Tag Archives: natural disasters

Clinton School Student Shares Experiences from Mudslides in Eastern Uganda

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Shamim Okolloh is a graduate student at the Clinton School of Public Service and is completing her service project with Heifer Uganda, collaborating with the Mbale Secondary School in eastern Uganda. We’ve shared with you what we know about how the mudslides in Uganda have affected our participants in the field, but Okolloh has a first-hand account that captures the full impact of the disaster. Read the full story on her blog.


Mudslides in Eastern Uganda
by Shamim Okolloh


On Sunday August 28th, I was caught in heavy rains while at the market close to my apartment. It rained for close to 12 hours non-stop. Monday morning we woke up to headlines that a mudslide had occurred in Bulambuli – being new to Uganda, I didn’t really have a concept of where or how far that was and when I saw the images on TV I thought ‘man, that’s really tragic’.


A few days later, the news hit close to home. Bulambuli is about 30 kilometers from Mbale town. We got reports that we had Heifer supported farmers in the mudslide area that have been affected and since I’m based at the Heifer Uganda Eastern Regional office, I got a chance to head out to the field. This was my first time at a disaster site and nothing in the world could have prepared me for it.



Watching the 2-minute mudslide news clips on TV is way different to standing on mud knowing homes, chicken, clothes, cows, school books, radios, flowers, food, crops, cups, parents and children were buried underneath.



There were numerous mudslides but the two tragic ones occurred between 1am – 3am while people were asleep. And there is no electricity – so those who fled did it in total darkness.


The toughest part for me was while interviewing Mr. John Kisholo. I had previously talked to some Heifer International supported farmers and during the “what have you lost” question, it was normally followed by beans, maize, coffee, goats and such but when I asked Mr. Kisholo what he lost, he started by giving names. His 4 children, three boys and a girl were buried in the mudslide. I just froze. That was the last interview I did.

John Kisholo looking through what used to be his home.
He lost four children when his home was buried in the mud.

Taking a Hit While They’re Down

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Flooding and mudslides wiped out homes, animal shelters and livestock for 121 Heifer-supported families in eastern Uganda this week. None of our project participants were hurt, but 45 Heifer animals have died so far.

The flooding took place about 25 miles from Mbale, along the banks of the Manafwa River. Recent heavy rains caused the river to spill out on to surrounding villages and farmland. Project participants reported losing entire fields of rice, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, coffee and cotton that would have been harvested in October.

The Heifer projects affected include a dairy goat project, dairy cattle projects and projects aimed at helping the disabled and people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Collins Amenyi, an extension worker affiliated with a Heifer-funded farmers’ group in the area, said the damage is severe. “It is terrible. People have no food, have no homes, have no toilets, and no one is helping them,” Amenyi told Dan Bazira, communication coordinator for Heifer Uganda. Getting aid to victims is difficult because so many roads are flooded, he said.

Heifer staff will be there to get projects back up and running as soon as possible.

Flooding along roadways is making delivery of relief supplies difficult.

This house, like many others, was partially buried by a mudslide.

A woman looks for traces of her family in Butaleja district.

Gardens like this one were submerged and destroyed by the flood.

A woman is overcome after discovering the body of her missing relative in Mabono in the Bulambuli district.

Information provided by Dan Bazira, communication coordinator for Heifer Uganda

Tropical Storm Hammers Haiti

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Forecasters say up to 20 inches of rain is possible in isolated parts of Haiti as Tropical Storm Emily soaks a country prone to severe flooding. Residents near the capital of Port au Prince still suffering from a massive 2010 earthquake have few options.

“We can’t afford to do much,” said Francois Prophete, who was shoring up the corrugated-metal roof of his one-room cinder block home in the hills southeast of Port-au-Prince, according to an article this morning on msnbc.com.
According to the report on msnbc.com, rain in Port au Prince has been relatively light, but the Artibonite region has already seen damage, including at a cholera treatment center.
As Haitians continue to struggle for safe shelter after the earthquake with little progress toward rebuilding, please remember them and their many challenges. Know that Heifer is working to provide sustainable development solutions to families throughout the country. As yet another hurricane season opens in the Caribbean, damage from this early storm will no doubt create even greater need and a re-established sense of urgency for our work in Haiti.
To donate to Heifer’s Haiti earthquake recovery effort, please click here.
Photo of children at a Heifer project site in Nordely, Haiti, by Bryan Clifton

Heifer Haiti affected by Hurricane

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Heifer Haiti Projects affected by Hurricane Tomas in the Southern Region


Damages in the houses and property


In addition two people died, one in Les Anglais and one in Roche-a-Bateau.

294 persons displaced from Les Anglais and 248 from Saint Jean du Sud.


