WATCH: The amount of aid needed in Nepal is clearly immense, but getting it there is proving difficult. Jackson Proskow reports from Kolkata, India.
OTTAWA – Canada is sending more relief supplies to earthquake-struck Nepal and says it will match donations to a fund specifically set up to help people in that country.
The federal government says it will match — dollar-for-dollar — all eligible contributions to the Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund until May 25, but retroactively to when donations first started streaming in on Saturday.
The government is also deploying relief supplies from emergency stockpiles in Mississauga, Ont., and Dubai to help meet immediate needs.
READ MORE: How Canadians can help the victims of the Nepal earthquake
The supplies include blankets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, and tarps.
The measures announced today come on the heels of the government’s decision on the weekend to send Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team and provide $5 million in initial aid.
Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 earthquake, centred outside the capital city Kathmandu, was the worst to hit the South Asian nation of 31 million in more than 80 years and has left more than 3,900 dead.
The Foreign Affairs Department said there are 462 Canadians registered as being in Nepal, but cautioned that’s only an estimate because registration is voluntary.
READ MORE: Canadian stranded in Nepal says Ottawa not doing enough to help citizens go home
Ottawa earlier announced it was sending a disaster assessment team to Nepal and contributing $5 million to relief efforts.
WATCH: Canada says it will match donations to a fund specifically set up to help people in that country
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