|© UNICEF Nepal/Shrestha| |Children crossing the road near
Garbari tole in the flood-affected town of Nepalgunj, Banke
District, Nepal.| KATHMANDU, Nepal, 29 August 2006 – UNICEF has
started distributing supplies to families affected by
devastating floods in the Mid-Western and Far-Western Regions of
Nepal. The Nepal Red Cross Society, UNICEF’s partner in the aid
distribution, estimates that some 5,800 households have been
affected by flooding in the district of Banke, with a further
5,000 households affected in neighouring Bardiya. Some 30 per
cent of the houses in Banke and 1,030 homes in Bardiya
reportedly have been destroyed. Families have been taking
shelter on the high ground next to main roads, and six local
schools are being used as shelters. “Our immediate concern for
the families is that they have shelter and warmth, and to ensure
they can purify their drinking water,” UNICEF’s Representative
in Nepal, Dr. Suomi Sakai, said today. “The districts most
affected by the flooding are some of the poorest