VIETNAM: 1997 MEKONG DELTA FLOODS 17 June appeal no. 15/96 situation report no. 2 (FINAL) period covered: October 1996 - April 1997 Background In early October 1996 unusually heavy monsoon rains caused widespread flooding in the vast low lying areas of the Mekong Delta. Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes and damage to rice fields and infrastructure such as roads, clinics, schools and houses was extensive. More than 200 people, including 132 children, were killed. Total damage was estimated at about USD 200,000,000. The devastation came on the heels of an estimated USD 400 million worth of damage caused two months earlier by typhoons and floods in North and Central Vietnam. In the two disasters combined more than 1000 people perished. In response to the Delta disaster, the Red Cross mobilised its network in all the affected provinces. Youth volunteers and other Red Cross members assisted in evacuating people to safer places, giving first aid and recovering dead bodies. In October 1996 the Federation launched an international appeal seeking CHF 1,501,000 to assist 386,500 beneficiaries in eight Mekong provinces, and the two North/Central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An, struck just before by tropical storms. The operation was divided into two phases. The first phase was designed to assist 197,700 beneficiaries in five Mekong provinces -- An Giang, Dong Thap, Long An, Kien Giang and Soc Trang -- with seven relief items: rice, boats, medicine, fishing nets, plastic sheets, mosquito nets and blankets. For the two North /Central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An, 25,000 beneficiaries were to be assisted with 20 kg of rice over a two months period. The second phase was scheduled to assist 163,800 beneficiaries in five Mekong provinces: Tien Giang, Can Tho, Vinh Long, Kien Giang and Soc Trang with the same relief items as mentioned above. The first phase of the operation was carried out from 21 December 1996 to 5 February 1997. The second phase lasted from 15 March 1997 to 10 April 1997. 1
Red Cross objectives and action plan Objectives The general objectives of the operation were: - to provide emergency relief to 361,500 of the most vulnerable people in eight flood stricken Mekong provinces and to 25,000 of the most vulnerable poor people in the two North/Central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An. - to enable beneficiaries to remain in their communities in order to rehabilitate their homes, paddy fields, clinics, schools, roads, etc. - to reduce future vulnerability by providing rice, boats, fishing nets, blankets, plastic sheets and medicine to help them overcome losses. Action plan The table below shows what distributions were originally planned and what actually took place: Item Unit Distributed Planned Deviation Rice mt 1,199.84 1,289.00-89.16 Boat pc 7,650 7,650 0 Fishing net pc 11,300 11,300 0 Mosquito net pc 13,000 13,000 0 Blanket pc 13,000 13,000 0 Plastic sheet m 33,100 33,100 0 Medical kit unit 0 4,662-4662 For management control, a General Action Plan was drawn up by VNRC HQ and the Federation Delegates at an early stage in the operation. It detailed all distribution and budget figures, including those for various indirect costs, down to provincial level. Thus all forthcoming pledges could be easily linked up with the Red Cross provincial chapters and from there on transformed into operational plans at district and commune levels. See tables 1 for more information on distributions. Implementation In the original plan, the first distribution phase was scheduled for November 1996, but due to delays in the preparation of plans at provincial and districts levels it did not start until 21 December. First phase distributions were completed by 5 February 1997. The second phase distribution was delayed by more than two weeks because of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. Due to unfavourable exchange rates for the US dollar against the CHF at the time of implementation, the funds transferred could not cover the cost of all the items planned for. In this situation, the National Society decided to compensate by using some locally raised 2
funds to purchase medicine and part of the rice. Only 1,199,84 MT of the scheduled 1,289 MT of rice could be purchased with Federation funds. In all provinces and districts, implementation was carried out in close co-operation with the local People's Committees, whose representatives participated in beneficiary selections as well as distribution procedures. Purchasing was carried out in accordance with pre-defined quality standards and on a quotation basis, usually with the involvement of the Price Control Department of the local authorities. In all cases the beneficiaries were selected on the basis of well-defined criteria and in close co-operation with representatives of the affected communities. Distribution procedures included detailed beneficiary registration, and distribution records were kept properly. The relief