ACT Appeal Zimbabwe: Flood Relief Assistance - AFZW01

Attachments

• Download Report (PDF | 99.15 KB)

Appeal Target : US$ 2,464,204
Geneva, 31 March 2000

Dear Colleagues,

Zimbabwe suffered extensively from the recent floods that hit the Southern African region with over 500,000 people affected, 100,000 rendered homeless and about 80 reported dead.

Cyclone Eline reached the country on the 22 February and was preceded by extensive rainfall, particularly in the eastern and southern parts of the country. The heavy rains along with the cyclone and the resulting floods bursting the banks of the major rivers, had devastating effects on the communities. Thousands of hectares of crops were destroyed, Thousands of livestock were lost, and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and buildings were left in ruins. The Zimbabwean government declared the floods as a national disaster and requested assistance from the International community.

ACT members, Lutheran Development Service - Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (LDS/ELCZ) in co-operation with LWF/DWS, and Christian Care, Zimbabwe proposes to respond to this emergency as shown below.

Lutheran Development Service - Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (LDS/ELCZ) in cooperation with LWF/DWS wishes to respond in the following sectors;

• Food distribution
• Shelter for the homeless
• Health, Water & Sanitation
• Reconstruction of Schools and Health Institutions

Christian Care, Zimbabwe will respond in the following sectors;

• Shelter Construction
• Food Distribution
• Distribution of Household Utensils
• Distribution of blankets and clothing

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested

Please kindly send your contributions to the ACT bank account and inform this office of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers. Please note the Pledge Form is no longer attached with the Appeal.

Account Number - 102539/0.01.061 (USD)
Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together
Banque Edouard Constant
Cours de Rive 11
Case postale 3754
1211 Genève 3
SWITZERLAND

We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

ACT Web Site address: http://www.act-intl.org

ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response.

The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION:

Cyclone Eline hit Southern and Eastern Zimbabwe from Mocambique, around 20 February 2000. In Zimbabwe the cyclone was marked by incessant rains lasting more than 48 hours, accompanied by winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour. The most affected regions in Zimbabwe were Manicaland (in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts), Masvingo (in Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts), Midlands (in Mberengwa and Chirumhanzu districts) and Matebeleland (in Beit Bridge and Gwanda districts.

The Damages

During the crisis period of the disaster the following damages were recorded:

• flooding or submergence of land, homes, school buildings and other infrastructure
• destruction of food reserves/stores and crops
• loss of property, including household goods, (e.g., livestock, utensils, clothing etc), books (for students and teachers) and irrigation equipment was also swept away
• destruction of sanitation facilities and subsequent contamination of water bodies
• destruction of public infrastructure, (including roads bridges, tele-communications and power lines).

Due to the magnitude and extent of destruction the Zimbabwe Government declared the cyclone a national disaster requiring emergence intervention.

Cyclone Impact on human Lives

It has been estimated that more than 500,000 people were affected by this disaster in one way or another. Of the affected persons:

• up to 80 people were reported to have died as a result of flooding throughout the four provinces of Zimbabwe, referred to above
• 96,000 people do not have food, health and water and sanitation facilities
• a further 20,000 households were displaced.

These people require shelter, clothing and utensils in addition to food, health and water and sanitation facilities.

I. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER

• Lutheran Development Service (LDS-ELCZ) in Co-operation with Lutheran World Federation Department of World Service (LWF/DWS)

II. IMPLEMENTING AGENCY

LDS Zimbabwe had been operating in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. Initially it was involved in the repatriation of refugees, it then moved to the reconstruction and rehabilitation programme before it got involved in the long-term development activities. In addition, the organisation had previously assisted thousands of refugees mainly from Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa who sought refugee in Zimbabwe from the early - 1980s to mid - 1990s. Traditionally, Zimbabwe has been hit hard by recurrent drought emergencies and the Lutheran Development Service has assisted desperate communities in the 1991/1992, 1995/96 and the 1998/1999 droughts. Although this is the first time the program is handling a flood emergency, previous experience on drought emergency and community development has proved invaluable.

