Attachments
A. SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the disaster
The Region of Hodh Ech Chargui, particularly the communes of Bassiknou, Amourj and Adel, recorded significant rainfall in August 2020. This unprecedented rainfall of over 250mm caused floods which worsened the vulnerability of populations already weakened by consecutive crises (floods, food insecurity, COVID-19 pandemic) that the country is experiencing.
According to primary and secondary data, approximately 9,282 people were affected by the floods and three (3) people died. Several families were left homeless due to collapsed homes and found refuge in host families, sheds, or other damaged houses. In addition, several farms were destroyed, and many herds of cattle decimated, causing a serious loss of livelihoods for the affected population.
The National Society carried out the first assessment in early September 2020 to identify the priority needs of floods affected households. The assessment made it possible to not only identify the most affected households but also provided key elements for the response. As such, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), through its Sahel Cluster Delegation, released DREF funds on 16 September 2020, amounting 352,784 Swiss francs to support the Mauritanian Red Crescent to respond to the urgent needs of 5,688 people (948 households) considered to be most affected by flooding in Bassiknou Department. See DREF Operation EPoA.
In late October 2020, over a month after the DREF operation was launched, MRCS felt the need to conduct a second more detailed assessment to update the needs on the ground and identify variations in the context. The results of this detailed assessment enabled the National Society to review its intervention strategy and reconsider the timeframe of the operation since there had been delays in the implementation. Thus, a one-month no-cost timeframe extension was
requested and granted. More information is available in the Operation Update.