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UN sending team to coordinate relief

The United Nations has said it was mobilising a disaster assessment team after a cyclone struck Orissa, killing thousands and making more than 1.5 million people homeless.

Secretary General Kofi Annan was ''distressed by the devastation caused by the powerful cyclone on October 29 that is reported to have affected more than 10 million people in eight districts of the Indian state of Orissa,'' a statement issued by a UN spokesman said.

He said the United Nations was mobilising a team to assist UN agencies in the country with damage assessment and coordination of international disaster relief.

''The secretary general extends his condolences to the government of India and to the families affected and reiterates the readiness of the United Nations system to assist in relief and recovery efforts being undertaken by the Indian government,'' the statement added.

General Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab, Namibia's foreign minister, called on ''the entire international community, including in particular the humanitarian agencies, to respond swiftly and generously to India's urgent appeal for emergency relief assistance for the many thousands of victims.''

Recalling that the United Nations observed World Disaster Reduction Day on October 13, Gurirab said efforts to reduce the impact and human cost of disasters ''must become an essential element of international strategies and national development plans if we are to mitigate -- since we cannot prevent -- their devastating effects''.

Reuters

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