EC allocates 9.5m Euros aid to flood victims in India, Bangla, Nepal

Brussels, Aug 30 (UNI) The European Commission has allocated 9.5 million Euros in humanitarian aid for flood victims in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Emergency experts from the Commission's Humanitarian Aid department, ECHO, have been in the flood-affected areas, liaising with relief agencies on operations to be funded.

The emergency relief focuses on distribution of food rations and the provisions of drinking water, shelter and healthcare, in particular to prevent outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

It is also meant to assist the recovery of livelihoods, repair damaged housing and water-sanitation facilities.

European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel said, ''Many Europeans have experienced flooding in recent years and we know how important it is to get rapid assistance in such a terrible situation.'' He said the EC had taken strenuous action to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims.

''We have immediately dispatched our emergency experts to assess the most urgent basic needs and to liaise with other international relief agencies. On the basis of their assessment, we have decided to allocate 9.5 million Euros in emergency aid,'' he said.

By early August, more than five million households were affected by the floods in India and over one million families in Bangladesh.

In Nepal, over 350,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

In the three countries, damage includes loss of standing crops, serious erosion of farmland and property, destruction of livestock, foods and tools, as well as the contamination of surface water supplies, wells and latrines.

UNI