LDS is co-ordinating this programme with the Government of Zimbabwe and other NGOs such as Christian Care. As the floods have hit a wide geographical area, it is important to define geographical boundaries of operation. LDS is giving major assistance to Masvingo Province and Matabeleland South Province while limited assistance is being given to Midlands Province.

Current Situation

By the first week of March, the rains had been reduced to occasional showers in the affected Southern parts of the country although heavier rains were still being experienced in the northern parts of the country. Flood waters were subsiding in many areas. People who left their homesteads and homes had either settled temporarily in satellite camps set up by the Government or had sought refuge in neighbouring villages on higher grounds. The Government, NGOs, Churches as well as private companies have been assisting in feeding and providing clean water to these people.

Now that the flood waters are beginning to recede, the full extent of the damage becomes visible. Most homesteads and homes are completely destroyed, stored grain in granaries is either washed away or rotting and potable water is not available and wells are contaminated.

Communication by road is generally bad to the effected areas and most of the food and other type of assistance have had to be air lifted. Collection of accurate data initially proved to be very problematic. However, the local traditional village heads and chiefs have been bringing information of the affected victims to the Ministry of Local Government Offices. This has helped in getting information of what happened in the areas that are still inaccessible by road.

A lot of field crops were submerged in water and without food and very little to be harvested in the coming months people will face starvation if food assistance is not provided. In areas where the homes were submerged in water, the pit latrines have since collapsed and this poses a serious health hazard to the community.

Besides the homes destroyed and fields flooded, infrastructure such as schools, clinics and dams were also damaged as cyclone Eline had winds up to 160km/hour. LDS had built (since 1980) 250 dams in the area of which 11 have either been washed away or greatly damaged.

The Zimbabwe Government has standing civil protection committees at national, provincial and district levels. Once the cyclone hit, the committees which are ready to respond to any form of emergency, were immediately activated by the Government. LDS field staff, are automatically members of the Provincial and District Committees and they have been attending the regular civil protection committee meetings to share information and co-ordinate operational responsibility. The committees are chaired by the Ministry of Local Government. LDS has used these committees and its field staff network to get information and statistics of how the communities have been affected.

Impact on Human Lives

• Over 100 000 people have been left homeless in the country and of these 61 000 are in Matabeleland South alone. The worst affected district of Beitbridge has 35,000 homeless people.
• People died, swept away by flood waters - to date the figure stands at 82 dead.
• Toilets were rendered unusable posing a serious health hazard.
• Some of the satellite camps are established in schools disrupting the school year.
• All forms of communication are destroyed i.e. roads, bridges, radio, power lines, etc. These are now being slowly restored but it will take time to bring the situation back to normal.
• Drinking water points such as bore holes and wells have been contaminated with the flood waters and will need to be flushed out with chemicals before the water is drinkable.
• The dams that have burst will need to be reconstructed in order to provide water for livestock and people. Worst affected is the Mnene Mission Dam which supplies the hospital with drinking water and Mundi - Mataga dam which supplies the Mataga growth point and government clinic.
• Some schools have been damaged, class rooms, toilets and new roofs are needed.
• Granaries and field crops have been destroyed which means that food assistance will be required for the affected victims.

III. GOAL & OBJECTIVES

Goal

The goal is to assist cyclone flood victims with the basic human needs of shelter, water and food during the crisis phase along with rehabilitation of houses and assistance to regain their livelihood as soon as possible.

Objectives

• To provide shelter for the homeless and assist in reconstruction of dwellings.
• Provide sanitary conditions through the construction of toilets.
• To rehabilitate wells, bore holes and dams which provide drinking water for people and livestock.
• To assist in the reconstruction of schools and health institutions.

