{ "id": "R45683", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R45683", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, CRSReports.Congress.gov", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 598241, "date": "2019-05-10", "retrieved": "2019-05-15T22:20:37.293045", "title": "Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Southeastern Africa: Humanitarian and Recovery Response in Brief", "summary": "Cyclone Idai, a large and powerful Category 2 tropical storm, came ashore on March 14, 2019, at Beira, a low-lying port city in central Mozambique, causing widespread devastation in southeastern Africa. On April 25, a second strong storm, Cyclone Kenneth, came ashore just north of the coastal town of Pemba in northern Mozambique. A Category 4 storm, Cyclone Kenneth featured even stronger winds than Cyclone Idai, as well as torrential rains, although it affected an area with a smaller population.\nThe Cyclone Idai system dumped torrents of rain over large parts of Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar, causing extensive flooding, mudslides, and at least one dam collapse. It also featured strong, sustained, and destructive winds, and caused widespread damage to buildings, infrastructure, and crops. Cyclone Idai\u2019s impact was extensive, covering at least 1,200 square miles; it is among the worst natural disasters on record to hit the region. The storm displaced large numbers of people, many of whom are now in need of (1) humanitarian assistance and (2) significant resources for recovery and reconstruction. Post-storm aid responses have centered on the provision of immediate relief, such as emergency food aid, shelter, and healthcare and access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), among humanitarian interventions. In the coming weeks, the focus of the response is slated to begin to shift toward early recovery and then longer-term reconstruction efforts. Cyclone Kenneth caused substantial damage to some coastal villages and towns in northern Mozambique. Heavy rains in the week following the cyclone\u2019s landfall hampered assessments and aid deliveries in some areas. As of May 9, at least 1,006 deaths in all affected countries had been attributed to Cyclone Idai, while 52 deaths had been attributed to Cyclone Kenneth.\nThe United States has played a leading role in the international humanitarian response. Days after Cyclone Idai hit, the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)\u2014the primary U.S. government response-coordinating agency\u2014deployed a small assessment team to Mozambique, with an initial focus on Beira. On March 20, OFDA activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and a U.S.-based Response Management Team. The DART, comprising 17 varied sectoral experts, has since deployed to Mozambique with a focus on assessing needs and response challenges and coordinating responses with other donors. The team\u2019s size may fluctuate based upon response needs and challenges. OFDA personnel have also conducted needs assessments in Zimbabwe and as of April 5 were doing so in Malawi.\nUSAID initially provided $700,000 in support for critical needs in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, with a focus on food aid, shelter, health, and WASH responses. Portions of this assistance were authorized to respond to pre-cyclone flooding. As of May 9, OFDA had increased such aid to a level of $28.5 million, an amount that includes funding for the delivery of other relief commodities and program support costs. In addition, USAID\u2019s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) was providing a further $38.7 million in emergency food assistance. This assistance has included locally and regionally procured emergency food commodities being delivered by the World Food Program, USAID emergency food aid warehouses being delivered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and food purchase vouchers. It is not yet clear how much of this U.S. assistance may be part of the U.S. response to U.N. appeals.\nOn March 24, DOD announced that U.S. Africa Command\u2019s (AFRICOM) would provide up to $6.5 million in DOD Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid (OHDACA) account-funded transport of relief materials, responders, and third-party personnel for up to 10 days, beginning on March 22. DOD, in support of needs identified by OFDA, then deployed three C-130 aircraft to provide aid commodity transport services, along with land cruisers supporting onward local delivery of aid. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), AFRICOM\u2019s regional operational headquarters unit, led the DOD response.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45683", "sha1": "35bd31760ba8c4809eabec005735f65ada2a1e23", "filename": "files/20190510_R45683_35bd31760ba8c4809eabec005735f65ada2a1e23.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45683_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190510_R45683_images_c07bc6c4bdec8d4828a4311fc469386afa519b09.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45683_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190510_R45683_images_51bc91e9d31a7d6cd1a16355ac04b5bb57ae4df2.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45683", "sha1": "f6bede268618131d398bd85733f5498ebadba681", "filename": "files/20190510_R45683_f6bede268618131d398bd85733f5498ebadba681.