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Iran

Iran: Cyclone Gonu - Information Bulletin n° 2

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in 185 countries.

In Brief

This Bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the situation and the information available at this time. The Federation is not seeking funding or other assistance from donors for this operation at this time. The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to achieve the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

The Situation

The extent of damages caused by the cyclone Gonu is slowly brought to light as days pass by. According to the Iranian Mehr News Agency, the cyclone left 12 people dead and 9 seriously injured. The heavy rains brought by the cyclone inundated many villages and cities.

Although currently the cyclone is gone and the weather is fine, hundreds of villages in Sistan- Baluchistan, Hormozghan and Kerman Provinces remain surrounded by water with roads being cut off. The floods blocked the road access to 350 villages in Sistan-Baluchistan, more than 100 villages in Kerman and 20 villages in Hormozghan. In Chahbahar and Konarak villages of Sistan-Baluchistan, 160,000 people have been trapped due to the floods.

The most affected cities and villages are:

_ Sistan-Baluchistan: Dashtyari, Pelan, Zarabad, Kahir, Konarak, Arebzehi, Ureki, Talangh and Chahbahar

_ Homage: Jask, Bandar Abbas and Qeshm

_ Kerman: Ghaleghanj and Menoonjan

Power and telephone lines were cut by the winds and floods. Many houses, public buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. In the Jask City alone, 70 percent of the houses were damaged to varying degrees. The floods in the three provinces are expected to have negative impact on the farming and stockbreeding, which are the main sources of income for the residents.

The Iranian government and local authorities have allocated funds to provide relief assistance to the victims and reconstruct the damaged infrastructure. The technical departments of the provincial governments are working to repair the damaged roads, bridges, and power and communication systems.

At present, the most urgently needed items by the floods victims are food, clothes, tents, blankets, kitchen sets, stoves and water. Since the access to the flooded areas is very limited, the Iranian government, military and Red Crescent Society are rushing aid to the flood-hit areas by helicopters and trucks.

Red Cross and Red Crescent action

From the beginning, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Relief and Rescue Organization (RRO) made its emergency task force active and sent its representative to the emergency task force of the ministry of interior. It has dispatched four helicopters which have so far conducted 46 flights (45 hours), carrying 22,300 tons of emergency relief items to the affected villages. Currently, two IRCS helicopters are based in Chahbahar, one in Jask city of Hormozghan Province, and one more in Kerman providing air relief. The IRCS RRO has also coordinated dispatch of relief items from Yazd, Kerman, Isfahan, East Azerbaijan, Bushehr, and Chaharmahal Bakhtiari Provincial Branches as well as an operational team to Sistan-Baluchistan Province, relief items via air to Chahbahar, and procurement of several other relief items.

Provincial branches are busy with emergency relief assistance to the flood victims. In Sistan- Baluchistan Province, the IRCS branch is working closely with the military in order to send relief items to flooded villages through helicopters and trucks. So far 1,353 tents, 3,287 pieces of moquettes, 10,645 blankets, 213 kitchen sets, 84 water containers, 1,247 kg of plastic sheeting, 1,721 kerosene heaters, 1,247 lanterns, 1,205 packages of detergent, 1,242 bars of soap, 42 pairs of shoes, 400 pieces of clothes, 5,138 kg of rice, 1,370 kg of cooking oil, 2,596 kg of sugar, 409 kg of tea, 2,082 kg of beans, 5,664 cans of beans, 82,090 loafs of bread, 146,320 cans of tuna fish, and 87,014 bottles of mineral water have been distributed to the flood victims in Sarbaz, Zahedan, Chahbahar, Khash, Saravan and Nikshahr. The provincial branch has sent its relief teams to the cities of Zahedan, Chahbahar, Khash, Saravan, Iranshahr, Delghan, Nikshahr, and Sarbaz and provided assistance to 7,918 affected families via 268 vehicles, 302 IRCS staff as well as 1,486 relief-workers. The branch set up 200 tents in two defined camps in Chahbahar for emergency sheltering and formed eight emergency task forces in the province. Two IRCS helicopters in the province have also conducted 19 flights (11 hours), carrying 12 tons of relief items to the affected areas throughout the province. Many more items have been also sent from Zahedan to Chahbahar for logistics back-up.

In Hormozghan Province, the IRCS relief assistance is focused on the Jask and Bashagherd cities, which were most affected by the floods. So far the IRCS provincial branch has distributed the following items in Jask and Bashaghard:

- 31,172 cans of tuna fish

- 1,000 pieces of moquettes,

- 6,120 cans of beans

- 2,500 kg of plastic sheeting

- 200 tents

- 5,475 blankets

- 6,150 kg of rice

- 500 kitchen sets

- 2,053 kg of cooking oil

It has also dispatched search and rescue teams with two sniffing dogs, ambulances, vehicles as well as 50 IRCS staff and 67 relief-workers to the affected areas throughout the province. Moreover, the branch has formed seven emergency task forces.

In Kerman Province, the IRCS relief assistance is focused on the Ghaleghanj city, which was most affected by the floods. Totally, 110 villages with 25,000 people have been affected due to floods in the province. So far the IRCS provincial branch has distributed the following items throughout the Ghaleghanj villages:

- 22,500 cans of tuna fish

- 53,500 cans of beans

- 500 kg of plastic sheeting

- 500 tents

- 32,000 blankets

- 108,200 loafs of bread

- 48,000 bottles of mineral water

- 10,000 kg of dates

- 2,000 water containers

- 1,000 pieces of moquettes

It has also dispatched emergency items to Hormozghan and Sistan-Baluchistan provinces and formed five emergency task forces with 30 IRCS staff, 60 relief-workers, 107 pick-ups, and 15 trucks.

In close coordination with the Relief and Rescue Organization of the IRCS, the provincial branches are carefully assessing the damages and needs in the affected areas in order to decide on the direction of the future relief operation. Currently, the IRCS, with its own resources, can meet the immediate needs of the flood victims.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Iran: Seyed Hadi Samaei, Director General of International Affairs Department, Iranian Red Crescent Society; email: intdep@rcs.ir; mobile: 98. 912 384 7050; phone: 98.21.88662618-19; fax: 98. 21. 88662652

In Iran: Chang Hun Choe, Federation Representative, Country Delegation; email: ch.choe@ifrc.org; mobile: 98 .912. 2172507; phone: 98.21.88672424-28; fax: 98.21.88672429

In Geneva: Evgeni Parfenov, Regional Officer, MENA Regional Department; email: evgeni.parfenov@ifrc.org; phone: 41.22.730 4325; fax: 41.22.733 0395

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org