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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Floods; DREF Final Report (MDRVC002)

Países
San Vicente y Granadinas
Fuentes
IFRC
Fecha de publicación
Origen
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A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

A low-level trough system produced torrential rains on 24 December 2013 and caused severe floods, landslides and damages in the country. A total of 308.6 mm of rainfall was recorded over a 24-hour period in the island of Saint Vincent and affected the following areas: Pembroke, Vermont, Buccament Bay, South Rivers, Byera, Spring Village, Rose Bank and North Windward - Sandy Bay, Megum, Orange Hill and London, as well as the capital Kingstown.

The flooding affected critical infrastructures, including the E.T. Joshua Airport, the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (referral hospital with 215 bed capacity) and three clinics. Several clinics were closed for several weeks since there was no running water. According to the assessment carried out by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment (MoH), the estimated cost of the damages incurred in the Milton Cano Hospital was of approximately 2 million East Caribbean dollars; some of the hospital’s records and essential equipment were damaged.

According to the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) the trough system caused 9 fatalities, 3 people missing, 37 people severely injured and 500 homeless with a total of 2,325 people displaced after the disaster. On 1 February there were 158 people in 5 government shelters (Rillan Hill, Spring Village, Fitz Hughes, Rose Bank, South Rivers) managed by NEMO. 278 people stayed In informal shelters, with families, friends and relatives. All shelters were closed after approximately two months after the operation started.

According to the Rapid Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLa) report11 issued by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in collaboration with the World Bank, the floods resulted in total damages and losses of 108.4 million US dollars, mainly in the infrastructure sector (97per cent), followed by the social (3 per cent) and productive sectors (1 per cent). Total economic loss was estimated the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (WB Rapid Damage and Loss Assessment) to be over 108 million USD.