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Botswana

Botswana: Floods - Emergency Plan of Action Final Report DREF: MDRBW004

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A. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Description of the disaster

On 23 February 2018, above normal rainfall fell in Tutume Sub district in Central Botswana. The rainy season, which ended in March 2018 destroyed many households and roads. The drastic weather change resulted in torrential rains that affected the district causing displacement, damage to property and a risk of an outbreak of water borne and vector related disease.
According to the Department of Meteorology Services, rainfall amounts range between 120-192mm, with a report of dams over flowing, causing floods in the neighbouring villages of the Tutume sub district. The water in the affected villages have dried up, but the destruction of roads and houses are still visible. The water in the outer villages, along the road is still visible at the time of this report.
From preliminary local authority assessments, images shared online, newspapers and by RC volunteers’ observations on the ground, the most affected villages were in the Tutume sub district, comprising of the following: Gweta, Zoroga and Tsookotshaa.
As of the 26th February, the villages of Gweta, Zoroga and Tsookotshaa were reported to be entirely flooded, affecting approximately 845 households (4,225 people). On 27 February 2018, the affected households were being evacuated to Gweta Vocational Training Centre and Zoroga Primary school.

Gweta, Zoroga and Tsookotshaa villages were the most affected area which left household damaged thus leaving most people with no place to stay. The rain also had caused destruction to water sewages at the hospitals. The spillage from the hospital sewerage was handled very well by the district authorities as they prevented contamination of water sources from both villages. The BRCS continued with information dissemination to sensitise the community members to be very careful in handling and use of water, as it was not confirmed whether the water was safe or not during the assessment period. Water purification tables were distributed at household level and volunteers demonstrated how the water is treated using the aqua tablets. During the distribution of relief items, the water had dried up, which helped implementation to go smoothly despite internal roads being damaged by flooding.
During the implementation phase, the affected people who were residing at the evacuation sites were to move back to the affected villages to start rebuilding their collapsed and destroyed houses, with the assistance from Red Cross volunteers and District Commissioner`s office. The government had setup temporary shelters for a period of 3 months (according to the emergency government policy) targeting households who had lost their homes. The temporary shelters from the Government had to be returned. People who received assistance from Botswana Red Cross were also assessed by the local authority to take into consideration other vulnerabilities and further follow up. The community leaders and members were engaged from the beginning of the operation in order to support and clarify the beneficiaries’ selection process and explain the distribution (items and process). This community engagement was ensured by BRCS and the local authorities.
The Botswana Red Cross Society (BRCS) received several requests for relief intervention from District Authorities Offices, but the Country had not declared the situation as a national emergency. Although the Government did not declare these floods as a national emergency, there were important humanitarian needs such as shelter and WASH, which the National Society was unable to respond to without support. Therefore, the NS requested a CHF 111,493 DREF grant from the IFRC.
The National Society, through this DREF operation, provided assistance to 564 most affected households in the three severely affected villages (322 HH relocated in evacuation centres, 97 HH moved to host families and 145 HH who were still living in their partially flooded homes). 30 volunteers were trained on WASH, hygiene promotion and shelter support while 53 stakeholders were trained on community engagement and accountability (CEA), including government departments, affected populations and BRCS volunteers. The CEA training was a way of creating a platform to evaluate the just ended DREF operation as well as making future recommendation.
The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Red Cross Societies and governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the USA, as well as DG ECHO, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), AECID, the Medtronic and Zurich Foundations and other corporate and private donors. On behalf of Botswana Red Cross Society, the IFRC would like to extend its gratitude to all partners for their generous contributions