UN seeks $ 40 million for Nicaragua hurricane aid

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 15 (Reuters) The United Nations made an emergency appeal for nearly 40 million dollars to aid tens of thousands of Nicaraguans after Hurricane Felix tore into their country last week.

Felix's 260-kph winds and mammoth waves hit the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and Honduras, killing at least 130 people and battering villages.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs called for 22.9 million dollars for immediate relief yesterday for more than 160,000 people and 16.4 million dollars for assistance over the next six months.

The aid will include food, shelter, medicine, water, sanitation, education and communications.

The office said that worldwide it had launched a record 11 so-called ''flash'' appeals so far this year, all related to climate disasters except for last month's earthquake in Peru.

Reuters SZ VP0422