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UN mobilizing emergency team for flood-hit Uruguay

UN mobilizing emergency team for flood-hit Uruguay

The United Nations is mobilizing a Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team for deployment to Uruguay early next week in the wake of the worst floods to hit the country in half a century.

The United Nations is mobilizing a Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team for deployment to Uruguay early next week in the wake of the worst floods to hit the country in half a century.

The UNDAC team is being sent following an official request for support from the Government of Uruguay, where flooding has already driven some 12,000 people from their homes, and has affected more than 110,000 people overall.

Displaced people are being housed in shelters, including stadiums and sport institutions, and basic supplies are being delivered, according to an update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

But OCHA also warned that the high number of affected people and harsh weather conditions mean that additional assistance is needed. Thousands of houses have been damaged, as has much of the public infrastructure, including the water supply, sewer and drainage systems, power and telephone lines, roads, agricultural land and municipal buildings. Many of those affected are poor and vulnerable persons such as women, children and the elderly.

The situation is expected to worsen when the flood waters reach low-lying areas, according to OCHA, which yesterday made an emergency cash grant of $30,000 available for relief activities.