Emergency appeal El Salvador: Floods Emergency appeal n° MDRSV004 GLIDE n° TC-2011-000157-SLV 4 November 2011 This Emergency Appeal seeks 1,054,611 Swiss francs in cash, kind, or services to support the Salvadoran Red Cross Society (SRCS) to assist 2,000 families (10,000 persons) for 9 months; the operation will be completed by the end of June 2012. A Final Report will be made available by the end of September 2012. In addition, the IFRC is soliciting 42,029 Swiss francs to cover the Volunteers of the Salvadorean Red Cross Society (SRCS) are cost of the Shelter Cluster assisting hundreds of families taking refuge in some of the 566 coordination; funds will be collective centres opened in response to the emergency. allocated to this component when Source: SRCS partners expressly indicate their interest to do so. Appeal coverage: This appeal currently stands at 50 per cent based on the total of in-kind As early as 11 October, volunteers of the Salvadoran Red Cross Society donations, registered and (SRCS) started to distribute relief items to affected families in Ahuachapán. unregistered pledges. Further Source: SRCS contributions are urgently needed to help the Salvadoran Red Cross Society to meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable affected by the floods. <Click here to go directly to the updated donor response report > Appeal history: On 17 October 2011, 191,129 Swiss francs were allocated from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC)’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the emergency response. A Preliminary Emergency Appeal was initially launched on 21 October 2011 for 1,185,025 Swiss francs for 9 months to assist 2,000 families. The current budget revision reflects the need to support shelter cluster coordination in El Salvador. The IFRC is soliciting 42,029 Swiss francs to cover the cost of this additional activity; funds will be allocated to shelter cluster coordination when the partners expressly indicate their interest to do so. Summary: On 10 October El Salvador, alongside several other countries in Central America, started to experience the effects of Tropical Depression 12-E which brought almost 1,500mm of rain, surpassing the levels reached by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. With some 300,000 persons affected by flooding and landslides, the government of 2 El Salvador has declared a state of emergency and called for international assistance. In response to the situation, the Salvadoran Red Cross Society activated 56 of its branches and 1,200 volunteers, who supported the government with search and rescue, evacuation and first aid care of affected families. The National Society has also reached 2,262 families (10,048 persons) with food and non food relief items, with the support of prepositioned items, national private donations and Red Cross partners. The current plan of action of the emergency appeal proposed by the SRCS follows the same lines presented in the Preliminary Emergency Appeal in the sectors of relief distributions, emergency health, water and sanitation, shelter, early recovery, and National Society capacity building. However, as there was a need to activate the shelter cluster for inter-agency coordination, the budget has been revised to address this new activity. Financial and in-kind donations are still required to support the National Society’s activities in helping 2,000 of the hardest-hit families in meeting their needs to preserve their physical and mental well-being, particularly to prevent the further deterioration of their livelihoods. <Click here to view the attached Emergency Appeal Budget; or here to view contact details> The situation El Salvador is considered one of the countries in Latin America which is most vulnerable to natural disasters, a situation exacerbated by the effects of climate change in a country with high levels of social, political and economic exclusion. Recent studies report that 88.7 per cent of its territory can be considered at high risk, 95 per cent of its population live under risk conditions, and some 96 per cent the Gross Domestic Product of El Salvador is linked to these vulnerable areas. Therefore it is no surprise that when Tropical Depression 12-E struck on 10 October –bringing around 1,500 mm of rain in just over a week– its accompanying flooding and landslides have severely affected around 10 percent of El Salvador’s territory. The Office of Civil Protection reported on 21 October that the tropical depression caused the overflow of 132 rivers, 419 landslides, 185 floods, 18 cases of subsidence and 20 sunken areas. At the peak of the emergency, 59,854 persons were forced to evacuate their homes, many of them took shelter in 619 collective centres. Thus far, the deaths of 35 persons have been confirmed. The United Nations estimates that some 300,000 Areas affected by flooding due to Tropical Depression 12-E. Source: Civil Protection Office persons1 