|
U.S. Government Response in India to Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunamis
January 10, 2005
| 1. |
Through USAID India, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided more than $3.1 million in emergency assistance to date:
- $50,000 for the Prime Minister's Relief Fund to be utilized as the GOI deems appropriate
- $50,000 to the Indian Red Cross for non-food and non-medical emergency relief
- $650,000 to CARE India for clean water and sanitation services
- $750,000 to Catholic Relief Services for clean water and sanitation services
- $440,295 to Project Concern International for shelters, livelihoods, and education
- $859,992 to World Vision for shelter and cash-for-work programs
- An additional $300,000 will soon be programmed following approval of proposals.
|
| 2. |
With assistance from emergency experts of USAID Washington's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and in coordination with GOI authorities, USAID India is assessing the situation on the ground and vetting proposals for relief assistance from reputable Indian and international NGOs. USAID India Mission looks forward to moving beyond immediate relief efforts to longer-term recovery and reconstruction efforts
|
| 3. |
With President Bush's January 1 announcement of $350 million for relief and recovery, we expect that significant additional resources will be made available to India in coming days and weeks
|
| 4. |
Total USG Humanitarian and Recovery Assistance Pledged equals $350 million, of which $78.0 million has been committed (as of January 10, 2005). For more information, go to www.usaid.gov (and click on "Tsunami Relief"), USAID's one-stop, comprehensive site for information
|
| 5. |
USG officials (Secretary of State Colin Powell and USAID Administrator Natsios, in particular) have consistently stated that USG pledges of assistance would increase over time as data improves and assessments are completed. Experts have been quickly dispatched to the field, data has improved and pledges have very quickly increased (evidenced by the rapid increase from $15 million to $35 million and, most recently, to $350 million)
Note: During fiscal year 2004, the USG gave $2.4 billion (40 percent of total contributions by all countries) in disaster assistance for emergencies worldwide.
|
| 6. |
Human resources allocated to the Tsunami (as of January 10): 41 USAID Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART) experts have been dispatched to the region and 109 USAID Mission staff are supporting tsunami relief efforts. This includes three DART experts and well over 20 USAID staff in India
|
| 7. |
USAID and the Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are currently collaborating on a $16 million, five-year Disaster Management Support effort to improve disaster management systems and share cutting-edge technologies at the national, state and local levels. With USAID in the lead, involved USG agencies include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
A $4 million grant to United Nations Development Program supports community-based disaster planning in high risk areas. This is part of a larger disaster risk reduction program led by the Indian MHA. An Earthquake Safety Initiative supports better seismic standards in key installations in Delhi such as hospitals, schools, power stations, etc.
In addition, India is part of Asian regional disaster preparedness initiatives valued at $14 million, funded by USAID, for training, information sharing, risk assessment, and capacity building for floods, earthquakes, and droughts |
For more information, go to USAID's one-stop, comprehensive site for news: www.usaid.gov , and click on "Tsunami Relief."
|
|
Skip repetitive navigation links
