The Group is supplying aid to the victims of torrential rains and flooding that occurred in these two countries in September.
Burkina Faso was struck by heavy rains in early September that left 14 people dead and more than 150,000 homeless. AREVA has responded by making a financial contribution to support the Plan International relief effort. Severe storms also battered several communities in the region of Agadez, in northern Niger, killing three people, injuring 79,000 others, and causing extensive material damage. To aid disaster victims, AREVA has set up an action plan with the agreement of Niger authorities.
In Burkina Faso, the floods destroyed hundreds of homes in Ouagadougou, the capital, and in the surrounding area, prompting an appeal for international assistance. Floodwaters swept away bridges and roads, making it very difficult to get help to many of the victims. Schools, houses, hospitals and medical centers were also badly damaged. AREVA is focusing its action on repairing flood-damaged schools in Ouagadougou.
Thanks to the Group's efforts, several thousand children will be able to go back to school quickly. This relief work will be undertaken in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and local authorities. Plan International is aiming to rehabilitate a total of 150 schools in the areas of Ouagadougou, Sanmatenga and Namentenga.
In Niger, Agadez was the city hardest hit by flooding. The Group has supplied emergency assistance in the form of 60 tons of provisions. A program has also been set up in cooperation with regional authorities and aid organizations to help victims in all affected areas. The relief effort will include repairing roads and dikes destroyed by the storms, providing tents for the homeless, cleaning out garden wells buried by the floods, and extending water supply systems to the sites where the victims are being sheltered.
The financing for AREVA's program to assist the people of northern Niger is being provided jointly by AREVA's representatives in Niger and the Mining BU's management, which have made an all-out effort to come to the population's aid. The funds will be used to take immediate steps to help the most distressed victims and to create conditions that will allow economic activities to resume rapidly.