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ORISSA, INDIA, 25 July, 2001 - In Orissa it is still raining, relentlessly. Door Singh, a 40-year-old grandmother, continues her vigil - watching the rain and waiting for rice.
"I have seen enough of life," she says. "My family came here 30 years ago. This flood has taken away so much from so many.''
Door and her granddaughter wait near a makeshift stove for the relief rice to arrive. For the past three days they have lived in the local primary school, the only place they could go to get out of the rain. More heavy rain is expected in the next 24 hours.
But food is not the only concern. Ironically, while Orissa drowns, its population is suffering from a lack of access to drinking water. The flood waters have submerged pumps and contaminated water sources. The lack of basic sanitation facilities compounds the situation.
Door Singh and her granddaughter are only 2 of 8.22 million people, including an estimated 2 million children in Orissa, who have suffered some kind of loss. Orissa's have lost their homes, their livelihoods, clean drinking water and food. An estimated 174, 000 houses have been damaged and families have moved to various places to get out of the rain - to embankments, makeshift camps, schools and any building that still has a roof.
And for the suffering millions, this was not the first disaster. First was the cyclone in 1999 that affected more than 13 million people (including an estimated 3.5 million children) and destroyed over 1.6 million homes. It was followed by drought and now the flood. One of India's poorest states, Orissa now faces another disaster.
Many villages remain out of reach and there is no information on the situation of their children. Boats are needed urgently to transport food, water and medicines to the marooned populations. UNICEF has provided five boats and more are expected in the next few days.
Two million primary school age children and nearly half a million upper primary school children are affected and are unable to go to school in 18 districts. This is a particular concern because experience from past emergencies has shown that it is always difficult to get children to return to school once they stop attending. UNICEF maintains that every child out of school is at risk of exploitation.
Cases of gastroenteritis and diarrhoea are on the rise. Although normal for this time of year, UNICEF and WHO are closely monitoring the situation. UNICEF has supported the printing of 250,000 flyers explaining the use of oral re-hydration salts (ORS) and simple steps to disinfect water. Tons of bleaching powder and 5 million halogen tablets have been flown in and distributed to ensure that the population has access to clean drinking water. UNICEF also immediately provided over US$70,000 worth of medicines.
As India is prone to various types of natural disasters, UNICEF is helping develop people's preparedness.
"Our priority in Orissa and in other Indian states is to assist state governments and communities to enhance emergency preparedness," says Maria Calivis, UNICEF Representative in India. "For the past two years, we have been working with experts, non-governmental organizations and governments to develop preparedness plans and train staff, including UNICEF staff."
"Children are always the most vulnerable victims," she says. "We cannot stop natural disasters, but we must protect and can protect children by being prepared for emergencies."