EU humanitarian aid for victims of Hurricane Michelle

In the wake of Hurricane Michelle, which swept through Central America and Cuba in early November, the Commission has decided to grant €1 050 000 in emergency humanitarian aid through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) headed by Commissioner Poul Nielson. The impact of gales and heavy rain on some communities in the region is comparable to that of Hurricane Mitch in October 1998. This has been the most violent hurricane to hit Cuba since 1944.

The worst hit regions are Nicaragua's North Atlantic region, northern Honduras, Jamaica's northeastern Portland area and Cuba's Isla de la Juventud and central provinces. There are reckoned to be 60 000 victims in Central America, 25 000 of whom have had to be evacuated. In Cuba 800 000 people are affected, 270 000 of whom are still homeless.

ECHO's aim in Central America is to complement the aid efforts of national agencies. Many people have yet to receive any emergency aid. In particular, aid to communities in the Mosquitia region, which straddles Honduras and Nicaragua, has been limited because heavy flooding has made access difficult. In Cuba the hurricane has exacerbated an already difficult economic situation: harvests in the provinces concerned have been destroyed. Thousands of houses, schools and health centers have also been severely damaged.

In the areas hit by the hurricane the main concerns are access to food and drinking water. There is also a considerable danger of epidemics.

The ECHO-financed programmes will run for three to six months and be carried out by a series of partner NGOs: Italy's Gruppo Volontariato Civile, Spain's Asociación Navarra Nuevo Futuro and Movimiento por la Paz, el Desarme y la Libertad, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The areas of activity are: the evacuation of danger areas; the shipment and distribution of food rations, basic necessities and medicines; epidemiological surveillance; and sewage treatment.

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