UN SENDS TEAM TO GUYANA FOLLOWING FLOODS

UN SENDS TEAM TO GUYANA FOLLOWING FLOODS

NEW YORK, 24 January (OCHA) -- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has fielded the OCHA Regional Disaster Response Adviser based in Panama as the leader of a four-member United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team to Guyana.  The remaining members are scheduled to arrive on 25 January.  The team is going in response to the request of the Government of Guyana after flooding in that country.

The Government of Guyana has appealed to the international community to provide humanitarian assistance such as food, boats, power generators and water pumps.  President Bharrat Jagdeo has declared three of Guyana’s 10 administrative regions disaster areas, as unprecedented rainfall caused flooding in parts of these coastal regions, with a record 30 inches during the first two weeks of January.  The inadequacy of the natural drainage systems resulted in the most severe flooding in the history of Guyana, affecting nearly half of the country’s 800,000 population.  The floods have forced thousands of people from their homes in the capital, Georgetown (population 750,000), and coastal villages.  Two thirds of Georgetown was flooded, affecting some 120,000 people.

The Government has set up a national committee to assess the situation and to advise on the overall relief efforts in this flood emergency.  Several task forces (public information, water supply, health and sanitation, food security and infrastructure) have been established at the ministerial level.  The armed forces and police have been fully mobilized to assist the population.  Hot meals and essential supplies are being provided to those in need, although logistics still remains a major problem.  The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is assisting the Government in providing meals for those affected.

So far, United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization/Pan-American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), and OCHA have made contributions to the disaster.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel:, 917 367 5126, mobile 917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel: 41 22 917 2653, mobile 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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