(dpa) - The European Union on Thursday pledged 2 million euros (3 million dollars) in aid to Bolivia following devastating floods in the country.
"The sheer scale of the catastrophe and the fact that the situation is still deteriorating has put an enormous strain on local capacity," EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement.
Following assessments by EU missions and local partners, "we can now take a decision based on identified needs," he said.
The funding is to be used to help 22,000 families - roughly 110,000 people - in the worst-hit areas. Primary goals will be to provide temporary shelters, safe drinking water, basic hygiene and cooking equipment, emergency food and health care.
EU teams are already running projects training local authorities to deal with natural disasters in seven regions of Bolivia, the EU statement said.