Thursday, 22 October 2009, 11:23 am
Press Release: United Nations

Govt appeals for more help for Ketsana victims

Vientiane Times, 23 Oct 2009

About 1,011 billion kip of damage was caused by tropical storm Ketsana
in the southern provinces last month, the National Disasters
Management Office reported yesterday.

The Lao government has set up a committee, chaired by Minister of
Labour and Social Welfare Ms Onechanh Thammavong, to seek assistance
and cooperation to address the disaster from ministries, international
organisations, NGOs and businesses.

A Ketsana appeal meeting was held yesterday in Vientiane , attended by
Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme,
Ms Sonam Yangchen Rana, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr
Hiem Phommachanh.

The storm destroyed houses, crops, livestock and infrastructure in 482
villages of 25 districts in the five provinces of Savannakhet,
Saravan, Xekong, Attapeu and Champassak, said National Disasters
Management Office Head, Mr Prasith Detphommatheth.

Mr Prasith, who is also Director General of the Ministry of Labour and
Social Welfare's Social Welfare Department, said about 178,000 people
were affected, 17 were killed, one person remains missing and 91
people were injured.

More than 27,800 households were affected, with 9,600 of them
displaced. An estimated 49,680 of those affected are women, said Mr
Prasith.

About 32,000 hectares of rice and other cash crops including
sweetcorn, beans and vegetables have been affected, including 23
hectares of fruit trees.

About 650 buffaloes, 2,050 cattle, 2,860 pigs and more than 26,000
poultry perished in the storm and subsequent flooding.

A total of 1,483 houses, 58 schools, 10 hospitals, 68 irrigation
systems, and 47 roads were either destroyed or badly damaged, he said.

Food security remains an issue, with about 115,000 of the 178,000
people affected in need of at least three months of food supplies.
Around 15,000 farming households need 1,320 million tonnes of rice
seeds.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided 215 million tonnes of rice
and fish to over 70,000 people in Xekong, Saravan and Attapeu
provinces, and food distributions in Savannakhet province are ongoing,
Mr Prasith said.

About 21,300 primary school children and 579 teachers were affected by
the storm, and 125 schools in 12 districts of the four provinces need
repairs or rebuilding.

Around 25,500 children and 9,000 pregnant women were affected,
including 4,000 pregnant women in Attapeu province.

The Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation and their partners
are conducting emergency surveillance, providing medical supplies and
services to those in need.

The most immediate need is clean water, as many people are still using
contaminated water for cooking, cleaning and drinking purposes.

Sanitation and hygiene also remain a concern, with water supply and
sanitation facilities damaged in about 235 villages in 12 districts.
Some 25 gravity flow irrigation systems, four water treatment plants,
275 bore wells and 2,678 household latrines were also damaged or
destroyed.

Around 13,500 families require assistance to repair or reinstall water
supply, sanitation and hygiene systems, as well as 92 schools, said Mr
Prasith.

UNICEF is in the process of procuring 5,000 collapsible water jerry
cans, 10,000 bars of soap and 5,000 plastic buckets to distribute to
flood victims.

Emergency shelters are currently holding 2,120 families, providing
safe and sanitary transitional shelter while damaged houses are
repaired.

Appeals for assistance from the government have so far produced about
3.8 billion kip from domestic and international organisations, while
the government has poured 100 billion kip into relief efforts.