Brussels, 04/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 5 April, the European Commission decided to increase its emergency aid to Japan, stricken by an earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, by €10 million.
This extra aid, which has been made available in response to the needs expressed by the Japanese authorities, will help around 8,000 families in the devastated provinces of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. The funds, taken from the budget of ECHO (the EU's humanitarian aid and civil protection service), will go to the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Societies of the Red Crescent, which will be able to channel the money to evacuees and the devastated populations.
“While we support the affected people, we also need to draw our conclusions and prepare for a world where disasters are both more frequent, and more destructive”, said Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, in a press release.
This latest funding decision brings the emergency humanitarian aid made available by the EU so far to over €15 million, to help more than 30,000 people living in temporary shelters and dependent on aid for providing them with food rations, water, blankets, mattresses and other essentials.
At the same time, aid in kind provided by the member states via the EU civil protection mechanism continues. On Monday 4 April, a Europe Assistance flight transporting goods (food, tents, sleeping bags, gloves and rubber boots) provided free of charge by Aerologic, DHL and Lufthansa, was on its way to Japan. And since the 72 tonnes of supplies delivered to Tokyo on 26 March by a European aeroplane made available free of charge by Lufthansa, three further dispatches have arrived. These dispatches have included 50 dosimeters, as announced by Georgieva on 28 March (EUROPE 10346). (A.N./transl.fl).