UN preparing flash appeal to help Guyana recover from floods

The United Nations country team in Guyana is preparing an international flash appeal that would help the South American nation with flood recovery activities for the next six months.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), some 3,750 people still remain in shelters, where poor sanitation conditions are leading to skin rashes and vomiting; there are also fears of epidemics.

So far WFP, with the assistance of Ecuador, has sent two planes carrying around 27 tons of emergency food rations, to flood-hit areas.

A significant amount of water from four weeks of heavy rain has drained from higher ground in the central part of the capital, Georgetown, but then has caused the water level on the east coast of Guyana to rise, forcing more people to evacuate their homes and seek shelter.