The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has today warned of the long term impact of flooding in East and West Africa.

As rains continue to batter down many of the affected countries, and the displaced thousands are forced to spend another night in miserable conditions away from their homes, fears are growing over the as yet unseen impact of the floods on the upcoming harvest Kiflemariam Amdemariam, Food Security Coordinator for Eastern Africa at the International Federation said: "Massive damage to crops and the widespread destruction of grain stores by the floods have left many communities facing an uncertain future. With harvest either already happening, or just a few months away, a second emergency is looming as food shortages could become widespread.

In Uganda, where harvest predictions were good, most crops have been destroyed or washed away. Some people tried to harvest prematurely but the wet ground makes it difficult to dry and preserve the produce. In Sudan, although floods are not uncommon, the rains came a month earlier than expected and caught many communities unprepared.

"Peoples' abilities to be self sufficient and to grow and harvest their own food have been dramatically undermined and more needs to be done to help these vulnerable people recover," continued Amdemariam. "The devastating impact of these floods will be felt by the affected communities for many months to come.

The situation is also considered as serious in many West African countries, especially in Ghana. "Even if the extent of damage varies from one region to another, our first assessments show that in many cases, crops have been destroyed so there is a need to think ahead and help people re-establish their coping mechanisms," says Niels Scott, the International Federation Operations Coordinator for Africa in Geneva.

The International Federation is urgently appealing for funds to help scale up its work in Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Ghana and Togo where it has been at the forefront of the emergency relief efforts. The Ghana-Togo appeal will be extended shortly to include Burkina-Faso. Recovery teams are travelling to the affected areas, carrying out assessments on how best to support people in the long term through livelihoods projects such as providing people with seeds and tools and enabling them to become self sufficient. The International Federation also allocated funds from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to help Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in other African countries also affected by the floods to answer immediate needs.