Press Releases & Updates - Latest News - Oxfam Hong Kong
Skip to main content
Start main content

Press Releases & Updates

03 FEB 2015

African Crises - Latest Situation of Southern Africa Floods

Southern Africa Floods

Heavy seasonal rainfall starting in December 2014 has caused flooding in Southern Africa. People in Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe have been seriously affected.

Latest Situation

(Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as of late January 2015)

Mozambique

  • Heavy rains and floods have affected 157,172 people (32,711 households) and the death toll currently stands at 120.
  • Around 14,950 houses and 462 classrooms were destroyed in the Centre and North region
  • In Zambezia, the badly hit province, 50,481 people (11,662 families) are hosted in 49 accommodation centers.

Malawi

  • The number of people displaced is estimated at 22,000 households (121,000 people), with 54 people killed and 153 still missing.
  • The number of people affected through damage to crops is estimated at 116,000 households (638,000 people).

Oxfam’s Response

Mozambique

We are providing humanitarian assistance to more than 4,000 families in Mocuba and Nicoadala District in the province of Zambezia. This includes:

  • Up to 15,000 litres of clean water a day at camps
  • 55 latrines and 30 bathrooms have been constructed; more are being constructed
  • 1,034 family kits
  • 996 shelter kits and shelter materials, and 99 tool kits to construct shelters
  • 1,154 hygiene kits
  • 128 mosquito nets
  • 10 hygiene promotion committees formed in transit camps to promote health and hygiene

In addition, Oxfam is planning to support these families with more emergency assistance includes:

  • To provide water and sanitation facilities and services including supplies required to respond to communities’ needs, especially women and children;
  • To provide temporary shelter kits to protect the affected communities;
  • To provide farm inputs to enable rebuilding of livelihoods;
  • To improve capacity of local national non-profit organization partners to respond to local emergencies.

Malawi

Oxfam is implementing the cash transfer programmes (for long term development) in Dowa, Lilongwe and Mulanje and Mulanje is one of the districts affected by floods.

After coordination with Department of Disaster Management Affairs, Oxfam is currently responding in Mulanje district. A response strategy to support affected families with emergency assistance for 6 months is developed, including:

  • To provide hygiene kits to more than 1,000 households and water treatment sachets to more than 2,500 households who live in camps
  • To provide water trucking to 7 affected communities; to repair up to 20 boreholes and up to 7 gravity flow systems, in order to ensure water supply for affected communities
  • To construct 149 temporary toilets with hand-washing station and 119 temporary bath stalls at 17 camps
  • To construct 250 temporary household latrines for 250 households
  • To utilize the existing health worker system and community-based volunteers to carry out hygiene promotion at camps and targeted communities
  • To conduct gender inclusive food needs assessment and rapid market mapping & analysis to assess impact of floods, in order to address the food gaps with cash transfer where possible