European Union brings relief to the victims of Typhoon Damrey in Vietnam

Thứ Năm, 14/12/2017, 10:08

In response to Typhoon Damrey, which wreaked havoc across large parts of Vietnam’s central and south-central regions in early November, the European Commission is providing 200,000 EUR (5.36 billion VND) in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most affected communities.

The aid will respond to the urgent needs of more than 10,000 heavily-impacted people in the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa.

This EU-funding supports the Vietnamese Red Cross Society (VNRC) in delivering much-needed assistance through the distribution of tarpaulins, shelter tool kits, household kits, and water purification tablets.

VNRC Quang Nam is at site conducting needs assessment.

In addition, cash grants are being provided to ensure the most vulnerable families can meet their basic needs and sustain their day-to-day livelihoods. As outbreaks of water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and typhoid are common following flooding, disease prevention activities are also being conducted.

The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Considered the strongest tropical system to strike south-central Vietnam in the last 20 years, Typhoon Damrey made landfall over the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on 4th November, killing over 100 people and affecting more than four million, including close to 400 000 in need of assistance.

Over 3000 homes were destroyed, and nearly 140,000 others damaged, while some 130,000 hectares of arable lands were inundated, significantly impacting the livelihoods of the people.

Although water levels have receded, the humanitarian needs remain immense and the local capacity to respond has been overstretched following the large scale of the disaster’s impact.

PSNews