OCHA Situation Report No. 8
Natural Disaster Bulletin
13 November 2007


"The number of people threatened by natural disasters had increased by
three times over the last 30 years and the number of people affected by
natural disasters doubled every 10 years. Tens of millions of people had
been affected this year by floods in countries all over the world. The
link between the increase in disasters and climate change, which had
been predicted by scientists, was unmistakable. Also, more people were
now living in exposed areas. Some of the biggest cities in the world
were built in disaster zones. Their poorest inhabitants were living in
slums near those disaster zones and were, therefore, even more
vulnerable. That could lead to mega disasters in mega cities" -John
Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator

Floods in Africa hit around 2 million people

Some two million people have been affected by recent flooding in 22
countries in Africa, 650,000 have lost their homes, and 200 have been
killed. These figures could increase in the weeks to come as the
seasonal rains are expected to continue until the end of October. These
floods coincide with the most critical time of the year, the lean season
when West African families mostly in the Sahel region face food
insecurity. The destruction of crop and food stocks has aggravated the
vulnerability of poor families and needs to be addressed promptly
through emergency and recovery interventions.

West Africa

West Africa is experiencing some of its worst floods in 35 years with
over 800,000 affected in 15 countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea,
Mauritania, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria,
Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, Sierra Leone, Benin and Ghana).

The situation is especially worrisome in the following countries: Ghana
(over 330,000 affected), Togo (over 120,000 affected), Burkina Faso
(over 92,900 affected) and Mali (over 42,000 affected). The United
Nations has allocated $4.9 million emergency humanitarian assistance to
Mali ($1 million), Ghana ($2.5 million) and Togo ($1.4 million) in
response to floods that have inundated these three countries since
August.

The CERF allocations are meant to immediately improve the living
conditions of 155,000 people in these three countries - 75,000 in Ghana,
60,000 in Togo and 20,000 in Mali. The funding will support projects
developed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food
Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the
United DJERBA HOTEL ISIS ET SPA Fund (UNFPA), as well as their partners.

On 4 October, United Nations and partner organizations launched a
$10million Flash Appeal for Ghana, and on 26 October a $6 million for
Burkina Faso.

Attachments:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&docid=0CDEFF8F9C8A732185257392005B3B60&file=Full_Report.pdf

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