International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC
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Emergency appeal n° MDRCN003 China: Sichuan GLIDE n° EQ-2008-000062-CHN Operations update n° 17 4 November 2008 Earthquake A resident of Zhonggang village in Ya’an prefecture receives a quilt and hygiene parcel provided through funding by the International Federation. Beneficiaries in this area face a cold winter as they are located in the mountainous areas of Sichuan. Photo: Li Zheng/International Federation Period covered by this Update: 12 August – 31 October 2008 Appeal target (current): CHF 96.7 million (USD 92.7 million or EUR 59.5 million) <click here to view the attached revised emergency appeal budget> Appeal coverage: Currently, with contributions received to date, in cash and kind, and those in the pipeline, the appeal is approximately 87% covered. A revised emergency appeal will be issued in early November. <click here for the current donor response list> <click here to link to a map of the affected areas; or here for contact details> Appeal history: • This emergency appeal was revised on 30 May 2008 for CHF 96.7 million (USD 92.7 million or EUR 59.5 million) to support the Red Cross Society of China to assist around 100,000 families (up to 500,000 people) for 36 months. • The emergency appeal was launched on 15 May 2008 for CHF 20,076,412 (USD 19.3 million or EUR 12.4 million) to assist 100,000 beneficiaries for 12 months. • Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 250,000 was allocated from the International Federation’s DREF to support the RCSC’s response to the earthquake. 2 Summary: The 8.0 magnitude earthquake on 12 May devastated eight provinces, most heavily hitting Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi, killing more than 80,000, with still many thousands missing. Over 15 million people were displaced, including over five million that were left without shelter. The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) continues to support affected communities by delivering relief supplies. In the month of October, 100,000 quilts and hygiene kits have been procured and distributed to all three affected provinces. Additional food and quilts will be procured and distributed in the weeks to come. The joint RCSC and International Federation shelter assessment was conducted in September, with recommendations shared with partners at a meeting in Beijing on 9-10 of October. A revised appeal based on reconstruction projects and community-based programming, will be ironed out in early November. Many partner national societies and other entities have made contributions to the appeal. Details are available in the current donor response list. The International Federation, on behalf of the Red Cross Society of China, would like to thank all partners for their generous response to this appeal. The situation Nearly six months after the 12 May earthquake hit Wenchuan and surrounding areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces in western China, the country has turned its attention to recovery efforts and the rebuilding of entire communities. As winter sets in, hundreds of thousands are still living in transitional shelters and some families are still living in tents. While many relief items and assistance from government, NGOs and the Red Cross Society of China have been well received and helpful to the affected populations, many people state that their greatest wish is to move into their own home as quickly as possible. The region is still plagued with seismic activity. On 30 August, another earthquake, unrelated to the 12 May earthquake, hit the southern border of Sichuan, and northern Yunnan in Panzhihua county. Then, on 5 October a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Xinjiang and on 6 October, another 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tibet. All the while, China has been in serious preparations for the Olympic Games, which took place in Beijing and various other cities throughout the nation during the month of August, and the Paralympic Games in Children play in front of the International Federation tents that were September. Although the Olympics took donated to Datian after the Panzhihua earthquake of 30 August. attention away from the earthquake Photo: Dr. J. Kulasignam / International Federation operations, and brought a change of atmosphere to be more celebratory throughout the country, the nation did not forget the tragedy that struck just months before. Both opening ceremonies highlighted and honoured survivors of the earthquake. While those working on the earthquake operations did not halt their efforts for the excitement of the Olympics, some obstacles surfaced, including a general limitation on numbers of foreign relief workers in the affected areas. The central government issued guidelines on post-quake construction, and began the process of making reconstruction plans and announced specific funding support. Other provinces and municipalities were “twinned” with specific affected areas for immediate and long-term support. Still, with 51 heavily affected counties in Sichuan alone, many are still left without twinned support. The funding gap for these areas is huge. Reconstruction planning has already commenced in some areas, under the guidance of the government monitors, and the government is hoping to get more under way in the coming months. 3 Red Cross and Red Crescent action Overview Over the past few months, the focus of Red Cross Red Crescent action has turned towards reconstruction. Agreements are being signed and the national society has clear priorities for Red Cross Red Crescent Movement support. The RCSC and International Federation are working closely together to complete relief activities and forging forward on recovery. A joint shelter assessment was conducted and recommendations have been provided by the team for reconstruction of housing, as well as for all community-based programming. A revised appeal is expected in early November based on these recommendations and the priorities of the national society. A meeting with partners in Beijing on 9-10 October helped to identify areas of interest for funding support, and will be considered in the revision of the appeal. Relief The 100,000 tents provided by the International Federation to the relief operations have been fully distributed within Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. A portion of those have been used to restock disaster preparedness warehouses. Some 1000 tents were sent to the affected populations of the Panzhihua earthquake, which hit on 30 August. A team from the International Federation went to the area to monitor the distribution and provide support to the local Red Cross branch. The International Federation’s procurement and distribution of 100,000 hygiene parcels and quilts was completed by mid- October, two weeks ahead of planned deliveries. See annex 1 for the distribution list. Intrenational Federation logistics observed the packing of hygiene parcels at the warehouse. Photo: International In many cases the items are being distributed to Federation large concentrations of people living in temporary shelter communities. But in some areas, beneficiaries can be a few households living in isolated villages. For example, in the village of Zhonggang in Baoxing County, Ya'an Prefecture, for instance, quilts and hygiene parcels were distributed to the 13 households among the village population of 700 people, who lost their homes in the disaster. They have not yet moved into permanent new houses. During the production process, the International Federation’s logistics delegate conducted a supplier evaluation, including the monitoring of premises and processes to ensure compliance and ascertain capacities. Pre-production, in- process and final inspections with laboratory testing were carried out and goods were found 100,000 hygiene parcels funded by the International Federation to be in compliance to the necessary standards were procured and distributed to families throughout the and requirements. Logistics continues to earthquake zone. Photo: International Federation provide ongoing daily needs and support to the operations. Anticipating the onset of winter and very cold weather, especially in the mountainous regions of Sichuan, the RCSC headquarters released a plan on 10 September for the provision of additional quilts and winter clothes 4 with an overall estimated cost of CNY 50 million (CHF 8.3 million). The International Federation has agreed to procure more quilts to contribute to the RCSC’s efforts in this regard. In addition, the joint shelter assessment team found that kitchen sets were not needed, as many affected people had already either purchased or salvaged adequate kitchen supplies early on in the relief phase. The RCSC has requested that donors consider re-allocating funds earmarked for kitchen sets to the immediate needs for further quilts. Water and sanitation All International Federation emergency A thorough evaluation of the supplier was conducted during the response units were handed over in July procurement of hygiene kits and quilts. All items met specifications and to the RCSC. One water and sanitation were completed ahead of schedule. Photo: International Federation unit and one mass sanitation unit were completely closed down shortly after handover as the needs had been reduced in the area to the point where the local government (water bureau) could provide for them. Government counterparts were also trained by RCSC and the International Federation in maintaining and closing down latrines as the responsibility for maintaining/closing down the latrines was handed over to the local government. The trained RCSC teams continued to operate the one remaining water and sanitation unit along with the base camp unit, with technical support from the International Federation delegates in the field until September. Both units have since been closed down as the need for distributed water had been greatly reduced at that point. Responsibility to provide water needs in the internally displaced camps was handed over to the local government. All emergency response units have been packed and stored in different parts of China, and are being inventoried and prepared for future deployment in China as needed.