have been economically, psychologically and socially impacted by the storm and heavy rains, and these persons are characterized as living in areas of poverty. Governmental authorities estimate that more than one million persons have been directly and indirectly affected by the disruption of infrastructure, social services and loss of crops. On 14 October, the Salvadoran government declared a state of emergency when the extent of the damage became apparent and precipitation still continued in the country. Currently, the government estimates that recovery costs could be as high as 1,500 million US dollars. All the rivers on the coastal fringe between Ahuachapán and San Miguel overflowed their banks, directly affecting 103 cantons (cantones) from 29 municipalities. The Secretariat for Vulnerability Issues (Secretaría de Asuntos para la Vulnerabilidad) reported on 20 October that La Libertad was the department with the highest number of persons severely affected, representing approximately 2,450 families (9,626 persons). The La Paz and San Vicente departments followed each with some 2,502 families (8,430 persons), Sonsonate with 2,148 families (7,722 persons) and Usulután with 1,411 families (5,794 persons). The municipality with the largest number of displaced persons is Jiquilisco, Usulután department, with 4,549 persons or 30 per cent of its total population. 1 El Salvador Flash Appeal, 2011 3 Collective Centres: At the peak of the emergency, some 59,854 persons were sheltered in 619 collective centres, 51 per cent were under 18 years old, 15 per cent were pregnant or breastfeeding women, and 7 per cent were elderly. However, the majority of families have already returned to their homes or moved with host families. As of 26 October there were 1,895 persons in 42 collective centres. Department No. of No. of No. of collective families persons centres Sonsonate 4 36 132 Santa Ana 2 13 48 San Salvador 7 35 129 La Libertad 22 278 1,388 Chalatenango 1 1 4 Usulután 1 34 101 San Miguel 2 8 35 Morazán 2 10 46 La Unión 1 3 12 Total 42 418 1,895 Schools functioning as 7 collective centres The Ministry of Public Works, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Transporte, Vivienda y Desarollo Urbano) provided preliminary reports on 26 October informing that 8,188 homes have some level of affectation or are at risk due to deteriorated structures (see Annex 1 for details). Many of the affected regions are areas where unsafe construction, overcrowding and environmental degradation are common factors. As soon as the rainfall diminished, people started to move back to their homes to protect their belongings and to take stock of the scope of the damage. However, living conditions are in some cases extremely unhealthy and/or risky. Additionally, the numbers of people returning has created a scenario where registration of affected families and their needs has become increasingly difficult. Livelihoods and food security: The Ministry of Agriculture and Husbandry (Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería) reported on 27 October losses of corn crops of over 54 per cent, and of 33 per cent in the case of bean crops. Agricultural production has been affected in 188 municipalities. On the coastal fringe and lowlands, families have lost 100 per cent of their subsistence crops as well as jobs related to agricultural production. Cultivated Affected Production Production Item area (in area partly affected lost (tons) hectares) (in hectares) (tons) Corn 271,398 93,987 44,900 179,598 Beans 119,886 58,813 15,446 16,076 Sorghum 104,914 20,972 10,385 41,542 Rice 4,671 1,838 4,193 6,558 TOTAL 500,870 175,610 74,923 243,774 In addition, there is a loss of some 50 per cent of dairy production, and about 80 per cent of vegetables have been lost in Riego de Zapotitlán, one of the main sources for San Salvador city. Furthermore, some 27,000 small fishermen and 40 ships for large scale fishing have been directly affected, particularly in the lower 4 Lempa area (Bajo Lempa): Puerto El Triunfo port, Jiquilisco Bay, Usulután and Corral de Mulas 1 and 2, in the San Juan del Gozo peninsula. The affected areas had, before the emergency, one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the country, particularly Ahuachapán, where 27 per cent of the children have chronic malnutrition2. Health: The Technical Health Commission (Comisión Técnica Sectorial de Salud) reports 122 health establishments affected: 110 health centres, 9 hospitals and 3 administrative buildings, most of them from the departments of La Paz (20 establishments), La Libertad (20 establishments) and Chalatenango (16 establishments). The Health Renal Unit of Bajo Lempa was flooded, affecting some 350 patients with chronic renal diseases who currently lack other treatment options. The activities in Sonsonate Hospital have been disrupted with their current incapability to clean laundry, affecting the hygiene conditions of their patients.