UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The response to last week's flash floods in Nepal is entering a new phase, with authorities intensifying relief efforts and recovery operations, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, authorities had recovered 1,003 bodies, while nearly 3,900 people remained unaccounted for, with nearly 12,000 rescued, OCHA said.
For thousands of affected families, the priority is now receiving humanitarian assistance, recovering and identifying the remains of their loved ones, tracing missing relatives and reunifying with separated children, and accessing psychosocial support.
Nearly 3,500 displaced people are living in 27 sites across the districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa, most of them in schools, disrupting education, said the office.
Humanitarians are also concerned about growing public health risks. Overcrowded shelters, contaminated water and damaged health facilities are putting people, especially women and children, at greater risk of disease in the middle of the monsoon season.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners continue to support the government-led response. On Monday, staff members from OCHA, the UN Resident Coordinator's Office and the World Food Program (WFP) travelled to the town of Bidur in Nuwakot to meet district authorities and visit displacement sites. Partners are working to establish a coordination hub there so assistance reaches the communities most in need, OCHA said.
The WFP has dispatched nearly 80 metric tons of food. The UN Children's Fund is procuring 10,000 cartons of therapeutic food. Eight health teams have reached more than 1,200 people in displacement sites. More than 1,800 people, including hundreds of children, have received psychological first aid, and a 24-hour mental health helpline is up and running. The World Health Organization is supporting disease surveillance efforts in the two hardest-hit districts, it said.
The Nepalese government and UN Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia have agreed to launch a four-month humanitarian flash appeal on Friday. The appeal will support the government-led response and focus on mobilizing resources to save lives, deliver urgent humanitarian assistance and address the most critical needs of communities affected by the floods, said the office. ■