operation The relief operation covered eight of the most affected Mekong provinces -- An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Can Tho, Long An, Tien Giang and Vinh Long -- and the two North/Central provinces, Ha Tinh and Nghe An. The operation originally targeted 386,500 poor and vulnerable beneficiaries, but due to lower than anticipated exchange rates between US dollars and CHF, the total number of beneficiaries was reduced to 362,353. Beneficiary selection criteria were : - Level of damage to family property - Families which lost one or members in the disaster - Degree of vulnerability, such as families with many children, or with handicapped persons in the household, widows and old people. - Size of paddy field compared to family size. Results obtained In terms of quantities distributed, the plans and objectives of the operation were generally met, but unfavourable exchange rates resulted in a reduction in the number of beneficiaries, and in the total amount of rice distributed, as indicated above. All the medicine and some of the rice had to be purchased with local funds. All other items were distributed according to plan. There were some problems with the boats: in some places, production was slow due to lack of suitable wood. Quality measures Despite some delays in the implementation of the Appeal, the first objective, of providing emergency relief to target beneficiaries, was met. The people in the target group were selected from among the most poor and needy and the relief items provided helped them overcome the losses they suffered and concentrate more quickly on their own rehabilitation. The relief supplies contributed towards the second objective, that of enabling beneficiaries to remain in their communities and take part in the rehabilitation of their rice fields, houses and other infrastructure. 3
The third objective of reducing future vulnerability was met to the extent that the target group were relieved of some of their material worries and thus could put more effort and energy into rehabilitation. Problems encountered Before implementation General problems in the pre-implementation period included a slow response from some provinces in making their plans available to the 2nd office. As a result, the presentation of the 2nd office plans of action and distribution plans to Geneva was delayed. During implementation In some provinces flooded roads caused problems in transporting relief items. Another problem was delays in boatbuilding in some places due to lack of proper building materials. After implementation The shortage of funds for purchasing all planned items led to some locally raised funds being used together with Federation funds. It took some effort to sort out the financial records after the completion of the operation. Monitoring The Federation has one Disaster preparedness (DP) Delegate based in Hanoi and a Development Delegate in Ho Chi Minh City. During the relief operation the DP Delegate focused on assisting the VNRC with overall planning, but also spent considerable time on monitoring and supervising the field distributions. The Delegate from HCMC was also called upon to take part in monitoring the distributions. Finances Please refer to the attached financial report. Given the significance of the disaster preparedness programme (DPP) in Vietnam, it is recommended that the balance of this appeal be used for the VNRC's DPP in 1997. Donors are asked to contact the Federation Secretariat before end of July 1997, if there are any comments on this proposal. General Conclusions The chief strengths and main achievements of the operation were its ability to deliver assistance to a relatively high number of poor and needy beneficiaries in eight provinces in the Mekong Delta and to two provinces in North/Central Vietnam and to reduce the impact of the disasters on their lives. A major weakness of the operation has been the sometimes slow implementation, especially during the second phase in the Mekong Delta, and slow reporting from some provincial levels. The main reason was the Vietnamese New Year in February. Another problem was the mixing of locally raised amounts with money coming through Geneva. Time was taken up sorting this out. 4
Some lessons 1. Reduce the time spent on preparing action plans for Geneva, since this contributes to the slow arrival of funds from Geneva. 2. Concentrate assistance on fewer provinces, districts and communes in order to secure a more timely and efficient operation. 3. Increase Red Cross ability to enhance and promote the relation between relief and development. 4. All relief in the Mekong area should be implemented before Tet to avoid prolonging the operation. If necessary the operation should be conducted in a single phase. 5. Make allowance for changing areas and/or relief items to be distributed if implementation is delayed. Ann Naef Acting Head Appeals & Reports Service Hiroshi Higashiura Director Asia & Pacific Department 5
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