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Red Cross Sends
Support to Typhoon Struck Philippines
Local Volunteer on the Way
Darke County, November 11, 2013 — Typhoon Haiyan swept across the
central Philippines on Friday leaving a trail of massive destruction in
its wake. With sustained winds reported at over 145 miles per hour, and
significantly stronger gusts, Haiyan was the second category 5 typhoon
to strike the Philippines this year. The typhoon
affected 4.3 million people across 36 provinces. Philippine Red Cross
volunteers throughout the region are reporting significant damage and a
growing death toll, while the full extent of the devastation continues
to unfold. Currently, 1,200 evacuation centers are housing more
than 330,000 people left homeless by the storm.
The American Red Cross deployed two disaster relief specialists on
Saturday to assist in the assessment and relief efforts. Since
communication is still very limited in the hardest hit communities, the
American Red Cross will also send two telecommunication specialists and
a satellite system in the coming days. One of the two specialists is
from Greenville, OH, J.W., Darke County Chapter disaster volunteer, who
also specializes in International Disaster services as well. J.W.
flew out of Dayton airport early Sunday, making a stop in Washington,
D.C to pick up additional communications gear, before boarding an
international flight early Monday morning. He will then meet up
with another specialist, who happened to be traveling abroad.
These two volunteers are part of a select team who train, drill,
maintain equipment and work with volunteers across the world, ready to
deploy, during just this kind of situation. Volunteers, including
JW, met in Austria this past summer, training to set satellites in
mountainous terrain, spending five days in the Alps¸ working together
to respond. J.W. will be setting up communications when he arrives in
the Philippines. “We are so very proud to be able to respond in
this way,” states Lynne Gump, Darke County Chapter Executive Director,
“our thoughts are with all of those affected by this terrible natural
disaster and the volunteers that are helping.”
The Red Cross has activated its family tracing services. If you
are looking for a missing family member in the Philippines, please
remember that many phones lines are down. Please continue
trying. If you are still unable to reach them, contact your local
chapter of the American Red Cross to initiate a tracing case.
Philippine Red Cross volunteer rescue and relief teams are providing
assistance in the hardest hit communities, including assisting in
search and rescue efforts and distributing food and relief supplies to
survivors.
Help people affected by the Pacific Typhoon by going to redcross.org or
by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or mail in your donation to your local Red
Cross chapter. For corporate or larger community fundraising events,
please contact your local Red Cross chapter.
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