REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Hurricane Dorian
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service, read the statement by the Spokesman of the United Nations Secretary-General:
“The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the terrible devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, which is still impacting the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Secretary-General expresses solidarity with the people and the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The United Nations will continue supporting the Government-led ongoing rescue and relief efforts.”
Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), read the following statement:
“A very quiet Atlantic hurricane season had dramatically and tragically changed with hurricane Dorian, which intensified rapidly into the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane over the weekend. It is the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the Bahamas.
At its peak, Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 km/h), with gusts of up to 200 mph (321 km/h) and brought storm surge of 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7 meters) above normal tide levels. This life-threatening hurricane is causing extreme destruction on the island.
Dorian has this morning weakened to a category 3 hurricane, devastating sustained winds of 195 km/h, life-threatening storm surge will raise water levels 3 - 4.5 meters above normal tide levels, torrential rainfall, according to the US National Hurricane Center which acts as WMO regional specialized meteorological center.
The National Hurricane Center is issuing constant updates and social media is sharing scenes of the devastating winds and water. It warned of an additional 6 to 12 inches (152 to 304 mm), with isolated storm totals of 30 inches (762 mm) for the North-western Bahamas.
What is extraordinary about Dorian is that it is stationary. This means the impacts of the winds, the rain and the storm surge are more concentrated in one area. Since making landfall on Grand Bahama Island, Dorian has only travelled about 40 miles (64 km).
National Hurricane Center’s scientist Eric Blake tweeted: “Can’t sleep so I took one look at #Dorian radar- it just won’t move. At least it is weakening but only after taking out its fury on Grand Bahama. Just horrible”.
Finally, we expect that the hurricane will move today. A turn toward the north-northwest is forecast by this evening, with a turn to the north forecast by
Wednesday followed by a turn to the northeast on Thursday.
On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will
continue to pound Grand Bahama Island today. The hurricane will then move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late today through Wednesday evening, very near the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Wednesday night and Thursday, and near or over the North Carolina coast late Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The US National Hurricane Center reminds people that the hurricane is not a
point, and that life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds extend far from the center. Regardless of the exact forecast track, Dorian is likely to produce strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge along a portion of the US east coast from Florida through the Carolinas.”
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), read the following statement:
“Indeed, in terms of a humanitarian impact, the initial assessment we are getting is that it is rather catastrophic.
Hurricane Dorian made landfall as a category 5 hurricane on 1 September in Elbow Cay in the Abacos (population: 17,200) and remain located over Grand Bahama (population: 51,000).
Unconfirmed reports from Abaco indicate badly damaged roofing and downed power lines, with some roads all but impassable. The North Abaco Minister of Parliament said that Abaco has suffered catastrophic damage.
There are also reports of massive flooding in Grand Bahama, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Bahamas. The Bahamian Defense Force was dispatched to rescue people in East Grand Bahama.
The Prime Minister of the Bahamas has said that five people have been confirmed killed as a result of Hurricane Dorian.
NEMA estimates some 76,000 people are exposed to damaging winds. Of this population, around 22 percent are children under 15, more than 70 percent are people between 15-64 years old and around eight percent are over 64 years old. These estimates are subject to change after post-impact verification.
Projected impact suggests that water will be a priority need due to the state of the water supply system and the strong likelihood of saltwater intrusion brought on by storm surge and flooding. Severe impact to communications, power and transportation are also expected. Available data also suggest humanitarian need for food, shelter and early recovery.
At Bahamas’ request, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) assembled two Rapid Needs Assessment Teams who began arriving in Nassau, Bahamas, on 31 August. The teams remain on standby to deploy to Abaco and Grand Bahamas once the all-clear status has been given by the Government. OCHA has staff deployed with the CDEMA teams.”
Matthew Cochrane, for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), read the following statement:
“We are working on the scenario that everyone on Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands will need some form of emergency assistance. Out of these, we anticipate supporting at least 20,000 of the worst affected.
We believe that Abaco island has the most vulnerable population. It is home to a large Haitian community that we believe will need specific support to recover and rebuild after this storm.
We understand based on initial assessments that 62,000 people on the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama do not have access to fresh water and will need support. As we know from previous emergencies, lack of clean water can cause serious secondary humanitarian needs.
As we said yesterday, more than 13,000 houses are believed to have been damaged or destroyed; that is about 45 per cent of all dwellings on the two islands. The first assessment is scheduled for tomorrow.
I would like to quickly outline the actions we have taken in the past 24-48 hours.
Yesterday we released 250,000 Swiss francs from our Disaster Relief Emergency Fund. This morning the decision was taken to extend that to half a million Swiss francs in anticipation of launching an emergency appeal, perhaps as early as today. We will communicate that with you as soon as we have more information.
