02/03
The Fiji Red Cross
today expressed deep concern about the well-being of
thousands of people left without access to clean water following
Cyclone Ami which devastated much of the archipelago on Monday last with
wind speeds of up to 185 km/h (115 mph).
The Director General of the Fiji Red Cross, Alison Cupit, back in the capital, Suva, following a visit to one of the worst-affected islands, Vanualevu, said: "People are traumatized. There is a desperate need for fresh water in many parts which have experienced flooding. We are stepping up our relief efforts to reach an additional 40,000 people. We will be bringing fresh water supplies in over the weekend."
So far the Fiji Red Cross through a network of 1,000 volunteers has assisted 20,850 people. This included four five-tonne truckloads of relief items which were sent by ferry from Suva to Vanualevu over the last two days for distribution. Assistance includes emergency family packs comprising clothing, cooking utensils, blankets, hygiene items and polythene sheeting for shelter and the collection of rain water.
A priority item now is water purification tablets. Cupit said the Fiji Red Cross has distributed 7,000 water purification tablets in the last couple of days and was expecting an additional stock of 200,000 from the Australian government over the weekend. The focus of the Red Cross relief effort is on the islands of Vanualevu, Tavenuni and Rabi which have a total population of over 200,000.
For further information, or to set up interviews (ISDN line available in Geneva) please contact:
Denis McClean,
Head,
Media Service
Tel: + 41 22 730 44 28 / + 41 79 217 33 57
Media Service Duty Phone
Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81
The Federation, the national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. For further information on Federation activities, please see our web site: www.ifrc.org