You will never hear this on the media Silver Spring, MD 1:30p.m. (EST) The ADRA team is on high alert as Super Typhoon Haiyan makes its way across the island nation of the Philippines. 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. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA), maximum sustained winds reached at least 146 miles per hour (mph) and wind gusts at 170 mph. 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. ADRA is working with local agencies as well as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in planning the immediate response. According to OCHA, the full extent of the damage will not be known until the storm has passed. The Western, Central and Eastern Visayas region, expected to be the worst hit, is home to at least 18 million people. The ADRA International emergency team in Silver Spring, MD is in constant contact with the ADRA Philippines office. Cindy Bankhead, ADRA Philippines interim Country Director said, “We are waiting for the end of the cyclone in order to safely assess and evaluate the needs and to strategize our response.” We ask for your prayers over those affected by this storm, our ADRA staff and volunteers, and the many emergency aid workers in the region.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 11:49:11 +0000
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