EU to contribute nearly 2 mln USD to Thailand for flood-relief
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Xinhua, October 21, 2011
The European Union has promised to donate 60 million baht (US$1.94 million) to Thailand for flood-relief, local media reported Friday.
The funding is part of EU's overall humanitarian assistance package to flood-ravaged southeastern Asian countries, also including Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam. The package, worth around 400 million baht (US$12.8 million), is set to benefit 500,000 to 1 million people.
EU said in a statement that its Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, which facilitate the donation with the Thai side, had assessed the flooding situation so as to address the most pressing needs in the relief effort and provide support to the ongoing emergency response.
A total of 342 people were killed and two still missing in the floods that have inundated a large part of the country for nearly three months, according to a report released by the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department Friday.
The floods still prevail in 28 provinces, affecting nearly 2.5 million people. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Friday invoked the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act, endowing herself with full authority in flood fighting and relief.
