An earthquake, tsunami, flood or cyclone can have a devastating impact on entire communities.
Within a matter of minutes, natural disasters can affect the lives of tens of thousands of people. Hundreds or even thousands of people can be injured, homes and livelihoods destroyed. Access to clean water, healthcare services and transport can also be disrupted. The impact of each disaster varies greatly and our response must adapt to each situation.
Needs must be quickly identified, but accessing a disaster zone can be complex when roads are cut off. The first responders are people already on-site: community members, local authorities and aid organisations already present.
We keep pre-packaged kits to deploy for rapid relief and life-saving assistance. With projects in over 70 countries, we often have aid workers nearby when a disaster strikes. They can be reinforced with additional teams if a larger response is needed.
Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in South Sudan this year, affecting more than 400,000 people.
Though the immediate emergency has subsided many villages and towns still do not have clean water and lack access to functioning health care centers. MSF teams are addressing this through water and sanitation activities and mobile clinics to rural areas.
MSF has erected a tent in the hospital compound for discharged patients who cannot stay elsewhere.
Xavier Kernizan is an orthopedic surgeon who normally works at MSF's Tabarre hospital in Port-au-Prince. Since the August 14 earthquake, he has been working with an MSF surgical team in Jérémie.
Natural disasters, such as floods, cyclones, drought and earthquakes, have had a significant impact on Mozambique’s people. Cyclone Idai made landfall in the eastern city of Beira, the capital of Sofala province, on 14 March 2019. Within days it had reduced 80 per cent of the city to ruins and left over 600 people dead and more than 1,600 injured.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage to buildings, houses and main access roads in the three provinces of Grand'Anse, Nippes and Sud. The provisional death toll is estimated at more than 1,300 with more than 5,700 people injured, according to Haitian authorities.
Humanitarian needs are soaring in southern Somalia as Jubaland state is hit by repeated emergencies including severe droughts, flash floods and outbreaks of disease.
Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), erupted on 22 May, leaving hundreds of thousands of people displaced, amid threats of new disasters. The tremors and aftershocks that terrorised the city of Goma, collapsing buildings, triggered a mass evacuation. Families who sought shelter in distant towns, such as Sake, Rutshuru and Minova, struggle to access the aid they so desperately need. At the same time, they find support among the people of the cities they fled to.
An earthquake, tsunami, flood or cyclone can have a devastating impact on entire communities.
Within a matter of minutes, natural disasters can affect the lives of tens of thousands of people. Hundreds or even thousands of people can be injured, homes and livelihoods destroyed. Access to clean water, healthcare services and transport can also be disrupted. The impact of each disaster varies greatly and our response must adapt to each situation.
Needs must be quickly identified, but accessing a disaster zone can be complex when roads are cut off. The first responders are people already on-site: community members, local authorities and aid organisations already present.
We keep pre-packaged kits to deploy for rapid relief and life-saving assistance. With projects in over 70 countries, we often have aid workers nearby when a disaster strikes. They can be reinforced with additional teams if a larger response is needed.
