BENIN / FLOODS

Over 680,000 people are affected by the flooding which hit Benin during its annual rainy season leaving more than 50 people dead and an estimated 180,000 displaced. UNICEF

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:51
• Production Date: 28 October 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF
• Geographic Subject: BENIN
• MAMS Id: U101028d

Description

STORY: BENIN / FLOODS
TRT: 2:51
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / FON / NATS

DATELINE: 24-27 OCTOBER 2010, BENIN

1. Wide shot, flooded homes
2. Wide shot, man walking towards flooded homes
3. Pan right, interior of a flooded home
4. Med shot, child operating a makeshift raft
5. Wide shot, child operating a makeshift raft, flooded house at the back
6. Pan right, damaged furniture to ruined houses
7. Pan right, man walking in rubbles of destroyed houses
8. Close up, baby playing in rubbles
9. Pan right, rubbles
10. Wide shot, rubbles
11. Pan right, Jude Narcisse Edegan, Chief of the village of Kpoto, walking in rubbles
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Jude Narcisse Edegan, Chief, Village of Kpoto:
"It was all very sudden; the water levels started getting higher and higher. It started to invade our houses. We yelled and told the population to evacuate towards the school and the church ... we had to leave everything behind, and take our children to safety."
13. Pan right, informal settlement built by the displaced villagers
14. Pan left, child cutting wood to open tent
15. Med shot, children sleeping in the middle of the camp
16. Wide shot, Dagnihoun entering her tent
17. SOUNBITE (Fon) Constance Dagnihoun, Mother of Five:
"I now live in this tent with 3 other mothers and all our children, it's not safe, I'm worried for them. We want to rebuilt new houses on the land as soon as possible."
18. Med shot, fire fighter vehicle driving towards distribution place
19. Pan right, crowd waiting for the distribution of clean water
20. Med shot, fire fighter giving water
21. Tilt down, young girl pouring water in a basin
22. SOUNDBITE (French) Francois Bellet, UNICEF, Regional expert on water and sanitation: "Our main concern is that people go back to their destroyed villages and start using the damaged wells which are contaminated. There's a high risk of child mortality and of an epidemic."
23. Pan right, displaced people queuing outside a building, awaiting distribution
24. Med shot, Red Cross representative taking into a loud speaker to people queuing
25. Med shot, Red Cross volunteer sorting out kits
26. Close up, kits being assembled containing a blanket, two soaps, a mosquito net, 40 aqua tabs
27. Close up, aqua tabs to Red Cross volunteer preparing kits
28. Med shot, mother carrying a baby being given a kit and leaving facility
29. Pan left, destroyed classroom to classroom with children
30. Pan right, classroom to informal settlement in the school courtyard
31. Med shot, tent and displaced villagers preparing food
32. Med shot, child entering a tent in the informal settlement
33. Med shot, young girl taking water from a damaged well
34. Close up, water bowl
35. Close up, young girl

Storyline

Floods and heavy rainfall over the past month have seriously disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in five West African countries.

In total, 400 people have died and more than 1.5 million have been displaced.

In Benin alone, the latest reports states that 680,000 people have been affected, and 180,000 completely lost their homes and had to be displaced.

SOUNDBITE (French) Jude Narcisse Edegan, chief of the village of Kpoto:
"It was all very sudden; the water levels started getting higher and higher. It started to invade our houses. We yelled and told the population to evacuate towards the school and the church. We had to leave everything behind, and take our children to safety."

Like many others, Constance Dagnihoun had to leave her house, losing all her belongings in the water. Constance and the rest of her village had to move 500 meters from their old houses, and built a small settlement up the road. About 1,400 people now live in extremely poor conditions.

SOUNBITE (Fon) Constance Dagnihoun, Mother of Five:
"I now live in this tent with 3 other mothers and all our children, it's not safe, I'm worried for them. We want to rebuilt new houses on the land as soon as possible."

To respond to this crisis, UNICEF and its partners in the United Nations have implemented a comprehensive response to help those in urgent need. UNICEF's priority is to avoid an outbreak of diseases.

SOUNDBITE (French) Francois Bellet, UNICEF Regional Expert on Water and Sanitation:
"Our main concern is that people go back to their destroyed villages and start using the damaged wells which are contaminated. There's a high risk of child mortality and of an epidemic."

As a lead agency on water, health and sanitation issues, as well as on the education and nutrition, UNICEF helped with the distribution of clean water, disinfectant, soap and mosquito nets. It also provided almost 1.4 million water purification tablets.

The emergency response also includes providing shelter materials as well as food and water to those in need.