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Chad: Floods DREF bulletin No. DRTD002 Final report

Countries
Chad
Sources
IFRC
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The International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation's disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters.

Summary: CHF 90,000 was allocated from the Federation's DREF on 20 September 2006 to respond to the needs of some 30,000 floodsaffected Chadian vulnerable families.

This operation was implemented over 2 months and was completed on 31 December 2006.

The situation

As a result of heavy rains and storms in August and September 2006, a number of areas in eastern and western Chad experienced serious flooding, with over 30,000 people affected. The main affected regions were those of N'Djamena, Mandoul, west Logone and east Logone. Fifty-two persons were reported dead during the first two weeks of the disaster.

Water levels of the rivers in the affected regions rose rapidly to a critical point, leading to the destruction of roads, electricity settings, potable water supply pipelines and telecommunication networks, as well as private property, destroying houses and farms. The Chadian Government instructed the National Committee for Flood Management (CONASI) to assess the extent of the damage and subsequent needs of the affected population as a matter of urgency. Committee members (including technical WatSan experts and senior officials from the Ministries of Interior and Territorial Administration; Social Affairs, Public Health, and other sensitive sectors with civil protection mandates), were deployed to visit various disaster-affected areas in N'Djamena. Similar instructions were given to the regional and local authorities to conduct rapid assessments, based on which the government and the humanitarian community could then plan their assistance.

As of 6 September 2006, a number of houses in the southern regions remained flooded, affecting sanitation facilities (i.e. latrines and septic pits), and leading to the contamination of agricultural lands, as well as of the vital surroundings of affected communities.

Red Cross and Red Crescent action

Red Cross of Chad (as part of the National Emergency Response Operational System)

The regional branches of the Red Cross of Chad Red Cross (RCC) maintained daily contact with relevant authorities and the National Department for Civil Protection, to monitor the situation and implement their response initiatives. Regional RCC branch representatives are de facto members of the Local Committees for Civil Protection and, in this capacity, took part in all coordination meetings related to the floods. Immediate response was organized in all affected regions from the RCC branches, providing emergency relief according to the needs of the affected population: clothing materials and textiles (including secondhand 'lumpsum' clothes), blankets, mosquito nets, plastic mats and water/sanitation supplies.

Assessment

A Disaster Response training session was held in the regions affected by the floods. The Red Cross of Chad leaders requested assistance from the Federation's in-country team to assess the situation. Experienced Federation's delegates facilitated the training and supported the NS in conducting an assessment mission to the affected areas from 17 to 25 August 2006. The assessment team met with local authorities as well as local NGOs in each of the affected regions. As part of their practice exercises, participants of the DRT training sessions were asked to conduct follow-up assessment missions in some of the affected communities. Information from these group assessments were used to confirm previous statistics gathered by the Red Cross of Chad Branches. A second assessment led to additional activities for the protection and repair of damaged infrastructure (pumping of flooded areas, strengthening shelters by providing their tenants with construction materials such as sand bags, zinc roofing), with physical support from Red Cross community voluntary workers.

Contact information

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Chad: Idriss Matar Issakha, Secretary General, Red Cross of Chad, N'Djamena; Email: sgcrt_cn@yahoo.fr; Phone +235.633.14.18; Mobile +235.523.434

In Chad: Oumarou Issa, Federation's in-Country Representative, N'Djamena; Email: oumarou.issai@ifrc.org; Phone +235.522.339 or +235.627.84.84; Fax +235.522.399

In Cameroun: Javier Medrano, Federation's Regional Representative for Central Africa Office, Yaoundé; Email: javier.medrano@.ifrc.org; Phone +237.221.74.37/38; Mobile +237.950.11.38

In Senegal: Alasan Senghore, Federation's Head of Zone for West and Central Africa, Dakar; Email: alasan.senghore@ifrc.org; Phone +221.33.869.36.41; Fax +221. 33.860.20.02.