Trócaire has pledged an initial €180,000 for relief efforts in response to devastating floods in India, Bangladesh and Nepal caused by monsoons.
Irish Aid, the Irish government's overseas development agency, has given Trócaire €100,000 for the relief efforts and the agency has provided another €80,000 in funding from its emergency reserves. Trócaire is monitoring the situation through its office and permanent staff in Islamabad in Pakistan. Trócaire staff will travel to Bangladesh in the next few days, where an estimated four million people are affected. Trócaire is working with partner agency, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), to make sure people have food, shelter and other necessary items to survive, such as cooking utensils.
The region's monsoon flooding is said to be the worst in recent years, and the lives of millions of people throughout South Asia have been affected. A CRS report said more than 12 million people in India were stranded as a result of the floods. Trócaire partner Caritas India is responding. In Pakistan, CRS is responding in remote areas, distributing relief kits, water and shelter. Families are also receiving water purification tablets to stem the expected rise in water-borne diseases and CRS is distributing water filters, community water tanks and constructing latrines and bathing spaces.
In Nepal, where Trócaire's partners are also responding to the emergency, reports say more than one third of districts have flooded, affecting almost 50,000 families.
"This flooding has left millions of people unable to cope. With the help of the Irish government and public funding, we have been able to help hundreds of families to survive the initial devastation. At present we are focusing on meeting immediate emergency relief needs. As a clearer picture of the extent of the devastation emerges we will help these people to start rebuilding their livelihoods," said Trócaire Emergency Programme leader Maurice McQuillan.
To contact Trócaire's press team:
Republic of Ireland - Catherine Ginty, Press Officer, Trócaire. T: +353 1 505 3270 M: 086 629 3994
Northern Ireland & UK - David O'Hare, Press Officer, Trócaire. T: 028 90 80 80 30 M: +44 7900053884