TBILISI , Georgia ( CNN ) -- The number of people displaced by the warfare in Georgia is approaching 100,000 and the figure could rise , the U.N. refugee agency said Monday . Thousands of people have been displaced by the worsening conflict in the region . International agencies and nations were working to help thousands of people fleeing violence in war-ravaged Georgia , where 275,000 previously displaced people , refugees , stateless people and returnees had been living even before hostilities broke out last week between Georgia and Russia . `` It 's a very fluid situation , '' said Ron Redmond , a spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees . Georgia proper is a particular problem because some of the people who fled to Gori in Georgia from South Ossetia when the conflict began found themselves in a conflict zone and had to go somewhere else . The numbers Redmond cited were as of Sunday . He said about 56,000 people have fled in and around Gori . Many displaced people are headed to Tbilisi , where people are staying with relatives and acquaintances or at facilities available for the displaced . Watch U.S. and Russia clash » . The UNHCR said in a written statement that Georgian officials believe `` a few thousand have fled south into Georgia proper from South Ossetia , but a registration must be carried out to get an exact figure . '' When UNHCR and World Food Program officials traveled to Gori on Sunday , they determined about 80 percent of residents had left the city , which appeared largely deserted . About 30,000 people from South Ossetia headed to North Ossetia in Russia , Redmond said , citing Russian numbers . He said many women and children are showing up without husbands and fathers , indicating many families have been separated . Many of the uprooted are `` extremely distressed , '' he said . They are staying in schools and other public buildings . Those in schools will have to leave by September and `` there 's some concern about where they are going to . '' `` It 's assumed that many will probably go back '' to South Ossetia , Redmond said . At the same time , he said , `` There 's been heavy destruction . Many may not have anything to go back to . '' Redmond said more displacement is possible because hostilities are continuing in the area . The World Food Program is providing food assistance to displaced people . It said the aid work is perilous because of what the agency says are `` continuing Russian air raids . '' Over the weekend , the agency `` provided a 10-day food ration to more than 1,900 displaced people living in shelters '' in the Georgian capital , Tbilisi , and said more distributions were taking place Monday . `` The number of people in need of our help is rising by the hour , '' said Lola Castro , director of the WFP for Georgia . She said around 2,750 displaced people had been registered in Tbilisi , and others `` were living with relatives or in unofficial shelters . '' UNHCR is working to help civilians fleeing the war zone in and near the disputed region of South Ossetia , where Russian and Georgian troops have been fighting , and is providing humanitarian relief . Over the weekend , the UNHCR and associates passed along aid to `` 300 vulnerable Georgians from South Ossetia who had been transferred from Gori to Tbilisi . '' `` The agency also provided tents and other supplies to partners in Gori for use by the displaced , if necessary , '' the UNHCR said . The UNHCR said it is starting an `` emergency airlift of relief supplies to bolster its stockpiles of humanitarian aid in the Caucasus region . '' High Commissioner Antonio Guterres authorized $ 2 million from UNHCR 's emergency reserve for `` possible immediate new needs in the region '' and said more staff is being deployed . The first airlift flight is to tote 20,000 blankets and other aid items from UNHCR 's central emergency stockpile in Dubai to Georgia overnight Monday . Another flight is planned for Wednesday from Copenhagen , Denmark . There will be humanitarian supplies for up to 30,000 people in both flights . The UNHCR is planning to provide `` basic non-food aid items and temporary shelter where required , and has already activated the replenishment of stocks from its central emergency stockpile . '' `` Our main concern as the U.N. refugee agency is with the safety of the civilians , both displaced and non-displaced , and with humanitarian access with the possibility for us to help those in distress , especially the uprooted , '' said Antonio Guterres , the U.N. high commissioner for refugees . `` We have mobilized our financial resources and our humanitarian resources . Airlifts are starting with relief items to be able to help people . But we need to be able to get to them . '' Guterres said he was pleased with the news that `` humanitarian corridors '' will be established and said UNHCR is `` ready to provide immediate humanitarian support to Georgian or Russian authorities . '' Both Russia and Georgia mentioned plans for such corridors -- one to North Ossetia in Russia and one to Georgia . The ICRC said a surgical team will be arriving in Georgia on Tuesday `` to reinforce local surgical staff , in particular those working at Gori 's civilian hospital . The Norwegian Red Cross is sending a field hospital to help treat people who have been wounded in Georgia . '' That would include those in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali . `` Over the past few days the ICRC has been able to visit hospitals in Alaguir , Ardon and Vladikavkaz , in the Russian Federation , and in Gori , Poti and Senaki in Georgia , '' said Dominik Stillhart , the organization 's deputy director of operations . `` It 's still too early to say how many people have been killed or injured by the fighting , but our visits to these hospitals confirm that local medical facilities are dealing with a large number of wounded and dead . '' The ICRC is hoping to distribute blankets , hygiene materials and cooking pots , and restore access to drinking water in Tskhinvali . The group plans to work with the Russian Red Cross in North Ossetia and provide emergency aid for families . The group is preparing to airlift 15 tons of medicines and medical supplies to treat injured people . The ICRC plans to send material `` for a water-treatment plant and distribution tanks capable of holding safe drinking water for around 20,000 people . '' CNN 's Joe Sterling and Elise Labott contributed to this report .
Almost 100,000 people displaced by warfare , says U.N. refugee agency . Score: 7 aid work is perilous because of `` continuing Russian air raids . '' UNHCR is starting an `` emergency airlift of relief supplies '' Russian figures in N. Ossetia show 30,000 people entered from S. Ossetia .