UN agency providing food, transport, phones

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations pledged assistance to the victims of Typhoon Ruby as the UN World Food Program (WFP) announced yesterday that the agency would provide food, transportation, and even satellite phones to help residents affected by the storm.

“Food, trucks or satphones – we will provide whatever is needed to help the people of the Philippines as this situation unfolds,” WFP Country Director Praveen Agrawal said.

Upon the request of its main partner the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), WFP supplies are being prepared for deployment to Eastern Visayas and Bicol to immediately assist the people in typhoon-ravaged areas.

WFP has its own food stocks in the country that include more than 260 metric tons of high energy biscuits, almost 4,000 MT of rice, and over 130 MT of ready-to-use supplementary food.

These food stocks could provide assistance to about 1.8 million people for a two-week period.

WFP had pre-positioned supplies in Manila, Cebu, and Cotabato, and staff have been deployed to set up a base in Tacloban.

Logistics equipment has also been put in place ahead of time in the potential operational areas.

Delivery of government supplies of food to affected communities as quickly as possible entails temporary warehousing space and land and sea transport, as well as information technology (IT) support such as radios, satellite phones and generator sets.

The UN Humanitarian Country Team said that shelter and protection issues concerning women and children are the priority in the aftermath of the typhoon.

Moving people to higher ground is another priority to ensure lives are saved and the government had evacuated more than 600,000 people in the past 24 hours.

“We are standing by and fully prepared to assist the government in the response, should they require it,” said Terence Jones, the acting resident and humanitarian coordinator.

UNICEF said it is acting quickly to support the Philippine government’s response to the emergency, providing life-saving supplies and services for children and women in the areas hardest hit by cyclone-force winds and heavy rains.

“The government’s swift evacuation response has saved many from injury and even death,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Lotta Sylwander said yesterday.

UNICEF’s Tacloban office, established after Super Typhoon Yolanda, had activated its emergency response plan last week.

The agency’s 54 staffers are on standby to deploy to affected areas to undertake expert assessments, to work with the government and partners to assist evacuees. They are currently loading supply trucks to pre-position essential supplies and equipment from local warehouses to affected areas in Samar and beyond.

Other emergency supplies include medical supplies, nutritional therapeutic food items to combat malnutrition, oral rehydration salts and tarpaulins for at least 12,000 families.

UNICEF’s efforts will focus on helping children overcome the effects of anxiety and extreme fear, including through the provision of psychosocial assistance.

School tents as well as education materials will also be provided so that children forced to evacuate, or whose schools have been closed or damaged by the storm, can continue learning.

US aid

The United States extended its deepest condolences for the loss of life and devastation caused by Typhoon Ruby.

“The US government, through the US Embassy Manila’s US Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the US military, has contacted our counterparts in the Philippine government and is ready to provide assistance to the Philippine authorities at their request and under their guidance,” the embassy said in a statement. 

The embassy said assessment teams from both USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the US military are available to augment the embassy’s capabilities monitoring the storm’s impact and coordinating delivery of emergency assistance with government agencies and humanitarian organizations on the ground.

Since Super Typhoon Yolanda hit in November 2013, USAID has supported disaster risk reduction activities to help the Philippines prepare for such devastating disasters.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced yesterday that Australia is providing 800 metric tons of rice to support families affected by Ruby.

The Australian government is providing rice delivered through Australia’s prepositioned stores with the WFP.

Australia also extended its sympathies and support to the Filipino people affected by the typhoon. 

“Australia is a good friend of the Philippines and stands ready to help as required,” Bishop said in a statement.

Bishop welcomed initial reports that preparedness by communities and local and national governments has helped limit the impact on lives and infrastructure.

The Australia government has deployed officials to the affected areas to make further assessments of the damage and to coordinate any further Australian consular and humanitarian assistance.

Australia is working closely with the Philippine government and international partners to obtain more information on the impact of the typhoon as it made its way across the archipelago.

Ruby made landfall on Saturday night in Dolores, Eastern Samar, as a category three typhoon, bringing torrential rains and strong winds.

It came only 12 months after Typhoon Yolanda devastated parts of the Philippines and more than 7,000 people lost their lives.

The international humanitarian group Oxfam said yesterday that the agency is ready to assist Filipinos affected by Ruby.

“The Philippine government has just led one of the world’s largest peacetime evacuations across hazard-prone areas in the typhoon’s projected path. Oxfam and the wider humanitarian community are on standby, willing to assist where and when needed,” Justin Morgan, Oxfam Country Director in the Philippines said.

Morgan said the Philippine office of Oxfam has activated contingency plans and stocked provisions for emergency assistance, including hygiene and clean water kits and water bladders that can support water supply to evacuations centers.

Oxfam has a staff in Leyte and Eastern Samar and the agency’s rapid assessment teams, comprised of experts in livelihood, water and sanitation, protection and gender, are ready to be immediately deployed in affected areas as soon as conditions are safe enough.

Morgan said the government’s massive pre-emptive evacuation has saved many lives.

The government’s disaster agency, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), placed the number of evacuees at 896,011.

“Because of the sheer number of evacuees, evacuation centers could be overstretched and will result in health and sanitation issues. We also know that women and girls are more vulnerable in evacuation centers, at risk to harassment and sexual violence,” Morgan said. With Jose Rodel Clapano