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OCHA Situation Report
Fiji • Flooding Tropical Depression TD17F-2012
Situation Report No. 6
21 May 2012
This report is produced by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in collaboration with
humanitarian partners. It was issued by the OCHA Pacific Office. It covers the period from 25 April to 21 May
2012. This will be the final report for TD17F.
I. Highlights / Key Priorities
● Donor assistance of over FJ$12 million provided to WASH, Education, Health and Shelter response.
● Concerns and priorities remain, particularly in the area of early recovery.
● A total of 43 houses were destroyed across the Ba, Lautoka, Nadi and Nadroga districts based on
Government assessments.
● On 30 April, the last evacuation centre was closed and the final 79 evacuees returned to their
communities.
II. Situation Overview
The situation in flood-affected parts of the Western and Central Division
has largely returned to normal for the majority of people. However, there
remain several concerns and priority areas, particularly in the area of
early recovery:
1) Post flood assessments point to extensive disruption of
livelihoods, particularly through a loss of income and productive
assets in the Western Division.
2) Damage to infrastructure, including to schools, water and
sanitation facilities remains a concern, particularly in rural areas.
3) Preliminary food security assessment findings indicate that
vulnerable groups are still facing food security problems.
At the height of the flood, there were 15,000 people in evacuation
centres. This number slowly decreased as the flood subsided and there
are no longer any people in evacuation centres as of 30 April (see graph
at end of document).
Recent assessments identified 43 houses completely destroyed, however, the figure is likely to be higher
when taking into consideration homes destroyed in informal settlements.
A clear overview of needs in many areas is still lacking as information flow remains slow. Cabinet
established a Disaster Rehabilitation Taskforce to guide the short to long term recovery and rehabilitation
process. The Pacific Humanitarian Team has developed a Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP) to assist in the
response and recovery efforts. An Early Recovery Coordinator has started work with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), who will be supporting the recovery process.
III. Humanitarian Needs and Response
Early Recovery
Cluster Lead: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Needs: Initial post-floods assessments point to extensive disruption to livelihoods through loss of income
and productive assets in the Western Division. In particular, joint research by UNDP and UN Women
identified women market vendors as a significantly vulnerable segment of the affected population.
Response: UNDP, jointly with UN Women and the International Labor Organisation (ILO), has launched a
FJ$240,696 pilot cash-for-work scheme to stimulate post-flood livelihood recovery by employing women
market vendors in Rakiraki to re-start agricultural production and rehabilitate market facilities.
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The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective
and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.
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OCHA Situation Report
In addition, UNDP, as the Early Recovery Network lead agency stand ready to provide continued
coordination services and support to the short and long term rehabilitation efforts of the Government of Fiji.
Gaps & Constraints: Following the Rakiraki pilot, UNDP and other early recovery partners aim to upscale
and expand the cash-for-work to benefit other affected areas in the Western Division. There are initial
indications that donors are interested in providing additional financial support to expand the programme to a
second location, likely to be in the Nadi area.
Education
Cluster Lead: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Needs: All schools have resumed classes. A joint assessment of 141 schools in affected areas was
completed by mid- April and the Education Sector Flood Damage Assessment Report was released by the
Ministry of Education (MoE).The Education Cluster has identified the following priority areas: (i) The
provision of student stationery kits; (ii) The provision School Kits (teaching and learning materials); (iii)
School infrastructure rehabilitation; (iv) The implementation of school feeding activities; (v) The provision of
funds for school levies for primary and secondary school students; and (vi) The provision of psycho-social
support to teachers and students.
Response: The Education Cluster partners, including AusAID (through their Access to Quality Education
Programme), UNICEF, Save the Children, Post Fiji and the Fiji National University (FNU) have been able to
distribute student stationery packs to 4,500 students and an additional 1,800 packs will be distributed in the
coming weeks. A total of 6,415 students have been identified in need of daily lunches and currently more
than 2,200 students are receiving school lunches. A further 1,400 students will begin receiving school
lunches in the next week. Support is also being provided to compensate schools for student school levies.
