AROUND 88,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED BY FLOODS IN BURKINA FASO, UN REPORTS

An estimated 48,000 people uprooted by severe flooding in Burkina Faso are sheltering in temporary accommodation such as schools, churches and public buildings while another 40,000 are living with host families, the United Nations reported today.

A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1414">UNDAC) team that went to Burkina Faso in the wake of the recent flooding also found that facilities in many of the buildings in which people are taking shelter, especially sanitation, are under strain.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) said that a flash appeal is being finalized for the emergency in Burkina Faso, which is among the countries hardest hit by the deadly floods across West Africa that have affected 600,000 people in the region, claimed nearly 160 lives and destroyed crops and infrastructure.

There has been damage in Burkina Faso to the Central University Hospital, bridges, dams, roads, schools and agricultural land. The areas most affected are the capital, Ouagadougou, and surrounding region.

A survey conducted last week by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) identified the need to support the many small farmers affected by the floods with technical and livelihood support.

UN humanitarian agencies and their partners are providing emergency relief, including food, medical supplies, shelter material, hygiene kits and disinfection materials to those affected.

Floods caused by torrential rainfall in West Africa have also affected Sierra Leone Senegal, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone.

TAJIKISTAN NEEDS $8 MILLION TO RECOVER FROM FLOODS AND MUDFLOWS – UN

The United Nations is calling on donors to fund the nearly $8 million appeal launched by Tajikistan today to help thousands of people uprooted and affected by floods and resulting mudflows in the Central Asian nation.

During the heavy rains in April and May, 26 people were killed while more than 3,000 others were forced to leave their homes. Over 2,000 houses, hospitals, schools and other buildings were destroyed in a six-week period.

The Government and aid agencies drew from existing stocks to assist those in need by providing tents, food, clean water and emergency health care, but hundreds of families are still living with relatives or in tents and are struggling to re-start their livelihoods.

"Now we must give affected people the chance to restart their lives," said Michael Jones, UN Resident Representative in Tajikistan. "For this, we are counting on the support of the international community."

More than 2,000 people are in need of proper housing before December, when temperatures can plummet to -25 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, essential medicine and school supplies must be replenished, with 20,000 people in need of access to drinking water and 3,100 children waiting to return to school.

The $7.7 million appeal comprises 18 projects focusing on the worst-hit areas in Tajikistan's centre and south. Solid and heated houses, along with schools and hospitals, are reconstruction priorities.

In June, aid organizations had called for $1.3 million to help some 12,000 people in urgent need of assistance after floods inundated more than half the Central Asian nation's districts.

BENIN: UN AGENCIES INCREASE ASSISTANCE IN WAKE OF FLOODS

United Nations humanitarian agencies have stepped up their relief efforts in the West African country of Benin, where more than 20,000 people have been displaced or affected and numerous farms destroyed by floods.

Mosquito nets, water purification tablets, blankets, tents and mats are being distributed and assistance is being provided with water and sanitation and with maternal health care in the wake of the floods.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is providing 3,000 chlorine tablets for water treatment and 1,000 mosquito nets, and is also funding a health awareness campaign and water and sanitation activities, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told journalists today.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also donated blankets, nets, mats and tents, while the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) plans to spend up to $100,000 on health care.

A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team is in the country to help local authorities deal with the floods, which follow some of the heaviest rainfall in Benin – beset by floods every wet season – in recent years. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is also spending $100,000 to coordinate the overall relief effort.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was also monitoring the situation, particularly to ensure that widespread outbreaks of meningitis do not occur.

The bands of rain have moved northwards across Benin in recent days, with flood waters subsiding in the southern cities of Cotonou and Porto Novo and heavy rains and high rains in the north.
________________

BENIN: UN ACTIVATES HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AS HEAVY FLOODS TAKE TOLL

United Nations humanitarian agencies operating in Benin are conducting rapid assessments to determine how they can best assist the thousands of people caught up in the heavy floods that have struck the West African country.

