Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - Angola - 1/2001
ANGOLA:  Some 25,000 People Displaced by Floods
Geneva, 3 May, 2001


The Angola provinces of Benguela and Namibe were hit by floods in middle
April with an estimated 25,000 people affected. The floods left a trail of
destruction with hundreds of mud houses literally washed away resulting in
thousands of people being displaced and left in the open without shelter.
At least 3,500 hectares of land in commune of Dombe Grande under
cultivation was completely submerged and crops damaged.  Infrastructure
such as roads and bridges were extensively damaged making movement by road
impossible.  Sources of water were polluted and the sanitation systems
destroyed making the area susceptible to infectious diseases.

The lack of shelter exposed people to the hot sun during the day and cold
at night. The WHO working with the local government authorities tried to
respond to some of the needs through training of local health workers
covering case detection and investigation and effective ways to educating
communities about how best to protect themselves. WFP also worked with the
government to provide initial two months food ration to the most
vulnerable especially the children and women.

The Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA) a member of ACT,
made initial assessments of the situation in the two provinces to
determine the urgent needs of the affected people. The following were
identified as the critical needs; food, blankets, corrugated iron sheets,
soap, clothing, tents, kitchen utensils, and medicines. IECA proposes to
target up to 1,500 families of 9,000 people with critical needs including
food for a six months distribution. The estimated cost of their response
is US$470,000 whose appeal proposal is under preparation by IECA to be
submitted to the ACT Coordinating Office in the coming week or two. IECA’s
response will be limited to Dombe Grande and Namibe areas.

We would appreciate indication of support to the appeal when issued.

Thank you for your attention.
For further information please contact:
  ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or 
    mobile phone ++ 41 79 203 6055)
  ACT Appeals Officer, John Nduna (phone +41 22 791 6040)



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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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