This fund is used by schools to ensure that all students have to opportunity to attend classes. In addition,
The MoE has requested support for the provision of 180 School Kits which will cover teaching materials for
over 1,000 teachers across primary, secondary and early childhood education centres.
Gaps & Constraints: The MoE is currently looking for funds to address the impact of the floods. They are
hopeful to secure funds for the school infrastructure damages (FJ$918,232), but there is a need to cover the
costs of uniforms and sandals for more than 5,500 students (estimated cost FJ$295,163). In addition, there
is a need for school levy support to 6,292 students (estimated cost FJ$1,050,415). Further discussion with
the Protection Cluster is needed to identify a strategy to provide psycho-social support to teachers and
students.
Emergency Shelter
Cluster Convenor: International Federation of the
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
The Government has released a list of houses that need to be reconstructed. At present, this list comprises
of 43 houses. The New Zealand Aid Programme (NZAID) is awaiting final confirmation on numbers before it
considers funding options for the reconstruction of these houses. Habitat for Humanity Fiji (HfHF) is in the
process of preparing a proposal for this reconstruction. Shelter assessments of houses in illegal settlements
are on-going. AusAID is working with implementing agencies to assist illegal squatters with housing repairs.
Food Security / Agriculture
Cluster Lead: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Needs: Emergency food rations (2-weeks) were distributed amongst the affected population across the
Western Division in late April. However, according to the National Food and Nutrition Centre (NFNC),
preliminary food security assessment findings indicate that vulnerable groups are still facing food security
problems as a result of the flooding. Assistance may therefore be required in the form of food rations or
conditional cash assistance in the near future.
Following the initial agriculture damage assessment the Department of Agriculture (DoA) highlighted the
following remaining needs: 1) drainage infrastructure, 2) distribution of seedlings (for commercial farmers),
3) distribution of seedlings for food security (assistance to subsistence farmers and home gardens), 4)
distribution of veterinary drugs, 5) river dredging and infrastructure development, 6) land development to
help famers to rehabilitate their affected land, 7) agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and other equipment,
8) livestock farm infrastructure. An assessment of further needs in the livestock sector following the initial
response and recovery activities may be required.
Response: During the relief phase, DoA facilitated and encouraged transport of food produce from other
parts of Fiji to markets in the Western Division. DoA has subsequently supplied more than 13,000 seedlings
from the stocks in the research centres to farmers who had prepared their fields in advance. DOA partner,
the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM), has supplied 80,000 seedlings to affected famers, particularly in the
Sigatoka Valley.
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The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective
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and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.

OCHA Situation Report
DoA has also undertaken repairs and maintenance of damaged drainage network and infrastructure with
resources allocated within the existing Land & Water Resources Management Budget. Major damages were
sustained to the drainage network. The Vatutu and Namulomulo Dam suffered structural damage while the
Nawaqerua bank protection, watershed check dams and village bank protection works in Ba River were
affected and damaged.
The DoA have conducted rehabilitation work targeting approximately 12,000 affected farmers utilising
FJ$555,024 on crop support whilst FJ$711,817 has been spent on livestock support (veterinary drugs and
infrastructure).
DoA is working with the private sector and non-government-organisations (NGOs) to coordinate relief
efforts. Ramakrishna Mission has committed a total of FJ$200,000 towards assisting some 3,000 affected
fruit and vegetable farmers in the Western Division. The mission is working with the DoA to import seeds
from New Zealand, establish a nursery at the Swami Vivekananda College (SVC) and an Agriculture
Training Unit at SVC.
Two dedicated combined Food Security Cluster (FSC) coordinators/information management officers will
support the cluster lead agency the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) to formalise the cluster
mechanism, strengthen the overall coordination of the cluster stakeholders and work closely with the
Government on longer-term FSC strategy. DoA has highlighted the need for improved coordination of NGOs
and CSOs assisting farmers to ensure a clear picture of who is doing what and where.