IV. BENEFICIARY INFORMATION & TARGETED AREAS

Gwanda District (Matabeleland South Province)

Gwanda town is situated 120km from Bulawayo town. The affected communal areas of the district are a further 40 - 80km away from Gwanda town which is the provincial capital of Matabeleland South Province. Gwanda District (including the small town of about 35 000 people) has a total population of 140, 000 people. The district was severely affected by the excessive rains and Cyclone Eline. As the cyclone hit the district there were sudden flash floods which caused houses and toilets to collapse, roofs were torn of schools and clinics and approximately 6,000 people were rendered homeless. A number of people were injured due to flying debris and one child died instantly. Household granaries were not spared, no food reserves were left and consequently approximately 5,000 people will need food assistance for at least two months before they can harvest their crops, for the few that may have something, little will be harvested. Hence food assistance will be required for over a longer period of time.

Major rivers such as Umzingwane and Mtshabezi burst their banks and the hinterland was inaccessible due to destroyed roads and bridges. Many boreholes were washed away especially in the low lying areas. Animals got stuck in the mud while others were washed away. An assessment with regard to loss of crop and animals will need to be done once areas can be accessed.

The towns were also badly affected. In Gwanda town the engine room which supplies water to the town was flooded. Water pumps and engines which supply water from the rivers to West Nicholson, Manama, Mtshabezi and Majodha were all washed away. Communities at these centres were left without an immediate source of safe drinking water.

Beitbridge District (Matabeleland South Province)

This is the most affected district in the country with some 90,000 people in the district, the Ministry of Local Government confirms that 50,000 are known to be homeless. The Limpopo River which forms the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa was 7,2meters above its normal level at the peak of the floods. The flooded tributaries of the Limpopo from the Zimbabwean side failed to discharge their waters, resulting in flooding in many villages during the week of the cyclone. Even before the cyclone hit, Beitbridge District had already received 700% of its normal rainfall of around 200mm. By the time Cyclone Eline hit the area, some 10,000 people had already been left homeless as a result of torrential rains which had been pounding the district since January 2000.

The rising waters in the villages forced people to flee their homes and seek refuge with neighbours, at schools, clinics and at 6 satellite camps which were set up by the Government to accommodate and feed the flood victims. People had to leave in a hurry, leaving all the food, property, clothing, livestock and other belongings behind. Crops which were in areas that were not flooded, are likely to yield nothing or very little, due to excessive leaching by the earlier torrential rains. A number of flood victims had to be airlifted to safer areas and even food supplies had to be air lifted to those same areas. The government is now planning to resettle the people from the flood prone areas to safer high ground.

Beitbridge town was not spared by the floods - two water pumps used to pump water from Limpopo River to two storage dams were washed away.

Beitbridge border town is 320km from Bulawayo town and 600km from Harare. For 3 days the town was accessible only from Bulawayo, while the Bubi Bridge and Hotel Complex were completely under flood water and the Beitbridge-Masvingo highway was blocked. The feeder roads into the rural areas have had bridges and parts washed away while certain road sections became impassable. Homesteads, schools, toilets collapsed. In LDS operational areas Fula and Makhavane dams were washed away while the Marambo Dam was breached.

Mberengwa District (Midlands Province)

In Mberengwa District the rains were excessive although they did not damage the crops, livestock and granaries but a number of dams were washed away. These include Mnene Mission dam which supplies water to the Mission Hospital. The gushing waters took with them the tank, pipes and a motor. 3 boreholes below the dam were destroyed and clogged with mud and debris, some farm animals went missing . Mundi-Mataga dam left about 200 people homeless when it burst taking away homes, livestock and personal belongings. Fortunately the field crops were not destroyed as they were some distance away from the line of destruction. Other dams washed away by the torrential rains were Chomnyaka, Chegato and Musume.

