IOM is providing relief assistance to victims of flooding in the
remote Cazombo district, in Angola's eastern province of Moxico.

More than two tons of children's clothing purchased with funds
from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) were
flown yesterday onboard an Angolan military aircraft from Luanda to
Luena, the administrative capital of Moxico province and then
further to Cazombo, which lies some 200 kilometres from the Zambian
border.

"It is difficult to get a full picture of the needs because the
floods have entirely cut off Cazombo district from the rest of the
country," says Katharina Schnoring, IOM's Chief of Mission in
Angola. "We are currently working with the Angolan government and
the UN Country Team to organise a mission to assess the needs of
the victims, most of whom are vulnerable internally displaced
people, demobilized soldiers and returnees." 

 

IOM is also requesting USD 250,000 from the UN's Central Emergency
Revolving Fund (CERF) to purchase, transport and deliver vital
non-food relief items, such as tents, tarpaulins, corrugated iron
sheets, blankets, clothes and kitchen sets.

IOM is also looking into transporting some of the assistance by
land from neighbouring Zambia using four-wheel-drive trucks.

"Although the roads from Zambia into Moxico province are bad, it
might be easier to transport the assistance from the Zambian border
to villages east of Cazombo," says Schnoring.   

Excessive rains since the second half of December have caused
extensive localized flooding in a number of provinces, including
Luanda, Lunda Sul, Lunda Nord, Uige, Benugela, Malange, Cabinda,
Zaire and Moxico.

In Moxico province, the district of Cazombo has been
particularly affected and according to the government, 17,000
persons are in desperate need of food and non food items, medicine
and shelter material. IOM is the only international organization to
maintain a presence in the district.

For more information, please contact:

Katharina Schnoring

IOM Luanda

Tel: +244 912 207 362

E-mail "mailto:kschnoring@iom.int">kschnoring@iom.int