§ 2.54 p.m.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make a statement on their response to the serious damage recently caused by cyclone "Kamisy" in Northern Madagascar and notably in the towns of Diego Suarez and Majunga.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, under disaster relief arrangements Her Majesty's Government are providing medicines valued at £27,000 and are contributing £55,000 to the cost of transporting relief supplies donated by other agencies. Our share of the emergency aid provided by the European Development Fund, totalling some £200,000, is about £37,000.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, I should like to thank my noble friend for those figures. Will he recognise that, with winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour and a rainfall in 48 hours of 700 millimetres, 70,000 people were made homeless, mainly in the towns, and that 20 per cent. of the agricultural land in the area is unusable for the next crop? Will he also take into account the fact that there is a shortage of building materials in Madagascar and that economic communications in the island are severely affected? Roads and homes definitely need rebuilding.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, my noble friend is quite right; this was a very serious matter. I hope that the damage that has been done can be put right. As I say, we are making available such assistance as we can.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, I should like to ask my noble friend one further question. Would he agree that, in effect, this disaster was not publicised to any extent in this country? It is much worse cost-wise than the disaster of January 1982. May I ask him whether Her Majesty's Government are prepared to consider further requests to deal with the problems caused by this very important cyclone?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, certainly we shall look at whatever further requests may be put to us, but I suspect that the best way forward for the Malagasys would be through some of the multilateral agencies I have referred to, including, for example, the European Development Fund.