CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Mission to flood-affected areas planned, official says

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

BANGUI, 14 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) may send a mission to flood affected areas outside the capital, Bangui, to assess the agricultural damage caused by floods that swept parts of the country in August, a government official has said.

"We are going to get in touch with the Red Cross to get their report in order to plan a mission into the [affected] zones," M'Peco Etienne, the director of planning in the Ministry of Agriculture, told IRIN on Thursday.

He said the government did not have a clear picture of the impact of the floods, especially in the central province of Ouaka, where farms were reported still flooded.

"We don't have the map of high risk zones in the country," he said. "We have no information about farms flooded by rain water in the towns of Bambari, Kouango, Grimari and Bakala as reported by the National Red Cross Committee".

However, Etienne said: "There is a great risk that the town of Kouango could get affected by the flooding as it is close to the Ubangui River. And if it is the case there will be a lack of cassava in the area".

Cassava is a staple in the country. Etienne said the consequences of the flooding on agriculture would not be established immediately."

On Monday, CAR Red Cross Programme Coordinator Alphonse Zarambaud said the country was still in need of international aid following the August floods. He said as the dry season approached, the Red Cross was concerned about the consequences of the flooding, especially in Ouaka.

"A large number of houses were destroyed by rain water in cities such as Bakala, Grimari, Kouango and Bambari," Zarambaud said. "Many farms were flooded and the risk of famine is looming ahead in the zones hit by the latest disaster."

He added that farmers in the region had sold their reserve food stocks in order to survive or to pay school fees.

"Farmers in the affected areas have no seed for the coming agricultural season and we would like the international community to help in providing the people with seeds," he said.

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