OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Suriname - Floods
10 May 2006


This situation report is based on information provided by the office of 
the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Suriname and reports 
from the Government of Suriname, the National Coordination Centre for 
Disaster Control (NCCR), and the International Federation of the Red 
Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Request for international assistance

The President of the Republic of Suriname has requested assistance from 
the UN and the international community.

Situation

1. Torrential rains starting around 1 May 2006 have affected the entire 
South and parts of the Central Amazonian Lowlands of Suriname. The 
districts of Sipaliwini and Brokopondo are the hardest hit. The heavy 
rain caused several major rivers, in particular the Upper-Suriname, 
Tapanahoni, Lawa and Marowijne rivers, to rapidly rise and submerge 
large areas. Lelydorp, which is 20km south of the capital Paramaribo, 
has registered 480mm of rain so far. Approximately 25,000 to 30,000 
square km have been inundated. Authorities expect the situation to 
worsen until the end of the week with heavy rains forecast for the 
remaining 72 hours. While heavy rainfall is not uncommon during the 
rainy season, rainfall of this magnitude has rarely been encountered. As 
a result, disaster preparedness and response mechanisms for such an 
event are reportedly extremely limited.

2. The National Coordination Centre for Disaster Control (Nationaal 
Coordinatie Centrum voor Rampenbeheersing, NCCR) has made the following 
estimate of the affected population to date in the different relevant 
areas:

|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|    Area     |Approximate |Percentage of |Areas mostly |   Nr. of   |
|             |   total    |  displaced   |  affected   | population |
|             | population |  population  |             |  severely  |
|             |            |              |             |  affected  |
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Tapanahoni   |      12,000|     60%      |Apomatopo,   |       7,200|
|             |            |              |Lawa         |            |
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Boven        |      15,000|     60%      |             |       9,000|
|Suriname     |            |              |             |            |
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Boven        |       1,500|     35%      |Poesoegroenoe|         525|
|Saramacca    |            |              |and          |            |
|             |            |              |surrounding  |            |
|             |            |              |villages     |            |
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Boven        |         600| Information  |-            |           -|
|Coppename    |            |   awaited    |             |            |
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Kabalebo     |       1,800|      2%      |Wanapan      |          36|
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Coeroeni     |       1,200|     40%      |Kwamalasamutu|         480|
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Sarakreek    |       4,900|     100%     |All areas    |       4,900|
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|
|Total        |      37,000|              |             |      22,141|
|-------------+------------+--------------+-------------+------------|



3. The following immediate needs have been identified:

Immediate funds in particular for:
    - Food
    - Water
    - Sanitation
    - Emergency housing
    - Transport
    - Telecommunication facilities

Skilled personnel in the coordination centre and for maintaining order 
and security in the affected areas;

Skilled and knowledgeable expertise for early recovery and 
rehabilitation planning (including corresponding assessments) and 
coordination;

Expertise with crisis management;

Measurement equipment, satellite imaging and (hydrological) models.

Impact


4. Buildings such as policlinics, schools, shops, storage rooms, 
powerhouses, workshops, libraries, residential houses, tourist resorts, 
sawmills, 'krutu osos' (community halls) and spiritual places have been 
damaged. Telecommunication lines have been affected in several areas, 
i.e.: Pamboko, Jaw Jaw, Isadou, Nieuw Aurora, Pikin Slee, Botopasi, 
Futunakaba. In Danpaati, Manlobi, Massiakriki, Asidonhopo and Kajana 
two-way radio communications are blocked. Electricity lines in all 
flooded areas are affected. It is reported that medical facilities are 
still operational and they have HF radio contact with the capital.

5. Transport is a major difficulty because of the terrible condition 
(due to continued rainfall) of the only access road to the affected 
areas (Brokopondo: Afobaka road; Sipaliwini: road to Atjoni; Marowijne: 
road to Langatabiki/Bakaaboto).  Air transport is very restricted due to 
unavailability of landing strips, which have been submerged or are 
rapidly deteriorating due to the frequent landings.  The airstrips of 
Botopasi, Laduani, Kajana, Dritabiki, Kwamala, Apetina, Sipaliwini, 
Coeroeni, Amatopo, Tepu are not functional. Helicopter transport is 
expected to be the only possible transport to the interior if weather 
conditions deteriorate.  Water transport is available using boats of 
local inhabitants, but fuel shortages are likely.

