Deadly flooding in southern Chadian town prompts UN aid assistance

United Nations officials are working alongside local authorities in southern Chad to provide humanitarian assistance after flooding in and around the town of Sarh has left more than 10,000 people homeless.

Three people are reportedly dead after their homes collapsed and an estimated 30,000 others have been affected by the floods, which followed nearly a month of torrential rains starting in late July.

UN officials have voiced fears about possible outbreaks of infectious diseases and about meeting the demand for emergency food aid, shelter and other forms of assistance to people affected by the floods.

“We are working closely with the Government to bring life-saving assistance to those in need as soon as possible,” said Kingsley Amaning, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad.

Contingency plans are now being implemented to give shelter, health supplies, nutritional supplements, water purification materials and other items to affected locals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said its biggest concern was to avert waterborne epidemics, especially after more than 120 latrines and showers in Sarh were destroyed as a result of the inundations. The agency has delivered initial stocks of emergency supplies, including medicines for the treatment of malaria, diarrhoea, injuries and common diseases.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided high-protein biscuits for children and pregnant and lactating women, as well as family water kits and mosquito nets.

Officials with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are also in the region, which is close to the border with the Central African Republic (CAR), to assess the extent of damage to agricultural production in what is one of the world's poorest countries.

Southern Chad is already struggling to handle over 55,000 Central African refugees fleeing conflict in their nation, while the east of the country is currently home to more than 255,000 refugees from the conflict in the neighbouring Darfur region of Sudan and at least 185,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from other areas of Chad.