Death toll in flood-ravaged Guyana rises to five

Flood-ravaged residents of Good Hope waiting for
medical attention on the flooded railroad embankment

Monday, January 24, 2005

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP): Devastating floods in Guyana have left five people dead, authorities said Saturday, as relief supplies trickled into thousands of affected villages in the South American nation.

The bodies of two men and a woman were found Saturday in three Atlantic coast villages severely affected by the week-old flood, police spokesman John Sauers said, raising the death toll from two to five.

At least 2,000 people were in 23 emergency shelters, while food and dry rations were being delivered to affected communities where the now stagnant and polluted water is between five and seven feet deep, President Bharrat Jagdeo said.

Meanwhile, the United States has given Guyana 50,000 dollars to help the nation recover from its worst flooding ever, US Ambassador Roland Bullen said Friday. 

Bullen said US officials were also considering requests for boats to help rescuers reach remote villages and for bottled water, generators, drainage pumps and hygiene kits.

Brazil also has contributed aid, including 16 tonnes of food and 100,000 US dollars.

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