The Bahamas Red Cross is obviously present and has hundreds of volunteers on the affected islands. They also had pre-positioned supplies for about 1,000 people. These will be important but, given the impact, it will not be enough and much more support will be needed.
Before the storm hit, the IFRC deployed a disaster management expert to Nassau. Overnight we have put on standby a rapid assessment and response team that will head in as soon as weather conditions allow. We have also put out alerts to our networks for larger Emergency Response Units in anticipation of a sizable response operation.
Finally, we are preparing a charter flight in Panama with relief supplies for about 800 families, but it is not clear whether the airports are currently accessible. Again, this will go as soon as conditions in the Bahamas allow.”
Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:
“The Caribbean Disaster Management Agency, or CDEMA, deployed two rapid needs assessment teams to the Bahamas. They are comprised of representatives from member states, the UN World Food Programme, Pan American Health Organization, OCHA, and others.
At this stage, the World Food Programme has four specialized staff on the ground who can support in the areas of food security, emergency telecommunications and logistics. We also have a drone specialist, and, as you know, drones can be very useful for assessments, as was the case in Mozambique.
The teams will support the Government of the Bahamas in rapidly assessing the damage from the hurricane and in prioritizing needs. Their role is for a three-day assessment, with one team in each main affected island. The teams are waiting for the Government’s authorization.
Based on early, preliminary calculations, Abaco may require food for 14,500 people and Grand Bahama for 45,700 people, however we must be careful with the numbers until the three-day assessment is complete.
The team is awaiting government authorization to begin the joint assessment.”
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:
“The International Organization for Migration today began assessing damage from Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that has damaged more than 13,000 houses across several island groups, especially the Bahamas. Some 30,000 persons are believed to be affected on the two main islands most heavily impacted.
IOM is deploying staff to the island and liaising with its government and donor partners. Jan-Willem Wegdam, IOM Dominica’s Head of Office, is expected to arrive in the Bahamas later today. Mr. Wegdam was a team leader in the IOM’s disaster relief and reconstruction efforts after twin storms, Irma and Maria, hit Dominica, two weeks apart, in 2017.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, the IOM helped to rebuild hundreds of homes, repaired emergency shelters, trained teams of residents to respond to different emergencies by building capacity as emergency radio operators and shelter managers among other skills.
In the months that followed, the IOM held disaster preparedness sessions in 16 communities and also worked in local schools to prepare students in response methods for future emergencies. We expect similar work in this event as well.”
Denis McClean, for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), informed that Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, had expressed her condolences to the Government and the residents of the Bahamas following reports of casualties. Mr. McClean then read the following statement:
“This is the fourth consecutive year that we have witnessed an extremely devastating Atlantic Hurricane Season including Category Five hurricanes like Dorian. The sequence cannot be divorced from the fact that these last five years have been the hottest ever recorded because of the continuing rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Hurricane Dorian crystallizes the existential threat posed to small island developing states by the ongoing climate emergency. This is an unprecedented humanitarian and development challenge for the Bahamas.
Within the past few years, the Bahamas has been seriously affected by at least three major hurricanes—all category four storms or above. The impact of Hurricanes Joaquin (2015), Matthew (2016), and Irma (2017) on the Bahamas has been reported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean to cost approximately 820 million dollars.
The Bahamas has been responding well to the challenge of climate change. In the last ten years it has established a state-of-the-art National Emergency Operations Centre. The political commitment to reducing disaster risk is evident from the strengthening of building codes. Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis has been very much to the fore in encouraging people to evacuate in a timely manner and there is no doubt that preparedness measures have saved many lives.
There are fears of further loss of life and in the long term this storm will have severe consequences on the country’s economy with catastrophic levels of damage to infrastructure and huge property losses for the public from destroyed or damaged homes and offices to flooded cars. Public utilities such as water, sanitation and power supply are likely to suffer significant disruption.”
Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the WHO was following the situation very closely, in particular through its office in Washington. WHO was ready to help deploy Emergency Medical Teams if need be. They were in stand-by in their respective countries and were ready to be deployed on short notice.
Question was asked on the connection of the current hurricane with the climate change. Clare Nullis, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said there was no one simple straightforward answer. It had been a very quiet Atlantic hurricane season thus far, but it took only one hurricane to destroy people’s lives and devastate a nation. One of the messages of relevant research was that we were likely to see an increase in the intensity, rather than number, of hurricanes. Their impact had increased because of the climate change and the sea level rise. Absolutely awful scenes had been shared through the social media. Sea level rise was one of the main symptoms of the climate change. Small island states in the Caribbean, as those in the Pacific, were on the frontline of the climate change. Ocean heat was increasing, and hurricanes were feeding off it. The problem with Dorian was also that it got stuck over the Grand Bahamas, as it seemed to be “sandwiched” between two high-level pressure systems.
