Flood Response in Mozambique Continues

Posted: 5 March 2007

Cyclone rains compound disaster, 163,000 now displaced.

Cyclone Favio hit the southern coast of Mozambique last week, bringing with it heavy rains and high winds. Although the storm did miss the areas already flooded in the Zambezi River valley and central coast, the cyclone compounded the flood disaster already underway and will require additional relief efforts. The government of Mozambique is now reporting that more than 30 people have been killed by flooding, and 163,000 are displaced.

Oxfam is continuing relief operations in the Chupanga camp for displaced people in Sofala province. Chupanga is currently hosting 7,787 people, or roughly 1,600 families. Since arriving there, Oxfam has distributed:

991 household kits containing two blankets, a 20-liter (4-gallon) bucket, and a large sheet of reinforced plastic (4 meters by 6 meters, or 13 feet by 20 feet).
1,200 bars of soap.
2,200 14-liter (3 gallon) water buckets with caps to store clean water.
750 mosquito bed nets.

With water borne diseases the most serious health threat in flooded areas, Oxfam is continuing to install equipment to provide clean water, and trucking in water that is being purified. Oxfam is currently supplying 50,000 liters (11,000 gallons) of clean water every day, and has built 182 latrines and trained 27 Red Cross volunteers to promote good hygiene practices designed to head off epidemics.

Oxfam plans to continue its relief program for several weeks, and gradually transition to projects that will help those displaced rebuild their homes and livelihoods. The relief portion of the program is expected to cost 1.465 million Euros or $1.94 million, and reach 40,000 people.