Westport, CT (August 3) - Save the Children is moving quickly to assisttens of thousands of children and their families forced from their homes due to
monsoon rains and severe flooding throughout South Asia including
communities that Save the Children agencies serve in
Nepal, Bangladesh,
Pakistan and India. "The heavy rains and flooding are posing a serious threat to millions
of children throughout South Asia," said
Rudy Von Bernuth, who heads
Save the Children's emergency response program. "Many families are in desperate need of food, shelter, clean water and
medical supplies, and the threat of even more rains is making
the situation
even worse," he said. "We are working closely with our partners
to assist affected families across the region."In Nepal,
for example, heavy rains have caused
flooding and landslides, destroying
15,000 homes and causing at least 56 deaths. Roads have closed, and
communication lines are down throughout 28 of Nepal's 75 districts. Save the
Children is working with its alliance members and the Nepal Red
Cross Society to arrange the immediate distribution of food and other basic
necessities such as plastic sheeting, blankets, clothing,
cooking materials and
items for personal hygiene. Highly vulnerable groups including children and
pregnant and lactating mothers are being prioritized for support.In Bangladesh, heavy
rains
and monsoons have caused flash flooding in three districts of the country
and threaten to inundate at least 15 additional districts, including low-lying
areas of Dhaka city. Four major
rivers in the country continue to rise, two of which are flowing
above danger levels. While the flooding situation could continue to worsen,
nearly 800,000 people are already reportedly affected in
flooded areas. Save the Children is working to provide safe drinking water for thousands of
affected families. Additionally, the agency is coordinating with the Disaster
Management Bureau,
the World Food Program and other UN Agencies, and the
Disaster Emergency Secretariat to coordinate response operations.Pakistan
has also been severely affected by flooding, caused by intense
storms and a
major cyclone last month. Overall, more than 2 million people have been
affected, including 370,000 families forced from their homes and 500 missing or
dead. Save the Children
is providing 12,000 families with food, shelter, kitchen
equipment and soap, helping to rebuild schools and provide items like paper,
slates, chalk, and toys.In India,
10 states have been
seriously affected by the recent monsoon, with 12.8 million
people, including 5.1 million children, affected by flooding. Over 500,000
houses have been extensively or completely damaged with nearly 1
million people
evacuated from their homes. Over 1,000 reportedly have died.With its local partners, Save the Children is working to
assist 3,000 families in West Bengal and
Orissa, providing
temporary shelter, clean water, clothes, health care and
school supplies for children. In addition, the agency is actively seeking
funding to provide clothing and educational materials to 8,000
children in need
in Assam, India. For more information Please contact the Save the Children US Media centre for more information, Mike Kiernan (W) 001 202-261-4686 or (C) 001 202-460-0614
Kate Conradt
(W) 001 202-261-4673 or (C) 202-294-9700
If you wish to support Save the Children's efforts to and provide relief to th communities affected by the severe flooding, visit the
Save the Children US South Asia appeal site and make a donation.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
