What we’re watching: Weekly disaster update, March 11

We know all too well that disaster can strike anytime, anywhere in the world. Some disasters make headlines; others do not. Here at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), we monitor the status of disasters worldwide and compile a list of the ones we’re tracking weekly, along with relevant disaster-related media coverage.

Here’s what we’re watching for the week of March 11, 2024.

New or Emerging Disasters

Avalanches – India: On March 5, two people were killed after avalanches hit the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. The districts of Lahaul and Spiti experienced the worst weather conditions, resulting in over 650 roadblocks and power outages for more than 60 hours. Stranded tourists, as many as 81, were moved to more secure locations.

The districts saw four avalanches days before the deadly avalanche on March 5, one of which triggered a flood alert after blocking the flow of the Chenab River. According to the Meteorological Centre in the state capital, Shimla, western disturbances from the Arabian and Caspian Seas will likely affect weather conditions in the coming days and trigger more thunderstorms, rain and heavy snowfall.

Lahaul and Spiti recorded more than 131 centimeters (52 inches) of snowfall and rain between March 1-3, a 530% increase from the average 20.8 centimeters (8 inches).

Complex Humanitarian Emergency – Mozambique: According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 110,000 people have been displaced in Mozambique since January 2024 due to a surge in violence by non-state armed groups. Almost 60% of those displaced by the new wave of attacks are children, with Save the Children calling this the largest displacement in northern Mozambique in 18 months.

On March 6, aid agencies reported new attacks in the Cabo Delgado province, which left 70 children missing, with fears they may have drowned or been kidnapped by militants. The United Nations refugee chief raised alerts on March 7 due to the increased displacement of people following a seven-year insurgency by armed groups in north Mozambique.

Flooding – Iran: Persistent heavy rain since Feb. 27 led to the overflow of four dams in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan provinces, affecting over 110,000 people in the southern region. Across 14 cities and 450 villages, 500 houses and 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) of agricultural land were damaged. There were power outages in at least two-thirds of the affected areas.

The Sistan and Baluchistan meteorological department issued an orange warning due to forecasts of heavy showers and thunderstorms for March 6-7.

Although official statistics report no deaths, local sources in Baluchistan say at least five had died due to the floods.

Heavy rainfall – Indonesia: Days of heavy rain caused flooding and landslides in Indonesia’s West Sumatra, killing at least 26. Since March 7, nearly 37,000 houses and buildings have been submerged, and 113 hectares (280 acres) of farmland and multiple bridges and schools have been damaged.

Indonesia’s government drafted 150 personnel from various disaster agencies to engage in search and rescue efforts, evacuation assistance and relief services. However, extreme weather has hampered rescue operations. As of March 11, over 70,000 people were forced to evacuate.

Previous/Ongoing Disasters

Flooding – Brazil: Since Feb. 27, heavy rainfall has caused flooding and overflow of rivers in western Brazil. As of March 7, the government reported more than 28,855 people displaced due to flooding and 19,694 people affected due to the overflow of the Jurua River. A state of emergency remains for 19 municipalities as more rainfall and thunderstorms are forecasted.

In addition to the disasters listed above, we actively monitor the following disasters or humanitarian emergencies. For more information, see the relevant disaster profiles, which are updated regularly.

• Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis
• Horn of Africa Hunger Crisis
• Palestinian-Israeli Humanitarian Crisis
• 2024 Chile Wildfires
• 2024 Japan Earthquake
• 2024 U.S. Tornadoes
• 2024 North American Wildfires
• 2023 Libya Floods
• 2023 Morocco Earthquake
• 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake

U.S. Midwest Low-Attention Disasters

The Midwest is regularly faced with low-attention disasters that affect people across the region. CDP’s Midwest Early Recovery Fund (ERF) effectively funds efforts that catalyze equitable disaster recovery.

These are some of the latest disasters and related news the ERF team is monitoring:

• Several wildfires erupted across Kansas on Feb. 26, destroying homes and injuring people. Fires in Kearney and Seward County caused damage to six homes, leaving families displaced. Kansas Governor issued a state of disaster emergency declaration due to increased fire risks this week.
• Crews battled a large wildfire near Waseca, Minnesota, on Sunday, March 3, which quickly grew to 2,000 acres. Twelve houses were evacuated, and one civilian and two firefighters were injured, and smoke from the fire affected air quality in the Twin Cities. Burning restrictions are in place for southwest Minnesota.
• On Feb. 27, a prairie fire in central Nebraska burned 110 square miles, destroying one home, damaging another and burning down five outbuildings. No injuries have been reported. Governor Jim Pillen declared a state of emergency to provide additional aid from the state and cooperating agencies.

Complex Humanitarian Emergencies – Democratic Republic of Congo

Many places worldwide are experiencing emergencies caused by conflict, climate change, drought, famine, economic challenges and other conditions that combine to create a complex humanitarian emergency (CHE). CDP maintains complete profiles on several CHEs, and what CDP considers Level 1 CHEs are profiled in this weekly blog post and tracked.

What We’re Reading