MANILA, Philippines — The European Union (EU) approved €1.5 million in financial aid to the Philippines to help affected communities recover from the devastation brought by Severe Tropical Storm "Kristine."

The humanitarian aid aims to assist families in hardest-hit-areas such as in the Bicol and Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) regions.

EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "I am sad to see that only a few days after my visit to Manila, the Philippines was, once more this year, severely struck by a disaster."

"As I reiterated during my stay, the EU stands ready to help populations that are on the frontline of climate-related disasters," Lenarčič said in a statement on Thursday.

Kristine (international name: Trami) caused widespread floods and landslides killing over 100 people. The damage to the agriculture sector was estimated at P3.11 billion.

It is estimated that Kristine affected about seven million people while about one million people had been displaced or rendered homeless when it inundated the Bicol and Calabarzon provinces.

"This emergency funding comes in addition to the €4.5 million already allocated to the Philippines this year in humanitarian aid," the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations said in a statement shared by the EU Mission in Manila.

Nearly €2 million had previously been released following floods and tropical cyclones in Mindanao and other parts of the country in February, July, and September 2024.

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