Lao PDR: Floods - Humanitarian Country Team Information Bulletin No.3 (as of 5 October 2018)

Summary

• 133,405 households and 648,605 individuals have been affected by the flooding resulting from tropical storms Sontinh and Bebinca and the sustained rainfalls, according to the latest Government reports. A total of 16,739 people have been evacuated from their villages. With the rainy season expected to continue into November, these numbers could increase. It is expected that the emergency response will be ongoing until the rainy season has ended. At the same time, the early recovery phase has started.

• Across the country, over 90,000 ha of paddy fields and 11,000 ha of other plantations have been destroyed. Currently, villagers depend on food from forests and rivers. Price hikes of food commodities (30-50% increase) have been observed in places where access was limited due to the floods. In Attapeu, the floods have reduced agricultural opportunities for both farmers and laborers, leaving a thick layer of mud on the top of the paddy fields, negatively affecting the soil fertility.

• Priority public health concerns have been reported in Attapeu province. 93 malnutrition cases have been reported in Sanamxay district (76 of Moderate Acute Malnutrition and 17 of Severe Acute Malnutrition), clusters of influenza-like illness cases have been detected in Pindong camp, and a dengue death has been reported in Sanamxay district on 11 September. In Khammouane province, Vitamin B1 was distributed for 14 days, and a monitoring system was established in response to beriberi outbreaks, which was highlighted in the previous Information Bulletin.

• 1,902 houses were assessed as totally damaged and 387 as partially damaged according to National Disaster Management Office data. Moreover, 630 km of roads and 47 bridges have been damaged.

• A Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) led by the Government was launched on 24 September. The PDNA includes 19 subsectors under the four main areas of Productive Sectors, Social Sectors, Infrastructure and CrossCutting Issues. The PDNA covers the entire country. A PDNA Secretariat has been established at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Planning and Investment as coleads. The World Bank, the United Nations Team and the EU together with INGOs are supporting the Government. The PDNA field assessments are currently underway. In addition to primary and secondary data collection, the PDNA will be utilizing satellite imagery to support the damage and loss assessment for some sectors. Findings are expected to be presented on 23 October. These will feed into the discussion at the National Assembly, the Round Table Implementation Meeting and the Mid-Term Review of 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan.

• On 5 October, the Humanitarian Country Team launched a revised Disaster Response Plan, which covers provinces beyond Attapeu, complementing the Government’s response to provide life-saving assistance to those affected by the floods. The plan asks for US$ 42.7 million, of which US$ 3,064,000 has been funded. The Humanitarian Country Team has also applied for funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to address food security, health and livelihoods in Khammouane province.