Flooding wreaks havoc in Africa
The floods have brought misery to countries in the central and western parts of the continent
Also In The News
|
Iraq's government is failing to meet half of 18 targets set by the United States, a White House report has acknowledged. |  |
Saturday, 15, Sep 2007 12:10
Flooding in Africa has affected a million people across the central and western parts of the continent with United Nations (UN) officials warning of the danger of waterborne diseases in affected areas.
The spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Elisabeth Byrs said that 500,000 people had been affected in western Africa while half a million people in Sudan alone were facing difficulties due to the floods.
The OCHA has announced that torrential rains in Sudan since July had left 200,000 people homeless and heightened the need for relief aid in a country already facing a humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
The relief agency has warned that the floods have resulted in conditions where an infestation of locusts is also likely.
A minister in the central African country of Uganda said the situation bordered on a "crisis" as nine people lost their lives. He told the AFP news agency that 300,000 people would need humanitarian assistance.
A total of 20 people have been reported dead in Ghana in the west of the continent while 15 have lost their lives to the floods in Rwanda, in the centre of Africa.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told AFP that emergency measures were being implemented.
"We have activated our disaster response and the government and aid groups are providing food, shelter and medicine to those affected by the floods," he told AFP.
Reports of casualties and people being displaced have also come in from the western African nations of Burkina Faso and Togo.