Last
Friday, Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Pacific islands of the
Philippines, leaving behind a scene of destruction and despair. The
global Red Cross network is responding to emergency needs in the
Philippines with food, water, and relief supplies, and the American Red
Cross is lending people, expertise and equipment to this massive effort.
While Red Cross relief efforts
are well underway, blocked roads, destroyed infrastructure and downed
communication lines are making the response particularly challenging.
The
Philippines, a nation of more than 7,000 islands, faces enormous
devastation in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan that produced record
strength winds along with high storm surges. Approximately 10 million
people across 40 provinces have been affected with as many as 600,000
people displaced and the death toll continuing to rise.
PHILIPPINE RED CROSS ON THE GROUND
The Philippine Red Cross is leading this response effort and their
volunteers have been caring for people even before Typhoon Haiyan made
landfall. Prior to the arrival of Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippine Red
Cross worked closely with local disaster authorities to support
preemptive evacuations, helping move more than 125,000 families to safer
shelters. The Philippine Red Cross also disseminated early warning
messages and safety tips in areas along the path of the typhoon.
Days
later, Philippine Red Cross volunteer rescue and relief teams continue
to provide assistance in the hardest hit communities, including
assisting in search and rescue efforts. The Philippine Red Cross has
extensive experience in search and rescue and large-scale relief and
recovery programs. The Philippine Red Cross is the largest humanitarian
organization in the country, with 1,000 staff members and an estimated
500,000 active volunteers engaged in response to this emergency.
The
Philippine Red Cross has begun distributions of relief supplies and
volunteers are packing more supplies to send to all the affected areas.
However, delivery of supplies in the worst affected city of Tacloban has
been significantly constrained by damage to local infrastructure.
Typhoon Haiyan hit the city of about 220,000 people the hardest with a
tsunami-like storm surge pushing a wall of water nearly 10 feet high
inland.
Specialized emergency
response teams from Red Cross societies across the globe are moving into
the Philippines to assist the Philippine Red Cross. These include teams
with expertise in logistics, disaster assessment, shelter, health,
water and sanitation.
AMERICAN RED CROSS RESPONSE EFFORTS
The American Red Cross is among those societies helping support the
response efforts of the Philippine Red Cross. Four people from the
American Red Cross have arrived in the Philippines. These include two
people who specialize in telecommunication and who are travelling with
satellite equipment, and two others who specialize in disaster
assessment.
When responding
overseas, the American Red Cross response is different than a typical
disaster response in the United States, working closely with the
affected Red Cross society who serves as the lead to provide the level
of staff support and assistance requested.
The
American Red Cross is also helping to reconnect families separated by
this typhoon and has activated its family tracing services. If people
are looking for a missing family member in the Philippines, please
remember that many phone lines are down. If people are unable to reach
loved ones, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross to
initiate a family tracing care.
The
American Red Cross remains in close contact with the Philippine Red
Cross, and more help and assistance will be provided in the days ahead.
People
who want to donate to the American Red Cross to support the response
for this typhoon can go to redcross.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support
to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's
blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international
humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The
Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers
and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For
more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
