I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

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1 El Salvador Emergency Situation Report No. 10 Reporting period: From Thursday 03 December, 2009/ 18:00 (local) 00:00 (GMT) To Thursday 10 December, 2009/18:00 (local 00:00 (GMT) I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES The a preliminary Post Disaster Needs Assessment was presented to the Government of El Salvador on Friday 4 th of December which suggests total damages and losses could amount to over USD240 million. The final report will be released in the coming weeks. UN General Assembly Resolution A/64/L.19 was published in support of the humanitarian assistance, emergency relief and rehabilitation for El Salvador as a result of the devastating effects of Hurricane Ida. The Resolution expresses its solidarity and support to the Government and the people of El Salvador and appeals to all Member States and all organs and bodies to the UN system to provide speedy support to the relief, rehabilitation and assistance effort for El Salvador. II. Situation Overview Collective centres are closing almost daily and families are searching for temporary (and permanent) housing solutions. It is necessary to find temporary shelter for affected families still in collective centres or in host families. III. Humanitarian Needs and Response Camp Management To date, 40 collective centers are still in use housing 647 families (2429 persons). The need of showers, latrines, safe drinking water and food is still a priority in the majority of collective centers. Many families are now leaving collective centers in search of other housing alternatives, including precarious settlements. More effective return/relocation process for those who remain in collective centers or with host families must be found.

2 In coordination with PAHO/WHO, 40 showers have been installed in collective centers. Together with the Vice Ministry of Housing, a data base on return and relocation will be developed to speed up this process for families in collective centers. Shelter It is estimated that 3,000 houses will need to be rebuilt to meet the needs of families with damaged and destroyed homes. The majority of these families will be relocated to new settlements in safer areas. The Vice Ministry of Housing has stated that these settlements will be developed to include all services and the physical and social infrastructure necessary for the families to re build their lives and livelihoods. The Vice Ministry has asked all actors to join efforts to achieve this goal. Collective Centres are closing almost daily and it is a priority for the Emergency Shelter Cluster (ESC) to provide assistance to those families leaving collective centres, especially to those who cannot be accommodated by host families. The Camp Management Cluster is highlighting these cases and coordinating with the ESC and the Vice Ministry to provide temporary shelter solutions to those families. Agencies are distributing household items to those families who have lost their possessions. The ESC has highlighted that once families leave collective centres they will be in need of household items and some agencies are planning to schedule distributions when the collective centres close. The Vice Ministry, together with municipal authorities, is in the process of identifying available in low risk areas. This has the lengthened the reallocation process. The lack of appropriate land to relocate families has caused delays in the delivery of assistance. The Vice Ministry is currently coordinating the efforts of the Municipalities to find permanent or temporary lands, however the process of technical certification of land is lengthy and in the meantime agencies are unable to begin the distribution of temporary shelters. The number and condition of those living with host families is unknown. Some agencies in the field highlight that host families are burdened and overcrowded and have stretched their resources to the limit, and that hosted families do not have basic shelter, household items or access to water and sanitation. The ESC has identified a gap in coordination with the Municipal authorities and reallocation plans at national level, so more coordination is needed with mayors. Health Needs The first official Health Cluster meeting was held on December 9 th, 2009 reporting 34 health establishments damaged due to Hurricane Ida. The estimated amount for construction and equipment is $9,867,

3 : During the past days, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) delivered a total of 3,745 family hygiene kits in different municipalities of La Paz, San Salvador, La Libertad and San Vicente, affected by the emergency. An assessment of the affected areas in San Vicente was jointly conducted with the Ministry of Public Health and a mobile clinic has been equipped for the provision of sexual and reproductive health services, which to date, has provided 27 medical consultations. In addition, workshops addressed to adolescents and women have been held in two affected communities in La Paz on issues such as self esteem, skills for life and building a healthy life project. Water and Sanitation Safe and equal distribution of clean water, sanitation service and hygiene awareness campaigns remain key challenges in all affected areas. Total damage to public water system in the departments of San Vicente, Cuscatlán, La Paz, La Libertad, San Salvador and Usulután has been estimated to more than USD 3 million. More than 2,000 toilets were either totally or partially damaged by the floods and their content washed away and mixed with storm water. Thousands of wells have been flooded, contaminated with storm water and many of them completely destroyed. : Distribution of hygiene kits and provision of safe drinking water through water trucking was provided during the first moments of the emergency. Basic WASH services has been provided in schools, churches and communal centers were more than 15,000 displaced people have settled. The needs to provide sufficient and safe drinking water, adequate body wash and handwashing facilities in all shelter remain a key challenge. There are not sufficient latrines, very few showers and hygiene awareness programs are needed. In many rural communities water trucking will still be necessary for the upcoming weeks until the damaged water system will repaired. Although governmental institutions such as ANDA and OPS have started repairing water pipes on the public water networks, rehabilitation is delayed due to a lack of funding. So far only one agency has received funding through the Flash Appeal and several international and local NGO s have not been able to implement their projects. It is estimated that more than 1,000 latrines still need to be re constructed and more than 600 wells need to be cleaned or repaired in rural areas. Provision of generators and repairing the electrical systems which control the functioning of pumping station is also needed. 3

