Red Cross appeals for $4.3 million for relief effort in typhoon-struck Philippines

[News_Editor]

Red Cross appeals for $4.3 million for relief effort in typhoon-struck Philippines

2010-10-27 04:12:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (BNO NEWS) – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is launching an international appeal seeking 4.2 million Swiss francs ($4.3 million) to support the relief efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Megi devastated the country.

The typhoon struck the northern part of the country last Monday, claiming 31 lives and causing severe damage across four regions. It is estimated that 427,300 families (2 million people) have been affected by the typhoon, with 8,000 people sheltered in 22 evacuation centers.

The funds will support ongoing relief and recovery efforts carried out by the Philippine Red Cross which has been assisting affected communities since the typhoon hit.

National and local emergency and rescue teams from the Red Cross have been active on the ground, and a rapid survey of the damage revealed an urgent need for shelter materials, since 31,000 houses have been destroyed and 118,000 are estimated to be partially damaged.

"Survivors continue to trickle out of evacuation centers, not because they have homes to return to, but to salvage whatever they can. They need every support to rebuild their lives and to live in dignity," Richard Gordon, Philippine Red Cross chairman, said.

The Philippine National Red Cross has provided – and continues to provide – food and non-food items to the most vulnerable families in the hardest hit provinces. The national headquarters dispatched additional relief supplies to enable its chapters to serve people displaced by the typhoon in the worst-affected provinces of Cagayan, Kalinga, Isabela, La Union and Pangasinan provinces.

Also dispatched were tarpaulins to meet the immediate needs of 7,000 people in Isabela. As of Monday, Red Cross chapters had served around 16,000 people with relief supplies such as food, water storage containers and sleeping items.

The IFRC appeal will help the Philippine Red Cross to provide relief and early recovery support to 60,000 people across the five worst-hit provinces over the next 12 months. The operation will focus on distributions of food and non-food items and shelter repair kits as well as providing essential water storage and hygiene items together with hygiene promotion.

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