A month or so ago I
was involved in emergency contingency planning.
This means that Medair
was doing planning for the eventuality of an emergency like a cyclone (we call
them hurricanes in the US - one of the most likely emergencies that we face
here in Bangladesh). The focus was both on what we need to do in order for
Medair staff to be safe and secure as well as what we need to do for our staff
so that they have the ability to respond to the needs of the Rohingya in such a
situation.
Our contingency plan
says this about the situation that the Rohingya face in the case of
massive
monsoon or a cyclone: “Experts have evaluated the
current landscape in which the refugees
are residing and have noted critical
concerns for at least 102,000 people who
are living with a risk of flooding or
landslides. 32% percent of these households included
are considered vulnerable with female-headed households,
elderly or disabled. In addition, it is anticipated
that lifesaving services such as health facilities and water points will also
be flooded, leaving the population on islands, isolated without access
to services. Widespread flooding will cause
latrines to overflow and further infect already contaminated water
points. Use of untreated surface water could quickly result in outbreaks of
water borne diseases such as cholera or hepatitis A or E. In addition,
landslides on small and large scales are
anticipated leaving small groups of
households to large blocks of 100-200
households suddenly without shelter and also needing immediate support for
search and rescue, triage for injuries, and psychosocial support.”
 |
| Erosion in the camps (photo by T Berger) |
That paragraph gives
you an idea of what the refugees could be facing in an emergency. We have
talked before about the risk of landslides. And though officials continue to
move the most vulnerable to better sites (refugees do this spontaneously to
some degree as well), this remains a risk for the refugees and the host
communities.
 |
| Photo by Tamara Berger |
Cholera is everyone’s
worst nightmare in this situation. Given the population density that I
mentioned in an earlier blog post, the conditions are perfect for massive
morbidity and mortality from a cholera outbreak.
So the Health Project
Manager prepared her Mobile Medical Teams to be ready
to go into the camps with lifesaving measures immediately after such an event. Christine also has a Mobile Nutrition Team that has been trained in emergency nutrition and is currently working at practical simulations with nutrition clinics in order to be able to respond to the most vulnerable after such an emergency.
I assisted the Health Project Manager in getting foodstuffs, water and
other essentials out to a house that we rent just outside the camps. I organized with the vendor from whom we rent vehicles to make sure that we could have two of
his vehicles stay 24 hours/day at this house in case of an impending emergency.
And we generally prepared to run emergency services from that house.
 |
| A Rohingya Woman (photo by T Berger) |
The normal monsoon
season in Bangladesh runs from June to August with
cyclone seasons on either side in May
and September. Average rainfall is between
400-600 mm a month (15-25 inches) with single days
reaching 200mm in the past.
Thankfully, we seem to
have missed the cyclones here in Bangladesh this season! We are thankful.
I have some specific
prayer concerns to ask you to pray for:
1. 1. Christine has a
particularly difficult World Food Programme report due in the next couple of
days. Please pray for patience and wisdom in knowing how to best do this.
2.
2. I have moved into the
Logs Manager position as our manager is leaving in mid-December. Pray for my
preparedness and capacity building over the next two weeks, for wisdom as I
take over this role, and for our logistics team to continue to pull together!
3. Continue to pray for a future with hope for the Rohingya!
3. Continue to pray for a future with hope for the Rohingya!
Thank you for
journeying with us.
Phil
