United Nations appeals for 18 million US$ for Somalia flood relief

(Geneva, 6 December 2006) - The United Nations is seeking a total of US$ 18 million to help hundreds of thousands of people affected by floods in Somalia and in acute need of assistance. The UN agencies are laying out a Flood Response Plan for addressing the needs for the next three months.

The Somalia Flood Response Plan, launched today in Geneva, amounts to US$ 28,6 million out of which 10 million has already been funded through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) mechanism, leaving an unfunded balance of US$ 18 million.

"The humanitarian crisis of the Somali people, exhausted by years of conflict and disaster, is now deepening", said Eric Laroche, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. One of the world's poorest countries, Somalia, has been hit by the worst flooding in recent history, the latest in a long series of disasters in a country which has been plagued by sixteen years of civil war, the absence of an effective central government, basic services or infrastructures, as well as a devastating drought last year.

Particularly affected are the southern and central areas of the country, along the Shabelle and Juba valley river basins where some places have recorded more than six times their average monthly rainfall. Currently, some 350,000 people along the riverine areas are seriously affected by the floods. However in the worst-case scenario, up to 900,000 could be affected over the coming weeks if the persistent rains continue through December 2006.

Floods have displaced entire communities, submerged villages, destroyed granaries, cut off feeder roads, blocked or damaged irrigation and flood relief infrastructures and flooded thousands of hectares of farmland in the South/Central area covering Gedo, Juba Valley, Hiran and Shabelle Valley Regions. Priority needs are health, water and sanitation, nutrition, food, logistics, protection, education, livelihoods and early recovery activities.

Funding for the Somalia 2006 Consolidated Appeal (CAP) currently stands at 58 percent. The recently-launched 2007 CAP for Somalia seeks US$ 237 million to address the chronic long-term needs of 1.8 million people.

For further information, please call Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Genève, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570; Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +917 367 9262