European Union announces funding of 500,000 euro for cyclone Amphan-affected people

New Delhi: The European Union has announced an initial funding of 500,000 euro for cyclone Amphan-affected people in India.

Cyclone Amphan has left 80 people dead and thousands homeless in West Bengal, battering several parts of the state. It also wreaked havoc in Odisha damaging power and telecom infrastructure in several coastal districts.

“The EU will address immediate needs of people affected by the cyclone, as well as protect humanitarian aid and health workers from their exposure to the epidemic,” EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said in a statement.

The EU is determined to start helping people in need with no further delay and provides an initial funding of 500,000 euro for India and 1,100,000 euro to support the immediate response in Bangladesh, the statement said.

“My thoughts are with the brave people who have been affected by tropical cyclone Amphan and especially those who have lost their loved ones. I am saddened to learn about fatalities in both India and Bangladesh, and the extent of destruction caused by strong winds, flooding and landslides, also damaging houses, infrastructure and livelihoods,” Lenarcic said.

“We can only imagine the dire state our Indian and Bangladeshi friends are currently in. This storm hits at a time when social distancing remains essential to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus. A crisis on top of a crisis, so to say,” she said.

Lenarcic said the EU’s Copernicus emergency management service supports these efforts with satellite maps to assess the damage.

“During these troubled times, I am proud to see that first responders are starting saving people’s lives and that further assessment of the situation on the ground has already started,” she said.

(PTI)