Botswana flood assessment

Assessments of the flood crisis in Botswana carried out by the humanitarian community this week show that over 30,000 people are now requiring emergency assistance, the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported.

Since a government appeal for humanitarian assistance on 10 February, it said assessments carried out by the national emergency services, the Botswana Red Cross and Medical Rescue International-Botswana, had confirmed severe damage to infrastructure and property.

"An estimated 10,000 households - around 60,000 people - have been affected. Over 34,000 people, including some 13,000 children under 12 years, require emergency assistance," the OCHA report said. The country urgently needs 5,000 tents large enough each to accommodate up to eight people, 30,000 blankets, 5,000 resettlement kits with eating and cooking utensils, and
approximately US $1 million dollars for a one-month supply of emergency food.

Coordination, reception and distribution of emergency assistance is being handled by the Botswana's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO).

"So far the government has mobilised financial and material resources for an amount of US $706,000 in response to the emergency. This covers the services of the Defence Force, the Red Cross and Medical Rescue International, as well as the provision of tents and other supplies to the affected
population," the OCHA report said.

But this was not sufficient to meet the needs of the most seriously affected people, OCHA said: "If the weather forecasts prove correct, the situation for thousands of people, already affected, will become more serious. Assessments of damage to the national infrastructure, health and agricultural sectors are ongoing."

OCHA has made an emergency grant of US $30,000, including US $10,000 from Norway and US $10,000 from Britain's Department for International Development (DFID). OCHA pledged to channel donor funds.

These can be transferred to OCHA Account No. CO-590.160.1 SWIFT-code SBC0CHGG12A - at the UBS AG, PO Box 2770, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland. The transfer should carry the reference, OCHA - Botswana-Floods 2000.