Vietnamese children hit by Typhoon Ketsana are facing months of food shortages as the storm wiped out thousands of hectares of crops and left massive areas of farmland flooded. Save the Children is responding to typhoon Ketsana and plans to distribute rice to over 12,000 families.

A week after the typhoon, vast areas of low-lying paddy fields are still under a metre of water. Much of this season’s crops were lost and the next harvest is not due until March or April 2010.
 
Kathryn Rawe of Save the Children in Vietnam said: “Every child I spoke to today said their biggest need was for food. Many of their families’ crops have been completely destroyed and the stores of food they had in the house were soaked through with rain and can’t be eaten. Children are most vulnerable in an emergency and if they are malnourished they become even weaker and more likely to succumb to diseases, like diarrhoea – which can be fatal.”
 
In the affected region of Vietnam almost 36,000 hectares of rice crops have been damaged or flooded along with almost 13,000 hectares of sugar cane and corn. In addition hundreds of thousands of pigs and chickens that families raise to provide vital protein for their children were killed during the storm. Families face a further food challenge as their kitchen equipment including pots, pans and plates have been swept away by the floodwaters.
 
Ten year old Tuan, who lives in the community of Hai Tranh in Quang Tri province with his grandmother, was only able to return to his home today after seeking refuge with the only neighbour in the village with a two-story home. Everything had been swept away, leaving his bamboo and rattan house completely empty besides a coating of thick mud. The flood waters in the area are still more than a meter high and his home could still only be reached by boat.
 
Tuan said: “I’m still very scared because when I came home there was nothing to eat – we have nothing left. I’m afraid the house will collapse and the flood will come again.”  Save the Children has already begun distributing household kits containing pots, pans and plates to replace items lost in the flood. We will also be distributing food and will be targeting the poorest households and looking at specific food that young children need to stay healthy.

For more information please contact Kathryn Rawe, +44 7733 268 327 or Hannah Reichardt +447881952050