DUSHANBE, October 5, 2009, Asia-Plus — In April and May of this year heavy floods and mudflows struck 40 districts of Tajikistan and left 26 people dead, displaced well over 3000 persons and negatively impacted thousands more. Over 2000 houses, hospitals, schools and other buildings were severely damaged or left in an unusable condition.
According to press release issued by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan, the most pressing needs were met through the utilization of existing emergency stocks and assistance provided by the Government in collaboration with the private sector and bilateral donors, as well as with funds raised by REACT partners through emergency mechanisms. These resources have been used for the provision of shelters of fortune, setting up temporary medical points, and delivery of safe water and temporary sanitation facilities.
The recovery needs, however, exceeded the resources available with the Government and REACT partners, and appeals therefore have been launched in order to help people in the districts worst-affected by the spring floods and mudflows. One of the major tasks now is to rebuild disaster resilient communities by restoring access to basic social services and rehabilitating and reconstructing housing and social infrastructure in ways that reduce the communities’ vulnerability to future hazards.
After the spring mudflows – in Khuroson alone – a number of 444 families from three heavily-hit villages had to be resettled by the Government because they lived in a high risk area and had their homes destroyed or heavily damaged. They could not be allowed to reconstruct their homes at the same place. The Government managed to provide assistance for reconstruction to the 132 households who had their homes completely destroyed. The remaining 312 households currently live in tents or with nearby relatives.
Under the leadership of CARITAS Switzerland, the NGO consortium MECO (Mission East, Caritas, Oxfam) jointly developed a concept for earthquake-proof and energy-efficient shelter for families affected by floods in the heavily hit Khuroson district.
In order to start with the reconstruction CARITAS could mobilize USD200,000 and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation can contribute with USD100,000. However, much more funding is needed in order to construct safe housing for all victims of these tragic events and for helping them to overcome the hardships of winter.
With the funding provided so far, it will be possible to construct disaster resilient and energy efficient housing for about 20 homeless families living in temporary shelter in Oftobak settlement. The beneficiaries will be selected through interviews in order to record information on family composition, present shelter situation and vulnerability. While the project addresses the needs of the most vulnerable households among the resettled population of Oftobak, special attention will be paid to female-headed households.
The current project is expected to become a trigger point in mobilizing more funds from the international donor community in order to address the overall need in construction of disaster resilient and energy efficient housings for households affected by natural calamities throughout disaster-prone Tajikistan.
