In the east the situation of displaced residents is serious as, unlike in the Upper Suriname area, it is more difficult to evacuate to higher ground. In visiting the Upper-Marowijne River area in the east, Caribbean Net News observed that many villages built on small islands in the river are now completely flooded.

During the past several days it has continued to rain which has resulted in water levels rising again in settlements where it had started to recede. The local weather service has predicted more rain for the southern region in the near future.

Along the Upper Suriname River in the mid-east of the country the situation is gradually improving. In most of the flooded settlements the water has receded and people are returning home to clean up or assess the damage to their homes.

In the south, thousands of inhabitants of flooded settlements have fled to neighbouring French Guiana and Brazil, while the Medical Mission (MM) has confirmed an increase in the incidence of diarrhoea in the Amerindian villages of Tepoe and Sipaliwini near the Brazilian border. Also an increase in the number of respiratory infections has been reported.

Reports indicate that boat traffic on the rivers has diminished, which has hampered the distribution of food and water from main distribution points as well as access to medical centres.

Although the transportation and distribution of food, water and other relief supplies is improving, flood victims in the east have complained that as of Wednesday they had not yet received any help from the government.

Some private organizations, however, had already reached these areas and supplied some basic food items. On Wednesday numerous flood victims flocked to the Stoelsmanseiland in the Upper-Marowijne area in an attempt to receive relief goods.

This week the private relief organisation Hesi distributed 22 tons of rice, and hundreds litres of  cooking oil and sugar, while at the same time making an assessment of the health concerns in the Lawa River area. Several cases of diarrhoea were reported.

According to Hesi-spokeswoman Erna Aviankoi, the organisation will now focus on health needs in the affected areas. Several teams are currently assessing the situation.

“We will now focus on public health education in these areas in an attempt to inform the people what to do in order to avoid diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases,” said Aviankoi.

In cooperation with the Psychiatric Centre Suriname, psychological counselling will be provided for traumatized flood victims.

Meanwhile a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team concluded three assessment missions.

Two were conducted by land: one in the Upper Suriname River area with a team of Dutch police and another one in the East with the representative from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).

The third assessment was done by helicopter with the Ministry of Defence in the east of the country. Visits to a lot of villages in the south still remain to be conducted.

The UNDAC team has identified logistics, fuel, and safe drinking water as outstanding overall priority relief needs. Food, sanitary measures for waste disposal and shelter materials are considered additional priorities in the east, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports.

In the Upper Suriname disaster area the most urgent food, water and shelter needs have been met. Current needs are for compensation of damaged crops, replacement of damaged food stocks, school material, repair of generators, fuel, stocks of medicines, repair or replacement of hand tools for woodwork and reconstruction of houses.

In some villages about 70% of the stored food has been destroyed. However there is no acute food shortage and the electricity supply is working again.