United Nations: A quarter of the camps are at risk due to rain
Days after torrential rains swept a number of displaced communities in the Yemeni governorate of Ma’rib, affecting more than 13,000 families, the local authorities there announced the formation of an emergency committee tasked with confronting these dangers.
For its part, the United Nations confirmed that a quarter of the camps and gatherings of the displaced in the governorate, which host most of the displaced, are at risk due to the monsoon rains, which last year affected more than 600,000 displaced people.
According to official sources, the emergency sub-committee in Marib held a meeting headed by the deputy governor, Abd Rabbo Muftah, and approved an integrated plan between various government agencies and offices to face any expected disasters as a result of the torrential rains in the governorate with the start of the monsoon season, early this month.
The plan includes urgent measures to protect and mitigate the effects of torrential rains, rescue and evacuation procedures, as well as measures to address the damage caused to the displacement camps as a result of the rains that fell in the governorate during the past days.
The committee stated that it would implement a broad awareness plan that would use local radio stations and various media outlets. With the aim of educating the residents in the areas of torrential sewers, it will also ask them to quickly evacuate those places and move away from the torrential sewers, in addition to speeding up the removal of waste from the channels and passages of torrential rains and streets, opening drainage channels, cleaning them from dust and construction waste, and removing any construction that was built over them.
According to the plan, the field team, led by the director of the governorate police Brigadier General Yahya Humaid, his deputy director general of the city directorate, and the membership of all relevant government service agencies and offices, will start implementing the plan, and coordinating with humanitarian action partners in order to provide a sufficient reserve stock of basic materials, so that The team has the ability to intervene in emergencies to help families affected by the floods.
The committee stated that it will work, in coordination with relief organizations, to help families affected by the rains during the past days, most of whom live in dilapidated tents in displacement sites.
The government unit for the management of camps for the displaced in Yemen confirms that the number of families affected by torrential rains reached 13,609 families, in addition to 2,490 families affected by strong winds, and 114 displaced families affected by fires.
She stated that the urgent needs of the displaced include shelter, non-food items, water and environmental sanitation needs, health needs, education and protection needs. Relief organizations called for adopting strategies and priorities to enhance basic services and raise the efficiency of resources to bridge the needs gap in all areas.
Data distributed by the United Nations, at the beginning of this month, on the risks of flooding in the IDP site, showed that 571 displacement sites (25%) of the camps face high flood risks, covering a total of 603,000 residents of those sites.
The data showed that 5 governorates face a high risk of flooding. The governorate of Al-Hodeidah comes in the forefront with a rate of (29%), the governorate of Hajjah with a rate of (27%), Al-Jawf governorate with a rate of (22%), Marib (13%), and Taiz (9%).
The United Nations confirmed that climate change and civil unrest have greatly affected the rise in food prices across Yemen, pushing millions of people towards a food insecurity crisis.
In a context related to improving the conditions of the displaced in Marib Governorate, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has started work on a project to enhance access to water, rehabilitate irrigation infrastructure, and enable the community to manage resources and manage conflicts to enhance its ability to recover.
The project, which includes humanitarian interventions in 5 sustainable projects in the water and agricultural sectors, includes: the expansion of the water network in the city of Marib, the construction of 10 small lakes for the purpose of feeding groundwater, the rehabilitation of irrigation channels in the Al-Khasif-Shaqman area, and the rehabilitation of irrigation channels in the Al-Houdn area.
According to what was reported by official sources, the project also aims to reduce the loss of irrigation water through the construction of irrigation networks of plastic pipes in more than 200 farms, in addition to a number of sub-activities aimed at enhancing community participation, through the cash-for-work program in Water and irrigation infrastructure, improving the livelihoods of youth involved in agriculture, strengthening and supporting water projects committees and relevant government offices to ensure a sustainable presence of local structures in fair regulation of water use.
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