Guinea-Bissau Menegue fire incident, DREF final report (MDRGW004) – Guinea-Bissau

On the morning of January 14, 2023, a fire broke out in the village of Menegue, near Canhabaque, Guinea-Bissau, destroying dozens of houses and food warehouses, as well as stocks of food, crops and seeds. A rapid assessment by the Guinea-Bissau Red Cross (RCSGB) on January 19 found that 295 households (2,065 people) were affected. Specifically, 54 houses were destroyed, directly affecting 413 people (59 households) who were left without food, shelter and livelihood, underscoring the urgent need for immediate assistance.

The devastating impact of the incident and the plight of the affected people compelled the surrounding families to quickly collaborate and support the affected families by providing shelter, food and basic amenities to the displaced families before humanitarian aid arrived. Within a few days, 1,652 people (236 households) from the host communities also became distressed as they gave away a significant portion of their supplies and necessities to the homeless families while they themselves struggled with limited resources and challenges. In addition, in local communities like Menegue, the food warehouses used to store food and other valuables are mostly owned by households and community members. This resulted in many community members losing their food supplies, valuables and livelihoods.

Located on an island in the Bijagós Archipelago on the west coast of Africa, the village of Menegue covers an area of ​​111 km² and has a population of about 3,470 people. The community relies mainly on subsistence farming, but is one of the poorest and marginalized communities in the Canhabaque region. Lacking basic social amenities such as electricity, villagers rely on a low-quality solar battery to charge their phones in the morning while they work in their fields. It is believed that a faulty connection of the battery terminals caused the battery to overheat, resulting in a fire and subsequent explosion. By the time the alarm was raised and villagers returned from their fields, the fire had already destroyed numerous homes, food stores and other valuables.