Commission provides an additional EUR4m to victims of tropical storm Stan in El Salvador and Guatemala

Since the passage of Tropical Storm Stan, both Guatemala and El Salvador suffered profoundly. In Guatemala, there are 664 confirmed deaths. The UN estimated that 30% of the Guatemalan territory has suffered the consequences of the crisis. In El Salvador, the intense and devastating rains have caused 65 deaths and the displacement of more than 54,000 people into temporary shelters. Therefore, the European Commission on 7 November 2005 adopted a second emergency humanitarian aid decision of €4 million to assist the victims of floods and landslides in Guatemala and El Salvador.

These funds were supplementary to the €1.7 million which the Commission had already decided to contribute on 6 October 2005. The extra aid was to help to meet the most urgent needs of 30.000 affected families in terms of water and sanitation, food security, health, emergency shelter, non food items and information management. The funding would be channelled through the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department, ECHO.
Specific attention would be paid to the needs of vulnerable groups, such as children, women, elderly, disabled and indigenous minorities. With a view to the disaster prone areas, priority would also be given to operations that mainstream disaster risk reduction in their relief activities.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Relations between Guatemala and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/relations-between-guatemala-and-the-european-union/

ESO: Background information: Relations between El Salvador and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/relations-between-el-salvador-and-the-european-union/

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