SITREP, August 2026

Dear Reader,

Ebola is still spreading in DR Congo, and Russia is still attacking Kyiv. July also brought wildfires across southern Europe, an earthquake in Japan, and floods in South Asia and the United States.

The Month in Review

Asia

Japan. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Kumamoto on July 28. Kumamoto is on Kyushu, in southern Japan. 38 people died and 155 were injured, and about 15,000 people are still in emergency shelters. Trains reach Kumamoto again, but nothing runs further south to Kagoshima for the rest of August. Source: France 24

Advice: For Kagoshima and the south of the island, fly or drive. Aftershocks are still likely. In your hotel room, read the evacuation notice on the back of the door and keep shoes and water next to the bed.

Bangladesh and India. Heavy monsoon rain hit South Asia in July. In Bangladesh, floods and landslides killed 51 people and affected about 1.11 million by July 13. The worst damage was in Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and the hill districts in the southeast, where roads, bridges and water supplies were destroyed. Source: United Nations Bangladesh In India, floods and landslides killed at least 25 people in Kashmir, Nagaland and Assam around July 20, and two large pilgrimages were stopped. Source: Al Jazeera

Advice: Plan twice the normal time for any drive in these areas. On the morning you travel, ask your hotel or a local contact if your road is open. A map app will not show you which bridges are gone.

Americas

USA. On July 10, storms dropped 6 to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm) of rain on central and southeast Missouri. Rescue teams pulled hundreds of people out of floodwater and cars, and off roofs. More than 200 children and staff at a summer camp were flown out by National Guard helicopters. One woman died when her house was washed away. Source: PBS NewsHour

Advice: Never drive into water if you cannot see the road under it. Water that looks shallow can lift a car, and most people who die in floods die in their car. If you sleep near a river and a flood warning comes, drive to higher ground at once.

Canada. On July 11, two men were killed and four were injured at the Salsa on St. Clair street festival in Toronto. About 13,000 people were there. Two people shot at each other, and the police said the crowd was not the target. Source: CBS News

Advice: You are probably not the target, but you can still be hit. When you arrive at a crowded event, take ten seconds to find two exits. If you hear shots, walk away from the sound and put a wall or a car between you and the shots. Call for help when you are behind cover.

Haiti. The Gang Suppression Force, which the UN supports, has about 1,000 of its planned 5,550 people in Haiti. It will not be at full strength before October. Gangs still control about 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and about 1.47 million people have left their homes. Kidnapping for ransom is still the main danger for foreigners. Source: The Ops Con

Advice: The new force has not changed anything yet, so do not plan your trip around it. If you have to go, arrange two things before you fly. A driver or a security company that you or someone you trust has used before. And a plan to leave the country if the airport closes.

Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Ebola outbreak in the east of the country grew fast in July. In June it was 1,155 cases. On August 4 it was 3,973 cases and 1,801 deaths, a death rate of about 45 percent. This outbreak is caused by a strain of Ebola called Bundibugyo. The vaccine and the medicines that exist were made for another strain and do not work against it. About twenty countries now ask about your travel in the last 21 or 30 days. Some only screen people, others refuse entry. Source: ECDC Source: Fragomen, July 20

Advice: Kinshasa, the capital, is far from the affected areas in the east. The outbreak itself is not a reason to cancel a trip there. The entry rules are the bigger problem. For 21 days after you leave DR Congo, and 30 days for some countries, those days can block your entry elsewhere. Before you book, check the rules for your destination and for every airport where you change planes.

Uganda. Uganda declared its own Ebola outbreak over on July 28, after 42 days with no new case. It had 20 cases and two deaths in total. Many countries still name Uganda in their entry rules, next to DR Congo and South Sudan. Entry rules are usually updated late. Source: ECDC

Advice: If you have been in Uganda in the last 21 days, expect questions at the border even though the outbreak is over. Carry something that shows the dates of your trip.

