Aid agencies struggle to help flood affected people

Relief workers are struggling to assist more than 7,500 families in northern and south-eastern Iraq who have been forced to leave their homes due to heavy flooding. "At least 15,000 blankets are still required in all these areas, especially because of the hard winter this year, as well as kerosene heaters, tents, medication and food parcels,” said Ferdous al-Abadi, spokeswoman for the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS). “These people can’t return, even after the water is drained.” Since almost continuous rainfall began on 2 February, which has been heaviest in the mountainous areas of the north, nearly 25,000 people have been displaced. “What has been distributed or donated will not be enough to cover a long period,” she noted, adding that food supplies could only be expected to last for another three days. The worst affected regions are in the northern governorate of Arbil, where nearly 3,300 families have been forced to seek shelter. In Salahuddine, an estimated 2,900 families have been displaced, with further displacements in Kirkuk, Diala and Missan in southern Iraq. According to the IRCS, flood affected people are taking refuge in nearby safe areas. “We’ve improvised camps in these governorates,” said al-Abadi. “Other families are taking refuge at relatives’ homes or in abandoned government buildings or schools.” The IRCS is urging help from international NGOs in supplying and accessing displaced peoples. The organisation has already provided food supplies, kerosene stoves, non-food parcels, blankets and tents to nearly 3,000 families in affected areas. The relief effort has been compounded by ongoing insecurity, which has hampered the delivery of supplies to most areas, especially Salahuddine and Diala governorates, according to the IRCS. IRCS volunteers, who are providing medical assistance with help from local doctors, have also warned of the possible spread of disease. In the southern governorate of Missan, for example, continuous rainfall has resulted in overflows of sewage onto streets, which is further spread by the rains. “Dozens of cases of diarrhoea and vomiting have been treated among children in these areas,” said Dr Saleh Ibraheem, volunteer clinician in Salahddine governorate. “The main reason is the poor sanitation and lack of clean water in places in which they are taking refuge.” The Ministry of Environment has attributed much of the flooding to excessive rains in mountainous areas, which has led to rising water levels in the Tigris River. “The change in the seasonal temperatures has caused serious ecological and biological effects on the normal environmental routine,” noted Rima Youssef, a senior official at the ministry.