UNITED NATIONS SUPPORTS FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS IN NEPAL

UNITED NATIONS SUPPORTS FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS IN NEPAL

NEW YORK, 14 July (OCHA) -- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs airlift relief materials to remote areas in the country that have been affected by floods and landslides.  Although Nepal’s Government has not launched an international appeal for assistance, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kathmandu has stressed that financial support is needed to continue relief activities.

Heavy monsoon rains in Nepal have caused devastating floods and landslides that have killed over 40 people and affected over 13,600 families.  The floods have also had a harmful impact on northern Bangladesh and the eastern IndianStates of Assam and Bihar.  In India, over 35 people have died, and more than 10 million people have been affected.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Food and Disaster Management has distributed 2,650 metric tonnes of rice and 13,000 tins of biscuits to affected districts.  It has also allocated $77,800 for relief assistance and $66,200 for housing assistance.  The Government is concerned that rising water levels might threaten the country’s only hydroelectric dam, as well as its capital.

In India, the Army and Air Force are conducting relief and rescue operations, with helicopters and speed boats being used to reach the marooned.  Also, the Government has released over $22 million from calamity relief contingency funds.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs New York, tel.:  917 367 5126, mobile:  917 892 1679; or Madelaine Moulin-Acevedo, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 917 3160.

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