UN Assesses Relief Needs After Typhoon in Viet Nam
New York, Nov 5 2009
United Nations aid workers are taking part in a rapid assessment mission in three provinces of central Viet Nam, among the areas hit hardest by Typhoon Mirinae, which has killed at least 98 people and left a trail of destruction worth more than $56 million.
A
disaster management working group, comprised of UN
humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), has dispatched an assessment team to Phu Yen, Khanh
Hoa and Binh Dinh provinces.
The three provinces are
among seven in Viet Nam that have been badly affected by
Mirinae (also known as Santi) since it made landfall in the
Asian nation early on Monday, two days after it pounded the
northern Philippines.
More than 1,100 homes have
collapsed from the heavy winds and rains, while another
15,000 houses have been damaged and 44,000 others flooded.
At least 26 hospitals have also been damaged, as well as
schools, public buildings and basic infrastructure,
including transport, irrigation, communications and energy
systems.
The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (http://ochaonline.un.org/) reported that the death
toll has climbed to 98, with 20 people missing and 60 others
injured, citing figures from authorities in Viet
Nam.
The UN Children’s Fund (http://www.unicef.org/),
which is sending staff to the rapid assessment mission,
has started delivering water purification materials to the
affected provinces.
The wider region has been hard hit
by a series of typhoons and tropical storms, with four
striking within the past five weeks. The northern
Philippines has been the area worst affected.
ENDS