Chivi District (Masvingo Province)

Chivi District is approximately 250km from Bulawayo and 400km from Harare. The district was also hit by cyclone Eline resulting in 15 deaths. 5 bridges were washed away and 813 dwellings were destroyed. As the dwellings collapsed, 31 people were injured. 957km of internal road net work had many of its portions washed away by the floods. At least 50 primary schools and 3 clinics were known to have had their structures destroyed or affected at varying levels by the cyclone. The district was however lucky to have had the field crops left standing and in good condition. 258 blair toilets are known to have collapsed both at schools and in the villages.

Mwenezi District (Masvingo Province)

Mwenezi district was completely cut off by road. The government has been visiting the area by air. No statistics are available of the destruction although the district is known to have been equally affected, with several people left homeless.

Targetted Beneficiaries

About 100,000 people have been affected by the floods country wide. LDS will seek to assist:

• 2,000 people (390 families) with tents for temporary shelter.
• 1,363 families to reconstruct their huts;
• 400 families to rebuilt their toilets;
• 1,000 families with food during the crisis period;
• 1,300 families with post crisis food while rebuilding the dams or other damaged infrastructure,
• Rehabilitation of 30 boreholes/wells 6 schools or health centres.

Criteria Used for Beneficiary Selection

The Ministry of Local Government is collecting statistics from the villages using the existing network of Government Civil Servants and other development agencies, the traditional chiefs and village heads. This information is being shared at the regular civil protection committee meetings of which LDS is a member. Based on this information the LDS field staff are then going to the worst affected areas and making first hand assessments to identify the most needy cyclone disaster victims. The identification involves both the LDS field staff and the existing village development committee.

Number of Targetted Beneficiaries According to Proposed Assistance

Gwanda

• Some 1,200 families were affected. Out of these, 100 families from 4 geographical wards will be assisted with tents for temporary shelter and with the reconstruction of the toilets.
• Some 300 families will be assisted with food during the crisis phase while a further 300 families will be assisted with food on the post crisis phase as part of the food for work to rebuild Patana and Paye community dams which were washed away.
• 450 households will be assisted with 4 bags of cement each to reconstruct at least one hut each.

Beitbridge

• In Beitbridge area 823 families will need to be assisted with rebuilding their huts in wards 1,2,3,6 and 11 where we are operational, in consultation with the Civil Protection committee.
• Three schools will need reconstruction assistance either in the form of toilets or classroom blocks.

Currently the area has received 24 tents from the LDS while another 140 tents are being made available through the ACT Rapid Response Appeal as well as 300 temporary toilets which are now being put in place.

• This proposal is seeking further assistance to 200 families with 2 tents each for the most needy victims to have temporary shelter while they are rebuilding their homes.
• At least 25 wells/boreholes will need rehabilitation while 50 wells/boreholes will need to be flushed out, cleaned and disinfected with chlorine before the water is usable.
• The two community dams that were damaged at Marambo and Fula and the breached Makhavane dam will need reconstruction.
• 380 families will need food assistance in the form of food for work. Meanwhile 600 families will need food assistance during the crisis phase.

Mberengwa

Mataga

Some 35 family homes were affected by the Mundi-Mataga dam damage. These will need tents for shelter. 15 of the families will get this assistance through funds obtained from Danish Embassy while 20 families will require tents from this application. The same families have received food assistance to rebuild their huts.

Mnene Mission

The Mission dam was washed away leaving the hospital without water and, currently, they are having to cart the water and utilise existing supplies to the school. LDS will repair the dam which was washed away together with the pump house, tanks, electric motors and 3 boreholes.

Community dams and boreholes

Other dams that were washed way are Chegato, Chomnyaka and Musume. These need to be repaired.

• 470 families will be engaged in the reconstruction and receive food for work assistance. 30 boreholes will be repaired by the communities.

Chivi District

• Assistance will be given to three schools, 20 families who need temporary shelter, rebuilding homes and toilets.
• Madzivire dam will need repairs and this will be done in conjunction with the community.

