OCHA Situation Report No. 12
Mozambique: Floods
12 March 2007


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ACTIVITIES/RESPONSES

SITUATION OVERVIEW

1. A senior level UN mission, including the Resident Coordinator, WFP, 
UNICEF and WHO representatives, as well as the Head of the OCHA Regional 
Office for Southern Africa, visited the flood and cyclone affected areas 
from 07 to 09 March. They met with officials from the National Institute 
of Disaster Management (INGC) in Vilanculos town, and in Caia. They also 
visited the Chupanga accommodation centre, the largest of the 60 
accommodation centres established since rising water levels in the 
Zambezi-area forced people for flee their homes. While the level of 
assistance in some areas and/or sectors is adequate, improvements are 
still needed in others.

2. Serious infrastructural damage was caused by the cyclone in districts 
of Inhambane province, as well as in the Buzi, Machanga, Dondo and 
Chibabava districts in Sofala province. Priority needs for Inhambane 
continue to be as follows: 1) support for affected families, including 
materials to cover houses, NFIs and food; 2) support for the 
reconstruction of damaged health facilities; and 3) support to ensure 
minimum disruption to schooling.


CYCLONE AFFECTED AREAS

|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|          |          |             |          |              |
| PROVINCE | DISTRICT |TOTAL PEOPLE | AFFECTED |  PEOPLE IN   |
|          |          |  AFFECTED   |  PEOPLE  | ACCOMODATION |
|          |          |             |          |   CENTRES    |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|Inhambane |          |   133,670   |          |     247      |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|          |Vilanculos|             |  73,000  |              |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|          |Inhassoro |             |  43,170  |              |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|          |Govuro    |             |   7,500  |              |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|          |Massinga  |             |  10,000  |              |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|Sofala    |          |    12,800   |  12,800  |    2,296     |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|
|Manica    |          |    16,300   |  16,300  |              |
|----------+----------+-------------+----------+--------------|


ASSESSMENTS

3. The report on the WFP-funded multi-sectoral (Government/UN/NGO) Rapid 
Assessment of the Zambezi flood zone, recommends a number of immediate 
sector interventions, including: 1) the strengthening of centre 
management and registration systems to ensure the availability of 
accurate, disaggregated population data; 2) the maintenance of the food 
pipeline to remote areas; 3) the provision of supplementary feeding for 
malnourished children; 4) sustained and accelerated water, sanitation 
and hygiene interventions; 5) the provision of tools to support 
community involvement in building shelters and latrines; and 6) the 
provision of condoms in accommodation centres. The report also stresses 
the importance of early recovery planning.

SHELTER CLUSTER

4. Estimates indicate that some 20,000 additional people might be in 
need of shelter assistance in the flood hit provinces, mostly in areas 
logistically difficult to reach. The Mozambican Red Cross (CVM) 
estimates that there are another 61,000 people in need of shelter in the 
area hit by cyclone Favio. Further assessments are required to present 
more precise data and track needs.

5. The USAID Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) expressed 
willingness to provide plastic sheets for shelter purposes, provided 
needs can clearly be indicated.

6. The government has planned local resource centres in the Vilanculos 
area to provide technical assistance in mainstreaming the use of local 
building materials and facilitate the provision of tools and equipment 
to the population. The cluster proposes to start advocacy efforts 
targeting the population in the accommodation centres, as 
self-rehabilitation might start if no guidelines are proposed.

7. Save the Children in collaboration with the INGC will distribute 
200,000 pamphlets advice brochures in the affected areas to promote 
awareness on what should be done when natural disasters hit. The 
provision of technical advice to local authorities, and capacity 
building on reconstruction of houses continues in the cyclone affected 
area.

FOOD SECURITY CLUSTER

8. Cluster partners have distributed 685 metric tons (equivalent to 
27,416 x 25kg bags) of food assistance to 110,150 people in the flooded 
Zambezi River valley, as well as 87.5 metric tons (equivalent to 3,500 x 
25kg bags) to 17,060 people in the cyclone affected areas.

9. Inadequate food supplies have been reported in the Goli goli area, 
which can only be reached by air. Affected people are moving to 
accommodation centres. While government figures estimate around 2,000 
people, the actual number of people affected in the area has not been 
confirmed yet. .

10. Under the Humanitarian Response Plan of the IASC Humanitarian 
Country Team, the Food Security Cluster is planning to provide full 
emergency rations in March and April to 136,500 people affected by the 
cyclone, and to 163,000 people displaced from their homes by the floods. 
The Cluster is also planning to assist around 200,000 beneficiaries in 
the cyclone affected areas through food-for-work, food-for-assets and 
vulnerable group feeding rations from May to July ? when they should be 
able to harvest a second season crop and to 263,000 beneficiaries in the 
Zambezi area. An additional 22,000 people in the flood-affected Mopeia 
district will be supported by a cash-based project to be managed by Save 
the Children.

