Weeks of heavy rains have triggered flash floods along the Zambezi river and its tributaries, washing away homes, bridges, livestock and crops in four central provinces (Tete, Manica, Sofala and Zambezia).
Some 170,000 people have been displaced and at least 45 have died as a result of the flooding, the worst to hit the former Portuguese colony since the 2000-2001 floods that killed some 700 people and drove another half a million from their homes.
In southern Mozambique, authorities are still assessing the damage from Cyclone Favio, which came ashore on Thursday with winds of up to 270 kph (169 mph).
The cyclone slammed into the coast, knocking down buildings, uprooting trees and killing five people near Vilanculos.
Since deploying on February 15^th , TSF opened 2 satellite-based Communication centres for the humanitarian community in Caia and Mutarara. A third telecom centre will be opened in Mopeia on Tuesday.
TSF's emergency crew is notably composed of a volunteer from the Asian Institute of Technology based in Bangkok and from the University of Mont-de-Marsan, France.
In Caia, radio communications have been set up by the World Food Programme (WFP). GSM network is available but congested and there is no landline Internet connexion. TSF's emergency crew therefore immediately opened a first communication Centre at the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) coordinating office.
90% of organizations on site benefit from TSF
In Caia, the coordination hub, 22 organisations (90% of agencies on the ground) involved in relief operations are benefiting from TSF's Centre run via Inmarsat BGan with a total of 43 different users. NGOs such as MSF, OXFAM, World Vision and the Mozambique Red Cross and UN agencies, World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO) are using TSF's broadband Internet connexion.
This is TSF's 5^th deployment since signing the partnership with UN OCHA and UNICEF in May 2006. Teams funded notably by the Vodafone Group Foundation and the United Nations Foundation already deployed to Suriname, Java-Indonesia, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This satellite-based Communication Centre offers broadband Internet, phone and fax lines and IT equipment enabling relief organizations to communicate right from the heart of the disaster area and send assessments in order to respond to the needs of flood victims. Open from 8am to 9pm 7 days a week, the TSF centre notably enables aid agencies to follow the weather forecast to anticipate further water rise. Agencies were also able monitore the course of Hurricane Favio. UNOSAT satellite imageries (both paper and digital copies) are also made available to the humanitarian community. On average, more than 250MB of data had been transferred via Inmarsat BGan.
TSF deployed within the ETC
With the activation of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday February 17th, TSF, as First Responder will provide a common telecommunications service to both United Nations agencies and NGO during the entire emergency phase until handover to phase II. The mission is estimated to last between 15 days and 1 month.
This mission is coordinated with OCHA and implemented in partnership with the Vodafone Group Foundation, the United Nations Foundation and our other partners.