2007 Floods and Cyclone: Mozambique humanitarian situation update, 1-2 March
Major Developments Tropical Cyclone Gamede in the Indian Ocean has now decreased to a tropical storm and has passed to the south of Madagascar. The current trajectory of the cyclone suggests that Mozambique is not in danger. On Monday 5 March, the Prime Minister will present the Resettlement and Recovery Plan of the National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC). The Ministry of Agriculture has shared its proposed Post Flood/Drought/Cyclone Action Plan on Agriculture and Food Security. The plan estimates that around 750,000 people are in need of food assistance, including 285,000 people in flood affected areas in the Zambezi River valley, 280,000 people in drought affected areas of the Southern region and 183,000 people in cyclone affected areas. The impact of Tropical Cyclone Favio has led to high water levels and flooding in the Buzi river basin, while in the Zambezi river basin, the water levels continue to decrease. The levels in Zumbo, Tete and Mutarara districts are now below the alert levels. The Council of Ministers met on 27 February and downgraded the alert level in the Zambezi River basin from Red to Orange. 1) TROPICAL CYCLONE FAVIO Needs Assessment Inhambane province In total, an estimated 133,670 people were affected by the cyclone in the four affected districts of Inhambane province: 73,000 (14,600 families) in Vilanculo, 43,170 (16,471 families) in Inhassoro, 7,500 (1,498 families) in Govuro and 10,000 (2,000 families) in Massinga. Significant numbers of houses were damaged but as people are choosing to stay close to their homes, only a relatively small number of people are currently in the accommodation centres in the area. Serious infrastructural damage was caused by the cyclone in most of the affected districts. The priority needs for Inhambane province continue to be as follows:
In total, approximately 18 health facilities and 332 classrooms were damaged across the affected areas in Inhambane province. The Provincial Governor of Inhambane has reported that the Government is working on reconstruction plans for three priority areas (electricity, fishery and tourism). Sofala province In addition to the districts affected in Inhambane province, cyclone damage was reported in Buzi, Machanga, Dondo and Chibabava in Sofala province, in relation to infrastructure, schools and health posts. The INGC has conducted an assessment of the area and initial indications are that the Government does not require additional assistance to support the response in Sofala province. UNICEF Response Coordination UNICEF continues to participate in clusters established by the INGC in Vilanculo to support the cyclone response. Five clusters have been established: Information and Planning (led by INGC); Communication (led by INGC); Infrastructure (including water and sanitation, transport and energy) (led by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing); Social Services (led by WHO); and Aid Coordination (led by UNICEF). UNICEF is leading the Aid Coordination cluster and is participating in the Infrastructure and Social Services clusters. UNICEF is providing logistic support to the Government to ensure the timely delivery of supplies, particularly to remote rural areas that are difficult to access. UNICEF has also mobilised partners both to support the (door-to-door) distribution of supplies and to put in place a series of controls, in order to minimize the misuse of goods being distributed. Health UNICEF continues to provide logistic support to the local health authorities to ensure the timely delivery of supplies, and is monitoring the installation of temporary water facilities in health centres. The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) has established a mobile hospital at the rural hospital in Vilanculo, supported by 11 medical staff deployed from outside the country. Medical supplies are also being airlifted in using a WFP helicopter. Education UNICEF is working with the local education authorities to finalise the distribution plan for education supplies expected to arrive in the coming days, including tents to serve as temporary learning facilities. The supplies will be stored at a secondary school in Vilanculo and distributed to schools as soon as possible. WASH UNICEF continues to work with the local authorities and partners under the framework of the Infrastructure cluster to ensure access to safe water and sanitation in the affected areas. WASH supplies, including chlorine and chloroforic sachets, have now been delivered to the Bazaruto islands, in order to enable the treatment of drinking water. A health team will be visiting Bazaruto and Benguera Islands and will conduct hygiene promotion activities. Protection No major protection concerns have been reported. A total of 500 ‘family kits’, containing basic household items such as soap, cooking utensils and water purification kits have arrived in Vilanculo from Beira for immediate distribution to vulnerable households in cyclone affected districts identified by the Mozambican Red Cross. A major focus of the team in the coming days will be providing logistic and monitoring support to ensure the timely and efficient delivery of supplies in line with agreed distribution plans.
