Fresh MIC team to take over in Haiti
Friday 22 January 2010
The European Commission announced, on 22 January, the deployment to Haiti of a second team of experts from the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), the European civil protection coordination body. The new team will take over from the one that has been on the ground since 14 January. It is made up of six experts from Italy, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and France as well as two MIC liaison officers. The European team will continue to assist with the coordination of the international relief effort, carry out needs assessment and coordinate incoming European assistance. The member states are still offering additional assistance to Haiti: Slovenia has offered 25 and Austria 400 family tents, and Hungary will deploy a medical team. Search and rescue operations are drawing to a close and the priorities now are providing shelter and medical assistance. Some teams have already left (126 survivors were rescued from the ruins) and others are planning their demobilisation.