At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been displaced or otherwise affected by the floods, with the area around Cotonou, the commercial capital, and along the entire southern coastline among the hardest hit regions.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that it has deployed emergency staff to Benin to ensure that priority needs in health, shelter and water and sanitation are being met.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) are all taking part in preliminary assessments to ascertain the most immediate needs of the population.

Benin is beset by flooding almost every year at this time because of the annual rainy season. But this year's inundations have been so severe this year that the Government has imposed a state of emergency.
________________

AFRICA WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK LAUNCHED BY UN, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

About 5,000 new automatic weather stations are set to be deployed across Africa, under a climate change initiative announced today by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Global Humanitarian Forum, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and mobile telecommunications companies Ericsson and Zain.

The innovative public-private partnership launched the "Weather Info for All" initiative to improve Africa's weather monitoring network in the face of the growing impact of climate change.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region facing the most immediate risk of droughts and floods due to climate change, according to a recent Global Humanitarian Forum report. Agricultural yields in some areas are expected to fall by 50 per cent as early as 2020.

The 5,000 automatic weather stations will be installed at new and existing mobile network sites throughout Africa over the coming years, aiming to increase dissemination of weather information via mobile phones that can reach the continent's most remote communities.

At the launch in Geneva, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, said "This is a great example for twenty-first century collaborative humanitarian and development work between public and private sectors."

Through its Mobile Innovation Center in Africa, Ericsson will develop mobile applications to help communicate weather information developed by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) via mobile phones.

"The massive growth of mobile subscribers in Africa is the perfect opportunity for the telecoms community to collaborate with national partners to strengthen weather networks and systems across the continent," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.

The initial deployment, already begun in Zain networks, focuses on the area around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The first 19 automatic weather stations installed will double the weather monitoring capacity of the Lake region.

"Once the switch is turned on, a flow of extensive weather data will become available throughout Africa, with benefits extending from the national policy makers to the smallholder farmers," said Jeffrey Sachs, head of Columbia University's Earth Institute.

Approximately 70 per cent of Africans rely on farming for their livelihood. Meteorological information will become increasingly critical as changing weather patterns render obsolete traditional knowledge relating to agriculture that African farmers have relied on for centuries.

"For food production, almost every decision is linked to weather, climate and water parameters," said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the WMO. "Working through NMHSs, WMO will identify weather information needs, advise on technical requirements and help disseminate the information. This initiative may prove to be one of the most important for African meteorology in decades."
________________

SOME 12,000 HOUSEHOLDS HIT BY FLOODS IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN, UN REPORTS

SOME 12,000 HOUSEHOLDS HIT BY FLOODS IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN, UN REPORTS
New York, Jun 3 2009 1:00PM
Some 12,000 households in nine provinces in northern and north-eastern Afghanistan have been affected by floods since April, according to the latest United Nations-backed assessments.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) reported today that another round of flooding is expected to hit the South Asian nation's north-east, as the snow remaining on the mountains of the Kunduz sub-basin begins to melt in the coming weeks, exacerbating the situation.

Given the amount of snowfall and the Kunduz River's rising water levels, OCHA predicts that the new floods could surpass the deadly 2005 floods in the region in both extent and duration.

Non-food relief supplies – including tents, blankets, family kits and plastic sheets – are urgently needed to meet ongoing needs, the Office noted.
________________

UN HUMANITARIAN WING ASSISTING TAJIK FLOOD VICTIMS

UN HUMANITARIAN WING ASSISTING TAJIK FLOOD VICTIMS
New York, May 26 2009 4:00PM
The United Nations is assisting the Government of Tajikistan in meeting humanitarian needs following recent severe floods, which have killed at least 28 people and displaced some 10,000, including by providing over $100,000 to purchase crucial supplies.

The worst affected area is the south-western province of Khatlon, which is also Tajikistan's most populous province, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) said.

Around 300 displaced families are currently sheltered in two tented camps near the town of Uyali, while the rest are staying with friends and relatives.

According to Government estimates, more than 2,000 buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged and 3,000 head of cattle killed.

