OCHA Situation Report No. 13
Mozambique - Floods
26 March 2001


This report summarises information received from the UN Resident
Coordinator's Office in Mozambique.

Situation

1.  Considerable amounts of rain fell in the Zambezi catchment area last
week, including Tete and the lower Zambezi valley.  The Cahora Bassa dam
was releasing an average of about 8,100 m3/s, yesterday.  On 24 March, the
fourth gate was opened at 100% to discharge the high incoming flow over
the last week. Water levels have been fluctuating, due to continuing rains
and subsequent overflowing upstream of the Zambezi River.  Scattered
showers and thunderstorms are expected in the early part of this week.

2.  Evacuations continue by boat in the Zambezi valley. The operations are
being carried out by the Mozambican navy and by a Portuguese civil
protection team.  Consequently, the numbers of displaced people in
accommodation centres are increasing by 500-700 people per day.

3.  The National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) reported that
the number of displaced people in the four affected provinces of Manica,
Sofala, Tete and Zambezia has risen to 235,000, of whom 180,000 are in
temporary accommodation centres.  Growth of populations in accommodation
centres is of great concern, as it stretches capacity to respond to
humanitarian needs.  Continuing rain is aggravating conditions further.
There are 124 accommodation centres, but the number is decreasing, due to
merging and consolidating smaller centres to facilitate logistics.

4.  Measures are being taken to improve the organisation of the
accommodation centres.  For instance, in Zambezia province, households are
being grouped according to their home area, and each group selects their
representative who will be responsible to interact with representatives
from the district government or the province's technical council for
disaster management seconded to his/her centre.

5.  The INGC reported that of the 2,366 km roads damaged by floods and
rains in Zambezia province, 41 km have been repaired and reopened.  The
road linking Beira to the junction with the main road south to Maputo was
reopened on 21 March.

6.  On 22 March, at the INGC international coordination meeting, the INGC
director asked participants to start considering the next phase in the
emergency operation, i.e. resettlement of the displaced people.

7.  Food: As of 19 March, WFP has distributed 1,682 tonnes of mixed food
commodities to 120,894 beneficiaries in the four affected provinces. The
INGC and WFP agreed on guidelines for criteria in selecting beneficiaries
for food aid.  The types of flood affected populations are divided in to
the following categories:

- Displaced in accommodation centres: people who were evacuated without
  any resources;
- Displaced in isolated areas: people caught by surprise in isolated
  places;
- Geographically isolated groups: people who were evacuated as a
  preventive measure with some of their belongings and with limited
  access to food;
- People hosted by relatives (social/solidarity networks), including
  people displaced from risk areas;
- Households who lost assets: (a) standing crops and food stocks; (b)
  productive assets (livestock and tools); and (c) housing and
  utensils.

Decisions have to be made, considering displacement and length of the
displacement of each group, constraints on satisfying food and other basic
needs, access to effective coping mechanism and resources, severity of
asset losses, gender and child related vulnerability, and exposure to
physical and psychological pressures and risks.  The information gathered
is used to prioritise the distribution of aid commodities.

8.  Health: The INGC, WFP, and World Vision reported that around 8% of
children in accommodation centres in Mutarara district in Tete province
suffer from malnutrition.  In Zambezia province, malnutrition is a concern
in Mopeia district.  MSF is assisting the Ministry of Health to set up
health posts in accommodation centres in Mopeia.  UNICEF has 7,000
insecticide treated mosquito nets available in Quelimane, Zambezia
province, for distribution.

9.  Education: Schooling has started in accommodation centres.  UNICEF
supplies are to support education.  UNICEF is also providing technical
assistance to Provincial Departments of Education.

10.  Shelter: UNDP is in the process of identifying shelter materials that
have been distributed in the country.  Sufficient stocks are available to
assist 200,000 people.  A mission from the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works is visiting various provinces to explain guidelines on setting up
accommodation centres.


International Assistance

11.  The Governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States have
pledged or provided cash and/or in-kind contributions bilaterally or
through NGOs or the UN system to date.

12.  OCHA is prepared to serve as channel for cash contributions to be
used for immediate relief assistance, in co-ordination/consultation with
relevant organisations in the United Nations system.  Funds should be
transferred to OCHA account no. CO-590.160.0, Swift code: UBSWCHZ12A at
the UBS AG, P.O. Box 2770, CH-1211 Geneva 2, with reference: "OCHA -
Mozambique - floods 2001".  OCHA provides donors with written confirmation
and pertinent details concerning the utilisation of the funds contributed

13.  Information on contributions to this disaster may be found by
clicking on Financial Tracking at the top of the page for this disaster on
the OCHA Internet Website (http://www.reliefweb.int). Donors are requested
to verify this table and inform OCHA Geneva of
corrections/additions/values. Donors are encouraged to notify OCHA Geneva
of their contributions to this disaster using the OCHA Standardized
Contributions Recording Format, available electronically in the above
mentioned Financial Tracking Website.


14.  This Situation Report and further information on ongoing emergencies
are also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int



Telephone: +41-22-91712 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers (OCHA Disaster Response Branch):
Mr. K. Wiersing / Ms. Y. Sawada / Mr. M. Bonnel
direct Tel. +41 22 917 2270/1768/1457

Press contact:  Mr. Donato Kiniger-Passigli, direct Tel. +41-22-91726 53


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