The Government today sent €500,000 in aid for flood victims in monsoon-hit areas of Bangladesh, China and Pakistan.
Micheal Kitt
The funds will be allocated by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), which has a strong presence in the three countries.
The UN said today that up to 20 million people needed shelter and access to fresh water, food, emergency medical supplies and basic household items.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Michael Kitt said the Government was responding to special appeals by NGOs [non-governmental organisations] in three of the most seriously affected countries.
He said Irish people have all been shocked and saddened by TV footage of the scale of the destruction caused by the monsoon downpours.
"It is clear that further funding is now required for the longer term international response to this disaster," said Mr Kitt.
Among the money allocated by the Department of Foreign Affairs' aid division Irish Aid was €100,000 for Trocaire who pledged a further €80,000 from its emergency reserves.
The Maynooth-based NGO, which liaises with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), is monitoring the situation through its office in Islamabad in Pakistan. Staff will travel to Bangladesh in the next few days.
"This flooding has left millions of people unable to cope," said Trocaire emergency programme leader Maurice McQuillan.
"With the help of the Irish Government and public funding, we have been able to help hundreds of families to survive the initial devastation. At present we are focusing on meeting immediate emergency relief needs.
"As a clearer picture of the extent of the devastation emerges we will help these people to start rebuilding their livelihoods."
Concern has completed the first phase of an emergency relief effort to help 5,000 families who were forced to flee their homes because of rising flood waters from the Jamuna river in Bangladesh.
The NGO has been working in Bangladesh since it gained independence in the early 1970s and has responded to some of the most severe flood emergencies since then.
PA