Several days of heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu in southern India has led to flash floods particularly affecting Cuddalore district. As of 14 November, 56 people have been reported killed and at least 29,000 people have been evacuated, the majority from rural areas. The total number of people affected is not known.

As of 17 July, 227 Palestinians have been killed, and 1,585 injured as a consequence of the hostilities. According to OCHA, nearly 80% of the casualties were civilians, of whom over a quarter were children.

Some 1,660 homes have either been destroyed or damaged, prompting the displacement of 9,900 individuals.

This is an update of the Briefing Note on the Humanitarian Impact of Operation Protective Edge on the Gaza Strip, published by ACAPS on 17/07/2014, in which drivers of the current conflict are fully elaborated.

As of 16 November, close to 820,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea in 2015. 85% of the arrivals are from the world’s top ten refugee-producing countries. As the sea route to Italy via North Africa is longer and more risky, and as the number of Syrians has increased, more people are travelling through Greece and then through the Balkans to reach northern and western Europe.

Over 800,000 asylum seekers and refugees have made their way towards Europe by land and sea in 2015. As the sea route to Italy via North Africa is longer and more risky, and as the number of Syrians have increased, more people are traveling through Greece and then through the Balkans to reach northern and western Europe. 

The Zika virus epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean is most affecting Brazil, with over one million cases estimated. Colombia reports over 18,000 confirmed and 2,000 suspected cases and anticipates over 650,000. El Salvador reports over 6,000 suspected cases. Venezuela reports over 4,500 confirmed cases, however unofficial estimates are thought to be as high as 400,000. 

500,000 people in the Central American “Dry Corridor”, covering El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, are estimated to be facing severe food insecurity, while around 1.3 million are facing moderate food insecurity. An El Niñorelated dry spell has resulted in significant crop losses during the primera season in all four affected countries for the second consecutive year, severely limiting food reserves in affected areas.

Socio-political tensions are rising in Burundi with the approach of parliamentary and presidential elections in May and June, and the constitutional court’s approval of President Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term. Mass protests since 26 April have turned violent. More than 39,000 have fled to neighbouring countries. Inter-ethnic tensions, a rift between the military and the police, and an existing challenging humanitarian situation are all potential aggravating factors. 

Political tensions in Burundi escalated after the President announced his intention to run for a third term in April. Violent protests in the capital have killed 20 and injured 200. On 13 May, leaders of the army attempted a coup, which failed after two days of violent clashes. The situation remains tense and people are fleeing the country. 

24,354 people have been affected by heavy winds and floods in seven regions of Burkina Faso. The most affected areas were Bissighin and Kilwin neighbourhoods in the capital Ouagadougou (Centre region), and Dallo department (Centre Ouest region). Rains are expected to continue until the end of August, and gaps have been identified in the response for food security, health, rehabilitation and protection. 

Continuous, heavy rainfall, commencing on 13 May, has resulted in extensive flooding in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Croatia. The economic impact is enormous. Preliminary estimates show recovery costs of more than one billion euros (USD 1.4 billion) in Serbia and hundreds of millions of euros for BiH. In Croatia, damage to agriculture alone is expected to reach at least 30 million euros.

Category five Tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu in the evening of 13 March 2015, with winds of more than 250km/hr and has affected the entire country, but particularly in the central and southern provinces. On 13 March, the Government issued a ‘red alert’ to all six provinces, advising people to seek shelter immediately.

Keterlambatan mulainya musim hujan disebabkan oleh El Nino. Curah hujan yang berkurang ini menunda penanaman padi musim panen pertama. Diperkirakan 3 juta orang Indonesia hidup di bawah garis kemiskinan di daerahdaerah yang terkena dampak kekeringan antara bulan Oktober dan Desember 2016, 1,2 juta di antaranya bergantung pada curah hujan untuk produksi pangan dan mata pencaharian. 

Late onset of the monsoon season caused by El Niño resulted in a late onset of the monsoon season. This reduced rainfall delayed rice planting of the first season harvest. An estimated 3 million Indonesians live below the poverty line in areas that were severely impacted by drought between October and December 20161, 1.2 million of whom are reliant on rainfall for their food production and livelihoods. 

This report documents the secondary humanitarian problems and impacts of largescale Ebola outbreak on the different humanitarian sectors, to provide a non-exhaustive plan to help future responders. A large scale Ebola outbreak, in this document, refers to an epidemic with an unprecedented scale, geographical spread and duration. 

A suspected outbreak of Lassa viral hemorrhagic fever was announced in Nigeria on 8 January. The Lassa virus is carried by the multimammate rat and can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with soiled objects; eating contaminated food; or person to person transmission. 

After the Ebola outbreak was declared in Sierra Leone, in June 2014, early messages about the high mortality rate of Ebola were met with fear and denial by many communities. This is the second of two reports that ACAPS is producing with the aim of identifying lessons learned and good practice in community-led communication processes. This report focuses on Sierra Leone and the first covers Liberia.

After the Ebola outbreak was declared in Liberia in March 2014, early portrayal of Ebola as an incurable killer disease was met with intense mistrust, resistance and fear by many communities and early responders. As the outbreak spread, it was important to find appropriate ways to inform people how they could minimise the risk of catching the disease and what to do if it affected them and their families.

This report outlines the countries considered to be in greatest humanitarian need as we approach the end of 2015. Based on our weekly monitoring, and three years of data on humanitarian needs across 150 countries, we have identified eleven countries where humanitarian needs are likely to be highest in 2016, as well as seven that merit attention, as they face a potential spike in needs. A final section considers the potential impact of the current El Niño event across a number of regions.

On 20 November, a new Ebola virus disease case was confirmed in Monrovia, capital of Liberia. At least 153 contacts have been identified and are being monitored. Food and water were delivered on 21 November to high risk contacts.