UN supports flood relief efforts in Nepal and other parts of South Asia

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping to airlift relief supplies to remote areas of Nepal, where heavy monsoon rains have caused floods and landslides that have left more than 40 people dead and affected some 13,600 families.

The floods taken a toll on northern Bangladesh as well as Assam and Bihar states in eastern India, where more than 35 people have died and more than 10 million others have been affected, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Although the Nepalese Government has not launched an international appeal for assistance, the UN Resident Coordinator in Kathmandu has stressed that financial support is needed to continue relief activities.

The Bangladeshi Government has distributed 2,650 tons of rice and 13,000 tins of biscuits to affected districts. It has also allocated $77,800 for relief assistance and $66,200 for housing assistance. OCHA said the Government is concerned that rising water levels might threaten the country's only hydroelectric dam, as well as its capital.

In India, the army and air force are conducting relief and rescue operations, with helicopters and speed boats being used to reach the marooned, according to OCHA. The Government has also released over $22 million from calamity relief contingency funds.