Kinshasa, Jan 19 (Prensa Latina) Nearly two million people have been affected by the worst floods in 60 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

OCHA, as the agency is known, said that 1.8 million people have been affected by the rising waters that began in October last year and reached most of the country, with nine of its 12 departments flooded.

The government declared a state of emergency on December 29 and announced that more than 350,000 persons are in need of urgent life-saving assistance, as well as warning of epidemiological risks.

Although the water level began to drop in the north, access remains difficult, the agency said, adding that many villages can only be reached by canoe or boat.

Further damage is reported in the health sector, with nearly 250,000 people unable to access primary health care, while some 27,000 children are unable to attend school.

“Our humanitarian colleagues also warn that the floods could have medium and long-term consequences, due to the impact on livelihoods,” the OCHA report said.

The initial assessments estimate that some 2,300 hectares of cultivated land have been flooded, in addition to the destruction of fishing gear, the loss of small livestock and other means of food production.

The DRC government, with the support of UN agencies, is deploying a humanitarian response that urgently needs financial assistance.