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Tunisia

Tunisia: Flash Floods DREF Bulletin no. MDRTN002 Update no. 2

Attachments

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in 185 countries.

In Brief

Period covered by this update: 24 October to 2 November 2007.

History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:

- CHF 105,000(1) allocated from the Federation's DREF on 17 October 2007 to respond to the needs of this operation, or to replenish disaster preparedness stocks distributed to the affected population.

- This operation is expected to be completed by 17 December, 2007; a DREF Bulletin Final Report (narrative and financial) will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 17 March, 2008).

The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

Background and current situation

During 13-16 October 2007, several regions of northern and eastern Tunisia were affected by torrential rains. 184 mm of rainfall was recorded in some regions in 10 hours time and on average 108 mm in the province of Tunis. The flash floods occurred during the long weekend of the religious celebration of Aid, causing sudden and significant damages. Houses were destroyed; personal belongings and cars swept away; transportation services paralyzed due to the railways and roads being cut; and electricity and water supply services interrupted. In poor neighborhoods, more than 1,000 families were evacuated from their houses and temporarily hosted in public shelters.

Note

(1) Due to the early stage of the operation, an interim financial report will be attached to the following update.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Tunisia: Dr. Tahar Cheniti, Secretary General, Tunisian Red Crescent; email: hilal.ahmar@planet.tn; phone: + 216 71 320 630; fax: + 216 71 320 151

In Tunisia: Anne Elisabeth Leclerc, Head of Regional Representation, Regional Representation for North Africa; email: ae.leclerc@ifrc.org; phone: + 216 71 862485; fax: + 216 71 862971

In Jordan: Marwan Jilani, Head of MENA Zone, Amman (temporary); email: marwan.jilani@ifrc.org; phone: + 962 79 6340346

In Geneva: Linda Stops, Operations Coordinator, Operations Coordination Team; phone + 41 22 730 4300; fax: +41 22 733 0395; email: linda.stops@ifrc.org

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org