4 Education Around 20 schools are still being used as collective centers. According to the Ministry of Education in order to start the 2010 school year the following actions are required: immediate rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged, provision of basic school supplies, psychosocial support to students and teachers in affected communities and the implementation of risk management plans in schools. Lead by the Ministry of Education and with the participation of cooperation agencies and NGOs, four commissions have been created to manage school infrastructure, psychosocial rehabilitation, risk management and health attention. Improving articulation among schools, community and organizations to better respond in the context of emergencies is the main challenge. This includes identifying personnel in schools and community to provide psychosocial care and strengthening risk management in education sector. Protection: Psychosocial rehabilitation remains as a priority to restore emotional integrity and their social networks. Implementation of community mental health program Carrousel, designed to provide mental health and psychosocial rehabilitation in shelters and during the first phase of the emergency as well as part of the recovery phase, where most critical needs for psychosocial support are identified. Continuing surveillance of gender violence and child abuse in affected communities must be assured. Food Assistance: Response The local purchase of 486 MT of food (with 460,000 USD from the approved IR EMOP) is underway and the P4P (Purchase for Progress Project) will be utilized as the mechanism for part of the maize and beans purchases. A total of 1,159 MT of food commodities available under the Regional PRRO will be distributed through Food for Work/Food for Training modalities. Early Recovery The first Early Recovery Cluster meeting was held on December 10 th, 2009 with the participation of 12 NGOs and other cluster leads, in order to establish cross sectoral coordination mechanisms and to propose a work plan for this cluster. Among the initial actions is the organization of a two day workshop for developing an Early Recovery Cluster Plan. 4

5 Logistics WFP is coordinating with the other Clusters to facilitate exchange of Humanitarian Logistics Information, including Customs procedures, Transport and Warehousing assets. The Inter agency Regional Logistics Hub managed by WFP at the International Airport continues to provide logistics services; including reception, storage and dispatch of relief supplies. Activities to date include: Support to UNFPA in the storage and distribution of hygiene kits in shelters. Both agencies will go on coordinating in the recovery phase; Reception, storage and distribution of USAID/OFDA non food items and water Coordination with Oxfam America and WHO the delivery of 21 water tanks mainly distributed in Health Units. Coordination with Municipalities and Local Governments for the land delivery of food and nonfood items and with the Salvadoran Army, with the support of the US SOTHCOM helicopters, for the delivery by air in isolated communities; WFP is also coordinating transport for food distribution to shelters and affected communities IV. Coordination The Cluster lead group continues to meet regularly to share information and make strategic decisions on cross cluster issues. The Information Management Group is working to obtain consolidated cluster information and updated information of who does what, where and when of all cluster partners. V. Funding TO DATE FLASH APPEAL FUNDING IS AS FOLLOWS: CLUSTER ORIGINAL OTHER NET CERF REQUIREMENTS DONORS REQUIREMENT AGRICULTURE $1,557,000 $291,860 $0 $1,265,140 CAMP MANAGEMENT $900,930 $271,181 $0 $629,749 COORDINATION $260,000 $0 $0 $260,000 EARLY RECOVERY $1,105,622 $0 $0 $1,105,622 EDUCATION $1,500,000 $0 $0 $1,500,000 FOOD ASSISTANCE $2,087,040 $423,720 $0* $1,663,320 HEALTH $1,873,478 $409,685 $206,802 $1,256,991 PROTECTION $471,200 $133,215 $0 $337,985 SHELTER $1,916,115 $530,000 $745,938 $640,177 WATER AND SANITATION $1,454,614 $426,166 $80,000 $948,448 TOTAL $13,125,999 $2,485,827 $1,032,740 $9,607,432 *ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF USD2 MILLION IS CURRENTLY IN THE PIPELINE 5

6 Of the ECHO allocation of EUR 1 million for El Salvador and Nicaragua, EUR 800,000 has been assigned for 4 emergency response projects in El Salvador, and EUR 200,000 for 1 emergency response project in Nicaragua. According the UN and Government sources, the total donations received to date amount to some USD10.5 million. VI. Contact United Nations El Salvador Crisis Coordination Centre Tel: RC Office jokin.azpiroz@undp.org Tel: Cel: laura.sheridan@undp.org Tel: Cel: National Civil Protection System Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil Tel: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores 6