11. There are concerns about growing number of people moving to camps to 
be included in food distribution lists. INGC is considering communal 
cooking facilities by groups of households to address this problem. 
Humanitarian Country Team partners will discuss the feasibility of this 
proposal with the INGC, especially in light of the added logistical, 
implementation and protection implications of launching wet feeding 
programs at this time.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS CLUSTER

12. As the TSF mission in Mozambique ends on 12 March 2007, a 
UNICEF-officer has travelled to Caia, for a full handover with TSF 
colleagues.

13. The Telecommunications Cluster has leased lines to provide internet 
access to the wider humanitarian community in the field. UN agencies and 
NGO partners should, however, be encouraged to look for their own data 
connectivity means.

14. An international WFP radio-trainer is in Caia to conduct training 
sessions on HF, VHF, satellite communications, portable HF and GPS 
operations for UN, NGO and INGC staff.

HEALTH CLUSTER

15. No epidemic diseases outbreaks have been reported to the Ministry of 
Health and WHO, but there is a recognised need to strengthen 
surveillance activities. WHO deployed two staff members to areas of 
difficult access in both the flood and the cyclone hit regions to 
consolidate to its support for health activities including surveillance.

16. In order to prevent outbreaks of cholera, sanitation and 
hygiene/health education remain priority concerns in affected areas. 
Diarrhoea is one of the most common illnesses being reported by health 
facilities/activists in the accommodation centres. In collaboration with 
Oxfam, CVM, FFH and MSF, local authorities are training community 
workers and opinion leaders on health education. Radio Mozambique is 
broadcasting spots in Portuguese and local languages on cholera 
prevention in the flood affected areas. Community theatres are also 
being supported to promote hygiene education, and prevention of HIV/AIDS 
as well as sexual abuse and exploitation.

17. A Basic Health Care Emergency Response Unit is working in Vilacunlos 
to support the local hospital which was seriously damaged by the cyclone

18. During the UN mission it was found that several health workers lost 
their house during the cyclone. There is a need to consider urgently how 
to help them, as they are involved in the delivery of health services to 
affected population.

19. To date, 53,000 Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets have been 
distributed to accommodation centres in the flood affected areas by 
Health Cluster partners.

LOGISTICS CLUSTER

20. Due to the reduction in the flood levels, many communities are now 
inaccessible by boat and by road due to extremely muddy conditions. Sena 
and Mutarara have recently become accessible by bridge (with a maximum 
load of 10 mt), as well as Rio Muira in the Tambara district with 4x 4 
trucks.

21. The Logistics Cluster coordinated the establishment of a permanent 
BP fuel supply in Caia for the entire humanitarian community. The fuel 
depot should be functioning as of 12 March 2007.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE CLUSTER

22. Most centres in the flood affected provinces are now benefiting from 
WASH interventions. Some remote areas experience limited availability of 
water trucking equipment. In cyclone affected areas (Vilanculos, 
Inhassoro and Govuro), water trucking has continued as planned, and 
around 2,300 people (in three health centres, three accommodation 
centres and two schools) were covered in the first week. The plan is to 
extend the coverage to an additional 2,000 people by the end of this 
week.

23. The limited accessibility of many sites continues to impede the 
logistics of water and supply distribution. In cases as Mopeia and 
Mutarara, the only option is to use helicopters to distribute supplies.

24. As part of the preparedness plan for a possible cholera outbreak, 
the WASH Cluster has distributed 50,000 tablets of soap, water 
disinfectant and cholera control supplies, such as IV canulas, boots, 
and protective materials.

NUTRITION CLUSTER

25. The Nutrition Cluster is supporting local health authorities and 
other partners to implement supplementary feeding schemes in the 
districts of Caia, Marromeu and Chemba in Sofala province, Mopeia and 
Morrumbala in Zambezia province, Mutarara in Tete province and Tambara 
in Manica province. Under the program, malnourished children are 
receiving the appropriate treatment (supplementary or therapeutic 
feeding).

26. Technical guidance on infant and young child feeding and support for 
pregnant and lactating women have been provided to the local health 
authorities and NGO partners involved in the supplementary feeding 
program.