General information of Hurricane Tomas impact in the Southern Coast

Hurricane which hit Haiti on Friday November 4, left at least 20 people killed, 36 hurt and around 6,000 homeless families, according to the Haitian civil defense. The most affected region is the department of Grand Anse, in the southwest. Nevertheless, it also caused several damages in the South department, especially in the coastal zone, were the families live mostly of agriculture and commerce. They cultivate “milla”, maize and peanut. In some areas, such as Chardonnières up to Les Anglais the inhabitants also grow the banana plants.

The Hurricane affected the crops and plantations and has left the population very worried about the next harvest.

The Heifer Haiti has visited the field and have validated that about 95% of the vegetable gardens are destroyed, affected by a phenomena called “plant burn” caused by soil salinization.

Figure 1: gardens affected by “plant burn”

Figure 2: Plantation destroyed by the hurricane

Figure 3: Banana Plantation destroyed

Most of the banana plantations were destroyed by the effect of the winds from the hurricane.

Figure 4: A house destroyed by hurricane Tomas
In some zones, many houses were destroyed and others damaged by the impact of the hurricane. The sea entered into the peoples’ houses, especially to those families living on the border of the sea. Fortunately some days before the government evacuated the families who were in higher risk.

Some animal shelters were destroyed by the hurricane.


Figure 5: Road damaged between Port a Piment and Les Anglais

Figure 6: The vehicles are forced to wait on both sides of the highway, since it’s not possible to cross a river

Figure 7: The foreigners who came to provide aid cannot arrive to their destination.

In Roche-a – bateau where we have a Heifer Project with the partner organization APMCR 231407-02, located in a region where most of the people live from fishery, the following resources were lost: 150 persons disappeared, 2 boats destroyed, 4 excavated wood lost, 2 fish nets lost, traps, 20 acres of peas lost, 80 kilometers of “milla” crops lost, 50 hectare of pistachio, 60 acres of potato crops, 50 hectare of malanga, 106 coconut trees destroyed, 500 trees and 100 chickens killed.



Natural Disaster Giving: Haiti v. Pakistan

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Remember the earthquake in Haiti? Of course you do, and there’s a good chance you donated money to relief efforts. Now, remember the flooding in Pakistan? Maybe, since it was just last summer, but did you also give to it? Chances are you didn’t. In fact, not nearly as many people did. Just take a look at this new infographic from Good magazine that compares donations—both individual and organizational—for the two disasters.

GOOD-on-Pakistan-v-Haiti--007

Why do some natural disasters get more media attention and donations? The easiest explanation is that the more devastating the disaster, the more people donate. Too often, we measure devastation by looking at one figure—the number of people killed. And while it’s true that the Haiti earthquake killed more than 200,000 and the Pakistan floods killed about 2,000, the floods in Pakistan displaced more than 21 million people, set the economy back two generations, and brought instability and poverty to a region already associated with terrorism.

Another theory, spelled out in a recent New York Times article, is that people give more to immediate, quick-hitting disasters, such as an earthquake or tsunami. We can see the crumbled buildings; it all happens at once. Whereas a slow-building disaster, such as a flood, occurs over weeks and months. By the time a final tally of the human and economic toll is available, our attention has moved on.

Five weeks after the Haiti earthquake, 48 aid groups polled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy had collected three-quarters of a billion dollars. Five weeks after the flooding in Pakistan, a similar poll found 32 aid groups had collected just $25 million.

In all, $3.4 billion has been collected for the victims of the Haiti earthquake as of October, with more than $1.1 billion coming from private donations, according to figures compiled by the United Nations. Close to $1.7 billion has been pledged for Pakistan, but less than $300 million came from private donors. The United States government pledged almost one-third of the total.

Humanitarians have long struggled with this paradox. The number of dead, along with the swiftness and drama of their demise, trumps almost any amount of agony among those who survive a disaster, particularly a creeping one. [emphasis mine]

Storm Threatens Haiti

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Photo by Bryan Clifton, Heifer International

The Haitian government is advising hundreds of thousands of residents of Port-au-Prince’s tent cities to evacuate as Tropical Storm Tomas threatens Haiti after killing at least 14 in St. Lucia.
Aid groups and the government are already struggling to control a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed at least 330 and sickened more than 4,700.
More than 1 million still remain homeless in the earthquake-shattered Port-au-Prince 10 months after the disaster.
Tomas is expected to strengthen over the next two days to a hurricane. Tent dwellers are being urged to voluntarily evacuate the tent cities to the homes of family and friends for their safety.
Read more on the storm at msnbc.com. To learn more about Heifer’s projects in Haiti, read the latest update in the Holiday 2010 issue of World Ark.

