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U.S. Providing Aid to Victims of Heavy Flooding in Suriname

$50,000 going for relief supplies in South American nation

The United States is providing $50,000 to Suriname to help victims of heavy flooding in that South American nation.

In a May 12 statement, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said the $50,000 for Suriname has been provided to that country's Red Cross for the purchase and distribution of relief supplies to meet the basic needs of communities affected by the flooding. The relief supplies include food, tarps and water purifiers to meet the needs of the affected population.

USAID said torrential rains that began in Suriname in the beginning of May caused several major rivers in the south and part of the central Amazonian lowlands of Suriname to rise rapidly and submerge large areas.

The agency said flooding in remote interior areas of the country along the Upper Suriname, Saramacca and Coeroeni rivers has displaced 22,000 people and affected a total population of about 37,000 people. USAID said that according to Suriname's government, the vast majority of subsistence farms and nearly two-thirds of livestock and household goods and equipment have been destroyed in the flooded zones. The flooding is expected to spread as rains continue to fall, increasing the number of people affected in the country.

While heavy rainfall is not uncommon during the country's rainy season from April to July, rainfall of this magnitude rarely has been encountered in Suriname, the agency said. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance has sent three of its personnel to Suriname to assess the situation and to formulate a response to the emergency.

The U.S. Embassy in Suriname, told the Washington File that the U.S. government will consider further material or financial contributions to Suriname as the country's needs further are refined. The embassy said eight U.S. Peace Corps volunteers who were relocated from the affected flood area are in Suriname's capital of Paramaribo, working with the country's National Coordination Center for Disaster Relief and with the Red Cross.

Both the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) have expressed concern about the flooding in Suriname. The United Nations said in a May 10 statement that its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has given a preliminary cash grant of $30,000 to Suriname, while the U.N. Development Program has provided $80,000 to that agency's country team in Suriname to assist with the immediate needs of Suriname's flood victims.

The United Nations said it sent a six-member team to Suriname to assess the situation. The world body said that buildings, roads, ports, airstrips, telecommunication networks and the electricity grid in the country have been damaged.

The OAS also said in a May 10 statement that it continues to monitor the situation in Suriname to see how it best can assist that country. The OAS said parts of southern Suriname, including along the Upper Suriname River and other rivers in that region, have been declared disaster areas.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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