EU provides EUR 2 mn to Nepal in humanitarian aid to support quake victims

The European Union has provided a EUR 2 million aid package to Nepal to support the victims of the earthquake which rattled the remote mountain areas in the Himalayan nation earlier this month.

On November 3, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted western Nepal's Jajarkot and Rukum districts, killing 153 people and injuring over 260 others. Days later, on November 7, three tremors of over magnitude 4 hit Jajarkot, injuring at least 16 people. The quakes damaged around 8,000 buildings, both public and private.

The grant assistance provided by the EU is equivalent to around Nepalese Rs 290 million. It will help provide shelter, access to clean water and sanitation, and health care, among other services, to support the earthquake-affected people in the Jajarkot and Rukum districts of Nepal, a press release issued by the EU Representative Office in Nepal said.

In addition, EUR 200,000 has been allocated to the Nepal Red Cross Society via the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Complementing the financial contribution, the EU has said that it will mobilise in-kind assistance worth EUR 1.2 million from its European Humanitarian Response Capacity (EHRC).

It will include tents and winterisation kits that will be sent from the EU's stockpile in Kuala Lumpur to address the crucial shelter needs of vulnerable families whose homes were destroyed.

Nepali people have once again been hit by a deadly earthquake," said the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic.

" As in previous disasters, the EU stays ready to help those most in need. This new aid package will bring shelter to people that have lost their homes, so they can be prepared to face the upcoming winter while helping with other pressing needs, Lenarcic said.

The funding comes in addition to the EUR 2 million already allocated to Nepal at the beginning of this year to respond to natural hazards and strengthen disaster preparedness, the European Commission said in a press release.

The November 3 quake caused the worst human and infrastructure losses since the devastating jolt of April 2015.