UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES Office for the Coordination of Bureau de Coordination des Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) des Affaires Humanitaires Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Situation Report on Floods in Zimbabwe Issue Number 006 Reporting Date – 21 January 2008 INTRODUCTION On the request of Department of Civil Protection, following numerous field reports about floods in the southern part of Masvingo Province that included the Malipati area in ward 15, Chikombedzi, and parts of Mwenezi district, three teams were dispatched to assess the situation on the ground from 8 – 12 January 2008. The following is a consolidated compilation of their findings, recommendations and conclusions. TEAM ONE (CPU, SC-UK, UN-DSS, UNOCHA) Team One was led by the Civil Protection Unit with Save the Children UK, UN-DSS, UNOCHA as members. This team went to Malipati(ward 15) and Chikombedzi in Chiredzi district and Gutu district (ward 32) in Masvingo North. General findings • The Southern part of Masvingo was generally dry as compared to the Northern part that normally received downpours more frequently. • The fields in the Northern part of Masvingo were generally water logged and it is envisaged that there would be generalized crop failure in this part of the Province. In ward 32, farmers were settled on a waterway and consequently this was affecting both their fields and properties Specific Findings • In all areas visited there were no imminent threats to human life as a result of flooding • The Southern part of Masvingo had apparently not received sufficient rainfall to the levels of talking about flooding in the area • According to the visited communities, the last severe flood damages received were those caused by cyclone Eline in 2000/2001 • There was evidence that Mwenezi river was inundated at some point, cutting off the Malipati community from the other communities on the other side of the river. The water had since receded and there were no more threats of river flooding. The Mwenezi river was still intact. • The South of Masvingo used to receive some downpours occasionally, and naturally some blair toilets could collapse as a result of soaked sandy soils or poor workmanship • The Provincial Administrator advised the team that Gutu district was severely affected by floods, and as a result the team visited the district. The District Administrator of Gutu and the local Councilor accompanied the teams for spot checks to verify damages. Upon assessment of the situations, the teams concluded that there were no major damages; since only two or three toilets had sunk as a result of ground soaking or poor workmanship. Recommendations • Continue monitoring the situation closely • Carry on with preparedness plans and activities for any eventualities • Training authorities and communities in disaster management • Strengthen coordination and information sharing at all levels • Have an inter-agency technical assessment team on standby throughout the rainy season 1 Disclaimer: - The content of this document is for information purposes only and not an official record of the United Nations’ views. TEAM TWO (METEO DEPT, IOM, LDS) The second team was led by Meteorological department and consisted of IOM and Lutheran Development Services. According to the provincial Administrator, reported incidences that occurred during the raining season in Masvingo province included drowning in Chivi district, cases of overflowing bridges in Chiredzi South and submerged fields in Gutu district. The assessment team found that in Gutu: • Several farmers had their planted fields submerged in water. Most affected farmers were those that had settled in wet lands which were quick to saturate. However, the general crop situation was pathetic as the crops had stunted growth and showed signs of nutrient deficiency due to the incessant rains. Some farmers were already opting to replant but could not do so as the rains continued to fall. • Six families had their houses destroyed by lightning. According to the Councilor for Ward 29 at least 60 toilets had sunk and that about 10 granaries and around 30 houses had collapsed owing to the continued wet spell. Although it is indubitable that the rains triggered the crumbling of structures, it was also evident that there was poor citing and workmanship in the construction of the various structures that were collapsing. Recommendations on Gutu • The situation in Gutu requires continuous monitoring as it can easily degenerate into a disaster if the rains continue • Based on one lightening-affected family that was visited, all those households whose houses were struck by lightening should be considered for NFI assistance and food assistance. Mwenezi: According to the District Administrator and CEO for the district, the rains that Mwenezi received were not necessarily extra ordinary as they have received similar quantities before. They were not aware of any flooding having occurred in the district except for cases of streams, river and tributaries overflowing. No casualties