"Dire" needs of southern African flood survivors unmet two weeks on
Source: Reuters
Thomson Reuters Foundation - Fri, 23 Jan 2015 16:11 GMT
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two weeks after floods first swept across southern Africa, tens of thousands of people urgently need clean water, food, shelter and medical care, aid agencies said on Friday, as more rain was forecast for worst-affected Malawi.
Torrential rain triggered floods in early January, affecting some 900,000 people across Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe, with almost 250,000 people forced to leave their homes, the United Nations said this week.
<snip>
"There are thousands of displaced families living in camps now with no food. The needs are dire. There is no water, limited sanitation facilities as parents and children share the few toilets available," said Robert Kisyula, national director for World Vision Malawi, in a statement.
"These were unprecedented floods. They have shocked all of us: from government, to donors to the people," he added.
Read more: http://www.trust.org/item/20150123160911-7f0c3
20 January 2015
WFP Responds To Malawi's Flood Disaster
<snip>
Floods have submerged huge swathes of Malawi, particularly in the south. They were caused by rains which started at the end of last year and accelerated in early January. In the first few weeks of the New Year, southern Malawi received 400 percent higher rainfall than average. On 13 January, the President of Malawi declared a national disaster in 15 districts. The Shire River is at a 30-year high and many roads have been cut.
<snip>
On 19 January, WFP airlifted 77 metric tons of High-Energy Biscuits from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai, enough to meet the needs of some 77,000 people. These fortified ready-to-eat biscuits are being prioritised for the worst hit areas of Nsanje and Chikwawa districts where the most vulnerable people have been displaced from their homes and have no access to food or cooking facilities.
With access still a challenge, all modes of transport including helicopters and shallow-draught boats are being deployed to move food to where it is most needed. It is likely that the numbers of those needing assistance will continue to rise.
Link: http://www.wfp.org/stories/wfp-responds-malawis-flood-disaster
Donate: https://give.wfp.org/en
= new reply since forum marked as read
