Nepal rejects Latvia’s flood relief offer

Nepal has declined Latvia’s offer of humanitarian aid for areas hit by floods, prompting the Latvian government to cancel its aid order on Friday, LSM reported. The proposed shipment included 6,000 blankets and 50 rescue helmets.

Latvia’s Emergency Medical Service and State Fire and Rescue Service were to prepare the supplies in cooperation with the State Agency for Provision. While Latvian authorities looked for a suitable and cost-effective transport option, Nepal’s authorities reassessed the need and concluded that the aid was no longer required. The blankets and helmets will return to Latvia’s state material reserves.

The government approved the shipment on September 9, after Nepal requested assistance. In September, Latvia also decided to contribute 100,000 euros to a fund set up by Nepal’s prime minister to help address the effects of the floods.

The floods that struck Nepal and Tibet in late August killed about 1,450 people, while more than 4,500 were still listed as missing. Thirty-three Latvian nationals were among those unaccounted for. Experts estimated that a piece of glacier fell from a height of several thousand metres into a river, triggering the mudflows that caused the disaster.