Flood: US Announces Additional US$840,107 Recovery Assistance For Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- The United States (US) announced an additional US$840,107 (RM3 million) in humanitarian assistance to help with the flood recovery in the east coast states of Malaysia. US Ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Yun said the new aid would take the form of materials, programmes and technical assistance as well as helping people in the affected areas to recover from the disaster and rebuild their lives. "The new assistance includes tarps, tents, and palstic sheeting, as well as funding for water, sanitation and hygiene programmes," he said in a statement Thursday. On Jan 2, the US Embassy had announced a fund of US$147,018 (RM525,000) in disaster assistance to non-governmental organisations to help the flood victims in the east coast of Malaysia. Since the onset of flooding, US companies and their employees had provided cash and in-kind donations valued at over US$308,085 (RM1.1 million). Yun said a US government technical assistance expert has arrived here, to provide technical support on shelter and settlement to the relevant agency. He added that the US government had agreed to provide long-term assistance to Malaysia on storm forecasting and flood mitigation. -- BERNAMA