ReliefWeb

A. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Description of the disaster

From 26 to 27 August 2019, Guidimakha Wilaya (Region), located in South-East Mauritania, experienced torrential rains with precipitations exceeding 200 mm in the regional capital city of Sélibaby and 300mn in several other areas, among which Khabou and Ould Yengé. The heavy rains, corresponding to an average of 6 months precipitation in the region, had severe consequences on households, livelihood and livestock, roadside markets, water supply infrastructures and general infrastructures. A total of 7 deaths were reported. Household food stocks, already lower than usual due to the delay in the raining season which dried up the herbaceous mat and destroyed first seedlings, were washed away. Several farms were destroyed, and livestock decimated. Hundreds of households became homeless.
Assessment commissions involving several humanitarian stakeholders, including NGOs, UN agencies and administrative authorities were constituted in Sélibaby, Khabou and Ould Yengé, the three main affected areas in the Guidimakha Wilaya. The Mauritanian Red Crescent (MRC) participated in the exercise with its volunteers. The results of these assessments (one assessment/area) coupled with the rapid one conducted by the National Society (NS) estimated more than 1,500 households affected by floods in the above-mentioned areas. To respond to this situation,
Guidimakha region’s authorities requested assistance for its communities, calling upon the Mauritanian government for both national and international assistance. The Mauritania Red Crescent was among the first actors in the field to provide support to affected communities. Based on the needs and capacity of the NS to respond to the situation with its own resources, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), through the Sahel Country Cluster launched a DREF operation on 17 September 2019, for CHF 230,894 to address the urgent needs of 12,000 people or 1,500 households most affected by the floods in Guidimakha region.
Following results of the detailed needs assessment carried out by the Mauritanian Red Crescent in late October 2019, the following changes were made to the initial DREF through an Operation Update published on 18 December 2019:

• Overall target reduction from 1,500 to 925 households to be assisted due to:

i. support already provided by other stakeholders such as the Government (CSA), private companies (Chinguitel Mobile Company) and other organizations NGOs (IOM, GRDR: Migration-CitizenshipDevelopment);

ii. the revision of the cash envelope in line with market prices per detailed assessments conducted by the NS;

• Distribution of food kits (25kg of rice, 10kg of sugar, 5 litres of oil, 5kg of noodles and 5kg of lentils) alongside the cash intervention and the in-kind wash and shelter distribution, donated by the Turkish and the Qatari Red Crescent within the framework of their partnership with the Mauritanian Red Crescent.
To ensure a qualitative implementation of the revised strategy, as well as to conduct a lesson learnt workshop and post monitoring distribution assessments, a one month no cost extension was granted to the NS through this Operation Update.