were reported in the district. There were however isolated incidences that occurred prior to and during the raining season: • Collapse of a Mucheni bridge: the bridge was still under construction and was washed away. Its now impossible for cars or carts to pass through • Block of toilets at Rufaro School (ward 4) sunk: Although there was no one at the school to confirm when the toilets had sunk, it looked highly probable that they sunk during this rainy season • Roofs for a maternity home and nurse’s house at Mbudzi clinic was blown off. The incident occurred on the 25th November 2007. • Roofs for 2 classroom blocks and a teacher’s house at Chemvana School (ward 7) were blown off on the 4th October 2007. A lot of stationery-text and exercise books were also destroyed in the process. Mwenezana Estates came earlier to assess the damage and the school head was hopeful that they could get some form of assistance although nothing had been committed. The team observed that there is no immediate threat to lives in Mwenezi. Most farmers were beginning to plant as they had just received reasonable amounts of rainfall to enable tillage activities. Conclusions Based on findings from the visit and reports received from the local authorities there seem not to be an emergency situation in Mwenezi although the situation in Gutu may degenerate into a disaster if it continued to rain. TEAM THREE (ZINWA, IOM, UNICEF, FAO, SC-UK) A third team led by ZINWA comprising of IOM, UNICEF, FAO and Save The Children went to Chipinge. The areas visited were Rimai, Rukangare, Chinyamukwakwa, Mabee, Mahanye, Maparadze, Mariya and Chisuma, Tongogara Camp, Farm 25 Chipangayi, Masimbe, Chibuwe and Maronga areas. The assessment revealed isolated cases of damage to built up structures. There was extensive damage to maize, sorghum and cotton crops. 60% of the cropped area had been extensively gullied, and about half of the crops was washed away. Tongogara Camp, Farm 25 - Chipangayi, Masimbe, Chibuwe, Maronga and Gumira Extensive damage to property was observed in these communities with the Masimbe village having been relocated as a whole. Some of these communities live within 50m of the Save river. 2 Disclaimer: - The content of this document is for information purposes only and not an official record of the United Nations’ views. According to the Meteorological Dept more rains are expected across the country. Even though the amounts that are expected are not that high, the soil is already soaked and a little amount of water is likely to result in runoff. In light of this and the current high river levels in the Save and other rivers in the country close monitoring is strongly advised. The team assessed the impact of the flooding in the various sectors as follows: Education • Rukangare School – Ward 25 1. One block of classrooms which was under construction was destroyed 2. One 10-compartment blair latrine collapsed 3. One teacher’s house collapsed • Chinyamukwakwa Primary School 1. Text and exercise books were reported to have been affected, but we could not establish the extend of the damage as there was nobody at the school • Chisuma Primary School 1. One F14 house destroyed 2. The school garden was washed away completely 3. Block of toilets destroyed • Maparadze primary 1. One block of latrines was damaged (big cracks) • Tongogara Primary School 1. Four compartment teacher’s blair toilet collapsed 2. 2x10-compartments latrine were badly damaged (see photo below) Figure 1: 10-Compartment pupil’s toilet at Tongogara Primary school destroyed 3. Text books for grades 1 (2classes), 2 (2classes), 4, and 6 were badly damaged 4. One grade 2 classroom block foundation was exposed Health (Water and sanitation) Some people were not reporting to clinics because of lack of drugs. 3 Disclaimer: - The content of this document is for information purposes only and not an official record of the United Nations’ views. Agriculture and food security • The team managed to come up with reasonable approximates of hectares damaged: 130 ha affected Communication and infrastructure • Roads in all the above areas were damaged, with some stretches having been gullied and bridges damaged, but the roads are still passable and some communities were taking initiatives to reclaim and repair some of these • The team was not able to quantify the amount of damage to roads Conclusion and recommendations Education • In terms of the Public Health Act Tongogara primary school should not operate without latrines – toilets are an immediate priority for this school • Facilitate the provision of scholastic material • Enhancement of the Integration of emergency preparedness and response into the school curriculum especially in areas that are in disaster prone. Health Short term • Participatory health and hygiene education to the affected communities • Provision of water treatment tablets (aqua tabs) • Provision of mosquito nets in all affected areas • Provision of temporary shelter • Provision of fly baits particularly in farm 25 where the cattle pen has been temporarily situated within the compound.