Mwenezi district

In Mwenezi district the focus will be in the Maranda area where:

• 100 families will receive relief food in the crisis phase.
• 50 families will be assisted with tents while rebuilding homesteads and toilets.
• Chamakaka dam spillway needs to be repaired with the participation of the community and 100 families engaged in the reconstruction will receive food for work assistance.

V. IMPLEMENTATION DESCRIPTION PER ACTIVITY

Temporary Shelter

Each family whose homestead was completely destroyed will receive one small and one medium (5-6 people) tent. To reconstruct their huts, the families will be assisted with 4 bags of cement per family which they will use to reconstruct one hut. It is assumed that they will mould and burn bricks and find their own thatch grass. The cement will be used to ensure that the huts are strong enough and will not be affected by future floods.

Food Assistance

Each family will receive one x 50kg bag of maize per month.

Wells and Boreholes

Normal wells sunk will be up to 30 metres while the boreholes will average 60-80 metres in depth. The sinking is normally done by private contractors. Flushing of wells and boreholes will require chlorine or aqua tablets which are available locally.

The reconstruction of a damaged bore hole or well will require removing the mud and in some cases installing new rings. The estimated cost is 1/3 of the price of a new well/borehole.

Dams

Masonry dams will be on average 800m3 of stonework while earth dams will average 20,000m3 of earth fill volume. This will allow for a higher free board level which will not be washed away by future floods.

Toilets

Each blair toilet will require 10 bags of cement while the temporary toilets will require 6 metres of plastic or polythene sheets.

Transport

Maize: Transporting total of 390 tonnes of maize for 1300 families over a period of 6 months will require 62 trips (average 320 km) by an 8 tonne lorry.

Cement: Transporting 108 tonnes of cement requires 24 trips (average 300 km) by an 8 tonne lorry.

Tents and polythene sheets:

Transporting 940 tents and 300 polyhthene sheets will require 3 trips (average 700 km) by the 8 tonne lorry.

VI. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT

Project Administration

The LDS Zimbabwe Director based in Harare has the overall responsibility for this project. Implementation will be done by the Emergency Co-ordinator. At field level the project will be co-ordinated by the Program Co-ordinator who is in touch with the Local Area Co-ordinators, Area Officers and Community Organisers. All the water related activities are under the jurisdiction of the Water Engineer who reports to the Program Co-ordinator.

Project Finance, Management and Controls

The Harare finance office will responsible for the financial management. It will heavily depend on the two field finance officers. The LWF Area Finance Co-ordinator who is based in Harare will assist with the overall financial management according to the LWF and ACT procedure. It is a normal procedure for the Harare finance office to carry out internal audits at least twice a year while the main audit by the external auditors will be done at the end of the year. The finance office will ensure that the financial report will meet the ACT requirements.

Project Monitoring Procedures

The main implementers of this project at ground level are the Area Officers and the community organizers.The Director, and the Co-ordinators will make regular field visits to ensure that the implementation of the project is as per plan.

Co-ordination meetings of the Civil Protection Unit will be attended by the Co-ordinators at Provincial Levels, and the Area Officers, at District level. Project updates will be done on a weekly basis by the field staff.

VII. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

Implementation of this appeal is estimated to be 6 months, till the end of August 2000. The existing activities under the Rapid Response funding are included.

VIII. COORDINATION

As outlined above regular meetings are convened by the Civil Protection Unit at all levels. During these meetings, the Government will ensure that NGOs do not operate in the same geographical area within a district. To date other NGOs which are operational are Red Cross and Christian Care. The Seventh Day Adventist Church, Rotary Club of Bulawayo and several private organisations have been making one time donations of food and clothing. Amani Trust has indicated that it will specialise in anti-trauma counselling. Orap is likely to be involved in the supplementary feeding of the vulnerable groups.

The coordination with the other ACT partner, Christian Care, will be in the same way as during the drought programme 1998-1999: both concentrate on those administrative wards that they were involved in during the drought program and they will share information on a regular basis.

All purchases made will be in accordance with the ACT guidelines.

* Get Adobe Acrobat Viewer (free)