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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Floods; DREF Final Report (MDRVC001)

Countries
St. Vincent & Grenadines
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
Origin
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Summary:

36,303 Swiss francs were allocated from the IFRC’s DREF on 2 May 2011 to support the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross (SVGRC) in delivering assistance to some 200 households.

The SVGRC DREF-supported operation distributed pre-positioned stocks to the most affected families by the Georgetown floods, including: hygiene kits, blankets, jerry cans, food packages and cleaning kits to 55 families in emergency and informal collective centres.
The flooding affected the water supply system, which made the water non-potable and created a demand for clean and safe water. The SVGRC trucked water and acquired chlorination tablets through the DREF operation to purify the water, as well as cleaning kits to support the recovery of the homes that had been affected by mud and debris from the floods. Families affected by the Georgetown floods lost many of their household belonging; therefore kitchen sets were identified as a need and were distributed to affected families to assist them to reassume their daily activities.

The National Society was the first to assist the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) immediately after the disaster with food items for families displaced by the flood. The SVGRC is a small National Society and as such has very limited resources to respond to emergencies. In spite of these limitations, the National Society was able to assist NEMO in responding to this disaster. The National Society’s Emergency Operations Centre was activated and volunteers worked with a team from NEMO and other agencies to assist the affected families. Active volunteers, including some trained as Regional Intervention Team members and National Intervention Team members were able to respond to the immediate needs of the community, distributing items from pre-positioned stock and items supplied through the DREF. The DREF also supported the replenishment of the pre-positioned stock in order for the SVGRC to be prepared to respond to the next disaster.

Emergency Appeal (MDR49006) that the SVGRC was also managing at the same time. Some of the water activities were also not conducted, as the government was able to repair the water supply system, which reassumed its operation much quicker than was anticipated. The remaining funds will be returned to the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund according to standards defined in the DREF guidelines.

The major donors and partners of DREF include the Australian, American and Belgian governments, the Austrian Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and government, Danish Red Cross and government, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), the Irish and the Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Luxembourg government, the Monaco Red Cross and government, the Netherlands Red Cross and government, the Norwegian Red Cross and government, the Spanish Government, the Swedish Red Cross and government, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Z Zurich Foundations, and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the national society, would like to extend thanks to all for their generous contributions.