (US$650,000) for response and recovery efforts.

Cluster meetings are being convened to come up with needs required to respond to the floods in the different sectors. A consolidated response plan will be finalized by tomorrow, 17th January, 2015. A number of Development Partners have pledged support once the response plan has been finalized.

Department of Disaster Management Affairs

www.humanitarianresponse.info/operations/malawi

Following a request for assistance from the UN, a team from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has arrived in the country to assist in the response coordination efforts. A meeting was held today to plan their operations.

The World Bank has allocated US$600,000 for emergency response. We would like to earmark this amount for emergency rehabilitation of damaged roads and bridges so that inaccessible areas due to damaged roads can be

accessible.

The Government of Malawi is drafting a Preliminary Response Plan to give a snapshot of the needs, response and gaps for the flood operations Shelter and Camp Management

Needs:

100,000 people are currently displaced and in need of sheltering. The Shelter and Camp Management cluster have met twice and identified the following needs:

 Tents for flood survivors living in camps, including tents for service delivery (2,957 tents).

 Manpower can be available from Malawi Defence Force. Unclear how many are available.

 Plastic sheeting for damaged house repair and re-enforcement.

Response:

 Offers of support for some tents have been received and tents are being deployed to the sites, including by Malawi Defence Force

 Plastic sheeting is currently being distributed by partners

Education

Needs:

 240 schools have either been submerged by floodwaters or used as temporary displacement sites

 Millions of dollars have been lost of education supplies

 Schools being used as temporary shelters.

 Longer term, those schools need to be relocated completely.

 Need for 800 tents to house temporary classrooms

 Need for school in a box to resume schooling as soon as possible in temporary classrooms

 School feeding and kitchen kits are needed to support resumption of education activities

 Psycho-social support, including play and recreation facilities critical to support children recover from the flood and their displacement environment

Food Security and Agriculture

Needs:

 It is estimated that 50,000 households are affected and in need of food assistance in 15 districts

 It is estimated that 116,000 farmers affected by floods 32,000 hectares.

 Maize, pulses and fortifies are likely to be required until April

 High energy biscuits remain as an immediate requirement

 The possibility exists for replanting immediately after floods subsides

Response:

2,957 Tents required for temporary displacement sites

200,000 Students displaced from their schools

50,000 Households requiring food assistance

116,000 Farmers affected by floods

Malawi Floods Situation Report No. 01 | 3

Department of Disaster Management Affairs

www.humanitarianresponse.info/operations/malawi

 Distributions of food have start immediately using prepositioned stocks earmarked for the on-going response to food insecurity situation

Gaps & Constraints:

 Access to the distribution areas is restricted.

 Boat and air operations to deliver urgent supplies to difficult to access areas are currently being planned

 There is currently a US $4-6 million gap to respond to the agricultural needs of affected community

Health

Needs:

 Prevention and control of disease outbreaks such as cholera, dysentery, malaria, malnutrition.

 Provision of treatment for acute, chronic diseases and injuries

 Distribution of supplies and commodities such as ITNs, Chlorine-based products for water treatment, emergency contraceptives, condoms, nutrition and therapeutic supplements.

 Provision of continuum of care to people on ART, TB, Diabetes, hypertension etc

 Establish temporary consultation, treatment and maternal delivery shelters within the camp sites

 Strengthen early detection and reporting of disease outbreaks

 Sustain immunization and growth monitoring of children under five years of age

 Provision of nutritional and therapeutic supplements



Nutrition

Needs:

 Providing supplements for the nutrition of children at risk of malnutrition

 Provision of nutritional and therapeutic supplements

 Community mobilisation around nutrition

 Feeding of young children, expectant and lactating mothers, the elderly, people with disabilities, orphans and the chronically ill

Protection

Needs:

 Psychosocial support including counselling

 Security and protection of displaced people including through the provision of lighting and security presence.

 Referral and linkages to families and other services such as reproductive health, counseling and rehabilitation

 Provision of assistive devices to persons with disabilities

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Needs:

 The supply of safe water has been disrupted in all the affected districts. For example, some boreholes, shallow wells and tap points have been flooded and contaminated. In some districts, most of the piped water supply systems have been washed away.

 Most of the sites where the affected population has been relocated have no access to safe water supply and sanitation facilities.

 Surface water monitoring stations have been washed away / submerged;

 Most of the sanitation facilities such as pit latrines have been damaged.

 Most of the waste disposal sites have been affected and waste has spilled to water supply facilities and surrounding environment;

 Personal and environmental hygiene in the temporary settlements has been compromised.

US $ 4m

Gap in funding of health and nutrition requirementsMalawi Floods Situation

Background on the crisis

Heavy rains over the last few weeks have led to severe flooding across Malawi. The floods have also caused extensive damage to crops, livestock and infrastructure. The southern districts of Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe and Zomba are the most affected. A growing concern is disease prevention, given the poor sanitary and drainage conditions at relocation sites.

In response, the President of the Republic of Malawi declared a State of Disaster in the 15 affected districts (out of a total of 28 districts) on 13 January 2015. With the numbers of people affected and displaced continuing to rise, the President has appealed to the international community for support, specifically in the provision of tents, food and non-food items; and in the conducting of search and rescue operations. Some areas are inaccessible, impeding the conducting of assessments.

While a decrease in rainfall is forecasted for southern Malawi over the next week, more rains are predicted for the north of the country.

Malawi has been receiving significant rains since December 2014, and this trend is expected to continue as the country is forecasted to receive normal to above-normal rainfall between January and March 2015.

 Irrigation infrastructure has been washed away and submerged. Intensify health education on personal, water and food hygiene

Response:

 Chlorine stocks earmarked as a contingency for Ebola has been distributed to affected communities. This will need to be urgently replenished

General Coordination

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) is leading the response, with support from partners. The (local) cluster system has been activated, and the Vice President has requested all clusters to submit response plans and most have already done so. Government will be establishing Emergency Operations Centres in Blantyre, Lilongwe (which will be the National Level Coordination Centre) and Mzuzu depending on the situation.

These structures are not intended to bypass already existing local structures, with District Commissionerscontinuing to be responsible at the district level. Government is also ramping up preparedness efforts in the north of the country where more rains are expected. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has deployed staff to Malawi to support the response.

Tom Sangala

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