Brussels, 28/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The EU expresses its solidarity with the population of Indonesia severely affected by a double natural disaster - a tsunami in Mentawai and the volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi in Java.
A message of condolences has been addressed by José Manuel Barroso, European Commission President, to the Indonesian president, pending release of €1.5 million in humanitarian aid. The decision to provide financial assistance was taken on Thursday 28 October.
The funding, allocated from the budget of ECHO (the EU's humanitarian aid and civil protection service), may be made available within 72 hours to provide immediate relief to those affected by the disaster.
It is urgent to provide funding for drinking water supplies, primary healthcare, provisional shelter and the psychological support of victims. Initial emergency aid is intended to help 65,000 people in Mentawai and another 22,000 in Yogyakarta, Java. However, an assessment of needs has still to be carried out, an exercise which is complicated by the difficulty of access to a number of islands and the continuing volcanic activity of Mount Merapi. The Commission is closely monitoring the situation via the ECHO office in Djakarta.
“I am deeply concerned about the natural disasters that have struck Indonesia and its inhabitants in the past days. Indonesia is currently addressing a multitude of emergencies, whose cumulative impact is putting local capacity under severe strain. Our funds will help to fill the response gaps in the main relief sectors. This initial emergency assistance will help alleviate the suffering of survivors”, comments Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Response.
European aid will be administered by the humanitarian ECHO partner organisations on the ground. According to provisional estimates of both disasters in Indonesia, 311 people have died, 379 are missing and 261 are seriously injured. It is believed there could be over 65,000 people affected.
In 2009, ECHO had provided €4.5 million in humanitarian aid to the survivors of earthquakes in Sumatra and Java. (A.N./transl.jl)