Gaps & Constraints: Food assistance (food rations or a cash scheme) may be required for vulnerable
groups in the affected areas.
Funding gaps: With Government funds for rehabilitation having been sourced from the budget program, the
DoA 2012 program will be affected. Food security rehabilitation (for the agricultural sector and at household
level) has not received donor assistance.
Data availability / assessments: At present, there is no sex disaggregated data available and the DoA and
FSC rely on estimations based on the bench mark figure in the agriculture census report. DoA highlights that
proper assessment templates are needed to capture required information.
Health and Nutrition
Cluster Lead: World Health Organisation (WHO) &
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Needs: The immediate post-flooding health risks appear to be returning to pre-flooding levels. There were
over 340 reported cases of leptospirosis since the beginning of January. The increased risk of leptospirosis
is now returning to baseline as demonstrated by a significant decrease in the number of new cases.
Diarrhea cases which were initially high have also decreased. There are clusters of typhoid cases, but not
significantly more than is usually seen during this season. There is an increased number of dengue cases,
with over 400 reported cases since the beginning of January, compared to what is expected at this time of
year; this is unrelated to the flooding disaster. There is a need for appropriate technical guidance on disease
surveillance, vector control, food/water safety, nutrition, psycho-social and mental health support. There
were some infrastructure damages to the health sector as a result of the flood.
Response: Outreach clinics have been established in the Western Division and continue to function.
Investigations: Health teams in Sigatoka continue with disease investigation, larval survey, community
assessments. Vector Control: Fiji Red Cross Society (FRCS) is supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) with
vector control equipment. Public Messaging: MoH with support from WHO and UNICEF continues public
health messaging. Monitoring: The National Taskforce on Outbreak-Prone Diseases continues to monitor
the situation closely. Nutrition: Nutrition supplies have been ordered and will be distributed as part of the ongoing
National Micronutrient and Multivitamin Supplementation (NIMS) program. Disease: The Fiji Health
System Support Project (FHSSP), funded by AusAID, continues to support the Ministry for Health to improve
health outcomes. AusAID has pledged an additional FJ$374,181 to FHSPP to address disease outbreak
following the recent flood.
Gaps & Constraints: Additional medical supplies and equipment for Government counterparts to sustain
current health response following the floods and seasonal increase in communicable diseases are needed.
MoH has provided a request for FJ$2.6 million to WHO and AusAID to fund these supplies and equipment.
www.unocha.org
The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective
and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.
3

OCHA Situation Report
Protection
Cluster Leads: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) &
United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
Needs: In the transition from the emergency to early recovery phase, when human and financial resources
mobilised for the emergency response are reduced or re-allocated, there is a need for active monitoring of
the situation and coping strategies of those affected, with particular regard to:
Harms arising from the medium-longer term secondary impacts of the disaster including food
insecurity, income and livelihoods insecurity, nutrition deficiencies, negative impacts on health and
wellbeing;
Ensuring appropriate transitional and permanent shelter arrangements for flood-affected families in
rural, urban and squatter areas, whose homes are severely or completely damaged;
Provision of psychosocial support to flood-affected people experiencing distress, anxiety and
frustration as they face the challenge of rebuilding their lives and livelihoods;
Provision of psychosocial support to government and non-government first-responders;
Ensuring that protection considerations of safety, wellbeing and dignity are integrated into early
recovery interventions across all sectors.
Response:
The Protection Cluster continues to link with responding agencies for information-gathering and
dissemination around protection. The Cluster is maintaining contact with the National Disaster
Management Office (NDMO) and relevant Ministries to offer protection guidance and monitoring
support throughout the recovery period.
The Protection Cluster representatives participated in a field visit to the Western Division in early
May to explore protection issues that were highlighted throughout the response. A summary of this
field visit has been developed.
