Vietnam
An estimated 65,000 people in the Yên Thủy district in Vietnam are being affected by drought. These communities rely almost entirely on agriculture (crops and livestock) for their livelihoods. The damage to crops and less grass or hay means that the cattle, buffalo and pigs living in the affected area are potentially at risk.
Yên Thủy is a rural district of Hoa Binh Province in the north western region of Vietnam. Drought has been on-going since May 2012. Located in a mountainous area with little rainfall, the region’s topography makes it prone to droughts every year. However this year’s drought has been more severe and people are living in difficult conditions due to the limited water.
Our disaster response team based in Thailand recently travelled to Yên Thủy to assess the situation and report on the needs of the animals living in the affected areas. We will be updating you shortly on the outcomes of this assessment.
India
The monsoon season has brought torrential downpours which have triggered severe flooding in India’s north-eastern state of Assam, over the last few weeks.The floods have swamped more than 2,000 villages across 23 of Assam's 27 districts since mid-June, forcing around two million people to leave their homes for higher ground.
It’s estimated that around 33,000 cattle and 25,000 small animals (sheep, goats and pigs), are likely to be affected by the floods. In the marooned villages people are carrying their animals towards safer places such as river embankments and high roads including the national highway. There has been a significant loss of animal feed. The river has overflowed resulting in grazing lands being submerged and made unsuitable for grazing by animals.
Our response team in India is assessing the impact of the floods on the animals in Assam and will be updating us shortly on the situation.
