Defense Minister: MVR 24.8 mn spent on disaster victims

Minister of Defense, Adam Shareef Umar has announced that the State had spent MVR 24.8 million on natural disaster victims from 2015 onwards.

Minister Adam Shareef made the remark in his address on International Day for Disaster Reduction, which is celebrated on October 13.

He said in his address that the country needed to discuss manmade and natural disaster management at a national-level.

He noted the extensive which took place in Addu City due to torrential rain as never experienced before, in 2015. He said that it was proof of the havoc a national disaster could cause.

Adam Shareef also noted the three huge fire incidents which took place in the country so far this year, which resulted in dozens being left homeless.

He said that MVR 24.8 million had been spent on disaster relief from the start of 2015 to date.

“An efficient system has been established to assess the state of disaster victims and fulfill their basic needs. MVR 24.8 million has been spent from 2015 onwards to this day for such needs, to repair houses and provide shelter. And BML [Bank of Maldives] has also introduced a disaster relief loan,” said Adam Shareef.

He said that President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration would continue to pay great attention to victims of disasters and provide them with proper care.

He also stressed the importance of considering principles of disaster reduction when planning infrastructure development projects, for the sake of the future wellbeing of society.