Manila, Philippines [ADRA International; CD EUDNews]. Super Typhoon Haiyan - one of the strongest storms recorded on the planet —slammed into island after island as it moved across the central Philippines early Friday morning, forcing more than a million people to flee, flooding villages, and raising fears of widespread casualties.
Bringing sustained winds of 146 mph and gusts as strong as 170 mph, Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall as possibly the most powerful typhoon or hurricane in recorded history.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the full extent of the damage will not be known until the storm has passed. At one point, Haiyan was so large in diameter that its clouds were affecting two-thirds of the country. The Western, Central and Eastern Visayas region, expected to be the worst hit by this 300-mile wide storm, is home to at least 18 million people.
At the time of this email, three have been reported dead and seven injured, with about a million people taking shelter in 29 provinces as dangerous flash floods and mudslides loom in the central Philippines. Reports of power outages, impassable roads, and landslides are growing.
Although too soon to gauge the total level of devastation that will be caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan, ADRA's emergency response team is hard at work mobilizing response efforts.
ADRA staff positioned in two locations - the capital city of Manila and in the province of Bohol have been tracking the typhoon storm that made its first landfall at 4:40a.m Friday local time.
Before Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall, our ADRA Philippines team began coordinating emergency response efforts in conjunction with local and national agencies. Being pre-positioned ahead of the super typhoon has helped ADRA to ensure much-needed humanitarian supplies were immediately delivered to the areas most affected and will continue to be delivered. We are providing similar pre-disaster support in Vietnam in the anticipation of this monster storm hitting.
Moises Musico, ADRA Philippines Program Officer/Emergency Coordinator reports from Bohol, “The damage we are seeing so far is huge and scattered into different regions of the Visayas. We are expecting big numbers of damaged homes and displaced residents.”
Access to the affected areas has been limited due to damaged roads and fallen trees; this has also limited communications.
Help those who have lost everything by giving to ADRA today. Your gifts will provide food, emergency relief, medical aid, education, and development assistance for those who need it most. In the coming days, ADRA will continue to assess the areas of devastation to ensure the basic needs of vulnerable populations will be met. Considering the broad needs that are emerging, ADRA is also developing longer-term recovery and re-building programs. The ADRA International emergency team in Silver Spring, MD is in constant contact with the ADRA Philippines office and will continue to send you updates as more information becomes available. Give NOW to help the millions devastated by the strongest typhoon in recorded history. Your support today can help vulnerable populations begin to rebuild their lives. Please help the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan and pray for those affected by this storm, our ADRA staff and volunteers, and the many emergency aid workers in the region. Pictures: 1. Devastation in the Philippines (Reuters); 2. The ADRA logo;
