DAKAR, 20 February (IRIN) - Thousands of people in northern Niger who lost their homes in floods last August are still
living in emergency shelters and struggling to survive cold desert weather.Temperatures in northern Niger's exposed deserts can soar to 40 degrees in daytime, but drop to 10 degrees or less at
night."It is very cold and windy now," said Jerry Niati, regional disaster manager at the International Federation of the Red Cross in Dakar (IFRC). "The government was supposed to start building
new structures in January, but it will take time."The August floods in Bilma, near the regional capital Agadez in northern Niger, destroyed around 1,200 houses and made 4,400 people homeless when
their mud-walled houses were washed away.Niati said the people who lost their homes are all living in emergency shelters, mostly tents.The IFRC has appealed for US $38,400 from the Federation's
Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to buy blankets and warm clothing for the 1,520 children it says are living in the tent-cities.nr/dh
