US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI565

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000565 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USAID/OFDA/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, PGOV, SENV, DJ 
SUBJECT: DISASTER DECLARATION FOR FLOODS 
 
REF: (A) DJIBOUTI 551; (B) DJIBOUTI 540 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: In light of unusually heavy rains 
and resulting flooding early this week and the 
inability of the host government to respond 
adequately to the needs of the population, 
Ambassador declares the situation in Djibouti 
City a disaster.  Ambassador requests that 
immediate disaster relief funding be made 
available to assist in flood relief efforts. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) On April 13, torrential rains, heavy winds 
and high tides in Djibouti caused flash flooding 
and the River Ambouli to burst its banks in the 
capital.  Fifty-one people are officially 
reported dead, 37 missing, and over 9,000 
displaced.  Although flood waters are slowly 
beginning to recede in some areas of the city, 
weather forecasts predict additional rains may 
arrive in the next few days, causing 
international aid agencies to worry that 
additional people will be displaced. 
 
3. (U) The Government of Djibouti (GODJ) has 
expressed willingness to accept any assistance 
available from the USG and other international 
donors.  GODJ does not have the technical, 
material or financial capabilities to fully 
respond to the damage caused by the flooding. 
The government reports 51 bodies recovered, 
however, the total estimated by sources on the 
ground and French military is between 200-300 
dead.  GODJ reports that 90 percent of the city 
of Djibouti's population has been affected. 
 
4. (U) Immediate humanitarian assistance is 
needed in the form of medicines, mosquito nets, 
foodstuff for the displaced, clothing, roofing 
materials, pots and pans, sanitation, localized 
cisterns of potable water and the draining of 
standing flood waters.  Damage to infrastructure 
includes breaks in the municipal water system, 
breaks in the railroad into the city and 
portions of roads and bridges leading to the 
city washed out.  GODJ will carry out a more 
detailed needs assessment for rehabilitation 
efforts in the coming days. 
 
5. (U) Imminent health threats possible are 
outbreaks of Cholera, Malaria, Typhoid and other 
communicable diseases.  It is in the USG's 
interest to assure that outbreaks and 
contamination of the city water are prevented 
as this could severely affect the well-being 
of the civilian American community, as well 
as the American military base at Camp 
Lemonier. 
 
6. (U) Most of the city's population lives in 
densely populated shantytowns.  The Ambouli 
section of the city was the hardest hit by flash 
flooding, as it is in the flood plain of the Wadi 
and neighbors the levys/dikes that broke in the 
floods.  Those in Ambouli that did not lose homes 
lost their livelihood since many Ambouli 
residents produce what little agriculture 
Djibouti does have.  Another concentration of 
the city's population lives in Balbala, one of 
the areas of higher ground in Djibouti City. 
The main route to Balbala is to cross the Wadi 
at Ambouli.  This route was completely washed 
out.  Balbala has not had municipal water 
service since the flooding began.  The higher 
income portions of the city were also severely 
affected.  Gabode, a middle class neighborhood, 
still has two feet of standing water. 
 
7. (U) Current efforts by the international 
community are being led by the French military. 
The American military medical units are testing 
the water in several areas of the city and the 
mosquito larva to try to determine what potential 
diseases are most imminent. UN organizations 
present are planning on collaborating funds and 
other resources to focus on emergency needs and 
has appealed to donors to provide emergency 
assistance. ECHO and USAID/OFDA are currently 
in the country conducting a humanitarian 
assessment and more detailed reporting will 
follow septel. 
 
8. (U) As Chief of Mission, I hereby declare 
that a flooding disaster exists in the country 
and request international disaster assistance 
funding be made available immediately. The GODJ 
is not able to adequately respond to emergency 
needs, is willing to accept international 
assistance, and it is in the best interests of 
the USG to help.  Based on emerging needs and on 
organization capabilities, Embassy requests USD 
100,000 in international disaster assistance to 
provide to the World Health Organization (WHO). 
Funding would go towards the purchase of 
emergency medical kits for cholera and malaria, 
and mosquito nets in response to the recent 
flooding, as well as assist in mitigating 
impact of additional flooding. 
 
RAGSDALE