Brussels, 01/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - As Hurricane Gustav started to hit the coast of the United States on Monday 1 September 2008, the European Commission announced in a press release that it had decided to provide €2 million in aid for the most vulnerable people affected by the hurricane in the Caribbean.
The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office ECHO, which comes under the responsibility of EU Commissioner Louis Michel, has an office in San Domingo, whence it has been monitoring Gustav. Louis Michel said the first reports from Haiti spoke of damage due to violent wind gusts and flooding. Some 8,000 people have been evacuated to shelters. The Commissioner said that access to drinking water had already been identified as a major problem and the basic survival needs to tends of thousands of people will be severely affected by the losses of crops and farm animals. He said on Friday that did not yet have a clear picture of the situation in Jamaica. Michel also expressed concern about the situation in Cuba, commenting that when Gustav hit Cuba at the weekend it was a Category 4 hurricane, which generally means serious structural damage. He said that it was clear that many vulnerable people in the Caribbean were suffering and fast action was needed to help them.
Aid will be provided to help meet various needs of the communities hit by the hurricane in Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Typical basic humanitarian needs in such disasters are drinking water, food, medical aid, shelter and household goods like cooking utensils, explains the Commission in a press release. (O.L. /trans.fl)