Cyclone Roanu
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Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Bangladesh: Cyclone Roanu Emergency Appeal n° MDRBD016 Glide n° TC-2016-000052-BGD Date of launch: 3 June 2016 Date of disaster: 21 May 2016 Operation manager (responsible for this EPoA): Point of contact in National Society: Md. Adith Shah Durjoy Md. Belal Hossain Acting Disaster Operations Coordinator Director of Disaster Response IFRC Country Office Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Operation start date: 19 May 2016 Expected timeframe: 31 March 2017 (10 months) Overall operation budget: CHF 2,031,716 DREF allocation: CHF 244,476 Number of people affected: 1.3 million (260,000 Number of people to be assisted: 55,000 (11,000 families) families) Host National Society presence: Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) has mobilized over 600 Red Cross Youth, Cyclone Preparedness Programme volunteers and staff for the operation. Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners actively involved in the operation: American Red Cross, British Red Cross, German Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross, Turkish Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Other partner organizations actively involved in the operation: Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies, INGOs A. Situation analysis Description of the disaster On 17 May 2016, Cyclone Roanu originated from a low-pressure area that formed south of Sri Lanka, and gradually drifted north towards the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and intensified into a cyclonic storm on 19 May. Roanu made landfall in the southern coastal region of Bangladesh on 21 May at midday. According to the Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT) phase one Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) report on 25 May, the cyclone has affected 1.3 million people, with 27 people confirmed dead. The cyclone brought heavy rain, winds of over 100km/h, and storm surges peaking at 2.7 meters. At least seven coastal districts have been affected; Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Bhola, Barguna, Lakshmipur, Noakhali and Patuakhali. Early warning systems were activated and over 500,000 people were Devastating impact of Cyclone Roanu in the coastal community. evacuated to safer shelters prior to the Photo: BDRCS cyclone’s landfall. More than 75,000 houses were damaged or destroyed. The storm breached embankments causing floods, sweeping away fisheries and interrupting power supply. Heavy and continuous rainfall as a result of the cyclone has caused landslide in the Chittagong hilly region. The cyclone caused tidal surge of three to four feet in height above normal tide and induced flooding in the coastal belt, P a g e | 2 causing major damage to the livelihoods of coastal communities. The tidal surges also have caused breaches of embankment and flooding which further damaged houses and crops, particularly paddy and cash crops. The electricity supply and road access in many of the coastal areas were disrupted. All flights at airport in Patenga serving the Chittagong areas were suspended. Restrictions were imposed on the movement of ships and ferries. Overview of JNA findings - 25 May 2016 District Total Affected Affected % of assessed Displaced Number of affected assessed population households population population Unions population affected Barguna 963,631 124,400 30,030 13 23,820 30 Bhola 1,900,702 94,600 19,857 5 3,800 36 Chittagong 2,154,135 335,755 67,307 16 33,900 54 Cox's Bazar 1,927,941 531,282 97,373 28 154,940 37 Lakshmipur 1,570,540 48,000 10,131 3 11 20 Noakhali 1,062,183 115,000 22,648 11 300 24 Patuakhali 1,206,087 47,973 10,920 4 - 43 10,785,220 1,297,010 258,266 12 216,771 244 Around 244 unions in seven districts have been affected, among which 216,771 households are displaced and 258,266 affected. These seven districts affected by Roanu have been impacted by a series of disasters since 2012 that have progressively reduced the coping capacity of the population in these areas and prevented the affected population to recover fully. Cox’s Bazaar, Chittagong and Bandarban have been affected by the 2012 flash floods and landslides and again in 2015 by flash floods and Cyclone Komen. While in 2013, all seven districts have been affected by Cyclone Mahasen. Many physical infrastructure damaged during Cyclone Komen in 2015 has yet to be repaired and embankments have been further damaged by Roanu, as reported by the Logistics Cluster. The government, in consultation with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, had advised to hoist the danger signal number Seven for fourteen districts (Chittagong, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Feni, Chadpur, Bhola, Barguna, Patuakhali, Barishal, Pirojpur, Jhalokhati, Bagerhat, Khulna and Shatkhira) and two ports (Mongla and Paira), signal number SIX for Cox’s Bazar district and signal number FIVE for the remaining three coastal districts. The early detection of the cyclonic storm on 17 May triggered an immediate response