Ecuador: Floods OCHA Situation Report No. 1

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2006/0043
OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Ecuador - Floods

This situation report is based on information provided by the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Ecuador and reports from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and CARE International.

Situation

1. Heavy rains since early February west of the Andes caused the water level of the Guayas Basin and several rivers to rise, provoking flooding and landslides in 35 cantons of the 5 coastal provinces of El Oro, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Los Rios, and Manabi. The flooding is affecting areas that already suffered from flooding in 2005. The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology expects heavy rains to continue until April.

2. The floods are affecting houses, roads and farmland. According to Civil Defense authorities in the affected provinces, as of 11 March, 9 people had died (4 in El Oro and 5 in Los Rios), 474 families lost their homes, 315 families had been evacuated, and 17,535 families directly or indirectly affected (1,683 in Manabi, 13,794 in Los Rios, 999 in Guayas, 313 in Esmeraldas, and 746 in El Oro). An estimated 5,000 families have become highly vulnerable following the loss of most of their assets. Extensive damage to crops (bananas, maize, yucca, etc.) as well as poultry and livestock has been reported in some areas, which will cause important economic losses in the agricultural sector. The damage to primary and secondary roads and bridges is complicating access to the affected areas.

3. The main problems identified are that most of the buildings housing evacuated families have been improvised and lack basic services such as safe drinking water and electricity, and that the local authorities have neither foodstuffs and relief items to assist them, nor the means to protect and cater for the most vulnerable groups. In a number of places where floodwater is receding, pools of stagnant water mixed with sewerage are generating immediate risks of outbreaks of diseases, dengue and malaria.

4. Immediate needs are for foodstuffs, drinking water, medicines and sanitation, and assistance for the repair and reconstruction of houses.

National response

5. The humanitarian response is focusing on 5,000 families considered to be highly vulnerable due to the loss of most of their assets, while UN recovery efforts, which UNDP will lead, will focus on over 17,000 families directly or indirectly affected.

6. The Government has deployed 6 health units to the affected areas, has distributed foodstuffs and medicines, and is planning to send more assistance, including foodstuffs, medicines, and household items such as mattresses and water containers. The Government has also made USD 20 million available to assist farmers whose livestock has been affected.

7. The national and local capacity to respond is complicated by budgetary constraints, political strikes and road blockades in 8 provinces (none of which are directly affected by the floods).

8. At the request of the Government, a UN interagency team comprising WFP, UNDP, WHO/PAHO, and UNFPA visited the affected provinces of Esmeraldas (Eloy Alfaro), Guayas (Salitre), Los Rios (Baba) and Manabi (Portoviejo, Montecristi) from 14-23 February in order to carry out a preliminary assessment of the damage and the major needs of the population, evaluate the local capacities for disaster prevention, response preparedness, response, and rehabilitation, and formulate recommendations for improvements where necessary.

9. On 15 March, 800 Government/WFP food rations were distributed by the Red Cross and the Civil Defence to flood victims in Los Rios and El Oro provinces and on 16 March, an additional 1,000 of them to flood victims in Manabi province.

10. Due to the worsening of the situation, WFP dispatched an assessment team to Manabi province on 14 March, whose preliminary findings indicate that the most severely affected cantons are Chone, Tosagua, Rocafuerte, and Sucre.

11. The Ecuadorian Red Cross (CRE) has responded to the disaster by launching search and rescue operations, providing primary health care, distributing relief supplies, engaging in shelter management, and carrying out needs assessments. The CRE has developed a plan of action focusing on the provision of relief and hygiene items to 1,600 families in El Oro, Guayas, Los Rios, and Manabi provinces.

12. CARE International has completed assessments of the situation and needs in the cantons of Huaquillas, in the border area with Peru, and Arenillas (El Oro province).

International Response

13. So far, there has been no request for international assistance.

14. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has made CHF 75,000 (approximately USD 56,900) available to the CRE from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund.

15. At the request of the UN Resident Coordinator, OCHA has allocated an OCHA Emergency Grant of USD 40,000 and an additional USD 40,000 from emergency funds pre-positioned with OCHA by the Government of Norway for the local purchase of 5,000 food rations and medical and sanitation supplies to assist the affected population.

16. OCHA remains in close contact with the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and will continue reporting as further information is made available.

17. This situation report, together with the information on contributions and other ongoing emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int

MAP: Ecuador: Floods - Situation map

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Ms. Marie Spaak
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Press contact:

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