Government pledges €1m in disaster relief as Red Cross appeals for donations

THE Government has pledged up to €1 million in response to yesterday morning’s earthquake and tidal waves in southern Asia.

Appealing for public donations, the Irish Red Cross (IRC) announced it was sending €100,000 as an immediate step to help start emergency measures.

The umbrella body for all Red Cross organisations has already released €750,000. An IRC spokesperson said because communications facilities had been destroyed, it was difficult to get in touch with the affected areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.