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4757, "name": "Foreign Assistance" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4879, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 597674, "date": "2019-05-01", "retrieved": "2019-05-03T14:10:41.384201", "title": "Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Southeastern Africa: Humanitarian and Recovery Response in Brief", "summary": "Cyclone Idai, a large and powerful Category 2 tropical storm, came ashore on March 14, 2019, at Beira, a low-lying port city in central Mozambique, causing widespread devastation in southeastern Africa. On April 25, a second strong storm, Cyclone Kenneth, came ashore just north of the coastal town of Pemba in northern Mozambique. While it featured even stronger winds than Cyclone Idai, as well as torrential rains, it affected an area with a smaller population.\nThe Cyclone Idai system dumped torrents of rain over large parts of Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar, causing extensive flooding, mudslides, and at least one dam collapse. It also featured strong, sustained, and destructive winds, and caused widespread damage to buildings, infrastructure, and crops. Cyclone Idai\u2019s impact was extensive, covering at least 1,200 square miles; it is among the worst recorded natural disasters to hit the region. The storm displaced large numbers of people, many of whom are now in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as significant resources for recovery and reconstruction. Post-storm aid responses have been expanding. They have shifted from an initial focus on search and rescue to the provision of emergency food aid, shelter, and healthcare, efforts to enable access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and other humanitarian interventions. The impact of Cyclone Kenneth is still being assessed.\nThe United States has played a leading role in the international humanitarian response. Days after Cyclone Idai hit, the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)\u2014the primary U.S. government response-coordinating agency\u2014deployed a small assessment team to Mozambique, with an initial focus on Beira. On March 20, OFDA activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and a U.S.-based Response Management Team. The DART, comprising 17 varied sectoral experts, has since deployed to Mozambique with a focus on assessing needs and response challenges and coordinating responses with other donors. The team\u2019s size may fluctuate based upon response needs and challenges. OFDA personnel have also conducted needs assessments in Zimbabwe and as of April 5 were doing so in Malawi.\nUSAID initially provided $700,000 in support for critical needs in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, with a focus on food aid, shelter, health, and WASH responses. Portions of this assistance were authorized to respond to pre-cyclone flooding. As of April 25, OFDA had increased such aid to a level of $21.5 million, an amount that includes funding for the delivery of other relief commodities and program support costs. As of April 25, USAID\u2019s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) was also providing a further $38.7 million in emergency food assistance. This assistance has included locally and regionally procured emergency food commodities being delivered by the World Food Program, USAID emergency food aid warehouses being delivered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and food purchase vouchers. It is not yet clear how much of this U.S. assistance may be part of the U.S. response to U.N. appeals.\nOn March 24, DOD announced that Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan had authorized U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to provide up to $6.5 million in DOD Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid (OHDACA) account funding to support relief materials, responders, and third-party personnel for up to 10 days, beginning on March 22. DOD had used $6 million of this authority as of April 12, when it halted support operations. DOD\u2019s contribution, which has supported needs identified by OFDA, has mainly consisted of transport support in the form of three C-130 aircraft and the deployment of land cruisers supporting onward local delivery. The C-130s carry large amounts of jet fuel, allowing them to avoid relying on stretched local supplies of jet fuel. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), AFRICOM\u2019s regional operational headquarters unit, has been leading the DOD response.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45683", "sha1": "5564e5e7abe6b152fc5c6cec4e6b7381cf209bc7", "filename": "files/20190501_R45683_5564e5e7abe6b152fc5c6cec4e6b7381cf209bc7.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45683_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190501_R45683_images_74f3a123e6d054594a45c55310d14b1c6134f11d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45683_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190501_R45683_images_51bc91e9d31a7d6cd1a16355ac04b5bb57ae4df2.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45683", "sha1": "0a1f86ec3e6c934c187c8905a1564b3499504f50", "filename": "files/20190501_R45683_0a1f86ec3e6c934c187c8905a1564b3499504f50.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4757, "name": "Foreign Assistance" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4879, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 596304, "date": "2019-04-12", "retrieved": "2019-04-17T13:41:40.958030", "title": "Cyclone Idai in Southern Africa: Humanitarian and Recovery Response in Brief", "summary": "Cyclone Idai\u2014a large and powerful tropical storm\u2014came ashore on March 14, 2019, at Beira, a low-lying port city in central Mozambique, causing widespread devastation in southeastern Africa. The system dumped torrents of rain over large parts of Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar, causing extensive flooding, mudslides, and at least one dam collapse. It also featured strong, sustained, and destructive winds, and caused widespread damage to buildings, infrastructure, and crops. Cyclone Idai\u2019s impact was extensive, covering at least 1,200 square miles; it is among the worst recorded natural disasters to hit the region (see Figure 1).