MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita made an appeal for the sake of the flood victims in Kalehe (South Kivu) on Monday, May 22 in Kinshasa.
Written by Chris Muhizi Minembwe Capital News 3:05pm Nairobi Kenya Time.
Bushushu and Nyamukubi villages in Kalehe experienced floods on May 4 that resulted in 438 fatalities, more than 5,000 missing people, and thousands of victims, according to the official death toll.
According to Bintou Keita, who visited Kalehe on May 17, this is one of the worst natural disasters in the DRC’s history and merits more attention and support:
“In Kalehe, South Kivu, the severe rains of May 4 triggered heavy mudslides that washed away a sizable portion of the Bushushu and Nyamukubi settlements. The family of the United Nations and its humanitarian allies are enlisted in helping.
The humanitarian community and the United Nations family are enlisted to help the national and local authorities deliver aid to the victims and, most importantly, stop a health crisis from compounding this tragedy. I appeal to the global community, donors, DRC-friendly individuals, and everyone else of good will to raise the funding required for this humanitarian crisis.
As 3,000 homes have been destroyed, many survivors in the affected communities have lost their homes and are now staying with host families.
More people have lost their jobs, and access to essential supply lifelines is cut off as a result of the washed-away fields and highways. There is an urgent demand for food.
A preliminary estimate of the population affected and in need approches 50,000 people.
108,000 individuals who were internally displaced due to conflict in North Kivu and the Hauts Plateaux (South Kivu) were already housed in the area. Many people have been hurt by the flooding.
Depending on the results of the continuing market feasibility evaluations, WFP will either distribute food or cash after that.
As part of routine operations, the World Food Programme (WFP) already helped 30,000 internally displaced persons and host families in Kalehe who were at risk of hunger.
The requirements of the flood-affected population will be incorporated into the WFP’s program, with an estimated 50,000 individuals in the flood-affected area being targeted overall.