Heifer Philippines Project Families Lose Homes, Crops

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Heifer International staff in the Philippines is reported to be okay a day after Super Typhoon Megi struck the country. Country Director Hercules Paradiang reports the roof of one staff member’s house had to be repaired, but that all team members are accounted for in the wake of the worst storm the country has seen in years.

Super Typhoon Megi, which struck the Philippines on Monday, packed sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and gusts of 162 mph, felling trees and utility poles and cutting off power, phone and Internet services in many areas.

Information remains sketchy due to ongoing weather, Paradiang said, adding the country’s Office of Civil Defense is working toward a full damage assessment, but because of thick clouds, heavy rains and high winds, progress is moving slowly.

According to staff reports from the north, at least 103 Heifer partner families lost their house’s roofs and harvestable crops (rice and vegetables) were destroyed by the storm. Communication services in some areas are still down, so a full reporting isn’t possible at this time, but there are reports that in the Palanan area, where Heifer works, 90 percent of houses were lost or damaged, displacing more than 11,000 people. Additionally, the national food authority warehouse was damaged, leaving 4,000 bags of rice—of 6,000 in storage—unfit for consumption.

Initial reports of basic needs in the storm’s wake in the Philippines include food, clothes and water.

Forecasters predict Super Typhoon Megi will move toward Vietnam and China. Vietnam has already seen huge floods, which killed around 30 people. In China, Hainan has already been hit with huge rains, and Chinese officials have moved more than 140,000 people living along the coastal area to prevent high number of deaths.

Heifer International continues to communicate with staff in the Philippines and elsewhere in Southeast Asia to determine the safety and status of Heifer projects, staff and the families with whom we work. Updates will continue to be provided as they become available.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and the people of the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, China and all in the path of or affected by the storm.

[Image from Naval Maritime Forecast Center/Joint Typhoon Warning Center]

Super Typhoon Megi Slams the Philippines

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Heifer International country staff in the Philippines reports that Super Typhoon Megi, which roared through the country Monday, has severed communications with team members in the north, the area most affected by the storm and an area where Heifer has projects in at least seven provinces.

Impact of the storm on those projects in unknown at this time—country staff are depending upon public reports for storm reports—but efforts are under way to restore communications or determine other means to learn the condition of Heifer team members and project participant families.

The storm, the strongest cyclone in years to buffet the Philippines, drowned at least one man and was expected to plunge later into China. The typhoon packed sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and gusts of 162 mph as it made landfall midday Monday, felling trees and utility poles and cutting off power, phone and Internet services in many areas.

In Thailand and Vietnam, Heifer staff continues to monitor the path of the storm but don’t anticipate any damage or significant impact on Heifer projects or programs. In China, Heifer’s country director continues to monitor news of the storm, but does not expect it to impact any of the organization’s projects and programs in that country.

Heifer International continues to monitor reports of the storm and to communicate with staff in the Philippines and elsewhere in Southeast Asia to determine the safety and status of staff, Heifer projects and the families with whom we work.

Stay tuned to Heifer blog for more updates.

[Image from Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.]

Guess What Today Is?

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Today is International Day for Disaster Reduction. What, you didn’t know? Me either, until I read a post on The Guardian‘s Poverty Matters blog.
It’s the brainchild of the U.N.’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. This years theme: My City Is Getting Ready! (The exclamation point is theirs, not mine.) In light of the earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Pakistan and Poland, and other natural disasters affecting cities this year, their choice of themes seems rather prescient.
Learn more about what Heifer International is doing to safeguard the urban poor, as well as those left behind in rural areas as populations move toward the cities.

Heifer Mexico Staff Safe Following Landslides

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Diana Partida, Heifer International’s Mexico country administrator, has reported to headquarters that all organizational staff as well as Heifer partner staff is safe following devastating landslides early Tuesday in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
According to news reports, hundreds of people were buried in their homes after a rain-soaked mountainside gave way in southwestern Mexico. The slide was prompted by heavy rains that have fallen on Central America and parts of Mexico for days as two storm systems—Hurricane Karl and Tropical Storm Matthew—moved across the western Caribbean.
Heifer staff has been in constant communication with partner groups, but has been unable to fully assess the situation due to the ongoing weather and roads closed by flooding and the storms.
Today, Alejandro López Musalem, Heifer’s Mexico country director, will meet with project staff and promoters to begin to assess damages and to coordinate an appropriate response according to Heifer’s sustainable model of development. Partida is traveling to Oaxaca to provide support and help mobilize resources, including food.
Once an initial assessment has been completed, efforts will turn to develop a response plan to restore animal and plants to project participants and community members.