The number of people who are in urgent need of immediate food rations has increased by around 10,000 since yesterday with an estimated 147,000 flood victims now requiring assistance.

DISMAC Senior Laisenia Naitila said figures received from their survey team this morning that in the Central Division 30,667 people need assistance and in the Western Division 116,328 people have also called for emergency food supplies.

Naitila said these are progressive figures as DISMAC teams are still on the ground visiting flood victims.

He adds Commissioner Northern is yet to provide details of how many people in the North need immediate assistance as his team is still conducting surveys in affected areas.

He also said his team is trying to distribute all food supplies to flood victims in a week’s time’s time including those victims who live in areas not accessible by road as arrangements are currently being made to airlift rations for them.

Meanwhile, over 1,000 people are still occupying evacuation centers in the Western and Eastern Division.

People are slowly returning home however 16 centers in the Western Division are still open with 1,023 people still sheltering in them.