Iran earthquake - update on the response of the European Union

The European Commission has been active in providing emergency humanitarian assistance and in co-ordinating the work of EU Member States' search and rescue teams since the tragic earthquake in Bam on 26 December. Through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), the Commission allocated € 2.3 Million on Saturday 27 December to address the most urgent humanitarian needs. The funds will be channelled through the Red Cross and a number of European non governmental agencies (NGOs). Since the morning of 26 December, the EU Civil Protection Monitoring and Information Centre hosted by the European Commission has been working with the Iranian authorities and Member States, and other European countries participating in the European Civil Protection Mechanism, in order to facilitate European assistance. The Commission has also decided to finance a co-ordination team on site.

With this first assistance package of €2.3m, the Commission has been able to meet all the funding requests received by noon on Saturday 27 December. Within the total, € 622,129 has been granted to the Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the relief efforts of the Iranian Red Crescent Society with the provision of food parcels, blankets, tents, heaters, kitchen sets and hygienic kits. Funding has also been provided to the Finnish Red Cross (€ 500,000) to facilitate deployment of a field hospital and to the German Red Cross (€ 330,000) for the provision of water purification equipment. ECHO funding has also been granted to the French NGOs Médecines du Monde (€ 160,000) and Comité Aide Médicale (€ 653,577) for health care and related activities. To address the break-down of communication facilities in the Bam area, ECHO has provided funds to Télécoms Sans Frontières (€ 34,294) enabling them to set up a satellite-based communication network to facilitate communication and co-ordination between the aid agencies working in the disaster region.

The European Commission is currently examining further requests that have been received more recently and, based on the needs identified, additional funds will be mobilised as necessary. The European Commission supports UN efforts to co-ordinate international support for the disaster relief of the Iranian authorities. A team of ECHO experts has been dispatched to the disaster area where it will liaise with UN Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) and the Red Cross. ECHO is the European Union's Aid Office, a service of the European Commission under the direct responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. It funds relief to victims of natural disasters and man-made crises outside the EU.

The EU Civil Protection Monitoring and Information Centre hosted by the European Commission has liaised with the Iranian authorities and with the contact points of the Member States, of the accession and candidate countries and of the EEA countries, which are participating in the European Civil Protection Mechanism, in order to facilitate the European assistance. The Commission has also decided to finance a co-ordination team on site. The first teams left their respective countries on the 26 December and by late night of the 27 December all Search and Rescue teams and first emergency assistance teams had arrived on site. 12 countries are participating in this joint relief effort.

EU coordination of the search and rescue efforts, headed by the Italian Civil Protection, was operational as from 27 December. The coordination team, composed of civil protection experts from the different countries on site, meets regularly every day in order to facilitate the operations, to liaise between the teams operating in different areas and with the local authorities, as well as with the other international organisations on site, such as UN OCHA.

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• Commissioner Nielson announces further aid to Bam earthquake victims - Iran (19/2/2004)