Attachments
- Appeal №: MDRYE016
- To be assisted: 600,000 people
- Appeal launched: 27/08/2024
- Glide №: FL-2024-000147-YEM
- DREF allocated: CHF 1,000,000
- Disaster Categorisation: Orange
- Operation start date: 03/05/2024
- Operation end date: 30/06/2025
IFRC Secretariat funding requirement: CHF 16 million
Federation-wide funding requirement: CHF 20 million(1)
TIMELINE
- May 2024: CHF 449,100 is allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) for the April floods.
- July-August 2024: Unprecedented floods hit Yemen, exceeding national response capacities causing extensive infrastructure damage and the loss of lives and livelihoods.
- 7 August 2024: The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation issues an urgent request to international humanitarian organisations for support.
- August 2024: The IFRC issues a second allocation of CHF 550,900 from the IFRC’s DREF.
- August 2024: The IFRC launches an Emergency Appeal for CHF 20,000,000.
- August 2024: The IFRC issues Surge Capacity alerts requesting Rapid Response Personnel in assessment, PMER, finance, and SPRM capacity.
- September 2024: The IFRC publishes its Operational Strategy
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
Heavy rains have caused destruction and displacement in Yemen, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation. According to initial assessments by the Yemen Red Crescent Society (YRCS), 561,988 people have been directly affected by the heavy rains and flooding that recently hit the country, causing significant damage to residents and internally displaced persons’ (IDP) sites, their homes, temporary shelters, and infrastructure, impacting thousands of families, many of whom have been displaced for years. The floods have led to the destruction of a large number of mud houses and displaced persons’ tents, destroyed numerous water sources, and roads, disrupted livelihoods, submerged agricultural lands, caused severe damage to livestock – threatening food security – and moved unexploded ordinances into residential areas, posing a high risk to people and humanitarian workers responding on the ground.
Reports indicate that the floods have damaged several health care facilities impacting people’s access to essential health care services. Furthermore, Yemen, which has a long history of a fragile health system, continues to suffer from cases of acute watery diarrhoea, cholera, and dengue fever. Currently, there are significant concerns about potential outbreaks of waterborne diseases due to contaminated water sources.
According to the UNFPA, many health centres, including major hospitals such as Al Thawrah and Al Mahabisha Referral Hospitals in Al Hodeidah, have been impacted by the severe weather conditions. These facilities are facing critical shortages of essential supplies, including medical kits and intravenous fluids, which are crucial for managing the increased caseload of waterborne diseases and other flood-related health issues. According to the IOM in Marib, the floods have damaged critical infrastructure, including the destruction of electrical systems, leading to power outages that have disrupted healthcare delivery. The situation is particularly dire in the 41 camps and IDP sites across Marib, where the destruction of shelters and contamination of water sources have created a health emergency, exacerbating the challenges faced by displaced populations.
On 7 August, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation issued an urgent request to regional and international partners and international humanitarian organizations for support.
According to YRCS reports, covering the period from 28 July to 1 September 2024, approximately 80,284 families were directly affected by the rains and floods. In Al Hudaydah, 15,110 families were affected, with 83 deaths and five people reported missing. Hajjah saw 12,152 families affected, while in Sa’ada, 2,795 families were impacted, resulting in two deaths. In Taiz, 11,157 families were affected, with 15 fatalities. Marib reported 21,252 affected families, Al Jawf 2,410 families, Al Mahwit 2,079 families, Ibb 1,604 families, and an additional 11,725 families were affected in the governorates of Amran, Al Mahra, Al Bayda, Hadramawt, Ad Dale, Raymah, Dhamar, Sana’a, in addition to Sana’a capital.
Since the onset of the floods, the YRCS has been responding on the ground, gaining acceptance and access in areas with a restricted or limited presence of other humanitarian actors. With support from Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners, the YRCS has assisted 8,863 families by providing essential household items such as mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets, buckets, and hygiene kits.
Additionally, the YRCS has distributed food parcels to 5,038 families and tarpaulin sheets and mosquito nets to 1,212 families. Along with civil defense, the YRCS continues the search and rescue activities in the affected areas.
With over 4.6 million people projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity, the situation remains critical as heavy rains persist and are forecast to continue towards the end of August and into September 2024. The current overview of the situation in Yemen reveals significant gaps, including incomplete data on affected families and a lack of specific information for certain districts and areas, making it challenging to fully assess the impact of ongoing events, while access issues and security concerns further complicate data collection. As assessments continue and the rains persist, the number of affected people is likely to significantly increase and without significant international support, the situation is expected to further deteriorate.
(1) The Federation-wide funding requirement encompasses all financial support to be directed to the Yemen Red Crescent in response to the emergency. It includes the Yemen Red Crescent’s domestic fundraising requests and the fundraising appeals of supporting Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies (CHF 4 million), as well as the funding requirements of the IFRC Secretariat (CHF 16 million). This comprehensive approach ensures that all available resources are mobilised to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the affected communities.