BANGLADESH: FLOODS. The context. appeal no. 20/2000 situation report no. 10; Programme extension to 31 May period covered: 11 March - 30 April 2001

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1 BANGLADESH: FLOODS 4 May 2001 appeal no. 20/2000 situation report no. 10; Programme extension to 31 May period covered: 11 March - 30 April 2001 Given delays in programme implementation, the flood relief operation has been extended to 31 May 2001, by which time it is expected that distributions of food and non-food items under phases III and IV will have been completed. Procurement of goods has been finalised, together with delivery to the warehouse in Jessore. With the approach of the cyclone season, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) is focusing on disaster preparedness measures. The context As of August 2000, Bangladesh suffered from early monsoonal flooding caused mainly by water draining from north-east India, Nepal and Bhutan into the Bay of Bengal through the major river basins of Bangladesh. This flooding caused massive river erosion which forced around 1.5 million people to flee their homes. On 29 August, a tidal surge in the Bay of Bengal caused severe damage to Sandwip island and nearby areas. At the end of September 2000, unusually high rainfall in the upper catchment areas of the Ichamati and Sonai Rivers caused extensive flooding in south-west Bangladesh., affecting an estimated 2.7 million people in six districts. In these areas, unlike other parts of Bangladesh, floods had not occurred for over 60 years. Therefore, the population was not prepared for such a crisis which resulted in extensive material damage. Although much of the flood waters receded soon after, in six sub-districts of three of these districts a combination of low-lying lands, a lack of outlets to drain water, and silting up of drainage channels left large areas of land under stagnant water. An estimated 1.4 million people remained in perilous conditions in fragile temporary shelters, with few belongings, facing the cold winter temperatures with little warm clothing. Overall, these monsoon-related disasters have left over 4 million people homeless. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, with the support of the Federation, has taken the lead in supporting the efforts of the government of Bangladesh in the provision of relief and rehabilitation assistance in each of the affected districts.

2 Latest events The attention of the international and national media has been focused on the recent border incidents between Bangladesh and India, in particular in Kurigam district in the north where an incident occurred for the first time on 18 April 2001, affecting the lives of families living along the border area. Tension has reportedly been growing along the Bangladesh-Indian border except in the south (Bay of Bengal). As the armed forces on both sides are building up their troops, the people of the frontier villages have already started to leave their houses. In response to the request of the BDRCS Kurigram unit for emergency relief assistance, a survey team was formed and sent from the BDRCS headquarters in Dhaka to the field in order to make a damage assessment. The findings of the team were presented to the Federation with a request for assistance with food, kitchen utensils and house repair materials for 76 families whose houses, fruit trees and livestock were burned and rice and potato fields damaged. As for the south western districts, rehabilitation of destroyed housing units continues to be a problem for the vast majority of the affected population. Despite promises given by the government of Bangladesh to provide grants of Tk 1,000 to all affected families, no disbursement of grants has taken place to date. Although the majority of the affected population had managed to build makeshift huts, with the onset of the north westerly winds, many of these houses have been blown away, making the flood affected populations homeless once more. Due to severe hot spells which hit Bangladesh during the month of April, together with scarcity of water, the national media reports that over 50,000 people have been registered as suffering from diarrhoea and 40 people have already died. The nine districts most affected by the outbreaks of diarrhoea are: Dhaka, Comilla, Noakhali, Barisal, Bagerhat, Bhola, Patuakhali, Feni and Pirojpur. The political situation in the country has been tense during the reporting period. On 15 April, during the Bengali New Year celebration in the central park in Dhaka, a bomb went off killing eight and injuring dozens of innocent civilians who had come to celebrate their national holiday. The number of hartal days (national stoppages of motorised transport), also increased and over three weeks of April, the opposition party leaders called for nine hartal days. Forthcoming parliamentary elections, bringing significant increases in hartal days, continue to impede the implementation of relief operations. Red Cross/Red Crescent action Relief Programme The implementation of the relief operation has been extended to 31 May Red Cross/Red Crescent relief assistance is being carried out in four phases: As reported in situation report no. 9, phases I and II were successfully completed in January The following food relief items were distributed to 1,304,800 beneficiaries: Rice Chira Gur Dal MT MT MT MT Phase III and Phase IV (non-food) items The procurement process of relief items for phases III and IV has been successfully completed. All items have been procured and delivered to the central warehouse in Jessore, from where onward dispatch is organised by the BDRCS relief department to all eight districts for distribution to the 2

