IOCC Responds to Victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan
Baltimore, MD (November 12, 2013) — Just four days after the most powerful tropical storm ever to make landfall blasted across the Philippines with wind speeds up to 195 miles per hour, the country is faced with the devastating loss of thousands of lives and millions of survivors across 41 provinces in a desperate search for food, water and shelter.
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) emergency response personnel are assessing the urgent humanitarian needs for victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which has left a trail of destruction affecting an estimated 9.8 million people in the Philippines. IOCC, an ACT Alliance member, is in communication with the Orthodox Christian Churches and ecumenical partners of the ACT Alliance member agencies on the ground to identify the most effective and appropriate responses to the catastrophe. Supported relief activities include shelter repair and cleaning up of debris through cash for work programs in the country, as well as the distribution of relief items such as clothing and hygiene kits. The need for emergency hygiene kits is especially great. Instructions on organizing a kit assembly drive can be found on the IOCC website at www.iocc.org/kits
More than 71,000 families have sought refuge at one of the country’s 1,223 evacuation centers, but thousands of other families are still homeless. Residents of Tacloban City, the hardest hit area, are without food or water or electricity. Communications networks have been badly damaged by the typhoon and debris blocking major roads from the airport to the city is making it difficult to reach vulnerable families in need of help.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan by making a financial gift to the Philippines Typhoon Disaster Fund, which will provide immediate relief as well as long-term support through the provision of emergency aid, recovery assistance and other support to help those in need. To make a gift, please visit www.iocc.org, call toll free at 1-877-803-IOCC (4622), or mail a check or money order payable to IOCC, P.O. Box 17398, Baltimore, Md. 21297-0429.
###
IOCC is the official humanitarian aid agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. Since its inception in 1992, IOCC has delivered $438 million in relief and development programs to families and communities in more than 50 countries. IOCC is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of more than 140 churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy, and a member of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.–based secular and faith-based organizations working to improve the lives of the world’s most poor and vulnerable populations.