UNITED NATIONS, Jan 14 (NNN-XINHUA) — Representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have met with officials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC) to discuss response to deadly flooding in the African country, according to a statement of the agency.
“The government estimates that hundreds of people have lost their lives, and more than 300,000 households have been affected,” said the statement. “Efforts are underway to relocate affected people to safer areas.”
The government is finalizing a national disaster response plan for the deadly disaster in coordination with the UN and its humanitarian partners.
“Our humanitarian partners are supporting emergency relief activities in some areas, mainly South Kivu and Tanganyika, including on health, water, hygiene, and sanitation,” OCHA said. “But in many provinces, response efforts are hampered by scarce resources, a lack of assessment and the limited presence of aid workers.”
The office said significant pressing needs are food, water, shelter, latrines, protection services, health care, and malaria prevention.
Floods and landslides are common in the DRC during the rainy season, from September to May. — NNN-XINHUA