The European Union (EU) is releasing €150,000 (some ₱10.9 million) in humanitarian funds to help communities hit hard by severe monsoon floods across Luzon. This support matter for over 32,000 people in the most affected areas: Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Metro Manila.
The funding will go to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to deliver urgent help. Families will receive essential items such as sleeping kits, water containers, and hygiene supplies. Hot meals and safe drinking water will be provided in evacuation centers and affected neighborhoods. Mobile health teams will offer medical checks, medicine, health advice, and mental health support. The effort also includes hygiene campaigns and disease monitoring to prevent outbreaks of water- and vector-borne illnesses, which often rise after floods.
This grant forms part of the EU’s support to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF). It comes on top of more than €2 million the EU already allocated to humanitarian partners in the Philippines earlier this year.
Since early August, the southwest monsoon or “Habagat”—strengthened by storms—has brought heavy rain, causing widespread floods and landslides across Luzon. Low-lying, coastal, and mountain areas suffered damage to homes, roads, bridges, farms, water systems, and power lines. As of September 14, over 10.5 million people in 11 regions were affected. More than 120,100 people are staying in over 500 evacuation centers; 4,500 homes were damaged; and 188 cities are under a state of calamity.
The EU and its member countries are major global providers of humanitarian aid. The EU has a €16 million funding agreement with the IFRC for the DREF, which gives quick financial help to national Red Cross societies during emergencies.
