Government calls for aid for flood victims

Mali's government has asked the international community to provide relief supplies for some 3,500 flood victims, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a 9 October situation report. The government, through the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, has asked the United Nations to provide blankets, kitchen tools, family-size tents, plastic buckets, food and drugs. The worst affected areas are the southern regions of Segou and Sikasso, the northeastern region of Kidal and Koulikoro and the capital, Bamako. Around 1,400 houses have been destroyed and some 870 hectares of farmland flooded. Heavy rains since May caused the River Niger to burst its banks and led to the opening of the floodgates of the Selingue dam, situated some 100 km south of Bamako. Two people have died as a result of the floods, OCHA reported. It also said that the floodwaters were receding, which could increase the risk of waterborne diseases.