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Armenia: Hailstorm Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Final Report - DREF Operation n° MDRAM004

Pays
Arménie
Sources
IFRC
Date de publication
Origine
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A. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Description of the disaster

On 17 and 18 August 2018, a hailstorm damaged almost all yield capacity in Shirak region of Armenia. According to the rapid assessment conducted jointly by the Armenian Red Cross Society (ARCS) and Shirak regional authorities, 2,202 households (approximately 9,900 people) in 11 communities were affected, out of which 1,143 households from the three most affected communities lost from 80 to 100 per cent of their yield capacity – including potatoes, vegetables, flax, cumin, lentils, peas, cucumber, etc. Moreover, there were also sporadic cases of damaged houses and cattle farm roofs reported, but not on a large scale.

Summary of response Overview of Host National Society ARCS, including its Shirak regional branch conducted several meetings with regional authorities, obtained all available official assessment reports and organized a needs assessment in some of the affected 11 communities. ARCS also held a meeting with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and agreed to share all information and coordinate activities in the affected region. At the regional level, the ARCS representatives met with the Shirak Region administration responsible staff, where agreement for cooperation and information exchange was reached. At the local level, ARCS met with local authorities of affected communities and received regular updated information regarding the situation in the field. Moreover, ARCS Shirak regional branch team visited several affected communities to assess the situation and meet with affected people.

Based on the data available from official sources and ARCS Shirak regional team, ARCS disaster response team (DRT) together with regional government representatives selected the most affected three communities (see map appended to this report), to be targeted by the operation. Beneficiary selection criteria were developed, and beneficiary lists were prepared based on the outcome of meetings with the authorities of the three communities. According to reports from the authorities, hail in these communities had destroyed even the leaves of the crops, leaving farmers without means of living. In Arapi community, 185.8 hectares of potatoes, vegetables, flex, lentils, etc. were damaged. Nahapetavan community had 25 hectares of completely damaged wheat. Witnesses claimed that crops had been left without leaves after the hail so that annual harvest was totally destroyed. Sarnaghbyur community had 127 hectares of cultivated land destroyed by the hail. Damage to other communities would range from 50 to almost 70 per cent for almost all types of crops.

Total damage caused to affected communities calculated by the Ministry of Agriculture amounted to AMD 903.54 million (approx. CHF 1.84 million).

The National Society, as a United Nations Disaster Management Team (UN DMT) member, received and shared information on the situation with all stakeholders. At the time of writing, ARCS was the only organization among NGOs and INGOs that took action to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected people.