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Peru

North Coast of Peru 2017 Flash Appeal (April)

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FLASH APPEAL
US$ 38.3 million
Required to support 320,000 people in the North Coast (Ancash, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Piura and Tumbes.).

This document was prepared by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs with support of partners and the national government. It covers the period from April to October 2017.

PERU

SITUATION OVERVIEW

IMPACT

The El Niño coastal phenomenon, triggered by the increase in sea surface temperature, has caused continuous rainfall in February and March and has led to 12 departments and one constitutional province, particularly on the northern coast, being declared under emergency. The number of people affected and severely affected from this event is over one million. According to official forecasts, the El Niño coastal phenomenon could continue until the end of April with moderate magnitude. As a result of this situation, the state of emergency would continue and the number of the severely affected people would increase.

Increases in rainfall have led to severe flooding in rural communities and urban areas in 24 of the country's 25 departments. Of the 1.1 million people affected in the country, approximately 339,614 are women and 358,602 are children and adolescents, considering both affected and severely affected persons. One third of the affected population, i.e. about 315,000 people, live in the department of Piura.

In general, needs have been identified in the following sectors: housing; water, basic sanitation and hygiene; health; food security and nutrition; protection, early recovery and livelihoods. In the four most affected departments, 59 per cent of the population impacted faces food insecurity (50% moderate and 9% severe), representing 445,000 people. About 32 per cent of the affected families are undergoing emergency and crisis survival strategies, threatening their food security and their subsistence mechanisms.

More than 9,000 children under the age of 5 and more than 31,000 children under the age of 2 have been affected and are in need of adequate food. About 280,000 people may have limited access to health services. 300,000 children and adolescents are affected and more than 1.9 million children and adolescents are unable to return to school.

Similarly, at least 550 pregnant women will require urgent interventions over the next 30 days. Another 4,900 women will experience complications related to pregnancy in the next nine months and some 5,500 women of reproductive age are at risk of sexual assault as a result of their vulnerability in the crisis-affected areas.

Preliminary official reports indicate that 32,627 homes are destroyed or uninhabitable and nearly 200,000 homes are affected. About 7 per cent of the severely affected population is staying in official shelters; in rural areas, the affected families are staying in safe houses and in groups of tents for families. Some 73,000 people would be displaced due to the loss of housing. People affected by the emergency have limited access to safe water, lack appropriate excreta disposal, and face health risks due to environmental conditions.

Flooding due to heavy rains has had a significant impact on people and their livelihoods. The affected population are predominantly families facing poverty or extreme poverty in both urban and rural areas, making them even more vulnerable to disaster loss.

Their livelihoods consist mainly of small-scale subsistence agricultural activities, production, and labour, such as marketing, artisanal fishing, and service activities (e.g. informal transport services, micro-traders).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MINAGRI) has reported that 7,000 agricultural farmers have been affected by this phenomenon, of which 80 per cent are small farmers. The National Civil Defence Institute (INDECI) reported that 53,656 hectares of crops have been affected and 20,656 hectares have been lost. MINAGRI reported that the estimated value of crop and infrastructure losses amounts to approximately S/.176 million (Approximately US$ 55 million).

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

The national Government has led the response efforts through national coordination mechanisms. The logistics for humanitarian assistance is carried out by the Armed Forces, by land, sea, and air. As of 31 March, more than 1,900 metric tons of humanitarian goods have been delivered. Such humanitarian goods include 395 MT of food, 344 MT of apparel, 75 MT of household utensils, 54 MT of tools, and 1,199 MT of roofing materials.

After the immediate response to the damages caused by heavy rains and landslides (huaycos) in various areas of the country, the Government of Peru (GoP) designed a rehabilitation plan to be implemented within the next 90 to 120 days. The objective is to address the essential needs of the affected and severely affected people, bringing back to normal their day-to-day activities and setting the basic conditions for the subsequent reconstruction phase.

The Plan has a cross-sectoral and intergovernmental approach, drawing on existing Government institutions and systems to carry out operations as efficiently as possible. The components of the Plan are: housing, health, education, employment, and roads and pathways.

In the housing component, the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation (MVCS) has determined that its main action is to implement as many Initial Housing Units (UVI) considering the extent of collapsed houses, i.e. approximately 20,000. INDECI will lead the installation of community shelters in the districts with severely affected persons (currently, there are more than 150,000), and will ensure that they operate according to international standards; hence permanent coordination with sectors and with regional and local governors is essential.

The health component (including food), spearheaded by the Ministry of Health (MINSA), seeks to keep under control the proliferation of diseases such as dengue, through intensive fumigation campaigns in high-risk areas. Likewise, the MVCS’ priority is to purchase and distribute motor pumps and hydrojets to eliminate the floods caused by the rains. MVCS is also focusing on the rehabilitation of water and sewage systems, and on supplying water with tank-trucks while normal service recovers. On the other hand, the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) oversees waste collection by local governments and ensures solid waste in shelters is properly handled. The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations MIMP) is coordinating the work of volunteers at a national level, as well as coordinating shelters, protection, and safeguarding the mental health of women and children. Regarding food, the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (MIDIS) is working to provide all shelters with food.

The education component, led by the Ministry of Education, aims to restart classes as soon as possible for the more than 300,000 students affected by the disaster. To this end, the Ministry is looking for alternative premises, such as tents or prefabricated classrooms, to be used as classrooms until school facilities have been cleared and refurbished.

As for employment, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion will generate, through the "Trabaja Peru" programme, 20,000 jobs to carry out recovery and disaster prevention tasks in the districts that are most affected or declared under a state of emergency. In addition, MINAGRI will implement a fumigation program in all districts affected, and will give S/.1,000 payments to farmers whose production has been affected.

Finally, the roads and pathways component, led by the Ministry of Transports and Communications (MTC), seeks to restore the usability of more than 3,000 kilometres of the national road network. With respect to the departmental road network, it is necessary to first assess the damages caused and to think about an efficient mechanism of procurement, distribution and installation of the modular bridges that will be required.

To oversee this Plan, a weekly monitoring mechanism has been put in place, which consists of a meeting with all the sectors involved, where progress of milestones (through alerts) for each of the components of the Plan is reviewed and decisions are made at the highest level, to overcome bottlenecks.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

The United Nations (UN) is providing complementary support to government relief efforts. On 21 March, a Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team (UNDAC) was deployed to support coordinating actions of the National Humanitarian Network (NHN) partners, as well as assessing humanitarian needs in the most affected areas, in coordination with humanitarian partners and government counterparts. NHN humanitarian actors present in affected areas coordinate with local authorities.

On 23 March, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) issued an international appeal for CHF 3.9 million to support 10,000 families for 12 months.

Sectoral leaders support the coordination of actions within their groups and with their national counterparts nationwide.

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