UN Food Agency To Assist Some 40,000 People Affected By Flooding In Iran - WFP

UN Food Agency to Assist Some 40,000 People Affected by Flooding in Iran - WFP

The World Food Program (WFP) had launched a food assistance operation in Iran to sustain 40,000 people for the month of Ramadan after heavy rains and floods ravaged parts of the country, the WFP said in a press release on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2019) The World Food Program (WFP) had launched a food assistance operation in Iran to sustain 40,000 people for the month of Ramadan after heavy rains and floods ravaged parts of the country, the WFP said in a press release on Tuesday.

"In response to flash flooding that has hit much of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today started delivering emergency food assistance to sustain 40,000 people for one month," the release said.

WFP Representative in Iran Negar Gerami said that during the month of Ramadan, the UN food agency and the Iranian Red Crescent will distribute some 10,000 emergency food rations to the most affected communities in Khuzestan province.

Since the start of flooding, the Red Crescent has been assisting Iran.

However, with the rains continuing, the most severely affected Golestan, Fars, Khuzestan, Lorestan, and Ilam provinces remain in a state of emergency and require additional support from the WFP, the release added.

In April, the United Nations appealed for $25 million to provide emergency aid to the most affected communities in the country.

Iran has been inundated with heavy rainfall and flooding since March 19. At least 78 people have died, and more than 1,000 have suffered injuries as a result of the floods, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

According to government estimates, some 500,000 people have been displaced, with thousands of homes partially damaged or totally destroyed.