Tánaiste confirms Libya will receive €1 million in Irish Aid as floods kill 3,000

The Tánaiste has confirmed €1 million in Irish Aid will be donated to the people of Libya after devastating flooding left 3,000 people dead and thousands missing. 

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, and the Minister for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming, today (September 13) confirmed the contribution, which will reportedly support the work of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The funds will support local communities most affected by providing emergency shelter, clean drinking water and food, mobile health care, psychological support, and hygiene centres. 

The flooding, which occurred over recent days, has caused the collapse of two upstream dams in the Derna region and destroyed the homes of tens of thousands of people.  

The number of people who are dead or missing is expected to rise. 

The Tánaiste said, "The Libyan people have already endured years of conflict, poverty and displacement and the crisis caused by this flooding, a direct result of the impact climate change is having in the region, will exacerbate the difficulties they are experiencing.

"Ireland stands in solidarity with the people of Libya and is providing immediate emergency humanitarian assistance. Funding from Ireland is facilitating a response at local level to those in desperate need."

Minister Fleming said, "It is devastating to see yet another climate related disaster have such a crippling impact on North Africa and in this instance, the people of Libya. This €1 million allocation will support immediate and urgent humanitarian needs on the ground." 

The newly announced funding is in addition to prepositioned funding of €2.4million already provided to the IFRC by Ireland this year as part of a three year MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), which allows the Federation to respond immediately when a disaster strikes.