Flood waters recede in Bangui

The level of the Oubangui river has gone down over the past week and flood waters in Bangui have started to dry up, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Friday. Flooding in parts of the capital in recent weeks had affected thousands of households, including several families whose homes were destroyed. No flood-related epidemics had been reported in the city, and the situation was returning to normal, one source said. Meanwhile, some 5,000 people were made homeless in other parts of the country, including Mobaye, and some 7,000 hectares of farmland were destroyed, another source said. The government had appealed to the international community to provide food and shelter materials for flood-affected populations.