PM Browns £6.1 Million Response To Haiti Earthquake
The Government will match the $10 million (£6.1 million) of aid that has been offered by the United Nations to Haiti following a devastating earthquake, the Prime Minister has confirmed.
Speaking at a press conference at Downing Street, Gordon Brown urged the public to support an appeal started by the Disasters Emergency Committee.
Read more about the appeal on DEC’s website
Mr Brown also confirmed that a team of British firefighters had now arrived in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince to help search and rescue efforts.
The PM said:
“It is a tragedy beyond imagination and there is a deep sense of loss felt by the whole of the British and Irish people about the tragedy that individual families in Haiti are experiencing at the moment. We send our message of sympathy and support to the people of Haiti at this most difficult of times.
“Where men, women and children are suffering under the heaviest of burdens, that place must, for that moment, become the centre of our world’s attention, the world’s compassion and the world’s humanitarian help.”
He added that ministers will continue to monitor the situation in Haiti to assess whether more aid will be needed.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander had announced the British aid contribution earlier today.
He said:
“There is an overwhelming requirement for food, water, sanitation, shelter and medicine among the people who have been made homeless. That is why the Department for International Development is providing money to help kickstart humanitarian relief in Haiti.”
The earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit the country shortly before 17:00 local time on Tuesday toppling hundreds of buildings. Its epicentre was within 10 miles of the centre of Port-au-Prince, which is home to about one million people.
A team of British firefighters and search and rescue specialists arrived in the country today, accompanied by search dogs and heavy rescue equipment.
Read more about the British aid effort on DfID’s website
Read a statement on Haiti by the UK’s ambassador to the UN
Contribute online here, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting “HAITI” to “90999.”
Families of Americans living in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888-407-4747.
Topics: 2010, 90999, assistance, buildings, cash, damage, dead, death, DEC, died, Disasters Emergency Committee, donation, earthquake, Embassy, Governance, government, Haiti, help, people, rescue, response, State Department, supplies, support, text, toll, UK
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