The Protection Cluster is working collaboratively with the Health Cluster to explore ways of working
with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Welfare to support effective post-disaster mental
health and psychosocial support interventions, at government, non-government and community
levels. This includes (i) development and dissemination of key ‘psychological first aid’ messages; (ii)
mapping of key Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Service (MHPSS) providers (iii)
development of specific training resources & information, education and communication materials
on ‘MHPSS in emergencies’ (iv) development of a project proposal for a capacity-building program
on ‘MHPSS in emergencies’ targeting a range of formal and informal MHPSS providers.
Gaps & Constraints: In terms of gaps, little information is available on plans or processes for monitoring
coping strategies and protection risks among flood-affected communities in the recovery period. This is
critical in order to:
Prevent and respond to negative coping strategies such as violence, crime, substance abuse, and
exploitation of women and children
Ensure that response and recovery programs do not cause further harm (need to assess potential
counter-protective impacts of response and recovery interventions)
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Cluster Lead: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Needs: In the absence of a comprehensive assessment, it is still very difficult to know the scale of damages
to water and sanitation infrastructure particularly in rural areas affected by the floods. The Water Authority
Fiji (WAF) reports that water supply systems have been restored to over 95 per cent of all urban areas.
However there are no clear statistics for rural areas. The department of health with a mandate for rural
sanitation, hygiene and water quality, is conducting a needs analysis which should inform future water,
sanitation and health (WASH) interventions.
Damaged infrastructure (pumps, piping, etc.) has been repaired while new replacements have been ordered
for installation in the near future. WAF has allocated the majority of the FJ$1.85 million grant from the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) for this work, in addition to a FJ$1.85 million grant from the ADB received
following the January floods.
Response: A joint mission of UNICEF, OCHA, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), OHCHR, FRCS
and MoH visited the affected areas during the first week of May to monitor the distribution and use of life
saving supplies handed over to FRCS. According to initial findings all target households received the
supplies and were using them with very few exceptions. Families who had returned from the evacuation
centers had soap, water containers, water purification tablets and communication materials in local
languages.
www.unocha.org
The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective
and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.
4

OCHA Situation Report
Communities were concerned about the quality of restored water and were drinking boiled water rather than
drinking tap water.
Gaps & Constraints: At the recent WASH Cluster meeting it was agreed that the Ministry of Health will
assume a stronger role in coordination along with UNICEF to help the cluster develop its contingency plan
for Fiji.
IV. Coordination
The Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) is revising , in collaboration with the NDMO and government
counterparts the initial Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP), to facilitate on-going coordination of the
humanitarian response by providing an analysis, documenting sector/cluster response plans and identifying
gaps and requirements. UNDP as early recovery network coordinator will provide coordination support for
recovery and rehabilitation efforts.
V. Funding
A list of contributions to the flood response has been compiled based on recent NDMO and OCHA
consultations with partners. A total of FJ$12.6 million has been received or pledged. A more detailed list is of
contributions is available below.
VI. Contact
For more information please contact: Peter Muller, OCHA Pacific, Regional Disaster Response Advisor,
coordination@ochapacific.org, (+679) 999 1664. Or visit www.phtpacific.org or http://ochaonline.un.org
The following MapLink shows the affected areas and distributions of rations and Shelter Box and active EC:
http://g.co/maps/8ejfg
Picasa Photos shows the aerial and other photos of damaged areas mapped on Google Earth:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/albumMap?uname=OCHApacific&aid=5728084456983546369#map
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------
Graph showing number of people in Evacuation Centres by District from 31 March – 1 May 2012
www.unocha.org
The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective
and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.
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OCHA Situation Report
The following list of contributions to the March 2012 flood response has been compiled based on recent NDMO and OCHA consultations with partners.
Institution Description of assistance / date Contribution In Fiji $ Sector Partner
1 New Zealand 6 chainsaw pack, 3 generators and 20 water containers. In kind WASH, Logs NDMO
2 New Zealand
3 Australia
Support to current response operations, 2 April. 500 floor mats; 1,200 tarps (500 x large tarps & 700 x small
tarps); 980 x 10lts and 1,000x 20lts water containers.
