United Nations System Office of the Resident Coordinator – Madagascar This report is issued by Madagascar UNCT and covers the period from 10 to 16 March 2010 . The next report will be issued on or around 20 March 2010. I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES o Moderate Tropical Storm HUBERT hit the east coast of Madagascar from 10 to 12 March 2010. o Seven districts are flood-stricken, including six along the south-eastern coast of Madagascar which are not accessible because some portions of the road are cut or damaged. o 11,000 people became homeless the first day after HUBERT landed according to the Malagasy Red Cross; however many of them could return to their homes after the water levels subsided The National Office for Disaster and Risk Management (BNGCR) is quoting about 1,761 displaced people on Monday 15 March. o Malagasy Red Cross has reported 40 death and 231 injuries; 28,317 people expect various problems mainly loss of harvest in the coming months. o 06 schools, 02 local health centres and 3,338 houses are damaged or flooded, one health centre is destroyed. o Priority actions have already been taken by both the national partner and the Humanitarian Country Team: mobilization of pre-stocking relief items (shelter, foods and non-food items, WASH kits, mosquito nets and medicine), evacuation of people in some isolated localities where floods are dangerous; restoration of traffic as soon as possible, free of charge management of the affected population. o First meeting of the National Humanitarian Platform on 13 March 2010: UNICEF financed the aerial assessment using the Civil Protection Corps aircraft. o A second aerial assessment is also carried out by CARE International/USAID. o An inter-cluster meeting is planned this week in order to organize a multi-sector rapid assessment if necessary, based on the recommendations of the two aerial assessments. o A Transal plane will be deployed by the Regional Platform for Indian Ocean Intervention (PIROI) as requested by the Red Cross Malagasy in order to support the logistical operation in delivering additional items from Antananarivo. II. Situation Overview Rainfall collected on 11 March Source: Malagasy Meteorological On 10 March 2010, the eastern coast of Madagascar was Department hit by moderate tropical storm HUBERT, which has already caused heavy rains for one week before transforming into a storm. HUBERT was classified as category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale with winds up to 75 km/h when it landed in the districts of Mananjary, Ifanadiana and Ambositra successively. HUBERT then made its way westward and dissipated on Friday 12 March. During these three days in land, HUBERT continued to generate heavy rains leaving desolation and floods all along the south-eastern part of the country. Heavy rains have caused the overflow of major rivers and the Pangalanes channel. According to the Malagasy Red Cross, the preliminary estimates indicate a total of 28,317 people affected by various problems including loss of harvest in the coming months 1 in five districts (Mananjary, Ikongo, Manakara, Vohipeno and Ambatondrazaka), among whom 11,000 are homeless. In addition, three schools are damaged and several rice fields are flooded. Nevertheless, telecommunication facilities are not damaged and all the airports remain functional. Pre-stocking of relief items exists in the affected regions, such as foods, tents, mosquito nets and other medicines (antibiotics, etc); UNICEF has dispatched WASH kits and materials that were pre-positioned in the nearest district (Tamatave) by boat. However, the evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Public Works has been hampered given that a number of roads and bridges have been destroyed or damaged along the national road connecting the capital Antananarivo and the four districts in the south-eastern coast. In addition, the railway linking the province of Fianarantsoa and the district of Manakara is also damaged. III. Humanitarian Needs and Response Education • Needs: In the coming days, it is important that children go back to school and that the three shools that have been damaged be rehabilited. Affected communes needs tarpaulin, school tents and education kits. • Response, including local government: will be defined when the results of the current rapid assessment are known. • Key gaps in the response: N/A Emergency Shelter and Camp coordination • Needs: 11,000 people became homeless the first day after HUBERT according to the Malagasy Red Cross, but on Monday 15 March 2010, many of them had returned to their homes after the water levels had subsided. • Response, including local government: Local authorities have used schools and administrative offices to accommodate the homeless. The National Office for Disaster and Risk Management (BNGRC) has distributed in six districts (Mananjary, Nosy Varika, Ikongo, Manakara, Vohipeno and Ambatondrazaka) the following items: 73 tons of rice, 700 quilts and 700 bed sheets. UNICEF has also provided 900 bed sheets, and the Malagasy Red Cross is ensuring camp