India

On 25 May, a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal moved northwestwards and intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm. On 26 May, the storm continued to move northwestwards and crossed the north Odisha coast, about 20km south of Balasore. On 27 May, the cyclone moved northwestwards and further weakened into a deep depression east of Ranchi in Jharkhand state. The storm affected around 10 million people in West Bengal and 1.7 million people in Odisha. Over 2.2 million people were evacuated to relief camps in both states.

With large working-age populations and limited domestic employment opportunities, South Asian countries are a significant source of migrant labour. South Asia is the second-highest remittance-receiving region in the world, and this money sent back home by migrants plays a crucial role in poverty reduction and improving livelihoods of the households they support. Containment measures imposed in response to the pandemic in both destination and home countries have severely disrupted both the ability of migrants to work and the freedom of movement needed to enable them to return to their homes safely. Secondary impacts of COVID-19 are emerging, including labour shortages within cities that depend on migrant labourers, the stigmatisation of migrant workers who have returned to their home areas, the inability to access any form of social assistance due to lack of formal contracts, and longer-term mental and physical effects of the journey back to their homes. 

Each year we take stock of our work and put together an annual report – you may have noticed we have published a variety of formats and layouts over the years, very much reflecting our own internal learning and evolution. This year we chose to provide four different perspectives on the global humanitarian situation. Within these pages you will find a comparative analyses of 14 of the major humanitarian situations with respect to the affected populations, people in need and humanitarian access; an analysis of three highly complex and evolving regional crises the sector grappled with over the year; and a spotlight on three severe crises that did not get sufficient attention in 2019. Finally, as the year comes to a close, we have identified a number of risks that may lead to a significant deterioration of particular crises in 2020. We hope you will find these perspectives informative and useful in your planning for 2020.

Tropical cyclone Titli made landfall on the south-west coast of Gopalpur in Andhra Pradesh in the early morning of 11 October, before moving north-west, crossing north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha with maximum winds of approximately 165 kmph. Some 360,000 people, particularly from low-lying and coastal areas, were evacuated prior to the cyclone, but only 9,000 were still in relief centres as of 16 October. Strong winds have damaged approximately 29,000 houses and disrupted roads, communication and electricity supply across Odisha state and Andhra Pradesh states. The most severely affected areas are Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts in Odisha and Srikakulam, Vizianagaram districts in Andhra Pradesh.