UNITED NATIONS: Some 140,000 children, mostly belonging to displaced Rohingya-Muslim families, have been affected by heavy rains and floods that have devastated Myanmar since a cyclone made landfall in neighbouring Bangladesh last week, according to United Nations agencies.

“The floods are hitting children and families who are already very vulnerable, including those living in camps in Rakhine state,” said Shalini Bahuguna, an official of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), in a statement on Monday. “Beyond the immediate impact, the floods will have a longer-term impact on the livelihood of these families,” she warned. The government of Myanmar has already declared Rakhine a calamity-hit area.

Take a look :Hundreds dead, as monsoon rains heap misery on Asia

“Initial reports indicate that there has been extensive damage to shelters and other infrastructure in camps around Sittwe (Rakhine’s capital), where some 100,000 displaced people are staying,” said the United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA).

The Myanmar military, the Red Cross Society and local civil society organisations are working round the clock, in concert with UN agencies, to reach out to the distressed in far-flung regions battered by the twin cyclone-flood catastrophe.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2015

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