Period covered by this Operations Update: 31 October to 30 December 2008.

Appeal target: CHF 1,513,927 CHF (USD 1,388,924 or EUR 970,466).

Appeal coverage: 85%;

Appeal history:

- This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on a preliminary basis on 24 October, 2008 for 1,110,911 CHF (USD 1,015,550 or EUR 707,586); for nine months to assist 30,000 beneficiaries.

- CHF 271,000 (USD 247,715 or EUR 172,611) has been allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 20 October 2008 to support the National Societies.

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D I S A S T E R R E L I E F

- Bolivia & Guatemala: IRT shipped nearly $1 million of relief supplies to aid flood victims in Bolivia and delivered 75 metric tons of emergency food to villagers in Guatemala who suffered crop failures from recent hurricanes.

- Louisiana: IRT sent 2 shipments of medicines and supplies worth more $66,400 to aid victims of Hurricane Ike.

- Mississippi: IRT deployed six skilled construction teams, totaling 98 volunteers, as part of its multi-year commitment to help poor and elderly victims of Hurricane Katrina repair

Highlights of a new FAO report

- As the year draws to a close, FAO's latest estimates confirm that a new record high level of global cereal production was achieved in 2008, sufficient to cover the expected increase in utilization in 2008/09 and also allow for a moderate replenishment of world reserves.

- Most of the increase in production this year has been among the developed countries, with that in the developing countries rising just marginally. In the developing group, outputs rose somewhat more among the Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries, especially in

HIGHLIGHTS:

- COLOMBIA: The overflowing of the Magdalena River has left more than 20,000 people homeless in Colombia's Northern Province of Magdalena.

- HONDURAS: Heavy rains triggered flooding in La Ceiba; 250 people were evacuated.

FLOODS

COLOMBIA: The overflowing of the Magdalena River broke the retaining wall in the town of Plato (580 kilometres North of Bogota) and affected about 20,000 people (4,000 families). Power systems and drinking water have been restricted in several areas of the municipality. According to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and

Escrito por Oficina de Relaciones P=FAblicas de COPECO

11 de diciembre de 2008 Hora Local: 16:00 horas - El cuarto Frente Frío que ingresó hoy al territorio hondureño, está causando intensas precipitaciones en las montañas aledañas al Municipio de La Ceiba, las cuales han propiciado un intenso crecimiento de los ríos Cangrejal, Danto, Perla, Bonito y las Quebradas Aquilina y Adán, así como la Quebrada que baja de La Melgar.

Este aumento en los niveles de los ríos ha propiciado el desbordamiento de sus cauces, generando inundaciones en

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

BACKGROUND AND KEY DEVELOPMENTS

- From October to early December 2008, heavy rainfall has resulted in floods across Central and South America. Areas in Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama sustained substantial damage. Between October 14 and 29, Tropical Depression Sixteen caused floods in Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. In November, heavy rainfall

The 2008 Hurricane Season officially closed on Sunday, 30 November 2008. Of the sixteen named tropical systems one impacted Belize directly; Topical Storm Arthur. This storm made its mark the day before the official start of the hurricane season. This system produced torrential rains across Belize for over three days, causing flooding over the Orange Walk and Corozal Districts initially and then life threatening floods along the North Stann Creek and Sittee Rivers. Unfortunately, five persons lost their lives in the Stann Creek Valley. In addition, the Kendall

SG/SM/11984
IHA/1272

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's remarks to the Replenishment Conference for the Central Emergency Response Fund in New York, 4 December:

We meet at a time of great global anxiety. We have a chance, here today, to help those most vulnerable to war, strife, hunger, drought, floods and other disasters.

When calamity strikes, millions of people around the world look to the United Nations for relief. Our goal is to work with all partners to make sure that the victims, no matter where or who they are, get the emergency assistance they need.