SOMALIA: Flood victims rescued
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For the past nine days the ICRC has been working to help flood victims in central and
southern Somalia, distributing essential items such as shelter material, blankets and mosquito nets. It has also been evacuating people by boat.
During one distribution in the Kurtunwaarey area of Lower Shebele, district elders approached ICRC staff to inform them that many families had been surrounded by the flooding, with no means of escape.
If they were not rescued, they would die.
Within hours, ICRC delegate Mohammad Duale had found a team of volunteers from the Somali Red Crescent Society, hired two boats, and reached the first village.
"We found them in a dire situation," Mr Duale said.
"Their homes had been completely flooded for days." The team had to make several trips before eventually rescuing 67 families (355 people) from four villages.
After 16 hours of constant effort, all the evacuees had reached a safe and dry place.
They received shelter material and blankets from the ICRC while local authorities provided them with food.
Since 22 November, the ICRC has distributed a total of 7,200 tarpaulins and 5,500 blankets in flood-hit areas of Somalia.
In addition, it is supplying 100,000 litres of drinking water a day to the most severely affected people in Belet Weyne, in Hiran region.
It is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to expand its operation if necessary.
The ICRC is one of the very few organizations able to reach people in isolated, flood-affected areas.
It is helping the victims in close partnership with the Somali Red Crescent and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
While striving to alleviate the flood crisis, the ICRC continues its other activities in Somalia, as it has since 1977.
These include support for health-care programmes, agricultural projects and relief for people displaced by the protracted conflict in the country.
For further information, please contact:
Pédram Yazdi, ICRC Somalia (in Nairobi), tel +254 20 2723 963 or +254 722 51 81 42
Annick Bouvier, ICRC Geneva, tel.
+ 41 22 730 24 58 or + 41 79 217 32 24
See also ICRC media contacts
This article on www.icrc.org
During one distribution in the Kurtunwaarey area of Lower Shebele, district elders approached ICRC staff to inform them that many families had been surrounded by the flooding, with no means of escape.
If they were not rescued, they would die.
Within hours, ICRC delegate Mohammad Duale had found a team of volunteers from the Somali Red Crescent Society, hired two boats, and reached the first village.
"We found them in a dire situation," Mr Duale said.
"Their homes had been completely flooded for days." The team had to make several trips before eventually rescuing 67 families (355 people) from four villages.
After 16 hours of constant effort, all the evacuees had reached a safe and dry place.
They received shelter material and blankets from the ICRC while local authorities provided them with food.
Since 22 November, the ICRC has distributed a total of 7,200 tarpaulins and 5,500 blankets in flood-hit areas of Somalia.
In addition, it is supplying 100,000 litres of drinking water a day to the most severely affected people in Belet Weyne, in Hiran region.
It is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to expand its operation if necessary.
The ICRC is one of the very few organizations able to reach people in isolated, flood-affected areas.
It is helping the victims in close partnership with the Somali Red Crescent and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
While striving to alleviate the flood crisis, the ICRC continues its other activities in Somalia, as it has since 1977.
These include support for health-care programmes, agricultural projects and relief for people displaced by the protracted conflict in the country.
For further information, please contact:
Pédram Yazdi, ICRC Somalia (in Nairobi), tel +254 20 2723 963 or +254 722 51 81 42
Annick Bouvier, ICRC Geneva, tel.
+ 41 22 730 24 58 or + 41 79 217 32 24
See also ICRC media contacts
This article on www.icrc.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
