Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to assist and to offer aid to those living in areas of Mozambique, thought to number some 200,000, who are in severe danger of flooding due to an advancing tropical cyclone. [3688/08]

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Tropical Storm Fame developed in the Mozambique Channel on 25 January 2008 reaching Category 1 status on 27 January 2008. It then changed course eastwards away from Mozambique.

Heavy rains and storms since the beginning of December 2007 have caused severe flooding in southern Africa, including Mozambique. The most recent UN reports indicate that approximately 20,000 households or 95,000 people have moved to resettlement centres as a result of flooding in Mozambique. The National Institute for Disaster Management has requested the World Food Programme (WFP) and cooperating partners to continue food distributions to affected populations throughout the month of February. Presently the WFP has 845 metric tonnes of food stocks positioned near the flood-affected areas. Ireland is a major donor to the WFP and provided almost €26 million of funding to it in 2007.

In addition, a Revised Emergency Appeal (REA) outlining a more detailed operational plan for the region is scheduled to be launched on 8 February. In advance of the REA, US$2 million has been released from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to a number of UN agencies to provide emergency relief. Ireland is a key donor to the CERF, which was established, with Ireland's support, specifically to facilitate rapid response to emergencies such as that affecting southern Africa, including Mozambique. Ireland has contributed approximately €30 million to the CERF in the past and will provide a further €22.6 million in funding this year. Our Embassy in Maputo is continuing to monitor the situation closely and we remain ready to respond further if necessary.