Top stories from the global humanitarian news clips service, DAWNS Digest. Sign up to receive updates directly to your inbox every morning.
UN To Launch Emergency Appeal for Haiti in Wake of Hurricane Sandy
Though images of destruction in New York and New Jersey are dominating media in the USA, the scale of disaster in Haiti is orders of magnitudes worse. The UN is poised to launch a funding appeal to help bring emergency relief to Haiti. “The government raised the death toll to 54 on Tuesday with 20 still missing. Tens of thousands have been left homeless. In just four days, the south and south-west of Haiti was soaked by 50cm of rain, equivalent to almost an average year’s worth in London. Some victims were washed away when rivers burst their banks. Others died in accidents caused by the storm. One family of five – a mother and her four children – were crushed when the roof of their home collapsed in Grand-Goâve.” (Guardian http://bit.ly/ScB2rh)
IDP Camps in Myanmar Overwhelmed After Renewed Ethnic Fighting
The situation in Rakhine state, Myanmar is only getting worse as mostly ethnic Rohingya people displaced from sectarian conflict are struggling to find adequate shelter after being displaced by pogrom like violence. “Thousands from mainly Muslim communities in Rakhine state have streamed towards camps already struggling to cope with the 75,000 people displaced by earlier clashes in June. ‘With the new influx, these already overcrowded camps are being stretched beyond capacity in terms of space, shelter and basic supplies such as food and water, UNHCR said. ‘Food prices in the area have doubled and there are not enough doctors to treat the sick and wounded.’ Authorities have struggled to end the violence.” (Daily Times http://bit.ly/T3ifj3)