A house was destroyed in flooding in An Thuy commune of Le Thuy district, Vietnam's central Quang Binh province (Photo: VNA) Singapore (VNA) – The Singapore Government will contribute 200,000 USD as seed money to support the Singapore Red Cross (SRC)'s public appeal to aid disaster relief and recovery in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.
The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on November 5 that the contribution supplements the SRC’s earlier donations of 50,000 SGD (36, 849 USD) to the Philippine Red Cross, and about 33,000 SGD (U24,321 USD) each to the Red Cross Societies in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
"As a close friend and fellow ASEAN member state, Singapore stands by Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines at this difficult time," the ministry said.
The four countries have been hit by typhoons, severe storms and floods in recent time. Especially, four subsequent storms, including typhoon Molave, the strongest in 20 years, and a prolonged low-pressure system together triggered historic rainfall in central Vietnam, with Quang Nam province recording in excess of 500 mm a day and other areas 2,000-4,000 mm in a short period of time.
Since late September, 235 people in Vietnam's central region have been listed as dead or missing from storms and floods, which have also caused estimated economic losses of about VND 17 trillion (USD 730 million), according to a Vietnamese Government report to the National Assembly on November 2./.
VNA
