Following the heavy floods which have been affecting the regions of Tete, Manica, Sofala and Zambezia for several weeks, the situation in Mozambique has deteriorated significantly over the recent days.

TSF's emergency crew notably composed of a volunteer from the Asian Institute of Technology landed Thursday morning in the capital Maputo and was air-lifted to Caia on Friday. Caia is one of the most affected zones where most NGO are based.

In Caia, radio communications have been set up by the World Food Programme (WFP). GSM network is available but congested and there is no landline Internet connexion. TSF's emergency crew therefore immediately opened a first communication Centre at the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) coordinating office for UNICEF, WFP and NGOs such as Med Air and Samaritan's Purse.

80% of organizations on site benefit from TSF with 27 daily users in Caia

Our head of mission, Simon Genin reported that on Friday, 9 organizations benefited from our services (80% of relief organisations working in Caia). This satellite-based Communication Centre offers broadband Internet, phone and fax lines and IT equipment enabling relief organizations to communicate right from the heart of the disaster area and send assessments in order to respond to the needs of flood victims. Open from 8am to 9pm 7 days a week, the TSF centre notably enables aid agencies to follow the weather forecast to anticipate further water rise. Local authorities are concerned as heavy rains are expected in the coming days. Agencies are also monitoring the course of the hurricane currently heading for Madagascar and possibly Mozambique. UNOSAT satellite imageries (both paper and digital copies) are also made available to the humanitarian community. On Friday 16th, more than 200MB of data had been transferred via Inmarsat BGan for a total of 27 users.

TSF deployed within the ETC

Following an assessment on Saturday, a second Communication Centre was opened in Mutarara on Tuesday 20th. Due to increasing needs, TSF deployed more IT/Telecoms emergency responders from its France-based Headquarters the same day.

With the activation of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday, TSF, as First Responder will provide a common telecommunications service to both United Nations agencies and NGO during the entire emergency phase until handover to phase II. The mission is estimated to last between 15 days and 1 month.

As of 15th February, INGC estimates that approximately 86,300 people have been displaced due to the floods. An estimated 37,000 people are currently in accommodation centres and more than 49,000 are in resettlement centres that were established after the 2001 floods. INGC estimates that, in the worst-case scenario, 285,000 people may possibly be affected by the current emergency.

TSF is assessing the need for humanitarian calling operations for displaced populations with a priority to areas uncovered by GSM networks.

This mission is coordinated with OCHA and implemented in partnership with the Vodafone Group Foundation, the United Nations Foundation and TSF's other partners. To view TSF's partners please click on the following link: http://www.tsfi.org/tsfispip/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=68&lang=en