Millions of people from the world's most vulnerable and poorest communities will benefit from new disaster preparedness programmes funded from the European Commission's Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO). This year € 35 million has been allocated to improve the capacities of the communities at risk from natural disasters. The funds will go to the following regions particularly vulnerable to natural disasters: € 10 million to Central America, €11 million to South East Asia, €8 million to Central Asia and the Caucasus region and € 6 million in Southern Africa.
The DIPECHO programme seeks to limit the negative impact of natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, droughts, landslides, earthquakes and cyclones, tidal waves/tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, flash floods, forest fires, cold waves and storms by strengthening the response capacity of local communities and national authorities. The projects can include reinforcing infrastructure, training, awareness-raising, establishing or improving local early-warning systems and contingency-planning.
