Reference :
V-P-SO-E-00128
Date :
28/11/2006
Caption :
Middle Juba region, Marere district. ICRC team has just met families who has found refuge on a dyke to assess their needs.
Person appearing :
GROBET, Thierry (deputy head of ICRC Somalia delegation,)
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
Somalia is currently suffering from torrential rains that have led to the most severe floods in decades. The worst affected areas are located in the southern part of the country: Hiran, Lower and Middle Shabelle and in Middle, Lower Juba and Gedo.
The severe floods in southern Somalia have destroyed crops and farmland, disrupted food supplies and cut off entire villages from the outside world. Hundreds of thousands of people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In some areas, people are sitting on dykes, completely surrounded by water. They do not have shelter and no access to drinking water and food.
The two rivers have joint, flooding the entire Jilib and Marere District in the Middle Juba Region. One of the villages of Marere district (in the photos), the population has left the village and is currently on a dyke surrounded by water. These families are lacking food and drinkable water. The ICRC has already assisted 3'000 families in this area by distributing sheltering materiel (tarpaulins).
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is one of the very few organisations that can reach some of the most vulnerable people in isolated, rural flooded areas of Somalia. The ICRC closely monitors the situation and is ready to increase its interventions if needed. This includes assisting the flood victims by boat and the possible evacuation of people.
The ICRC has already started airlifting tarpaulins to 350.000 people in some of the worst affected areas. As many roads are impraticable, delivering assistance by air and then by boat is often the only option.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
3872x2592
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
