Additional €2.6m for hurricane Stan victims in Guatemala

The European Commission has decided to allocate a further €2.6 million to victims of hurricane Stan in Guatemala. This is additional to the €3.5 million the Commission gave when the disaster struck in early October 2005. The funds will provide drinking water, sanitation, health services and agricultural support to 80 000 people who lost their houses and belongings in the disaster. The funds will be channelled through the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel.

When the hurricane and landslides first hit Guatemala, the Commission provided €3.5 million to cover people's most urgent needs for food and water. Nevertheless, the situation remains precarious for many people in Guatemala, in particular for the poorest, often indigenous families, who were hardest hit by the disaster.

This additional funding aims to help the victims regain their self sufficiency and provide the foundations for local and national reconstruction. It will provide drinking water and basic sanitation services, mitigation works, basic health services, redevelopment of basic agricultural activities and disaster preparedness. All of these activities will be implemented in coordination and collaboration with local stakeholders.

In early October 2005, Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala and El Salvador. Ten days of continuous rain brought on by Hurricane Stan caused flooding and landslides in the country where the soil was already saturated by the rainy season, causing destruction of dwellings, crops and infrastructure. 3,500,000 people (31% of the total Guatemalan population) and 40% of the Guatemalan regions (i.e. 133 out of 333) were impacted by the storm. Guatemala immediately declared a state of National Emergency and requested international aid.

For further information:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/field/crisis/guatemala/index_en.htm

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