The City of London Corporation has donated £30,000 to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Cyclone Idai Appeal – and is encouraging City firms and individuals to give what they can.
Money gifted to the DEC appeal will help co-ordinate the humanitarian response to the crisis, supporting communities affected by the cyclone.
The donation comes from the City Corporation’s Disaster Relief Fund, which seeks to relieve human suffering, bringing its total donations in the last two years to £200,000.
Over the past few days, Cyclone Idai has swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, causing widespread destruction.
It has also led to floods, the death and injuring of thousands of people, and the destruction of crops.
Across the three countries, more than 2.6million people could be affected and the port city of Beira, home to 500,000 people, is now almost completely cut off.
Thousands of families are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical treatment.
Jeremy Mayhew, chair of City’s finance committee, said: “This extreme storm has devastated three countries in southern Africa in a very short period of time.
“So many people have lost their lives, communities have been torn apart, and livelihoods have been destroyed.
“We strongly encourage City firms to support this appeal. We need to focus on getting food, water and shelter quickly to those people affected, which will be the focus of DEC’s immediate relief effort.”
