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Summary: 299,892 Swiss francs have been allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the National Society in delivering immediate assistance to some 9,600 beneficiaries.
On the night of 2 April 2013, a severe local storm brought nearly 400 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period and resulted in heavy flooding in La Plata, the capital of the Buenos Aires province. Flooding affected over 350,000 people, caused 52 deaths and led to 3,000 evacuations.
The Argentine Red Cross planned and used DREF funds to provide support to more than 1,600 families which were severely affected by the disaster in seven neighbourhoods in La Plata (Tolosa, Ringuele, San Carlos, La Loma, Los Hornos, Altos de San Lorenzo and Villa Elvira). The DREF support to the response plan of the Argentine Red Cross included the distribution of relief items through a Cash Transfer Programme (CTP), hygiene promotion campaigns and psychosocial support. More than 317 volunteers from 22 local branches of the Argentine Red Cross had participated actively during the implementation of activities, especially during those related to hygiene promotion and psychosocial support. The IFRC delegates supported the Argentine Red Cross from the beginning of the operation with the use of the Open Data Kit (ODK) Registration System, Mega V, CTP design and implementation, as well as for the monitoring and reporting support provided by the Disaster Response, Crisis and Early Recovery Unit.
The Argentine Red Cross and the IFRC Secretariat extend their gratitude to the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Government for the support provided and also to Coca Cola Foundation and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG-ECHO) for their generous contributions to replenish the allocation made to this operation. Other major donors and partners of this DREF operation include the Australian, American and Belgian governments, the Austrian Red Cross, the Australian Red Cross, the Danish Red Cross and Danish Government, the Irish and the Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross, the Luxembourg Government, the Red Cross of Monaco and the Monaco Government, the Netherlands Red Cross and Netherlands Government, the Norwegian Red Cross and the Norwegian Government, the Spanish Government, the Swedish Red Cross and the Swedish Government, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Zurich foundations, and other corporate and private donors, whose support made possible this operation.