2) ZAMBEZI FLOODS Needs Assessment As of 27 February, the INGC estimated that approximately 163,045 people had been displaced due to the floods. An estimated 107,534 people were in the accommodation centres and 55,511 in the resettlement centres that were established after the 2001 floods. The UNICEF teams based in Caia (Sofala province), Mopeia (Zambezia province) and Mutarara (Tete province) are continuing to work with Government, UN and NGO partners to monitor the immediate and medium term needs in flood affected provinces. The main priority concerns in all affected areas are sanitation and the need for hygiene/health education in order to prevent any outbreaks of cholera (no cases have been reported to date). The preliminary report of the multi-sectoral assessment undertaken in flood affected areas by teams composed of representatives from Government, UN and NGO partners outlines the immediate priorities identified by the assessment teams, including food; health; water, sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions (with a focus on enhancing community participation); seeds for the second agricultural season; tools for agricultural production and the rehabilitation of accommodation; and basic health education, particularly in the areas of malaria, cholera and HIV prevention. The report proposes a number of recommendations for immediate sector interventions, including: the strengthening of centre management and registration systems in order to ensure the availability of accurate, disaggregated population data; the maintenance of flow through the food pipeline to remote areas; the provision of supplementary feeding for malnourished children; reactivation of essential health services, sustained and accelerated water, sanitation and hygiene interventions; the provision of agricultural tools and tools to support the rehabilitation of accommodation by communities; and the provision of condoms in accommodation centres. UNICEF Response In the flood affected areas, the UNICEF teams based in Caia, Mopeia and Mutarara are now focusing on supporting the local education, health, water and social action authorities and other partners to distribute the available supplies, and to monitor the situation in the centres to ensure that any additional supply and non-supply needs are identified and addressed in a timely manner. WASH In all affected provinces, UNICEF continues to work with Government and NGO partners to ensure complete coverage of centres with WASH interventions, in line with the agreed division of labour. Health UNICEF is continuing to support the local health authorities in assessing the situation in relation to health in the centres. The distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) remains a priority. To date, over 25,000 ITNs have been distributed by UNICEF and partners in affected areas. Nutrition UNICEF is supporting the local health authorities and other partners in ongoing activities under the supplementary feeding programme, which has now been established in the districts of Caia, Marromeu, Chemba, Mopeia, Morrumbala and Mutarara. A site is also being established in Tambara district. A UNICEF Health and Nutrition Officer is currently in Tambara to support the distribution of BP5 – compact food – and provide monitoring support. Education In all flood affected provinces, UNICEF is continuing to work with the local education authorities and NGO partners to ensure the appropriate installation and use of tents to be used as temporary learning facilities. Over 50 school kits have been provided to temporary schools to ensure that basic materials are available for learners. Protection With support from UNICEF, mine risk assessments have been initiated by Handicap International in the area of Caia and will take place in the coming days in Tambara and Guro districts. Mine risk education training has also started in Caia. Training on psycho-social support and the protection of women and children is being conducted in Zambezia and Sofala provinces by Save the Children and in Tete and Manica provinces by HIV Alliance and Save the Children. Assessments to identify orphaned and vulnerable children have now been realised in all provinces by the Ministry of Women and Social Action with support from partners. Training on the protection of women and children for police deployed in centres is ongoing and logistic support has been provided to the police to ensure that each centre has 24-hour policing. Inter-Agency Collaboration and Key Partnerships Under the framework of the IASC Cluster Approach, UN and NGO partners under each of the clusters established to support the emergency response are preparing a Humanitarian Response Plan to cover the medium term flood response and immediate cyclone response. The Plan is expected to be launched in the week of 5 March. The current list of cluster leads and participants is provided below: Logistics Food Security Telecommunications Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Nutrition Health Education Protection Shelter Early Recovery
Photo essay Photo essay Photo essay Related links Health activists spread life-saving messages Protecting children from malaria and water-borne diseases Flood-affected children go back to school Coastal towns hard at work after Cyclone Favio Mozambique floods: Getting children back to school Mozambique floods: Preventing the spread of diseases among children in the camps Related press releases 2007 Floods and Cyclone: humanitarian updates |