27. Concerns have been raised by cluster partners regarding the 
suggestion of the INGC to replace traditional family rations with wet 
feeding, using communal kitchens, with the aim of addressing opportunism 
in accommodation centres. A number of potential problems with this 
policy change were identified by the group, including the reduced 
frequency of meals, especially affecting children; the possible 
exclusion of the most vulnerable; and the greater risk of food 
poisoning.

PROTECTION CLUSTER

28. The Mozambican National Institute for Demining (IND) appealed to 
local authorities to collaborate closely to ensure resettlement in mine 
free areas. The IND has maps that show mined areas.

29. Handicap International (HI) is conducting mine risk assessments in 
flood affected areas. Assessments have already been completed in the 
Caia area. Several mine-fields have been identified and demining agents 
are being sent to the registered mine-fields to ensure that the 
demarcations remain valid.

30. HI also has a program to train local authorities on mine awareness 
campaigns to ensure that mine risk is minimized in relation to 
demarcations as part of the resettlement process. HI indicates it lacks 
resources to roll out the program to all provinces, and can only cover 
Caia, Maremeu, Tambara and Chemba districts.

EDUCATION CLUSTER

31. Education Cluster partners have been working with provincial and 
district education authorities to distribute education and recreation 
materials to schools affected by the floods in Sofala, Tete and Zambezia 
provinces. To date some 18,000 learners' kits, over 120 school kits and 
300 teachers' kits have been distributed. Fifteen school tents have been 
installed and are in use as temporary learning spaces in Sofala (Caia 
10, Chemba 2, Marromeu 3), 6 in Zambezia (Mopeia) and 8 in Tete 
(Mutarara including Inhangoma). Three more will be installed in Mutarara 
over the coming days.

32. A distribution plan has been agreed by all cluster partners, in 
which Save the Children Norway will distribute 1,500 learners' kits and 
5 school tents in Manica province this week (Tambara district); World 
Vision and Action Aid are distributing school tents in Mutarara district 
and will support the distribution of 10 more school tents provided by 
Save the Children Alliance which arrived on 4 March; Save the Children 
UK have installed three school tents in Mopeia; and Samaritan's Purse 
will distribute 3,000 more learners' kits in Chemba district.

33. The education cluster partners are working with the provincial and 
district level education authorities to support schools and School 
Councils to ensure that vulnerable children, particularly girls and 
orphans, who are currently out of school have access to education. Many 
of the children evacuated during the floods have never received 
schooling of any kind. Gender Units and School Council members have been 
mobilized to work with community leaders in the accommodation centres to 
encourage parents and care-givers to send their children, especially 
their daughters, to school. This is being done urgently to ensure that 
the new learners are included in the 2007 annual school survey, which is 
being conducted this week nationwide and which is used as the basis for 
allocation of resources.

CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

34. The wider humanitarian community agreed at the national level to 
mainstream HIV/AIDS in all clusters. Save the Children Alliance 
announced it would roll out a program in Zambezia province from 12 March 
onwards. Efforts are ongoing to strengthen technical guidance required 
to implement policies on gender-based violence, sexual abuse and 
protection of HIV/AIDS affected people.

COORDINATION

35. The continuing influx of people into accommodation centres in the 
Zambezi area has heightened the need for more effective registration 
processes, to better control the movement of people in accommodation 
centres. Improved registration processes would also facilitate food 
distribution and the identification of food and non food items 
assistance gaps.

36. The Council of Ministers is meeting on 12 March to discuss 
resettlement and reconstruction plans for the flood and the cyclone 
affected areas.

37. The INGC is planning to meet with Governors and District 
Administrators on 22 March 2007 in Manica, to review final policy 
regulations for resettlement. The national INGC level is now scaling 
down its involvement in the emergency response and handing over 
responsibility to local authorities.

FUNDING

38. The Mozambique Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) and the UN 
Country Team have finalized the Humanitarian Response Plan to cover the 
medium term flood response and immediate cyclone response activities 
over the three-month period from March to May. The plan is intended to 
bridge the transition period between the Government Contingency Plan and 
the Government Recovery Plan. The Plan is expected to be launched early 
next week.

Contact Details:

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

UN Resident Coordinator (Mozambique) Mr. Ndolamb Ngokwey, Tel: +
258-21-485-158

OCHA Regional Office for Southern Africa (South Africa) Ms. Kelly David,
Tel: + 27-11-517-1609

OCHA R/C Mozambique Communication Team
  Mr. Luis Zaqueu, Tel: + 258-21-485-159,
  Mr. Dimitri Lermytte, Tel: + 258?84 6990970

Desk Officer
  NYC - Ms. Mette Tangen, Tel: + 1-917-367-3001

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, Tel. +41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Tel:  +1-917-367-5126

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