Flood-affected
families in a remote part of East Timor are so short of food
that they are eating only one meal a day, a Red Cross disaster
assessment team has found.
Some 400 people in two villages devastated by flash floods and
landslides in late December, have resorted to emergency approaches
like mixing ground palm tree fibre with food, says Olav Ofstad
of the International Federation, which is helping the East Timor
Red Cross respond to the crisis.
The two villages, Meligo and Atudara, in Maliana district in
the southeast of the country, saw nine houses totally swept
away and seven more damaged when a sudden flood swept through
the area on December 17.
"Even though there were no deaths, the flood was quite
traumatic. Some people, with water up to their chests, fought
to save themselves and their families," says Ofstad, who
returned from an assessment of the situation in Maliana at the
weekend. "The floods also washed away livestock and pets
such as dogs, chickens, goats and pigs.”
Some of the families affected lost everything - including the
fields, crops, animals, seeds and agricultural tools that provided
their food supplies and only income.
"Most people in this inland area are subsistence farmers,
living off rice, corn and vegetables," adds Ofstad.
The East Timor government's National Disaster Management Office
distributed food to 26 families on December 23, but supplies
have now run out. The next distribution is not until January
19 and there is little opportunity of finding other sources
of nourishment in the meantime.
The Red Cross estimates that people will need food for three
months until they can start harvesting rice again. They will
also need seeds for planting for future rice and vegetable crops.
The East Timor Red Cross (CVTL) has already responded by providing
family kits and second hand clothes and is planning to launch
a local radio campaign to collect clothes.
And it has also sent Red Cross water and sanitation experts
to the area, where cases of diarrhoea indicate that drinking
water may have been contaminated. In addition, the Red Cross
will also monitor the villages' health needs and have already
signalled to authorities the need for psychological assistance
for the flood victims.
The East Timor Red Cross is also looking into providing construction
material and assisting with reconstruction of nine houses on
higher ground.
"The villages are extremely vulnerable. The area has been
flooded before, but not as dramatically as this time. The exposed
area has two riverbeds and one creek, all of which contributed
to the disaster. The two riverbeds are very shallow and future
floods must be expected," Ofstad explains.
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When
the floods receded, it was clear the damage done to crops.
Now some villages in East Timor are suffering food shortages
(p11034)
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Volunteers
from the East Timor Red Cross speak to villagers about
their needs following the floods (p11036)
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