UN RESPONDS TO DEVASTATING SOUTH ASIA FLOODS
| Press Release IHA/928 |
UN RESPONDS TO DEVASTATING SOUTH ASIA FLOODS
NEW YORK, 21 July (OCHA) -- United Nations agencies in Bangladesh have officially activated their Disaster Management Team (DMT) to coordinate the humanitarian community’s responses to the region’s recent devastating floods. Additionally, the Disaster and Emergency Response (DER) area of Bangladesh’s Local Consultative Group, which includes such bodies as the United Nations and the World Bank, is rapidly assessing the situation on the ground.
Other agencies addressing the crisis include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which are supporting both the DER and DMT, and the World Food Programme (WFP), which has been distributing food to over 36,000 beneficiaries.
Heavy monsoon rains led to destructive floods in Bangladesh last week. Due to a number of factors, including excess water from neighbouring India, water levels are expected to rise. In addition, education has suffered, with over 7,000 primary schools being closed and more than 500 being used as shelters.
The Government of Bangladesh has responded by authorizing the distribution of emergency supplies, including by airdrop in otherwise inaccessible areas. Thus far, 2.24 million families, or 11.3 million people, have received emergency assistance.
Meanwhile, in eastern India, the same floods have affected over 28 million people and claimed 215 lives. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been supplying materials to purify the area’s drinking water, as well as providing oral rehydration salts.
For its part, the Indian Government has carried out rescue missions with helicopters and speedboats; airdropped food, candles, and matches to disaster-ridden areas; provided tents and satellite phones; and worked to prevent epidemics.
For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel: 917 367 5126, mobile: 917 892 1679; or Madelaine Moulin-Acevedo, OCHA Geneva, tel: 41 22 917 3160.
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