In response to Typhoon Damrey, which wreaked havoc across large parts of Vietnam’s central and south-central regions in early November, the European Commission is providing 200,000 EUR (5.36 billion VND) in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most affected communities. 
This EU-funding supports the Vietnamese Red Cross Society (VNRC) in delivering much-needed assistance through the distribution of tarpaulins, shelter tool kits, household kits, and water purification tablets. In addition, cash grants are being provided to ensure the most vulnerable families can meet their basic needs and sustain their day-to-day livelihoods. As outbreaks of water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and typhoid are common following flooding, disease prevention activities are also being conducted.

HHK distribution in Tuy Hoa, Tuy Phuoc, Binh Dinh. Photo: IFRC

The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Considered the strongest tropical system to strike south-central Vietnam in the last 20 years, Typhoon Damrey made landfall over the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on 4th November, killing over 100 people and affecting more than four million, including close to 400 000 in need of assistance. Over 3000 homes were destroyed, and nearly 140,000 others damaged, while some 130,000 hectares of arable lands were inundated, significantly impacting the livelihoods of the people in the predominantly agricultural country. Although water levels have receded, the humanitarian needs remain immense and the local capacity to respond has been overstretched following the large scale of the disaster’s impact.

VNRC Quang Nam is at site conducting needs assessment. Photo: IFRC

The European Union together with its Member States is the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises. The European Commission through its European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) helps over 120 million victims of conflicts and disasters every year. For more information, please visit ECHO's website.
The European Commission has signed a EUR 3 million humanitarian contribution agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to “small-scale” disasters – those that do not give rise to a formal international appeal.
The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund was established in 1985 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF. For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which can then be replenished by the donors. The contribution agreement between the IFRC and ECHO enables the latter to replenish the DREF for agreed operations (that fit in with its humanitarian mandate) up to a total of EUR 3 million.
 
For further information, please contact:
Pierre Prakash, Regional Information Officer for Asia and the Pacific, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO): Pierre.Prakash@echofield.eu