IOM will provide shelter and non-food items to 10,000 people
worst-affected by floods which have left 220,000 Angolans displaced
and at least 22 dead in several provinces in the centre and south
of the country.

The assistance, funded through a US$445,000 grant from the UN's
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), is aimed at providing
displaced people with temporary protection from the remainder of
the rainy season and basic support in the rehabilitation of damaged
housing in Cunene, Moxico and Kuando Kubango areas where damage to
homes has been the most extensive. 

"With flood and river levels the highest since 1963 and heavy
rains still expected in the coming weeks, it is imperative that
shelter assistance reaches people as quickly as possible," says
Katharina Schnöring, IOM's Chief of Mission in Angola.

Working in concert with partner agencies including from the UN,
civil society and the Red Cross, IOM will complement the assistance
provided to flood victims in the initial stages of the emergency.
The Organization will also prioritise mechanisms to strengthen
coordination to address protection issues and to help guarantee
access to life-saving supplies.

Meanwhile, an assessment mission comprising staff from IOM,
USAID, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Civil Protection, UNICEF and
the Red Cross to Cunene and Kuando Kubango provinces in recent days
found that the floods have also had a severe impact on agricultural
production. In Cunene alone, 228,000 hectares of agricultural land
was affected.

For further information please contact:

Katharina Schnöring

IOM Angola

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