Burundi : Situation Report - 8 November 2019

HIGHLIGHTS

• IOM and Red Cross respond to devastation caused by torrential rains, affecting over 3,000 people in Burundi in Muyinga Province
• Ebola prevention: UNICEF supports Burundian schoolchildren's hygiene awareness
• The Ebola vaccination campaign reaches 4,105 people including 130 humanitarian workers
• OCHA hosts the 2020 humanitarian response planning workshop

BACKGROUND

IOM and Red Cross respond to devastation caused by torrential rains, affecting over 3,000 people in Burundi in Muyinga Province

On 1 October 2019, torrential rains injured nine people and caused two deaths in Gashoho commune, of Muyinga Province. On 2 October 2019, IOM conducted a rapid assessment, in collaboration with the Provincial Disaster Management Platform, Red Cross Burundi, and World Vision International, and identified 3,125 people affected by the disaster, of whom 789 have been displaced. In terms of damage, 107 houses have been entirely destroyed, 504 have been partially destroyed, and a further 186 have had their roofs blown off. In response, 692 Shelter and NFI kits were distributed by Red Cross volunteers between Thursday 31 October and Friday 5 November 2019 (346 from OIM which were funded by the UK Department for International Development and 346 from the Red Cross). Further assistance to respond to shelter needs will be provided in the coming weeks.

Burundi is among the twenty most vulnerable countries to climate change and natural hazards. These climate events regularly affect the country and account for three quarters (77 per cent) of Internal Displacement Persons (IDPs). As of September 2019, there are 103,412 IDPs in Burundi, of which roughly 79,600 are displaced due to natural disasters (including over 8,400 displaced since January 2019). With the early onset of the September 2019 rainy season and forecasts which indicate above average rainfall is to be expected, there is a greater risk of flooding and other disasters in the coming months which could increase the number of IDPs.

The shelter sector requires US$11.7 million to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable in Burundi including those affected by natural disasters.