AFGHANISTAN
Since 1 March, heavy rains and flooding have affected eight provinces and have reportedly killed more than 20 people, with others still missing or injured. Infrastructure including schools, mosques and bridges have been damaged and more than 1,600 houses have reportedly been damaged or destroyed. An estimated 85 per cent of the city of Farah has reportedly been flooded. In Kandahar, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) rescued 1,200 people trapped by flood waters with air support. Joint interagency assessment teams consisting of Government line departments, humanitarian agencies, and the Afghan Red Crescent Society have been deployed to the affected areas and initial reports suggest the priority needs across all affected provinces are for food, NFIs, hygiene kits, emergency shelter and warm clothes.
PHILIPPINES
The number of cases and deaths due to an outbreak of measles continues to rise. As of 2 March, 16,349 measles cases including 261 deaths were reported by the Department of Health (DOH). There are a number of reports of cases from the Philippines in neighboring countries. The Philippines Government has launched a large-scale information campaign urging parents to have their children vaccinated. The DOH is organising house-to-house vaccinations nationwide, with a strategy to vaccinate all children under five. The Philippine Red Cross has mobilized volunteers to support the immunization campaign and has set up tents in hospitals dedicated to responding to the measles outbreak.
261 dead in measles outbreak
MYANMAR
Armed conflict has continued between ethnic armed groups in Namtu and Hsipaw townships in Shan State with fighting near villages and temporary displacement sites. More than 1,700 people including approximately 700 children from villages in Namtu and Hsipaw have been displaced to urban areas in Hsipaw since 27 February. The displaced people are sheltering in seven locations in Hsipaw, where the local community have provided for immediate needs.
1,700 people newly displaced
INDIA
Up to 120 deaths have been attributed to a series of intense cold waves that have affected a number of states in India since 19th December. In some parts of North Rajasthan and Punjab, temperatures reached below 2 degrees Celsius. Due to the cold and climatic variations, an increasing incidence of Swine flu has been reported by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
120 dead in cold wave
INDONESIA
A number of areas have been affected by heavy rains and floods over the past week, including in East Java, South Sumatra, West Java, Bangka Beilitug, North Sulawesi, and West Sumatra provinces. In Boolang Mongondow District in North Sulawesi Province, 9 people were killed and 19 injured in landslides on the 26 February.
In South Solok District, West Sumatra Province, 21 people were injured and 101 houses were inundated in flash floods on 28 February.