People from the North West have donated £233,000 in just seven days to victims of the recent earthquakes and typhoons in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam - but charities have said more is urgently needed.
Aid bodies say they are grateful for the public’s generosity, but remain worried that a shortfall in Government donations will lead to a shortage of cash.
Brendan Gormley, the chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation of aid agencies, said: “Despite the hardship and uncertainty facing many people in the UK the public response to the appeal has been very generous.
”Sadly, the needs have proved to be far greater than the initial death toll suggested. We hate to have to ask at a time like this but the simple fact is that we need more money to fund our collective response.
”We are dependent on donations from the public to ensure that people who have survived terrible disasters do not face further entirely avoidable suffering.”
The DEC estimates that more than 1,000 people died in the natural disasters, with a further four million affected.
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