Summary: 221,989 Swiss francs were allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 1 October 2012 to support the Paraguayan Red Cross (PRC) in delivering assistance to some 3,755 beneficiaries, or to replenish disaster preparedness stocks.
On the 18 September 2012, a severe storm, with heavy rainfall, hail and a tornado, hit Paraguay. The storm caused five deaths and 100 people were injured. On the 22 September, the Paraguayan government reported approximately 2,984 affected families in the Central department (the municipalities of Mariano Roque Alonso and Asunción) and approximately 1,200 families in Ñeembucú department.
Following subsequent assessments carried out by the Paraguayan Red Cross and the national government, the operation reduced the number of families to 276. By the end of December 2012, the operation delivered 276 kitchen kits, 552 mattresses and roofing material to some 1,380 people and provided psychosocial support to 181 children in four schools in Mariano Roque Alonso municipality in the Central department.
The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Australian, American and Belgian governments, the Austrian Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and government, the Danish Red Cross and government, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), the Irish and the Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Luxembourg government, the Monaco Red Cross and government, the Netherlands Red Cross and government, the Norwegian Red Cross and government, the Spanish government, the Swedish Red Cross and government, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic Foundation and Z Zurich Foundation, and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the Paraguayan Red Cross, extends its gratitude to all donors for their generous contributions. Details of all donors can be found at: http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/responding/disaste... disaster-relief-emergency-fund-dref/