ASIAN FLOOD RELIEF: The Government pledged up to €300,000 in emergency humanitarian aid yesterday to the south Asian countries worst hit by severe monsoon flooding.
More than 150 deaths have been reported across India, Bangladesh and Nepal - the areas worst hit by the disaster.
Three million people have been made homeless in Bangladesh, while at least two million are believed to have been displaced in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam.
Development Minister Mr Tom Kitt said the Government was closely monitoring the situation and was in contact with partner humanitarian agencies working in the area.
"It is clear that many communities in the region cannot cope with the enormous scale of the monsoon flooding this year," he said.
"The Government's funding is being pledged to meet basic food and shelter needs of those who have lost their homes and livelihoods in Bangladesh, Nepal and India."
The move comes directly after the announcement of a substantial increase in funding to Sudan, bringing the total sent to the crisis-hit west African country to almost €9 million.
Mr Kitt said the €3 million funding increase to non-government organisations and agencies in the Darfur region, which is thought to be suffering the world's worst humanitarian disaster, had "almost used up all the resources" in the Department's allocation of emergency funds for this year.