Immediate relief to flood victims in south east Asia
13 September 2000

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is appealing for 2 million Swiss francs to assist the Red Cross Societies of Vietnam and Cambodia to provide immediate relief to 600,000 people who have lost their homes and farmland due to floods engulfing large areas across the region. Millions of people have been affected by this year's unusually widespread monsoon floods.

Heavy monsoon rains in Cambodia since early July have caused continuous localised flooding. The same rains have inundated a large part of the Mekong River watershed area, covering nearly 800,000 sq. km of land in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. All monitoring stations along the Mekong River in Cambodia are reporting levels above danger marks in the two main rivers and a state of emergency has been declared in at least three provinces. A similar situation exists in Vietnam where landslides from the swollen Tien and Hau Rivers (branches of the Mekong) have forced thousands of people in the southern regions to leave their homes and caused widespread damage to rice paddies and infrastructure.

The Cambodian and the Vietnam Red Cross Societies, supported by the International Federation's country delegations, are actively engaged in relief activities, distributing emergency food, basic household items, blankets and plastic sheeting.

To assist with relief and rehabilitation work in Cambodia, the International Federation has issued an emergency appeal for 1.6 million Swiss francs to assist over half a million people in the worst affected areas along the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers, as well as localised flooding in provinces affected by swollen streams and tributaries. For Vietnam, the Federation is appealing for 400,000 Swiss francs to provide relief to 100,000 people in the province of Ha Tinh which took the brunt of tropical storm 'Wukong' as it hit the region on 10 September - destroying 3,000 houses and devastating rice crops which were due to be harvested. Vietnam's Mekong Delta "rice bowl", which has been flooded since mid-July, is currently bracing itself as swollen rivers from Cambodia and Laos flow towards it.

Laos is similarly experiencing widespread flooding in its major rice-producing areas of the central and southern lowlands. At least four provinces in Laos have been badly affected and are now facing food shortages. The Lao Red Cross, in cooperation with government agencies, is carrying out an assessment of the needs and preparing for a relief operation in the affected areas.

For further information please contact:

Vietnam: John Geoghegan, Head of Delegation, tel. +84-91-223-425
Cambodia: Richard Neville, Disaster preparedness coordinator, tel. +855-15-850-560
Bangkok: Omar Valdimarsson, Regional information delegate, tel. +66-2-661-6933/+66-1-823-9218
Geneva: Solveig Olafsdottir, Information Officer, tel. +41 22 730 42 / +41 79 416 3881

The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.