Attachments
A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
On 27 January, heavy rainfall occurred in Kilwa, Liwale and Ruangwa districts in Lindi region in south-eastern Tanzania. This resulted in flash floods that have led to fatalities and major damage. The latest update from the local government, shared on 28 January, reported more than 18,000 people affected, 13 deaths, 5 people missing, 1,746 houses completely destroyed, and 1,074 latrines collapsed. People in the area have been evacuated to safer areas, with limited access to basic services.
The flash floods have caused major damage to local infrastructure, livelihoods and personal properties. Schools, roads and bridges have been destroyed as well as 495 acres of farmland. Some of the areas are only accessible by boat.
The area is prone to waterborne and communicable diseases and due to contaminated water sources and limited access to basic services for evacuees, there is an increased risk of waterborne disease outbreak.
At this point of time the Tanzania Red Cross Society (TRCS) is fully relying on a local government source for its data.
One National Disaster Response Team (NDRT) member; 1 water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) staff person; and 1 health staff person are currently on their way to the affected area to support the local branch with initial response and rapid assessment. TRCS is confronted with floods in various parts of the country. On 27 January, Dodoma, Iringa and Songwe have also been affected by flash floods, with respectively 900 and 500 people affected. Therefore, the DM team at headquarters is overstretched and has requested additional surge support to support the local branch and NDRT with the rapid assessment, as well as the development of the full operational strategy.
This DREF request will initially focus on support for assessment and first aid and safe evacuation, and will be revised within 1 to 2 weeks, to include a full operational strategy based on further assessments. The DREF operation will focus on Lindi region, where the impact of flash floods has been the greatest. In Dodoma, Iringa and Songwe, the response is managed with local resources.