CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
SITUATION REPORT: SOUTHEAST ASIA FLOODING
October 3, 2000


SITUATION: Flooding continues throughout large sections of Southeast Asia.
Church World Service has responded to the flooding with an appeal of
$100,000 (Appeal Number: 6919, issued Sept. 18, 2000: see:
www.cwserp.org). In Vietnam, CWS has initially provided $40,000 in CWS
Blanket Funds for the purchase of blankets, plastic sheeting and mosquito
nets; it is also seeking $20,000 to assist in the purchase of medical
supplies. For Cambodia, CWS is seeking support for the $40,000 in Blanket
Funds available for use by CWS-Cambodia. This is an initial appeal, and
may be revised based on further needs assessments.

The following report provides updated information from two CWS staff
members: Skip Dangers, CWS-Vietnam Director, and Herman Brouwer,
CWS-Cambodia.


VIETNAM: On a recent visit on a small flat-bottom boat to Thanh Hoa
District located in the Plain of Reeds region - Dangers reports the area
was completely flooded. Of the 10,570 households in the Thanh Hoa
District, at least half were under three feet of water.

"The area will remain flooded for the coming months, even if there is not
another drop of rain," he said.  "This is due to the bowl shape of the
Plain of Reeds. It will be at least until mid-November when the Mekong
River drops sufficiently that the water will begin to drain out of the
Plain of Reeds. Although the water level has already dropped in Laos and
Cambodia ... in the Plain of Reeds in Vietnam, it will remain at these
high levels for weeks to come."

The biggest problem at the moment is food, he reports.  "I was told that
of the 10,570 households, about 3,000 households 'are in hunger' as a
result of the flood destroying their food supplies and I was told that
1,700 households in the district need urgent help."

Besides fishing nets, simple inexpensive locally made wooden boats are
needed. Most of the households in the area do not have boats and, as a
result, people are immobilized and stranded by the floods. Schools are
closed, as are medical clinics.

Potable drinking water is scarce; the flooding has also worsened what has
already been a bad year for dengue fever, a disease that can be severe for
adults, but is deadly for children.  "There is a great fear among health
workers of a dengue fever outbreak," he said.  "The floods mean that it is
almost guaranteed to happen."

Dangers also reports flooding in Long An Province, which borders
neighboring Cambodia, has severely affected what is already one of the
poorest areas of Vietnam. "The people living in the Plain of Reeds who are
affected by these floods are the 'poorest of the poor' in southern
Vietnam," he said.  "For these people who normally live a very difficult
life trying to make a living from very poor quality land, the current
floods are potentially catastrophic."


CAMBODIA: While flooding in Cambodia seems to have peaked, reports Herman
Brouwer, CWS-Cambodia, the severe inundation in the Mekong Delta means
that flood waters will continue to pose a potentially serious health
threat.  Nearly 428,000 families -- more than 2 million people -- have
been affected, and at least 173 people have died; more than 46,000 are
homeless, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management. The
flooding has affected 19 provinces, including all five provinces --
Kandal, Svay Rieng, Kompong Thom, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey where CWS
works. Continuing concerns are problems related to drinking water since
most wells are contaminated and people are drinking flood water. Outbreaks
of typhoid and cholera are being predicted.

CWS has worked with provincial authorities, the World Food Program and the
Red Cross in food distribution; CWS has provided immediate relief (rice,
canned fish, salt, plastic sheets, mosquito nets, etc.) to more than 2,000
families Svay Rieng, and to another 2,000 families in the capital of Phnom
Penh through a partner non-government organization (NGO). CWS has also
assisted the Red Cross with assessments and coordination. Ongoing CWS
response will focus on rehabilitation activities, such as rice/vegetable
seed distribution, house reconstruction for vulnerable families,
decontamination of water sources, and rehabilitation of community
infrastructure.

"In Svay Rieng province, CWS is the only international NGO that has
responded quickly, and that is coordinating with the Red Cross and
authorities," Brouwer said.  "The CWS staff in Svay Rieng all have worked
daily for the last two weeks, and have not even observed the festival for
the ancestors."


Call the CWS HOTLINE for updates: (800) 297-1516, ext. 111.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is
responding, contact CWS Emergency Response.

Telephone: (212) 870-3151
After-hours emergency pager: (800) 780-0853
Web site: www.cwserp.org


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