Attachments
A. SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the disaster
On 16 April 2016, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake (Mw) struck the northern coast of Ecuador. The epicentre was located between Pedernales and Cojimies (Manabí province). The city of Pedernales was declared a disaster zone by the Ecuadorian government. The disaster led to the death of 663 people, caused injuries to 6,274 people, according the Ecuadorian government’s Secretariat for Risk Management. A total of 113 people were rescued alive and 9 people remain missing. Approximately 35,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 28,775 people were relocated to collective centres. Based on the population in the two most affected provinces, Manabí and Esmeraldas, more than one million people were affected directly or indirectly by the earthquake. The government declared a state of emergency in Manabí, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo, Los Ríos, Santa Elena, and Guayas. In Esmeraldas and Manabí, the state of emergency repeatedly was extended until mid-June 2017.
Summary of response
The Ecuadorian Red Cross successfully led the response to this disaster. Immediately following the earthquake, ERC volunteers, staff and leadership began their humanitarian actions in the affected regions of Manabí and Esmeraldas. The National Society, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Partner National Societies (PNSs) and the IFRC worked together to conduct search and rescue (including the management of dead bodies) and damage assessment and needs analysis (DANA). The ERC provided pre-hospital and primary health care; psychosocial support; restoring of family links, as well as humanitarian relief, shelter assistance; and water, sanitation and hygiene promotion. The IFRC deployed a shelter cluster coordination team to co-lead interagency coordination in the shelter cluster.
This 24-month operation reached a total of 150,334 people (37,583 families) (60% women and 40% men) in the first response and recovery, with relief items delivery as well as with an integral humanitarian intervention. The operation also focused on the National Society strengthening, community participation actions and public communication.
The ERC with bilateral contributions at the national level and support from PNSs, ICRC and IFRC, provided humanitarian aid in 100 communities (51 in Esmeraldas and 49 in Manabí) and in 19 collective centres. The following humanitarian assistance was distributed during this operation.