\nThe storm displaced large numbers of people, many of whom are now in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as significant resources for recovery and reconstruction. Post-storm aid responses have been expanding. They have shifted from an initial focus on search and rescue to the provision of emergency food aid, shelter, and healthcare, efforts to enable access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and other humanitarian interventions.\nThe United States has played a leading role in the international humanitarian response. Days after the cyclone hit, the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)\u2014the primary U.S. government response-coordinating agency\u2014deployed a small assessment team to Mozambique, with an initial focus on Beira. On March 20, OFDA activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and a U.S.-based Response Management Team. The DART, comprising 17 varied sectoral experts, has since deployed to Mozambique with a focus on assessing needs and response challenges and coordinating responses with other donors. The team\u2019s size may fluctuate based upon response needs and challenges. OFDA personnel have also conducted needs assessments in Zimbabwe and as of April 5 were doing so in Malawi.\nUSAID initially provided $700,000 in support for critical needs in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, with a focus on food aid, shelter, health, and WASH responses. Portions of this assistance were authorized to respond to pre-cyclone flooding. As of April 9, OFDA had increased such aid to a level of $12.3 million, an amount that includes funding for the delivery of other relief commodities and program support costs. As of April 9, USAID\u2019s Office of Food for Peace was also providing a further $35.7 million in emergency aid. This assistance has included locally and regionally procured emergency food commodities being delivered by the World Food Program, USAID emergency food aid warehouses being delivered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and food purchase vouchers. It is not yet clear how much of this U.S. assistance may be part of the U.S. response to the U.N. appeals.\nOn March 24, DOD announced that Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan had authorized U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to provide up to $6.5 million in DOD Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid (OHDACA) account funding to support relief materials, responders, and third-party personnel for up to 10 days, beginning on March 22. DOD had utilized $5.7 million of this authority as of April 12, when it halted support operations. DOD\u2019s contribution, which has supported needs identified by OFDA, has mainly consisted of transport support in the form of three C-130 aircraft and the deployment of land cruisers supporting onward local delivery. The C-130s carry large amounts of jet fuel, allowing them to avoid relying on stretched local supplies of jet fuel. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), AFRICOM\u2019s regional operational headquarters unit, has been leading the DOD response.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45683", "sha1": "e9769118e6f9059e2b1d1f94c0ccd0fe12ecf850", "filename": "files/20190412_R45683_e9769118e6f9059e2b1d1f94c0ccd0fe12ecf850.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45683_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190412_R45683_images_51bc91e9d31a7d6cd1a16355ac04b5bb57ae4df2.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45683_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190412_R45683_images_d96a0d1466be43e83349ff475fd09ed6865c9587.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45683", "sha1": "0d6f3fec3d0247bc342d30625ff3a93811eb5a2c", "filename": "files/20190412_R45683_0d6f3fec3d0247bc342d30625ff3a93811eb5a2c.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4757, "name": "Foreign Assistance" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4879, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" } ] }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Southeastern Africa: Humanitarian and Recovery Response in Brief ", "retrieved": "2020-09-05T09:14:49.345607", "id": "R45683_3_2019-04-10", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2019-04-10_R45683_61f6a1fc016b3d1647f049ce492d188188775549.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45683/3", "sha1": "61f6a1fc016b3d1647f049ce492d188188775549" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2019-04-10_R45683_61f6a1fc016b3d1647f049ce492d188188775549.html" } ], "date": "2019-04-10", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45683", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Southeastern Africa: Humanitarian and Recovery Response in Brief ", "retrieved": "2020-09-05T09:14:49.344403", "id": "R45683_1_2019-04-09", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2019-04-09_R45683_1757bcf6a016e04b540865099a7d0d12433a3526.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45683/1", "sha1": "1757bcf6a016e04b540865099a7d0d12433a3526" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2019-04-09_R45683_1757bcf6a016e04b540865099a7d0d12433a3526.html" } ], "date": "2019-04-09", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45683", "type": "CRS Report" } ], "topics": [ "African Affairs", "Foreign Affairs" ] }