August 8, 2007
Throughout southern and central Asia, flooding in recent weeks has been the "worst in living memory," according to the United Nations. Across northern India, countless villages have been flooded, leaving tens of millions displaced and stranded.
"The sheer size and scale of flooding and the massive numbers of people affected pose an unprecedented challenge to the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian assistance," the UN said.
Long-time CWS partner in India, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), is reporting that at least 340 people have lost their lives, and that 45 million have been affected in some way by the storms and flooding in the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
Tens of thousands of people are camped out in relief camps set up by the government. In the state of Assam, people have taken refuge in emergency camps or have been cut off in their villages by receding waters and soaring temperatures, which have led to concerns of potential disease outbreaks.
Safe water, food and shelter are among the items most needed to help families cope. Government forces are now using helicopters to drop relief supplies, but they can only meet the needs of a fraction of the displaced population.
RESPONSE: CASA is responding to this disaster by providing initial relief assistance to 17,500 families - 5,000 families in Assam, 2,500 in West Bengal, 5,000 in Bihar, 2,500 in Orissa and 2,500 in Uttar Pradesh.
The specific objectives of the CWS-supported response include:
- Providing cooked food to the flood affected families.
- Providing relief sets of clothing, blankets and other articles of daily use to 17,500 affected families - specifically: 5,000 flood affected families in Bihar, 2,500 in Uttar Pradesh, 5,000 in Assam, and 2,500 each in West Bengal and Orissa. The 17,500 relief sets consist of 1 woollen blanket, 1 Dhoti (a garment worn by the men), 1 Saree (women's apparel),and nine pieces of aluminium utensils.
- Providing dry rations - including rice, lentils, cooking oil, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder -- to the 17,500 affected families, as well as tarpaulin sheets that will serve as a temporary shelter.
- Providing water purification tablets and bleaching powder in the affected areas.
- Providing assistance to 5,000 affected families for repair and construction of huts.
Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. Contributions may also be made by credit card online, or by calling: (800) 297-1516, ext. 222.
Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
