Highlights
1,202 people remain in 41 Evacuation Centers in Fiji, down from 11,676 on 20 December.
In Samoa, 1,636 houses were damaged by the Cyclone, including 688 destroyed.
This affected 12,606 people.
Situation Overview
Samoa
Restoration of water and power supply and continued support for the temporary shelters have been identified as the most critical humanitarian priorities in Samoa. Water supply has been restored in parts of Moataa, Lelata and Faatoia. However, the Fuluasou area will be without water for a month, while the Alaoa area could be without water for up to four months. Water is provided in most rural areas through electric pumps that are currently offline due to power outages. Generators have been flown in from New Zealand and deployed to those areas. The Ministry of Health estimates it will cost an additional US $5.7 million to meet the needs of the population affected by Cyclone Evan in Samoa, and is requesting financial and technical support. A relief expert from the European Union arrived on 27 December. Rapid needs assessments have so far been completed on water, tourism, agriculture and fisheries.
Fiji
At an inter-cluster meeting held on 28 December, the Fiji National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) presented the summary results of the Initial Damage Assessment (IDA) conducted by the line Ministries, which has been submitted to the Cabinet, totaling FJ$ 75 million. As a way forward, NDMO suggested to develop a strategic planning document - ‘Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP)’. By applying a national cluster approach, a HAP could capture overall needs, on-going response, and available resources for the immediate three months. The HAP could also provide a basis for planning early recovery/rehabilitation and inform donors of possible funding gaps.
Meanwhile, OCHA continues to support coordination efforts by NDMO and the 8 national clusters, including information management such as the development of 5Ws (Who does what, where, when and why).