The Government also estimates the damage at $100 million with major losses in agricultural, infrastructure and residential sectors.

OCHA has sent $118,250 to buy tents, fuel, and clean water for victims of the floods, which were caused by prolonged and heavy rainfall over the past month.

This support has almost completely covered the most urgent humanitarian needs for now, OCHA stated. At the same time, it has alerted the international community about the situation in Tajikistan and stands ready to provide additional support through its regional office in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
________________

UN RUSHING AID TO HELP FLOOD-BELEAGUERED SOUTHERN AFRICAN

The United Nations and its partners are providing urgent assistance in southern Africa to victims of heavy flooding, which to date has claimed over 150 lives in Angola, Namibia, Madagascar and Zambia.

In Angola, the UN is supporting Government efforts, with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) seeking to improve access to safe drinking water and providing much-needed items and sanitation facilities to people seeking shelter in relocation camps. For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has sent staff to Moxico province to help the Health Ministry with an assessment of needs.

According to a report issued last month, 31 people have been killed and over 600,000 others affected by the heavy rains, which have left over 200,000 in need of food aid over the next two months.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today warned that flooding could worsen in the coming weeks.
________________

NAMIBIA: UN AGENCIES APPEAL FOR $3 MILLION FOR VICTIMS OF TORRENTIAL FLOODS

More than $2,700 000 dollars is urgently needed to support the Government of Namibia in responding to the plight of up to 350,000 people hit by widespread floods, a United Nations spokesperson said today.

Around 17 per cent of the southwest African country's population has been left bereft of shelter, water and sanitation, health, food, protection and education in some degree, according to the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which has launched a Flash Appeal for the funding together with agencies of the Organization and their partners.

Since the beginning of 2009, torrential rains in the north-central and north-eastern regions of Namibia have swollen rivers to levels not recorded since 1963 and claimed an estimated 92 lives, OCHA said.

The Office adds that the cumulative effect of flooding in both 2008 and 2009 has increased the general vulnerability of the population, given that Namibia has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, estimated in 2008 at 15.8 per cent of the adult population.

Angola, Mozambique, most of Zambia, northern and southern Malawi, and northern Botswana have also been hit by deluges, OCHA said.
________________

FLOODS DISPLACE THOUSANDS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, UN SAYS

Floods across southern Africa, caused by extreme rainfall, have caused massive damage to land and property and displaced thousands of people, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

In Angola alone, the lives of 160,000 people have been upset by the rains and OCHA fears that number is likely to increase, with schools and other public buildings being used as shelter, interrupting education and other public services.

With some $600,000 already allocated to various emergency actions in Angola, UN humanitarian agencies are requesting more funds for shelter, food and other necessities from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which is managed by OCHA.

In Namibia, where 13,000 people have been displaced, many health facilities and schools are either flooded or inaccessible, the Office reported.

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba has declared an emergency for the north-central and north-eastern part of the country and appealed for international assistance. In response, a Flash Appeal based on the outstanding needs jointly identified by the Government, the UN and humanitarian partners, is being finalized.

In addition, the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team has arrived in Namibia to help survey the situation and provide support to the local authorities.

Also in Namibia, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is assisting with sanitation and communication materials, as well as with planning for gaps in education and protection of displaced persons. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is also supporting protection projects within the relocation camps.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has allocated $27,800 to the Namibian Ministry of Health for emergency kits to ensure basic health care for about 10,000 people, which includes five tons of medicine for diarrhoeal diseases and other emergency materials.

On the east coast, Cyclone Izilda is now dissipating south-west of Madagascar but could still pour more rainfall onto central and southern Mozambique, OCHA said.

The Office added that international response to the previous two cyclones that affected Madagascar in January has been adequate, but $400,000 is still required as an emergency measure to rehabilitate 20 classrooms for some 3,000 children who risk losing an entire school year.

Most of Zambia, northern and southern Malawi, and northern Botswana have also been hit by deluges, OCHA said.
________________