Sudan. In July the front line moved in North Kordofan, in the centre of Sudan. The army recaptured several towns and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group, withdrew. On July 30 an air strike on the village of Sharshar killed at least 24 people, most of them women and children. Witnesses and human rights groups say the Sudanese army was responsible. An attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the nearby village of El Jamama killed nine more people. Source: Radio Dabanga

Advice: There is no safe route through North Kordofan at the moment. If you have staff or partners there, look at the order of events. The army recaptured the towns first, and the attacks on civilians came afterwards.

Europe

Ukraine. In the early hours of July 6, Russia fired 68 missiles and 351 drones at Kyiv and the area around it. At least 20 people died and about 56 were injured. More than a dozen apartment buildings were damaged. Source: Al Jazeera

Advice: The big attacks happen at night, so travel during the day if you can. Install the Air Alert app before you fly. It is free, it has an English version, and it makes a sound even when your phone is silent. Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation supports it. When you check in at your hotel, ask where the shelter is.

Spain and France. The third heatwave of the summer caused the worst wildfire season in decades. By July 28 more than 320,000 people in Spain and France had left their homes, and about 1,200 square kilometres had burned. At least 240 houses near Bordeaux were destroyed and three firefighters died. Spain declared a national wildfire emergency for the first time. Source: Euronews

Advice: Before a long drive in southern Europe, look at the European Commission's fire map at forest-fire.emergency.copernicus.eu. It is free and covers all of Europe. Fires close motorways with little warning, so fill your fuel tank early and take water with you. Smoke is the bigger health risk, so anyone with asthma or a heart problem should stay inside on bad days.

What Your Medical Evacuation Cover Does Not Do

Most people who work abroad have medical evacuation cover. Very few have read it.

The first problem is the time before help arrives. In many countries there is no ambulance service like the one you know at home. There may be no number to call. If a vehicle comes, there may be no trained paramedic in it. Nobody decides which hospital you go to. Evacuation companies fly patients from one hospital to another, after a doctor has made them stable. They do not drive to the place of an accident. So the first hour, which is the most important one, is not covered by anyone.

The second problem is what the policy does not cover. Most policies pay to bring you to the nearest suitable hospital, which is not the same as a flight home. Many do not pay for epidemics, serious infectious diseases, war and unrest, or countries that your own government tells you not to visit. And the insurance company's doctor decides if an evacuation is necessary, not the doctor who treats you.

Four things to do before you travel:

1. Ask your provider in writing what this policy does not cover at your destination.

2. Ask them to name the hospital they would take you to. Sometimes it is in another country.

3. Find out how long the drive to that hospital takes, and agree who drives.

4. Make sure at least one person on the trip has recent first aid training, including how to stop heavy bleeding and what to do if someone is unconscious.

Community Q&A

"I travel alone for work a few times a year and my company has no security department. What is most likely to go wrong, and what can I do to brace myself?"

Kidnapping and terrorism are in the news, but they are rare. The usual problems are a bad arrival, a stolen bag or phone, two days in bed after bad food, or nobody at home knowing where you are. Four habits cover most of it.

Arrange your ride before you fly. Ask the hotel to send a driver and to send you the name and the number plate by message. When you land you are tired, you are carrying all your luggage, and you do not yet know what is normal in this place.

Keep your documents and your money in two places. Photograph your passport and put a second bank card somewhere that is not your wallet. Then a stolen bag costs you an afternoon instead of a week.

Tell one person at home your route and when you should arrive, and tell them what to do if you do not arrive.

Keep the first evening free. Walk around the block near your hotel while it is light, so you know how the street looks on a normal day. Go to bed early.

Have a question? Just reply to this email.

From the Team

The Safety Huddle No. 36. Donnie Woodyard has more than 30 years in emergency medical services and led the response to large disasters in Sri Lanka and Haiti. We talk about risk management, about keeping a team working under pressure, and about how much ambulance services differ between countries. That is also the subject of the safety section above. His work on the history of EMS is at ems-history.com. Watch on YouTube

Stay safe out there,
Inga Faust, Co-Founder, FOXPEDITION™