URUGUAY Uruguay is suffering one of its worst floods since 1959. The damage
caused by this year's unusually prolonged floods is very extensive. Over
110,000 people have been affected, mostly poor and vulnerable groups
(children, women and elderly).
Some 12,000 people have been evacuated.
These figures are likely to rise in the coming hours when the flood waters
reach low-lying areas (the number of dead currently stands at two).
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS Following an earthquake measuring 8.1 on April 2, 2007, a tsunami caused casualties and significant damage in the Solomon Islands. Over 5,500 people are estimated to be affected and the current casualty count is 35.
In the communication centre deployed in Gizo, the UNDAC team benefits from Internet, phone and fax lines and a dedicated technical assistance. Digital and paper copies of UNOSAT satellite imageries are also available to help in identifying the most affected zones and better respond the needs of tsunami survivors.
TSF is running humanitarian calling operations for affected civilians parallel to government and NGO efforts. TSF will continue its assessment as more survivors may have a need to call a loved-one to give news and request personalized assistance.
MOZAMBIQUE In February, heavy flooding in Mozambique affected almost 300 000 people. TSF immediately responded to the emergency by deploying 3 satellite-based communication centres from February 15th. TSF's mission was completed on March 15th. Within 1 month, TSF assisted 27 organizations (90% of aid agencies on the ground) and more than 7GB of data were transferred, that is to say the biggest volume of data exchanged since signing the partnership with the United Nations Foundation in May 2006.
TSF implemented phase I of the emergency response and insured the transition to longer term communication facilities for phase II.
