Press Release: EU assists Asian and Asia‑Pacific nations in aftermath of tropical storm Ketsana and earthquakes in the Pacific

EU countries offered assistance through the Community Civil Protection Mechanism following a series of disasters that struck Asia and the Asia-Pacific region over the last three days, claiming thousands of lives. Following the devastating earthquake on Sumatra, an EU assessment team is on its way to Indonesia. An EU civil protection expert arrived in Samoa on 2 October 2009 following the earthquake in the Pacific on Tuesday. An EU expert is already on the ground in the Philippines following tropical storm Ketsana earlier this week.