from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS). The BDRCS immediately alerted and mobilized its 55,260 Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) volunteers and staff, and disseminated early warning messages to the populations living in the 18 coastal districts. BDRCS activated its contingency plan and called an emergency review meeting to mobilize its staff, volunteers and resources from 18 May 2016, in order to respond to the consequences of the cyclonic storm. In addition, BDRCS conducted light search and rescue operation, provided first aid services, and distributed locally- arranged dry food and clean water to the affected population. The BDRCS also deployed their national disaster response teams (NDRTs) since 20 May to assist the district branches on warning dissemination, search and rescue and assessment. Based on initial assessment from the NDRTs on 22 May, around 699,260 people were affected in six districts of Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Bhola, Barguna, Patuakhali and required some form of humanitarian assistance to recover. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has been monitoring the situation and working closely with BDRCS on necessary response. An information bulletin was issued on 21 May, and followed by a DREF request for enabling the National Society to deliver emergency assistance to the most affected population. The DREF support, enables BDRCS to immediately provided emergency shelter, cash for food and basic household items to 3,000 families as well as provision of safe drinking water to 1000 families. The Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT) had called an urgent coordination meeting on 21 May, along with the activation of the Shelter cluster and Early Recovery cluster on the same day. Government and UN agencies have mobilized their resources in response to the cyclone. A Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) was organized by the HCTT on 22 May in the most affected districts (Bhola, Chittagong, Lakshmipur, Cox’s Bazar, Noakhali, Patuakhali and Barguna). On 26 May 2016, the Needs Assessment Working Group (NAWG) completed the report and presented it during an ad-hoc HCTT meeting. After that the HCTT has shared the Joint Response Plan (JRP) with the inputs from all clusters. The JRP recommended humanitarian support to a minimum of 35,000 households (13 per cent of the total affected households (260,000) reported by the JNA. This target was in consideration only of those living within the lower poverty line and did not include the early recovery target. The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) is proactive in responding to the needs of affected communities. Around 500,000 people took shelter in 3,494 safer shelters where the government provided dry food rations. The P a g e | 3 government has also allocated 3,522 MT of rice and cash of BDT 10,052,000 (US$ 128,800) to assist those impacted by the cyclone. The latest weather forecast1, issued on 1 June, indicates that rain and thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty/squally wind, can be expected in Chittagong over the coming days. The monsoon normally runs until October, therefore preparedness measures are needed in the affected areas in anticipation of heavy rainfall over the coming months, which can cause flash floods and landslides. Where embankments have been breached, there is the possibility for prolonged waterlogging and in some places saline water intrusion. This has been experienced during Cyclone Aila in 2019 and Cyclone Komen in 2015. Significant parts of embankments in Kutubdia, Pekua, Moheskhali, Ramu and Chakoria were affected during last year’s flooding. Repair of these embankments has not been fully completed. As a result, the areas with unfinished embankments may face water logging as a consequence of the tidal surges that accompanied Cyclone Roanu. Summary of the current response Overview of Host National Society The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), along with its branches in the affected districts, had been monitoring closely and responding to the overall disaster situation prior to the cyclone made landfall. BDRCS staff and volunteers were activated for the dissemination of cyclone early warning messages and evacuation of people to safer places. Information is collected via the branch offices from the local Red Crescent volunteers, NDRTs and government officials, which inform BDRCS to continuously response to the changing nature of the event. This information is further shared the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Partner National Societies (PNSs). As first responders, BDRCS’ local units have mobilized their volunteers for cyclone warning dissemination, to provide search and rescue and first aid services to population affected by the impact of Cyclone Roanu. BDRCS and IFRC, British Red Cross and German Red Cross have taken part in the JNA in the southern districts organized by the HCTT. A representative from IFRC has also taken part in the JNA working group meeting and has also support the JNA working group for data compilation and analysis.