The United Nations and Nicaragua launched a flash appeal today for $14.3 million to provide shelter, food, water and sanitation, and agricultural live lihoods to those affected by the floods that have ravaged large parts of the country for the past three weeks.

During a briefing in Geneva, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the appeal will provide aid for 134,000 people over the next six months, and will respond to immediate as well as medium-term necessities to enhance the population’s early recovery.

The appeal will target seven areas that have been identified as the most affected and with the least capacity to respond: Chinandega, León, Managua, Estelí, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, and Madriz.