ReliefWeb

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2002/0022
OCHA Situation Report No. 4
Mauritius- Tropical Cyclone Dina
25 January 2002

This report is based on information from the UN Resident Coordinator for Mauritius.

Situation

1. Tropical Cyclone Dina passed north of Mauritius on 22 January and was located southeast of Madagascar (27.8S 52.4E) as of 24 January at 8:00AM. Dina is forecast to turn increasingly southeastward and is likely to miss Madagascar and Mozambique, according to a tropical cyclone warning.

Damages

2. The following is a summary of the Report of the special Crisis Committee as of 24 January:

Electricity: the northern part of the country had suffered most damage. Repair works had already started well before the lifting of the Class IV warning on 22
January. As of the evening of 23 January, all 66 kv network had been put back in working condition. About 20% of the 310,000 subscribers of Central Electricity Board (CEB) have been reconnected. To date, 20% of consumers are supplied with electricity. Electricity supply has been restored in the main industrial zones, hospitals and private clinics, as well as vital public services and utilities, and more particularly at the Central Water Authority.

3. Water: Water supply had been affected mostly due to mud and debris getting into the system and because of the cut in electricity supplies. To date, 70 % of the network has been connected.

4. Telephone: The core networks are now operational, international traffic has now been fully restored. Internet is back to normal, except for some problems connecting with France. 40,000 lines out of 310,000 are out of service. It is reported that full restoration, which would normally have taken 30 days, would be completed in about 15 days.

5. Education: Most schools sustained serious damage. For security reasons, the Government has decided to temporarily close all schools. Classes will resume on Tuesday 29 January. This decision will allow for the concerned authorities to clean up and repair damage to ensure the safety and sanitary condition.

6. Housing: 1,000 people have been temporarily accommodated in community and social centers. Some 360 families out of 1,000 remain in the centres. The Government is examining several options to relocate them as quickly as possible.

7. Tourism: Some hotels and restaurants have suffered minor damage. Room occupancy was 60%. The cost of repairs of this damage is unknown.

8. Agriculture (Sugar sector): Sugar production will be affected by a deficit of 15-20% (projected production of 650,000 tons) for the next crop season. Loss of MUR 1.2-1.4 billion (approx. USD 40-47 million) is estimated.

9. Foodcrops: Considerable loss as far as foodcrops are concerned. The Government has authorized import of vegetables. Permits would be granted for the import of fresh vegetables for a period of 2 months.

10. Manufacture- Free Zone: 80% of factories is not operational, due to lack of electricity. Of the 16 industrial zones, only 3 were reconnected. The Free Zone has already lost 3 days of production. Every hour of lost production costs MUR 15 million (approx.USD 503,356) to the free zone.

11. Commerce: 15 metric tons of flour and 20 metric tons of rice were damaged.

12. On 24 January, the UN Security Management Team held a meeting. All international and national UN personnel and their families are safe. All UN system offices are secure and no serious damages except for some water leaking from windows and ceilings are reported. All of the UN assets (equipment and vehicles) have not been affected.

13. No request for international assistance has been received by the UN system in Mauritius so far.

14. OCHA remains in contact with the UNDP Office in Port Louis, Mauritius and will revert with further information when available.

15. This situation report, together with information on 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 Officers: Mr. J. McGoldrick/Ms. Y. Sawada
Direct Tel. +41-22-917 17 12/1768

Press contact:
(in GVA) - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53
(in N.Y.) - Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32