A population of over 1 million is suffering from the impact of the floods,500 villages have been completely destroyed and losses in the agricultural sector are still being evaluated. Immediate provisions have been made by State authorities and communities, leaving nevertheless vast needs for international assistance. As the water levels recede, the serious public health situation in all affected areas, reflected in the alarming increase in diarrhoea and malaria cases and lack of access to potable water is becoming an overriding concern. UN agencies and other relief actors have agreed to appeal for commonly accepted priority requirements, namely shelter materials, blankets, mosquito nets, sprayers as well as support to community coping mechanisms and food production. Irrigation systems and thousands of water pumps, vital for agricultural production, have been damaged or destroyed.
Emergency needs comprise health sector, drinking water, sanitation and productive inputs.
Some areas are still inaccessible. 12,000 feddans of the date crop and 50 per cent of the animal fodder crop are submerged. 25 schools have been completely damaged. The most affected areas and Tendelti and Jazera Aba. 15,500 feddans of cultivated land has been submerged.