Swaziland: Fires OCHA Situation Report No. 1

Swaziland DECLARES NATIONAL FIRE DISASTER

SITUATION OVERVIEW

1. On the 1st August 2007, the Prime Minister Mr. Absalom Dlamini declared the devastating field fires that have been raging for days a national disaster.

2. The raging fires fueled by strong winds have destroyed approximately eighty percent of the Mondi Forests Plantations in Piggs Peak.The land covered by Mondi Forests measures 19,500 hectares and employs 1,200 people. Infrastructure such as water systems that supply potable water to the housing estates and one of the mills suffered damage. The company is facing challenges with providing potable water to the worker community inside the plantations. At the initial stage, the company is likely to employ a number of workers for harvesting trees and clearing the forests, however it is estimated that after a few months the company will have to undertake massive retrenchments. Many people will lose their jobs and it is estimated that it will take approximately ten years for the forestry industry to recover from the effects of this disaster.

3. The Sappi Forests in Bhunya and Mhlambanyatsi eighty kilometers away from Pigg's Peak were not spared from such fires. It is estimated that approximately 4,000 hectares of forest have been lost to the fire. These hectares represent about 7.5% of the land under forest cultivation. The long-term effects of the fire for this company are the sustainability of the forest industry and the economic survival of the company.

4. Two people died from the fires and many were injured by roofing material that got blown by the wind, many other suffered injuries as they were rescue out of their burning houses in the night. As many as 300 homesteads are reported to have first been affected by the windstorms and the fire. Early reports from the Baphalali Red Cross indicate that some homesteads lost entire homes, property, food and cattle, goats and chickens in the fires. The total number of people affected probably runs into several thousands, however definite figures will be established with time.

NATIONAL RESPONSE

5. Today the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade convened a meeting of the international community to announce the declaration and launched an appeal for support to help the county respond to the fire disaster.

6. The Government of Swaziland has established a Cabinet Task Team to lead the response to the drought and fire disasters. The Task Team will be leading the National Disaster Task Force and the Water Crisis Committee and coordinating the work of organizations working in the response to the disasters.

7. The Parliament has recently approved a supplementary budget of E140 million ($20 million) to respond to the drought disaster. Part of the budget will be assigned to emergency food and water and a portion will now be diverted to the fire emergency response.

8. The Baphalali Red Cross society is on the ground distributing relief materials such as f temporary shelter and food. However some rapid assessments are required to bring gather information and facilitate timely and appropriate interventions.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

9. The international community has not yet made any pledges and is awaiting release of the government report of the loses.

Contact Details:

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officer (New York)
Ms. Aida Mengistu
Tel: + 1-917-367-5145

Press contact: (Geneva)
Ms. Elizabeth Byrs
Tel. +41-22-917 2653

Press contact: (New York)
Ms. Ms. Stephanie Bunker
Tel: +1-917-367-5126

This situation report, together with additional information on the current crisis is also available on http://www.reliefweb.int. As your tool for timely information sharing, please encourage submissions of documents and maps by email to submit@reliefweb.int.