The Asian Development Bank will provide a $US3 million grant to Tuvalu to assist with its recovery from Cyclone Tino.
Debris swept in by the lagoon on Tuvalu's main island, Funafuti, during Cyclone Tino, January 2020. Photo: Supplied / Aselu Lopati
Tino caused widespread damage in the country with disaster authorities estimating that half of the country's population, of approximately 11,000 people, have been severely affected by the storm.
The government is still conducting a full damage assessment but on the main island Funafuti alone 200 people have had to be evacuated from their homes.
Furthermore, there has been significant damage to critical infrastructure.
The bank says the grant will help fund priority early recovery activities and life-saving services.
"The ADB grant was made available to the government through a fast-disbursing contingency facility to help them restore essential services," said the Regional Director of ADB's Pacific Subregional Office in Fiji, Masayuki Tachiiri.
The funding will come from ADB's Pacific Disaster Resilience Program, which was established in December 2017 to help strengthen the disaster resilience of Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
The program was expanded in 2019 to also include the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Solomon Islands under a second phase.
People ride their scooters through the debris washed up by Cyclone Tino on the main island, Funafuti. Photo: Supplied / Aselu Lopati
The Pacific Disaster Resilience Program helps fill a financing gap experienced by many Pacific countries hit hard by disasters.
It aims to provide a predictable and quick-disbursing source of financing for early response, recovery, and reconstruction activities, and supports priority actions in disaster risk management in participating countries.
Papua New Guinea's government last week announced it would also provide relief funds to Pacific countries affected by Cyclone Tino including Tuvalu.