Concerns are growing over the welfare of tens of thousands of people two days after one of the most powerful storms ever recorded hit the central Philippines as aid workers are struggling to reach survivors outside the region’s main city.
Super typhoon Haiyan killed at least 10,000 people, a senior police official said on Sunday, and destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of the area in its path as it tore through the Leyte province on Friday.
Most of the deaths appear to have been caused by surging sea water strewn with debris that many described as similar to a tsunami, levelling houses and drowning hundreds of people. Close to half a million people were displaced by the storm and some 4.4 million were affected in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the typhoon-prone Southeast Asian nation, according to the government.
I work for TEAR Fund NZ. One of the things we do effectively is disaster response. Through our global network of partners organisations we can respond to disasters almost anywhere in the world. In the Philippines we have multiple partners that we have worked with for years. We are currently obtaining information and assessing their capacity to respond. Keep an eye on our website to see how you can partner with us to meet the needs of those affected. This is a disaster of huge proportions that will need the world to stand with the Philippines as they work to recover from the devastation.
If you’re the praying kind, this is a good time to pray. We would especially appreciate prayers for our partners. While they seek to work out how they will respond they also face loss and fear for the safety of loved ones.
ALERT: TEAR Fund’s public appeal is live. We are now responding through our partners on the ground. Visit the TEAR Fund NZ website or call 0800 800 777 to donate. Please give generously.