IHA/1235
6 September 2006
Humanitarian Factsheet on Lebanon
NEW YORK, 5 September (UN Headquarters) -- The following has been prepared by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
Mine Action
-- To date, 434 cluster bomb strike locations have been identified and 112 unexploded bombs and 13,871 cluster sub-munitions destroyed by the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC), United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Army.
-- Ten Explosive Ordnance Disposal Teams are now operating in Lebanon, with additional teams to come.
Humanitarian Activities: Focus on Khiyam (Southern Lebanon)
-- Seven thousand people, out of a total population of 10,000, have returned to this municipality in Nabatiyeh District since the cessation of hostilities.
-- Initial damage estimates found 750 homes destroyed and another 1,000 heavily damaged but repairable. An additional 1,000 residences were lightly damaged. At present, some 900 families are living in temporary accommodations with friends and relatives.
-- Three of the community's five schools were destroyed and one badly damaged and currently being used as a base for the Lebanese army. Two mosques were completely destroyed and another four badly damaged. Six civil society buildings were destroyed. Most internal roads were damaged.
-- The town currently has no electric power. Some small generators are being used to provide limited power to clusters of three to four houses. The emergency generator in the local clinic is also supplying limited power to a municipal building.
-- Of two municipal water storage tanks, one is badly damaged. The internal water and sewage networks have been destroyed. The town does have a natural spring and a generator is providing electrical power to pump water into a tank.
-- UNHCR has provided 12 truckloads of blankets, water, powdered milk, as well as tents and some 2,000 food parcels.
-- International non-governmental organizations are providing water, food, hygiene packs, water storage tanks, diapers, tents, medical supplies, and a generator for the local clinic.
-- UNIFIL is providing support for the delivery of water and conducting mobile clinics for two hours a day.
Humanitarian Activities: Countrywide
-- The logistics cluster reports a high volume of truck movement in recent days with 120 truckloads shipped for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and others.
-- A World Food Programme (WFP) food assessment is expected to provide results on 15 September.
Humanitarian Funding
-- Ninety million five hundred thousand dollars have now been committed against the $96.5 million required under the revised Lebanon Flash Appeal, with an additional $13.4 million in pledges recorded.
For further information, please call: Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, tel.: +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel.: +41 22 917 2653, mobile: +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int .
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