EU Provides €0.3 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Bangladesh Flood Victims

The European Union has granted €300 000 to aid the flood-affected population in Bangladesh's Southeast in response to the floods that occurred earlier this month.

The Bandarban area, one of the hardest-hit regions, will get the most of the relief.

The money will be used to give clients with emergency monetary assistance so they may meet their immediate requirements, mostly for food and shelter.

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) will oversee the funds and coordinate activities in the region with the Bangladesh Red Cross to guarantee the greatest possible coverage, according to the EU Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday.

Since 5 August, heavy rainfall has caused flash floods and landslides in the Southeast of Bangladesh, with a particularly harsh impact on Bandarban, where around 80% of the municipal area was flooded.

The floods have severely impacted food security, causing widespread damage to food stocks and harvests, as well as the death of livestock and loss of livestock’s feed.

Individual shelters in the most affected areas have also experienced extensive damage. In Barbadan alone, it is estimated that 15,600 homes have suffered severe damages.

This new funding comes in addition to the over €30 million provided by the EU this year in humanitarian aid to Bangladesh, notably in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, but also to reduce the impact of natural hazards.

After the terrible Cyclone Mocha struck Bangladesh's coast in May, the EU provided €350 000 through the IFRC Pilot Programmatic Partnership in order to provide emergency aid to those in need, both in the refugee camps and among the host community.

The EU's department for civil protection and humanitarian aid operations (DG ECHO) activated an Anticipatory Action project through WFP in advance of both Cyclone Mocha and the recent floods, enabling 5,300 households in the Teknaf District to access multi-purpose cash transfers.