Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Suriname

Suriname: Floods - Information Bulletin n° 1

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 183 countries.
In Brief

This Bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the situation and the information available at this time. The Federation is not seeking funding or other assistance from donors for this operation at this time.

The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to achieve the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

The Situation

Torrential rainfall in Suriname since the beginning of May has caused flooding in the interior of the country, and approximately 25,000-30,000 square kilometres are currently under water. It is estimated that 25,000 people have been affected by the rising water levels, with the most severe damage occurring in the southwest and centre of the country. Currently, 157 villages in the remote lowlands, where most families live in thatched-roofed houses, have been affected, and at least three deaths have been reported. The city of Leydorop, which is 20 kilometres south of the capital city of Paramaribo, has already registered 480 millimetres of rain, and the rains are expected to continue through the next 72 hours. Although the situation has remained stable thus far, with no reported security issues, it is expected that the situation may worsen if flooding continues and food and fresh water supplies become limited.

The government has declared the affected areas, mainly the southwest and central lowlands, a disaster zone, and the Suriname military has been deployed and is currently in the process of moving people to higher ground.

Although it is reported that medical facilities in the affected areas are still operational and radio communication links with the capital have been maintained, the government has called the disaster "unprecedented" and has begun an assessment of the situation to determine a plan of action.

Red Cross and Red Crescent action

The Suriname Red Cross (SRC) has participated in the joint government/military assessment and offered its services to the national disaster coordination centre, with which they are maintaining daily contact. Currently, the SRC has several Regional Intervention Team (RITs) members on stand-by, including: two specialized in water and sanitation, two specialized in logistics, two specialized in IT and telecommunications and two general RITS members. The National Society also has relief items available in stock. RITs members are currently awaiting the conclusions from the disaster assessment in order to define and specify disaster response needs.

The director general of the Suriname Red Cross has been contacted by the Netherlands Red Cross, who has offered assistance through the Federation, and the government has indicated that they may request the SRC to receive and control all donated relief items. The director general has agreed to the government's requests and is currently asking for Federation support to ensure an efficient disaster response. The director general has also indicated a possible request for water purification tablets and technical water and sanitation support. The SRC is maintaining contact with the Federation's Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU), which is on standby to deploy personnel and relief items, should the need arise.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Suriname: Glenn Winjgaarde, Director General, Suriname Red Cross, Paramaribo; email surcross@sr.net, phone (597) 498-410, fax (597) 464-780

In Trinidad: Thomas Doyle, Disaster Management Delegate, Pan American Disaster Response Unit, Port of Spain; email thomas.doyle@ifrc.org, phone (868)

In Geneva: Luis Luna, Federation Regional Officer, Americas Department, Geneva; phone 41.22.730.4274; fax 41.22.733.03.95; email: luis.luna@ifrc.org

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org