EU allocates additional Rs 89m in aid for flood relief in Nepal

KATHMANDU: The European Union has allocated an additional Rs 89 million in humanitarian assistance to support communities affected by devastating flash floods in Nepal. The latest injection of funds brings the EU's total emergency commitment for the disaster to more than Rs 445 million, or 2.5 million euros.

To strengthen the relief effort, the EU is arranging a Humanitarian Air Bridge to Kathmandu, with a flight carrying over 80 tonnes of emergency stock from Copenhagen scheduled to touch down later this week. The EU is also mobilising substantial in-kind assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with member states Germany, Luxembourg, Latvia and Sweden dispatching shelter items, hygiene supplies, forensic equipment and other critical materials.

The newly announced funding will support an emergency operation led by the Nepal Red Cross Society, under the Disaster Response Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Designed to assist up to 20,000 individuals, or roughly 4,000 households, across Bagmati Province, the relief package includes emergency and transitional shelter, cash assistance, water and sanitation facilities, healthcare, mental health support, and other vital protection services.

The aid package arrives as Nepal continues to grapple with the aftermath of catastrophic flash floods that struck on August 26, causing significant loss of life and widespread destruction to homes, infrastructure and essential public services. Throughout the crisis, the Copernicus satellite service has supplied crucial mapping data to aid emergency responders.