03/09/2004

This sandy expanse is a wadi, a seasonal river.  Wadis are dry most of the year but can become a torrent of water 100 yards wide and five feet deep during the rainy season between June and September.  Flooded wadis will make travel dangerous and cut off access to refugee camps.  WFP is pre-positioning food near refugee camps to feed refugees during the rainy season.  Pastoralists and local residents find water when the wadi is dry by digging seep holes about five feet deep in the sands of the wadi.