European help for flood-hit people

The European Commission will provide emergency support to thousands of people affected by floods and mudslides in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bangladesh will get € (euro) 0.5million and Myanmar €1million, it said in a statement. Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said the 28-country bloc stands by the people affected by the floods both in Myanmar and Bangladesh. “With more rain on its way, the key priority now is to make sure people are safe – and then to help them rebuild their livelihoods,” Stylianides said.
“Our new humanitarian funding will help provide immediate help to those in need through our partners on the ground.” The aid will be targeted at providing essential support such as food assistance and nutrition, shelter, water and sanitation. This is the first funding decision, and more support could be allocated depending on the needs on the ground. A state of emergency was declared in Myanmar after rain displaced tens of thousands of people, flooded vast swathes of paddy fields, and raised fears of dams collapsing. Bangladesh has seen heavy floods and landslides as a result of heavy pre-monsoon showers occurring during the last week of June in the Southeast districts of Chittagong, Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar. The tropical cyclone Komen, too, crossed the same districts, forcing over 320, 000 displaced people into cyclone shelters in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong. In addition to the emergency funding, the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated at the request of the government of Myanmar.
Bangladesh has not yet asked for the activation of the mechanism, the EU office in Dhaka said. “We stand ready to help if asked,” it said in the statement.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates the cooperation in disaster response among 33 European states, 28 EU Member States, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro, Norway and Serbia, according to bdnews24.com.
- mbz