By Mariko Poorman | Project Officer
- It’s a typhoon season in the Philippines -
On Aug. 9, the first very strong typhoon of this year - named Utor - reached northern Philippines, resulting in death and destruction. Landslides caused by the heavy rain left many villages in mountain areas isolated. Rockslides, flash floods and storm surge have all been reported.
Many houses and crops were destroyed by the typhoon. The government pegs the total amount of damages at PHP 1.08 billion (about USD $25M). As of now, 84,571 families or 383,540 persons were affected. There were casualties as well -- 8 dead, 7 injured, and 4 missing. The provinces of Aurora and Quirino were declared under a state of calamity.
Currently, the demand for the aid is not being met. There are still many families without any relief support. Please help provide support to the affected families! Your contribution will be directed to CDRC’s ongoing relief effort in northern Luzon.
- Building capacity for disaster preparedness -
The Philippines is vulnerable not only to typhoons and floods, but also to volcanic eruptions as well as earthquakes. This is why PWA and CDRC also focus on disaster preparedness training when we respond to disasters in the area. We work with local community groups and conduct workshops, work with children at emergency shelters, and talk about the importance of the preparedness.
PWA is implementing the 2013-2015 US-Japan-Philippines Civil Military Disaster Preparedness Initiative in order to increase preparedness capabilities/connections/coordination within and among the three disaster prone nations. While in Manila this July, CEO Chuck Aanenson and Program Officer Jon Ehrenfeld visited CDRC Headquarters meeting to discuss how to further enhance the CDRC partnership in both preparedness and response.
- More typhoons will come -
PWA knows this will not be the last typhoon in this season and want to make sure that we can respond quickly when the need arises again. Your contributions to this program will help PWA to take immediate action to dispatch emergency relief support with CDRC and will prepare us for disasters down the road. Generosity during Typhoon Saola last August paid off during the devastation of Typhoon Bopha in December.
Thank you for your continuous support!
Mari Poorman, Project Officer
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