A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Heavy rains, which started pouring on 11 August 2016 and continued to 20 August 2016, have caused flooding in five provinces of Lao People’s Republic. Initially, rains affected the provinces of Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Saravan and Sayabouri on 11 to 18 August. As conditions began to improve, a week later there followed more rains fuelled by effects of Tropical Strom Dianmu, mainly affecting the province of Xiangkhouang.
According to information consolidated by the Lao Red Cross (LRC), five casualties were reported with at least 26,328 people affected across five provinces. Specifically, the number of people affected per province is 3,375 in Luangprabang, 19,242 in Oudomxay, 2,760 in Salavan, 891 in Xaignabouli and 60 in Xiangkhouang. A joint assessment convened by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare with other ministries was conducted in the province of Oudomxay. The assessment’s findings have reaffirmed the geographical focus of LRC on the province of Oudomxay.