OCHA Situation Report
West Africa: Floods
2 September 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

1. Togo Situation

Overview

Six camps for populations displaced by flooding have been established in
different locations around Lome, with two of them currently being managed
by the Togolese military. Approximately 4,000 individuals are accommodated
in these camps, including 1,200 children. In addition, recent heavy rains
in the Central region (Sokode) have affected over 1,500 people including
200 children under 5. To date, the total number of people affected in the
Lome area, including those accommodated by relatives or friends is still
unclear and remains difficult to determine.

Infrastructural damage has a major humanitarian impact on populations.
Floods have caused the destruction of eleven bridges and this has meant
transportation costs to rise considerably. As a result, the price of basic
food staples has also increased dramatically in several locations across
the country, including the capital. The price of corn, which is the most
important food source in three regions, has increased as follows:




.                July 2007      Jan 2008       August 2008
.                (CFA/kg)       (CFA/kg)       (CFA/kg)

Lome               100            130            330
Kara (Central)     100            195            340
Dapaong (North)    100            150            305


Sub-regional implications

Landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger rely on the port
of Lome for their supply of goods that are conveyed by road. Ports and
roads in bordering countries such as Ghana or Benin can be used as
alternative routes, but customs and entrance fees to Togo have already
been paid, and rerouting via Ghana or Benin causes additional fees and an
increase in transportation costs.

Immediate Needs and Response

- UNDP has planned to provide two temporary bridges to link the north to
the south of the country along the main road (Expected cost: USD 400,000);

- The UN system is preparing capacity building activities, and intends to
provide water tanks, medicine, and other critical items;

- The Red Cross movement has started to respond to the situation. Their
initial intervention has been limited to first aid, rescue operations and
registration of the displaced in camps and affected villages. They are
planning to implement a comprehensive response gradually and focus their
efforts on the northern regions;

- WFP, UNICEF and FAO have jointly appealed for CERF Rapid Response
funding in order to address the deteriorating food security situation in
the country, with a particular emphasis on the needs of populations victim
of the 2007 floods.

- WFP aims at providing 400 MT of food aid to affected populations in the
south of Togo and in the central and northern regions (where flooding in
2007 created needs which remain unmet, and which have now actually
increased due to the recent extensive damage to Togo's infrastructures).

- OCHA provided surge capacity in support of the UNRC. Following a field
assessment, OCHA Regional Office facilitated the release of non-food items
from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Brindisi, Italy. Relief items
are expected to be shipped by air from Italy to Togo in the coming days.

- On 9 August, ECOWAS allocated USD 113,000 (50,000,000 FCFA) in support
of the Government's crisis management efforts in response to the floods.

Attachments:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&docid=054F8A4F181FBC47852574B80068CD05&file=Full_Report.pdf

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