Floods hit hundreds of thousands in Chad after heavy August rains

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Floods hit hundreds of thousands in Chad

Central African state barely survives severe drought before rains add to region's food insecurity

IRIN in Nairobi, part of the Guardian development network

Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August. Thousands of hectares of crops and hundreds of houses have also been destroyed.

The floods have caused at least 13 deaths, affected 445,725 people and inundated about 255,720 hectares of cropland, according to a 3 September update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Some 73,412 houses have been destroyed.

The flooding has come when Chad is still grappling with food insecurity. In late August, residents and officials in an affected area of the Mouraye department, in the south-eastern region of Salamat, told medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that "this year's flooding in the area, although having lasted a shorter time than the flooding in 2010, is much more serious due to the extension of the floodwaters and the impact on crops," according to Stefano Argenziano, the head of Mission of MSF in Chad.

The flooding occurred after the Bahr Azoum wadi (river) breached its banks, affecting around 4,000 people in 37 different villages, according to the local authorities of the Mouraye department.

At present, all families previously displaced in the Mouraye area have returned home. But about 3,000 hectares of maize and 170 hectares of rice have been flooded for at least two weeks, Argenziano said, noting that residents had told MSF that the already precarious food-security situation there may be aggravated well into 2013 by the destruction of crops.

"We are concerned that Mouraye department will continue to be [in] a food insecure/food crisis context even after the expected end of the current hunger gap," he said. MSF is monitoring nutrition levels, with a rapid nutritional screening of 808 children aged from 6 to 59 months revealing malnutrition rates below the emergency threshold.

Overall, the floods have affected 5.83% of the area sown, according to the National Office for Rural Development. Affected areas include five districts of the capital N'Djamena, as well the Dar-Sila, Salamat, Moyen-Chari, Tandjilé, eastern Mayo-Kebbi and western Mayo-Kebbi regions, Mayanne Munan, advocacy manager at Oxfam in Chad, told IRIN. In eastern Mayo-Kebbi, 81,000 hectares of crops have been inundated.

"Although it is still early to distinguish between flooded crops and destroyed ones, the floods will definitely have an impact on food security in Chad, and part of the 2012 harvests could be ruined. Moreover, as the rainy season is not yet finished, additional heavy rains could worsen the situation," said Munan.

"Besides, there are threats of locusts in the north-east and eastern parts of Chad, which is another risk of crop destruction. Such disasters could have serious consequences in a country that is facing a food crisis, with 3.6 million people being affected by food insecurity, and still vulnerable due to previous food crises and recurrent shocks in the past few years [from floods, cholera]."

Swarms of locusts are breeding in the north of Mali and Niger, which could endanger the livelihoods of up to 50 million people in the region. Flood-affected residents need items such as cooking kits, blankets, mosquito nets and emergency shelter materials, as well as sensitisation about cholera and malaria, said Munan. Waterborne diseases, such as cholera, are endemic in some of the west and central African countries, often peaking during the rainy season between August and December.

In Kerfi, in Dar-Sila region, Oxfam hopes to resume its food voucher distribution in three of the 12 affected villages when access is possible. Maigua Kanja, country director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in Chad, said the floods have affected the availability of flights to areas in need, with access difficult even by car as roads have been washed away. "When there is totally no transportation, activities like food distribution are slowed down as some of the important materials like soap have to be air-lifted in bits."

HIAS is working in six refugee camps in the east, providing trauma counselling, legal advice and humanitarian assistance. According to Kanja, the flooding, which has been accompanied by cold weather and stagnant water, also poses a health risk especially to the elderly.

"Most of the beneficiaries [also] travel long distances during the rainy season to look for cultivatable land away from the flooding areas. Most are women who can fall victim [to] drowning in the rivers, rape or even other physical aggressions," she said, adding that local traders should be supported in using warehouses where they can stockpile relief material for use in the rainy season.

Chad's government is to allocate FCFA 1bn ($1.92m) for emergency assistance and has asked for help from humanitarian actors and donors. Assessment missions are also ongoing to update current data on humanitarian needs.

Source: The Guardian UK