Disaster Response Archives

A Second Disaster: Waterborne Illnesses Hit Cyclone-Ravaged Areas

Posted April 4th, 2019 by Cinelle Barnes.

Just a few weeks after Cyclone Idai fatally struck Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, Water Mission is diligently working on the ground to bring safe water to those at risk of experiencing a “second disaster,” or a post-cyclone outbreak of deadly waterborne diseases. The number of reported cholera cases is at 1,700 as of April 3, with health officials reporting at least 200 new cases each day in the Mozambican city of Beira alone. Flooding has contaminated many water sources. This damage, combined with poor sanitation and heavy water pollution, has created an environment suitable for cholera outbreaks. Bangula displacement camp in Malawi Craig ... Read More

Cyclone Idai: What You Need to Know & How You Can Help

Devastating flooding in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai

Posted March 21st, 2019 by Megan Staub.

In early March, southeast Africa suffered severe rainfall from the Idai storm system, which killed more than 100 people and led to serious damage to infrastructure and crops — a devastating loss just before harvest season. Idai strengthened into a powerful Category 3 storm in the following days and made landfall on March 14 in Mozambique before striking both Malawi and Zimbabwe. Tragically, at least 350 people have died and more than 2.6 million have been affected by the cyclone across all three countries. The United Nations has already reported that Idai may be one of the most ... Read More

Celebrating Solar Power & Sustainability in Puerto Rico

Engineer Sam Knobeloch works on a solar array in Puerto Rico.

Posted February 21st, 2019 by Megan Staub.

Seventeen months ago, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. It was the most destructive storm to hit the island in more than 80 years, and it made a devastating impact on safe water, power, and health care services. Although it’s been over a year, you have not forgotten Puerto Rico. Your ongoing and generous support has enabled us to continue partnering with rural communities to provide long-term, sustainable safe water solutions utilizing solar power. In the aftermath of the hurricane, Water Mission installed generators in rural communities to deliver temporary power for their water systems. With your generosity and the support of corporate ... Read More

Empowering Refugees Through Partnerships

Safe water for Bidi Bidi refugee settlement

Posted February 12th, 2019 by Chris Bryan.

When tens of thousands of people fled violence and unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2013, Water Mission began implementing its first safe water projects serving refugee populations in neighboring Uganda. In partnership with UNICEF, we provided safe drinking water through solar-powered water treatment systems and piped distribution networks in Uganda’s refugee settlements. Safe water in Bidi Bidi refugee settlement (2017) Two years later, civil war in South Sudan drove an influx of refugees to Uganda. Water Mission and UNICEF responded immediately to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese refugees. It is the responsibility of the ... Read More

Rebuilding Palu: Update on Our Disaster Relief in Indonesia

Posted February 7th, 2019 by Megan Staub.

The recovery of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has slipped out of the news in the last few months. After all, the hard work of grieving loss and piecing life back together doesn’t make many headlines. But that work goes on, even if it doesn’t capture international attention. More than two million people in Indonesia were personally affected by the twin tragedies that struck near the city of Palu on September 28, losing loved ones, houses, schools, and jobs to the magnitude 7.5 earthquake and resulting tsunami. https://watermission.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/damage-video.mp4 Thanks to you, they don’t have to rebuild alone. Water Mission began mobilizing within hours of ... Read More

Remembering the Haiti Earthquake: Resilience and Resolve Nine Years Later

Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake

Posted January 10th, 2019 by Megan Staub.

January 12 will mark nine years since Haiti suffered the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the country. At the time, our in-country Water Mission team included just five people. When the earthquake struck, four of our staff members were driving through the mountains back to Port-au-Prince — Haiti’s capital and largest city — after visiting communities in southern Haiti. “I was driving, and then I felt the car shaking,” Aristil Frenel, our staff driver at the time, told us. “I thought it was a flat tire because we didn’t realize we were in an earthquake.” One of countless roads destroyed by the earthquake. The ... Read More

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