THE European Union (EU) is giving around P60 million in emergency relief aid to families affected by Typhoon Ulysses.
The funding will go to its humanitarian aid partners providing shelter, food assistance, and access to clean water and healthcare in the affected areas, the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Manila said in a press release on Friday.
Funds will be sourced from the EU’s Acute Large Emergency Response Tool (ALERT), which is used to respond to natural hazards in places where over 100,000 people or over half the population are affected. The response tool usually allocates funds within 24 to 48 hours of the emergency.
“The EU is scaling up its humanitarian assistance in the Philippines in response to the devastating typhoons that have hit the country over the past month,” European Commission Humanitarian Aid Philippine Head Arlynn Aquino said. “The additional contribution will help to get much-needed aid to the most vulnerable people to help them go through this difficult time”.
Typhoon Ulysses, with international name Vamco, was the 21st storm to hit the country this year and brought rainfall between 271 millimetres to 356 millimetres.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte has placed Luzon island under a state of calamity.
Ulysses has killed at least 73 people and injured 24 while 19 have been reported missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported on Friday.
The EU had previously set aside around P63 million in assistance funds to aid groups in the Philippines after Typhoon Rolly, with international name Goni and considered as the world’s strongest storm to hit land this year. — Jenina P. Ibañez