A journalist asked about details on the people affected. Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the figure of 30,000 received a few hours earlier related to the two main affected islands. Abaco and Grand Bahama. Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that, when it came to food security, Abaco may need food for 14,000 people, and Grand Bahama for 47,000i, but it was necessary to have a three-day assessment to have a more definite idea.
Responding to the question on the risks of water-borne diseases, Matthew Cochrane, for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that an appearance of water borne diseases was a concern, given the lack of clean water, and thus needed to be prioritized.
On a question related to the emergency medical teams, Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), explained that a small secretariat at the WHO was organizing those teams; given that the emergency was happening in the Bahamas, it would be logical to call teams from the Americas to come and help. Those teams were ready, after having received training. They were not obliged to intervene, of course, but there were agreements in place and the countries were normally happy to help their neighbours in need. An expert at the WHO was available for further queries, if needed.
Ukraine
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), spoke about the start of a new school year in Ukraine, and a report was presented which included statistics on the violence affecting children in the areas concerned with conflict in the east of the country. The report “Attacks on Education in Ukraine” showed that more than 400,000 children had experienced conflict as they lived, played and went to school within 20 km on either side of the contact line.
Since 1 January 2019, there had been 23 conflict-related incidents leading to physical damage to educational infrastructure. At least nine incidents had led to injuries or deaths of students, teachers or parents. In July 2019, six educational facilities had been damaged; that month had seen the highest number of education-related incidents since May 2018.
Unexploded ordnance was another issue as it could be found on the paths used by children to walk to school.
The report told a story of one particular family living in Popasna, very close to the contact line. Journalists were urged to use the data and photos provided in the report.
Geneva announcements
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers – which opened yesterday its 31st session - was going to consider the reports of Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Colombia during the current session.
Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed about the “WHO Essential Nutrition Actions” report which would be under embargo until noon on 4 September.
The purpose of the document was to provide a compilation of essential actions to address malnutrition in all its forms in a concise and user-friendly format to help countries in their decision-making processes when integrating nutrition interventions into national health and development policies. The new tool would also increase awareness about how to integrate essential nutrition interventions into primary health care services and universal health coverage. A stronger focus on nutrition integrated within health services was essential to tackle malnutrition and improve the health of people everywhere, according to the report.
The document can be accessed here.
Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), informed that on 4 September UNCTAD would publish a new study on the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit on aluminium exports. It would particularly look into the effects on the developing countries. The report would be short and synthetic, and the economists behind the report would be available for interviews.
Press conferences
Tuesday, 3 September 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in Room III
OHCHR / The Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen
Second Report of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen
Speakers:
· Kamel Jenoubi, Chair of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen
· Melissa Parke, International Expert
· Charles Garraway, International Expert
Tuesday, 3 September 2019 at 2:30 p.m. in Press Room 1
UNCTAD
Presentation of the first UN Trade Forum: SDGs and Climate Change – 9-13 September 2019 – Palais des Nations
Speaker:
· Pamela Coke-Hamilton, UNCTAD, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities
Wednesday, 4 September 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in Press Room 1
Human Rights Council (HRC)
Human Rights Council, 42nd regular session (9-27 September 2019)
(A light breakfast will be served outside the Press Room.)
Speaker:
· Ambassador Coly Seck (Senegal), President of the Human Rights Council
Wednesday, 4 September 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in Room III
OHCHR
Press Conference with Michelle Bachelet one year after she took office
Speaker:
· Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Wednesday, 4 September 2019 at 1:00 p.m. in Room III
OHCHR / Human Rights Council / Commission of Inquiry on Burundi
The members of the Commission of Inquiry will present their conclusions and written report on human rights violations committed in Burundi since May 2018 which will be presented to the Human Rights Council on 17 September.
The press conference will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org
Speakers:
· Doudou Diène, President of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi
· Françoise Hampson, Member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi
Monday, 9 September 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in Press Room 1
WHO
For this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day, on 10 September, the WHO would release its latest data on suicide around the world, broken down by age, sex, country income level, and region, as well as raising awareness of what could be done to help prevent suicide. WHO would also be releasing a guide for pesticide registrars and regulators. Pesticide poisoning was one of the commonest methods of suicide in certain parts of the world. Embargo was in place until Monday, 9 September at noon.
Speaker:
· Dr Alexandra Fleischmann, Scientist, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO
Monday, 9 September 2019 at 2:30 p.m. in Press Room 1
UNCTAD
Presentation of the 2019 Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people
(Embargoed until 10 September at 5 p.m. GMT)
Speaker:
· Mahmoud Elkhafif, Coordinator of the Assistance to the Palestinian People and principal author of the report, UNCTAD
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog020919