Pledged support of up to AU$1 million 3 Apr. Includes: hire of aerial surveys; delivery of emergency supplies
and search and rescue through NDMO/Act for Peace; delivery of 350,000 water purification tablets, 3,240
tarpaulins, 2,000 water containers; replenishment of Fiji Red Cross and UNICEF emergency supplies;
support the provision of relief items (food rations, cooked meals, water, medicine, clothing and clean up
equipment through CSOs).
NZ$500,000 732,279 NFI
AU$1 million 1,870,907
WASH,
Shelter, Food,
NFI
Fiji Red Cross (FRCS),
Rotary Fiji and NDMO
NDMO, AfP, FRCS,
UNICEF, Local CSOs
4 Australia Support the mobilization of assessment teams for health and education through bilateral programs. AU$13,000 24,322 Assessment MoE & MoH
5 EU 5,000 Food ration packages, 3 April Euro $200,000 477,441 Food ADRA
6 USA
Support to FRCS and Rotary Fiji for emergency relief supplies includes 2,000 blankets, 500 gum boots, 500
USD 50,000 (FRCS)
US$150,000 277,726 NFI, WASH
gloves, 13,000 diapers, more than 100 water tanks, hygiene kits and water purification systems.
USD 100,000 (Rotary)
7 Japan
JICA donated 30 water purifiers, 30 water bladders (3,700 ltr) and 30 portable generators, 30 cord reels and
240 polyester tank
In kind 412,556 WASH, Logs NDMO
Support for current response operations, through (1) project support for NZ NGOs working with their Fiji
partners of NZ NGOs (NZ$500,000 for New Zealand based NGOs (in partnership with their Fiji counterparts)
8 New Zealand
and (3) up to $250,000 for emergency response equipment for DISMAC (10 x large tents supplied and other
items being procured and stored for future deployment), 6 April.
NZ$750,000 1,098,418 NFI FRCS, NDMO, Rotary
9 UNFPA Hygiene kits US$50,000 92,575 Health, WASH FRCS
Australian 98 Hygiene Kit (baby), 258 hygiene Kit (adult), 3,000 Jerry Cans (10 L), 216 Kitchen Sets, 4 boxes Filter
Health, WASH,
10
In kind
FRCS
Red Cross Carbon, 10 boxes Filter Sediment
NFI
11 Australia Support provision of shelter kits AU$200,000 374,181 Shelter
IFRC / Act for Peace
and local CSOs
12 Australia Procurement of health supplies and equipment to minimise disease outbreak AU$200,000 374,181 Health FHSSP / MOH
13 Australia Rehabilitation of up to 40 damaged schools AU$500,000 935,454 Education AQEP / MOE
14 Australia Provision of 10 12x6 m tents for temporary shelter AU$70,000 130,964 Shelter NDMO
Provision of seedlings, soil recovery and preparation of potting media as necessary to schools, farmers,
FS /
15 Australia
AU$500,000 935,454
Local CSOs
villages and squatter settlements – this includes TA
Agriculture
16 Australia Provision of hygiene kits, clean up kits and womens dignity/personal kits AU$202,520 378,896 NFI ARC / FRCS
Provision of additional relief supplies: food rations, cooked meals, water, medicine, clothing and clean up
17 Australia
AU$200,000 374,181 Food and NFI Local CSOs
equipment through local CSOs.
18 Australia Support the delivery of relief items including water cartage AU$50,000 93,545
Logs and
WASH
16 China Pledge to Prime Minister’s relief fund US$200,000 357,000 GoF
17 India Pledge to Prime Minister’s relief fund US$200,000 357,000 GoF
18 ADB
Grant agreement from the Asia-Pacific Disaster response Fund, especially for rehabilitation work and
WASH/
US$1 million 1,851,509
restoring essential services.
Rehabilitation
GoF
19 NZ Grant funding for recovery and reconstruction work with a various NGOs NZ$1million
Shelter/
1,464,558
Rehabilitation
TBC
TOTAL FJ$ 12,613,149
Act for Peace and
NDMO

OCHA Situation Report