6. Around 175 Maroon and indigenous villages and numerous smaller 
settlements located along the riverbanks and on islands are the most 
severely affected. Approximately 22,000 people have been left homeless 
and have been displaced to nearby villages on higher grounds. At least 3 
deaths due to flooding have been reported by the Suriname Red Cross 
(SRC). An estimated 60 % of all home-based poultry livestock was 
affected. Agricultural plots and fishing facilities have been completely 
damaged.

7. There is a risk of an outbreak of a diarrhea epidemic in most 
affected areas within the next 2 weeks, especially among children, due 
to flooding of sanitary places and cemeteries and dead livestock in the 
water. Malaria outbreaks might occur within 4 to 5 weeks.

National response

8. The Government of Suriname has declared the affected areas 'disaster 
areas' and established a Crisis Team composed of five ministers to 
manage the situation and activated a Crisis Centre managed by the NCCR. 
The UN has a liaison officer currently operating within the centre. The 
NCCR is in continuous coordination with the National Army and the Police 
Corps of Suriname and has included NGO Interior Network(1) 
representatives in its crisis centre. There are coordination meetings 
twice a day (morning and afternoon) between the NCCR and the Crisis 
Team.

9. The military is working to relocate those affected to higher ground 
and is also participating in a joint government/SRC/military rapid needs 
assessment of the current situation, the details of which will be 
provided to the UN shortly. It is also believed that a small stock of 
relief items is being distributed by the military.

10. A scenario analysis has been done and the 'medium intensity' 
scenario has been adopted (the scenarios ranged from a 'best case 
scenario' in which the rains would stop and the water level rapidly 
subside to a 'worst case scenario' with continued heavy rainfall causing 
increasingly more villages to be flooded, with casualties).  In this 
scenario, rains will continue and the water will subside only gradually 
over a period of approximately one week, after which recovery measures 
can be undertaken.  In case the crisis situation persists for more than 
8 days, more permanent measures will have to be put in place for 
displaced persons.

11. It is expected that a surface area of 100 x 80 metres will have to 
be cleared for one camp for 500 displaced persons. At least five cleared 
areas will be necessary if all persons identified for evacuation are to 
be housed.

12. The SRC has participated in a joint Government/military assessment 
and has offered its services to the NCCR, with which they are in daily 
contact. Six trained members of the SRC's Regional Intervention Teams 
(RIT) with expertise in water and sanitation, logistics, IT and 
telecommunications, and disaster response, are on stand-by. The SRC has 
stocks of relief items that will be made available. So far the SRC has 
not requested assistance but has stated that they may request 
'supervisory' support if their RIT volunteers are deployed.

13. A UN Disaster Management Team (DMT) has been set up, consisting of 
the locally represented UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, PAHO/WHO). It 
has made a request for support to the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention 
and Recovery (BCPR) and to OCHA. The DMT has initiated daily 
coordination meetings on 8 May among the major potential donors and 
development partners, namely the European Union, the Embassy of the 
Netherlands in Suriname, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the 
Embassy of France, the Organization of American States (OAS) and UN 
agencies. One representative of the DMT has been integrated in the 
Crisis Centre headed by the NCCR.

International Response

14. The Government will declare the SRC as focal point agency to receive 
incoming international assistance.

15. At the request of the UN Resident Coordinator, OCHA will allocate an 
OCHA Emergency Grant of USD 30,000 for immediate humanitarian relief 
activities and is mobilizing a six-member UNDAC team, which is expected 
to arrive in Suriname on 11 May in the evening.

16. UNDP has mobilized USD 50,000 to respond to the emergency.

17. The Government of the Netherlands has decided to make a 1 million 
Euro contribution to the response to the floods, to be managed by the UN 
in country.

18. The European Union has indicated that an ECHO team will be deployed.

19. OCHA remains in close contact with the office of the United Nations 
Resident Coordinator and will continue reporting as further information 
is made available.

20. This situation report, together with the information on 
contributions and other ongoing emergencies, is also available on the 
OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int


Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

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

Desk Officer:
  Ms. Marie Spaak
    E-mail: spaak@un.org
    Direct Tel. +41-22-917 21 63

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, Direct Tel. + 41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Direct Tel. +1-917-367 51 26
  NYC - Mr. Brian Grogan, Direct Tel. +1-212-963 11 43

Footnote

(1)  NGOs working in the interior of the country.


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