Mauritius

Mauritius Red Cross

Mauritius

Average annual risk occurence

Storms and cyclones 80% 80%
Landslides 70% 70%
Coastal floodings 20% 20%
Tsunami 20% 20%
Extreme heat 20% 20%
Earthquake 2% 2%
Forest fire 2% 2%

Population : 1 265,475 (2019)

Inhabitants aged 15-24 : 193,000

Area : 2,040 km2

HDI : 0,796 / 1 (2018)

Life expectancy : 74,45 years (2019)

Fertility rate : 1.40 children/woman

Mauritius is a republic in the south-west Indian Ocean composed of the main island of Mauritius and several smaller islands, including Rodrigues and the archipelagos of Cargados Carajos and Agaléga.

The main natural and environmental risks are related to cyclones: Mauritius and its islands are in a ‘corridor’ through which many tropical storms and cyclones pass every year. Although regularly affected by these adverse events, the Republic of Mauritius has not been directly hit by a cyclone since DINA in January 2002. During March 2013 highly localised torrential rain in the uplands above the capital Port Louis triggered flash floods in the city centre, causing 11 fatalities.

Some seismic activity also occurs since Mauritius and Rodrigues are both located near a mid-ocean ridge where seismicity levels are high.

In fact Rodrigues is very close to the junction of three tectonic plates: the African, Indo-Australian, and Antarctic plates. This geologic meeting point is known as the “Rodrigues Triple Junction”.

Mauritius Red Cross

Website

General information

Created : 1973

People:

M. Samoorgum TIRVASSEN, Président
M. Vythilingum POINEN, Secretary General
Navin MAHADOO, Deputy Secretary General and Head of Programmes

Number of volunteers : 159

The national headquarters of the Mauritius Red Cross Society (MuRC) are located at Curepipe (central Mauritius).

National Society activities

First Aid (FA)

Emergency ambulance service
Transportation of the sick and slightly injured
First aid posts at sporting and other events

Disaster preparedness and response

Member of preparedness and response groups: National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, NEOC, LEOC, REOC
Branch Disaster Response Teams (BDRT)
Participation in simulations organised in coordination with local authorities

Training

First aid training for the general public, civil servants, private companies, and non-profits (NGOs, charities and associations, etc.)

Social work

Social assistance for the most vulnerable, including :

Social assistance and services
Distribution of food and clothing
School food programme

Information & dissemination

Cooperation with the Government and Ministry of Education (humanitarian law, and natural risk reduction programme in schools).

FRC-PIROI presence in Mauritius

Since PIROI was founded in 2000, the FRC has established a close relationship with Mauritius Red Cross.

From 2015 until April 2020, PIROI supported a capacity-building programme for disaster risk management and reduction in Mauritius: “Building safer and more resilient communities in Mauritius and Rodrigues”.

In addition to the MuRC capacity-building project, in 2017 and thanks to funding from Australian cooperation in the Indian Ocean, PIROI built a warehouse to pre-position emergency relief supplies in Rodrigues.