Government of Timor-Leste

The members of the 8th Constitutional Government met, on April 15^th, 2021, at the Ministry of Finance Auditorium, to discuss the response to the impact of the April 4^th floods, caused by the passage of the Tropical Cyclone Seroja in national territory.

Opening the meeting, the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, thanked everyone for their effort and commitment in responding to these natural disasters and said that the main objectives of this meeting are to identify existing problems and needs and to seek solutions for their resolution, in terms of emergency support, rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructures and also mitigation of socio-economic impacts.

Solutions to reduce the risks of natural disasters and increase national resilience to the impacts of these natural disasters were also addressed at the meeting.

The Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho and the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Joaquim José Gusmão dos Reis Martins, presented to the members of the Government the state of play of the floods impact and the support measures already implemented or underway.

According to the provisional data presented, the floods have caused a total of 36 deaths, nine people missing, and more than 25,000 families across the country have been affected by the floods. More than 4,500 homes were destroyed or damaged.

The Secretariat of the State for Civil Protection has already distributed support in Dili to 1396 families and it is expected that by April 18^th emergency support will be distributed to all families victims of floods in Dili. Support is also being sent to the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cússe Ambeno (RAEOA), Liquiçá, Manatuto, Viqueque, Ermera and Aileu.

In terms of public infrastructure, the passage of Tropical Cyclone Seroja caused damage to 22 roads and 11 bridges. According to provisional data from the Ministry of Public Works, the damage to public infrastructure amounts to 225 million US dollars.