3 affected population. During the reporting period, the BDRCS organised and successfully completed the distribution of sarees, lunghis and blankets. The majority of food items (rice and dal) has also been distributed and it is expected that food distribution will be completed during the first week of May in accordance with the distribution timetable prepared by BDRCS district branches. As for the distribution of corrugated iron (CI) sheeting and plastic sheeting, all districts have prepared distribution plans and a schedule. Dispatch of CI and plastic sheeting from the central warehouse in Jessore to the respective districts started at the end of April and, according to the distribution plan, the distribution will commence during the first week of May. The BDCRS is expecting to complete the distribution by 15 May. Name of the Unit Rajshahi District Phase III: Allocation food and non-food items Rice (kg) Dal (kg) Lunghi Allocation of food and non-food items for Phase III Phase III and IV distribution March to May 2001 Children Sweater 2,100 Sarees Rice Dal Phase IV: Allocation Blankets CI Sheeting Plastic Sheeting 1'300 No. of families 5,700 No. of beneficiaries 31,920 Chapai-Nawabganj 2,400 5,800 32,480 Jhenidah 25,000 5,000 1,820 60' '500 6,857 38,397 Meherpur 25,000 5,000 2,100 60' '500 6,950 38,920 Chuadanga 40,000 8,000 3, '000 28'000 4'900 3'000 11,000 61,600 Satkhira 60, ,000 6,000 7, '000 43'000 7'000 8'400 5'000 17,500 98,000 Kustia 1,820 50'000 10'000 5,607 31,397 Jessore 40,000 8,000 3, ' '900 3'000 11,000 61,600 Total: 250,000 50,000 26,000 22,240 26, ' '000 25'000 33'600 18'300 72, ,315 Medical component As previously reported, this activity was successfully completed in December A total of 150,547 beneficiaries received health assistance from 22 medical teams. Outstanding needs The appeal is 98.6 per cent covered and there are no outstanding needs. External relations - Government/UN/NGOs/Media The BDRCS/Federation continues to liaise with government agencies, UN agencies, DFID, NGOs, diplomatic missions and the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB) which co-ordinates the relief activities of NGOs and the media. The Federation delegation also continues to participate in the Local Consultative Group (LCG) on Disaster and Emergency Response. The LCG s objective is to put in place and implement better operational systems to ensure a more co-ordinated response from the government of Bangladesh, donors, international organisations and NGOs in the event of sudden natural disasters. Contributions See Annex 1 for details. 3

4 Conclusion It is expected that the 2000 flood relief operation will be successfully completed by the end of May, following which the final report will be produced. It is important to mention that the cyclone season is fast approaching. The BDRCS and the Federation are focusing on the National Society s disaster preparedness programmes in order to be able to respond quickly to emerging cyclone/flood situations. Peter Rees-Gildea Head a.i. Relationship Management Department Hiroshi Higashiura Head Asia & Pacific Department This and other reports on Federation operations are available on the Federation's website: 4

5 BANGLADESH - FLOODS 2000 ANNEX 1 APPEAL No.20 /2000 PLEDGES RECEIVED CASH TOTAL COVERAGE REQUESTED IN APPEAL CHF > 3'796' % AMERICAN - PRIVATE 20 USD AUSTRIAN - RC 25'000 EUR 38' BANGLADESH - PRIVATE 3' BRITISH - RC 45'000 GBP 113' BRITISH - RC 55'000 GBP 142' FOOD & OPERATIONAL NEEDS BRITISH - RC 40'000 GBP 100' RELIEF ITEMS BRITISH - RC 60'000 GBP 151' RELIEF ITEMS CANADIAN - RC 20'000 CAD 23' CHINESE - RC 20'000 USD 35' DIRECT DONATION TO NS DANISH - RC 277'500 DKK 56' ECHO (01001) 500'000 EUR 761' NON-FOOD ITEMS FINNISH - RC 33'637 EUR 52' FINNISH - RC 50'456 EUR 77' GERMAN - RC 400'000 DEM 312' CHINA,'HONG KONG - PRIVATE 100'000 BDT 3' ICELANDIC - RC 200'000 ISK 4' IRANIAN - RC 50'000 USD 88' JAPANESE - RC KOREA, REPUBLIC - RC 20' KUWAIT - RC 7'500 USD 13' LIECHTENSTEIN - RC 50' LUXEMBOURG - GOVT 5'000'000 LUF 189' NORWEGIAN - GOVT/RC 2'157'498 NOK 408' SINGAPORE - PRIVATE 50 USD SWEDISH - GOVT/RC 1'250'000 SEK 233' FLOOD RELIEF OPERATION SWISS - GOVT 100' SWISS- GOVT 2'43 BDT 80' EARMARKED FOR 140 MT RICE, 28 MT DAL EARMARKED FOR 100 MT RICE, 20 MT DAL SWISS - PRIVATE /ICRC 5' SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED IN CASH 3'226'774 CHF 85.0% KIND AND SERVICES (INCLUDING PERSONNEL) CHINA, HONG KONG - GOVT/RC '000 HKD 453' IRANIAN - RC 37'169 USD 63' RICE, DAL, TRANSPORTATION & DISTRIBUTION TENTS, BLANKETS, RICE, TEA, OIL, CLOTHES, SLIPPERS, SOAP SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED IN KIND/SERVICES 517'538 CHF 13.6% ADDITIONAL TO APPEAL BUDGET SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED 0 CHF THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS ARE LINKED TO THIS APPEAL: PBD526 5