Pursuant to the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is conducting an emergency response to those affected by typhoon Vamco in the Philippines.
With funding from Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), QRCS provided relief aid for thousands of affected families and deployed a relief delegation to take part in the intervention.
As the Qatar Amiri Air Force aircraft arrived at the Manila International Airport, the QFFD-funded cargo was discharged and cleared by QRCS’ representation mission in the Philippines, together with the delegation deployed from Doha earlier this month.
Both the staff of the Embassy of Qatar in Manila and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) were present to facilitate the clearance of shipment. It contained food and nonfood items, shelter kits, Kit-5 water and sanitation units, power generators, and rescue inflatable boats.
According to the action plan, the delegation met PRC secretary-general Elizabeth S Zavalla to thank her for facilitating their work in the Philippines. During the meeting, she appreciated QRCS’ immediate intervention in response to typhoon Vamco.
The delegation also visited PRC’s Operations Centre to have an overview of its disaster response mechanism and the systems/programmes used in dealing with the storm. They explored the possibility of upgrading co-operation between PRC’s Operations Centre and QRCS’s Disaster Information Management Centre (DIMC) in Doha.
Under QRCS’ relief aid distribution scheme, the distribution of nonfood items is going on in the province of Rizal, having so far reached out to 623 families (or 3,115 persons) with 405 tarpaulins (2,025 beneficiaries). PRC distributed blankets, tarpaulins, mosquito nets, jerrycans, straw mats, and kitchenware.
In the worst-affected province of Cagayan, 140 families (700 persons) received relief items that included blankets, mosquito nets, jerrycans, and plastic containers. Another 358 families (1,790 persons) received food items including rice, pasta, coffee, and canned fish and beef.
One power generator and one inflatable boat were delivered to PRC’s Cagayan chapter, to be used in rescue and quick response operations, under the QFFD-funded intervention of QRCS.
As discussed with PRC, the list of recipients includes 5,500 families in five hardest-hit provinces: Cagayan, Rizal, Isabela, Marikina, and Camarines Sur.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that the flash floods resulting from typhoon Vamco caused casualties, mass displacement, water supply and sewage disruption, and destruction of residential buildings and commercial shops in the ravaged provinces.
Up to date, 334 post-disaster events have been reported, including floods, landslides, damaged trees, and windstorms. The overall population affected by the typhoon is more than 4.9mn.
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