Alert

Tanzania - 35/2009

Support to people affected by landslide

Geneva, November 18, 2009

1. Brief description of the emergency

As of November 13, up to 24 people have died following a landslide at a village on high land in Same district, Kilimanjaro region, after four days of heavy rains. At a time when the ACT Forum Tanzania was already planning to do disaster preparedness interventions following the prolonged drought in northern Tanzania earlier in the same week, the onset of this end of year rain came with disastrous results, affecting an entire village on the highlands of Same District, bringing shocking news to the whole nation.

2. Impact

According to the reports from the Same District Commissioner's Office and the office of the Bishop of the ELCT Pare Diocese, there were still more villagers missing, raising fears that the death toll may rise. The village has about 2,500 inhabitants who are the main victims of the disaster.

3. National and international response

According to the district and regional government authorities, although a comprehensive assessment of the magnitude of the disaster is yet to be completed by the District Disaster Management Committee and sent to the national level to facilitate appropriate intervention, the disaster is of such a magnitude that it is unbearable for one village. Hence, there has been a call for the mobilization of requisite resources to intensify the search for the missing people and provide emergency and relief support for the survivors. Sniffer dogs from the police force are being deployed on the disaster scene to trace the missing bodies. Reports from the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) claim that the Same District landslide is not yet to be linked to the predicted El Nino, but rather associated with the heavy freak rains, a situation that is raising much concern across the country, especially among populations of settled in high lands and low lying areas of northern Tanzania. About 80 % of Same District residents live in hilly/mountain slopes.

4. ACT International response

ACT Forum Tanzania (AFTZ), with the support from Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service (TCRS) using the ACT Forum network of the local LWF member diocese, the ELCT/Pare Diocese have immediately responded with the provision of clothes and other essential linen material to the affected people in Goha village, Mamba Vunta Division in Same District. But there are more life-saving items needed such as temporary shelter, relief food, house-hold and health kits. AFTZ is already linking up with relevant humanitarian organizations, like the Tanzania Red Cross Society, the faith-based institutions, the Disaster Directorate of the Prime Minister's Office, to harmonize the interventions.

5. Planned activities

Though the exact number of those affected is still estimated at around 2,500, AFTZ will in the meantime be providing humanitarian support to those identified as badly affected, that is the 285 households (approximately 2,000 people). ACT Forum Tanzania, represented by the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) will be preparing a proposal to the Global Rapid Response Fund. to facilitate immediate response to meet the immediate life-sustaining materials and actions such as procurement of food, clothing and temporary shelter, household and health kits to the landslide disaster affected populations in Goha Village, Mamba-Vunta Division, Same District.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).

(ends)

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.