Violent rainstorms repeatedly hit a vast area of China for about 24 days during June and July, causing severe casualties and tremendous damages in 11 provinces and municipalities in the south and along the Huai and Yangtze rivers. There were thousands of landslides in mountain areas and in the plains, the water level in the main rivers and their tributaries rose rapidly overflowing the embankments. Many cities have been flooded while thousands of villages have been submerged for days in flood waters that rose up to 4 meters.

Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou are among the worst affected provinces.

Rainstorms still continue in parts of the affected provinces, causing new casualties and damages. Medical teams have been sent among the evacuated people to treat the injured and those suffering illnesses such as diarrhoea, vomiting, coughs and colds and various skin diseases – the most frequently reported illnesses in the shelter camps. Meanwhile, large amounts of fast food, food rice, drinking water, medicine, water purifiers, fuel, clothing, blankets and tents are being delivered and distributed among the displaced people. However, in spite of all these efforts, food rice, drinking water, medicine, clothing, blankets, and materials needed to set up make-shift shelters are still urgently needed as the number of people needing assistance is so great.

ACT member the Amity Foundation is proposing an assistance programme for the most vulnerable families comprising: food rice, medicines, blankets along with rehabilitation of homes, schools and irrigation facilities in the most affected and comparatively poorer prefectures: Yunshang Prefecture in Anhui Province, Huai’an Prefecture in Jiangsu Province, and Xiangxi Prefecture in Hunan Province.

Project Completion Date:

31 July 2004

Amity is dealing with 2-3 emergency responses per year, in a very specific environment. Through each response Amity is learning new lessons regarding assessment, planning, actual implementation, monitoring and reporting. Amity has indicated that it would like to add also components like disaster preparedness and training, both related to the own organisation, the partner network and the affected communities. In consultation with the Amity, the ACT CO therefore wishes to conduct an evaluation of the different emergency responses done in the last few years, looking at the responses itself, the implementation set up with the local partners and governments, as well as the organisational capacity. The findings and recommendations are expected to assist both Amity and the ACT CO in strengthening the capacity of Amity. Therefore a budget component for both ACT evaluation and ACT Coordination are included within this appeal.

Signed by:
Thor-Arne Prois, ACT Director

For full details of proposals and budgets, please click below to download a PDF file of the entire Appeal.

China - Assistance to flood affected - ASCN32 (file size: 44 Kb)

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