coordination.. • Key gaps in the response: Many people have lost goods and utensils during the flood and further assessment is needed to identify the gaps. Food security and livelihoods • Needs: It is still too early to identify the needs; most of the rice fields in the seven districts affected, and crop foods (cassava, beans in the district of Mananjary, and maize in Manakara) are still submerged. • Response, including local government: N/A for the moment. A cluster meeting will be held by WFP/FAO in the coming days. WFP commodities have already been prepositioned in Nosy Varika 97.5 MT with ADRA, Mananjary 130 MT with ADRA, Farafangana 97.5 MT with CARITAS. In Farafangana, 1,983 persons affected were assisted with rations for 3 days. A total of 3 MT of commodities were distributed by WFP and CARITAS. In this locality, affected populations started to return home. WFP will send 2 MT of biscuits to Manakara using the Transal plane provided by PIROI; WFP under the cluster approach will be ready to conduct later a food security assessment, recovery activities under food-for-work modality will be implemented. In addition, WFP will continue to support the affected population through its regular activities, with particular attention to orphans and persons affected by TB/HIV. (13,144 orphans and 1,716 for TB/HIV). • Key gaps in the response: N/A 2 Health • Needs: the most urgent need is to provide timely basic services to the affected people, in particular those homeless. • Response, including local government: Health sector actors under the lead of WHO and Ministry of Health coordinated their interventions and mobilized immediately their pre-stocked relief items mainly provided by WHO in the seven districts to ensure free of charge management of affected population, in particular those homeless. Epidemic surveillance has also been reinforced. In addition, BNGRC and UNICEF distributed 2,100 and 600 units of mosquito nets to the displaced population respectively. The response is organized through the health cluster to support the efforts of the Ministry of Health at the field level. To this end, national cluster (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and Malagasy Red Cross) will reinforce the field level and carry out a rapid assessment including looking into the requirements in reproductive health. • Key gaps in the response: further assessment is required to identify the gaps. Logistics • Needs: Given the extensive number of affected and isolated areas and the topography of the eastern coast of Madagascar, logistic support is complex and it is expensive to deliver additional food and non- food items to the eastern coast. Several portions of the national road remain cut. • Response, including local government: The Ministry of Public Works is working to restore the traffic between the capital of Antananarivo and the eastern coast as soon as possible; the Civil Protection Corps was deployed to support the Ministry and the local authorities in evacuating people; the BNGRC has provided fuel for the evacuation. One the other hand, UNICEF has financed an aerial assessment by using Civil Protection Corps aircraft to assess the severity and the impacts of the floods in the isolated communes and along the national road. • Key gaps in the response: The delivery of food, non foods-items and basic services, and the support to the evacuation will be a serious problem in the coming days if the damaged road portions are not repaired in a short time. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene • Needs: the most urgent need is to timely provide access to water and hygiene (latrines) to homeless people and water treatment for the affected communes. • Response, including local government: UNICEF has deployed a team from Antananarivo and delivered WASH kits from the district of Tamatave to support WASH intervention on the eastern coast. The NGO Saint-Gabriel ensures dispatch of those kits and materials at the field level. • Key gaps in the response: assessment by UNICEF field team is ongoing. IV. Coordination In the event of a natural disaster, as set forth in the National Contingency Plan which has been revised in November 2009, the National Office for Disaster and Risk Management ( Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes - BNGRC), coordinates all interventions in collaboration with its partners (national NGOs, ministries, etc.) with support from the Humanitarian Country Team. The first meeting of the Humanitarian Platform, which comprises the BNGRC, UN agencies, NGOs and local partners, took place on 13 March 2010 during which the decision was made to conduct an aerial assessment using a Civil Protection Corps aircraft. Additionally, CARE International has carried out a detailed aerial assessment. The two evaluations are still ongoing. A second meeting of the Humanitarian Platform is scheduled on 16 March 2010. UNICEF has deployed a multi-sectoral team (Wash, Health, Education, Communication and Logistic Officers) in the affected areas to support the assessment and response activities conducted by its NGO partners.