LONDON (AlertNet) - Fifty-thousand Sahrawi refugees from Western Sahara have been left destitute after rare torrential rains devastated camps around Tindouf in Algeria, the U.N. refugee body, UNHCR, said.

Severe flooding has hit three of five Sahrawi refugee camps, destroying almost 50 percent of shelters and triggering an emergency relief operation by aid groups in the area.

“We are very concerned about the effect the flood damage will have on the Sahrawi refugees who have already lived under very difficult circumstances for so long,” Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR deputy director for the region, said in a statement.

“We will join hands with all concerned agencies to address this situation without delay.”

In a joint rapid assessment mission, UNHCR, the World Food Programme and local aid agencies visited two of the three badly affected camps on Saturday.

UNHCR said they found a huge amount of structural damage, with 50 percent of houses completely destroyed and the remainder in an unstable condition.

Market areas, schools and administration buildings were also damaged, UNHCR said.

Relief workers estimate they need 12,000 tents and plastic sheeting for 12,000 families, 510 plastic rolls, 7000 kitchen sets, 60,000 b1ankets, 40,000 mattresses and 20,000 jerry cans.

Morocco and Mauritania invaded Western Sahara shortly after colonial power Spain pulled out in 1975, setting off an exodus of Sahrawi indigenous people to neighbouring Algeria.

Ninety-thousand refugees are now being supported by UNHCR in five camps near Tindouf, some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) south of Algiers.