| ShelterBox - Global response to Typhoon Morakot |
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| Posted on Jun 08 2009 |
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ShelterBox's response to Typhoon Morakot is continuing to pick up pace with south-east Asia still reeling from the typhoon's destruction.
Two ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) are already on the ground in the Philippines and Taiwan. SRT members Peter Pearce (AU) and Ross Mackenzie (NZ) are in the Philippines and will soon be joined by SRT members Lizzy Treglown (UK) and Denise Ho (USA).
ShelterBox Operations Coordinator Jess Stanton has praised the fact the team is made up of SRT members from around the world.
'We'll soon have SRT members from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA out in the field working together to deliver emergency relief. We're using all of our global resources and volunteers from all over the world in order to deliver the much needed aid as quickly as possible and in the best possible way,' she said.
The team in the Philippines are providing emergency shelter to close to 2,000 people whose homes were decimated after a 1km section of the 5km Bucao Dike collapsed. The evacuated families are currently in a temporary evacuation centre with up to 100 people sharing each room. 224 ShelterBoxes will shortly arrive in the Philippines, providing desperately needed emergency shelter.
Speaking from Manila, Peter Pearce said: 'We are one of the first organisations on the scene and the ones offering assistance to those people who happen to live in an area where wild weather is attacking them. The need for shelter here is huge.'
North of the Philippines, and SRT members Dave Ray (UK), Mike Greenslade (UK) and Phil Duloy (UK) are assessing the situation in Taiwan. They've travelled from Taipei to the remote mountainous regions in the south of the country where sources say hundreds of people remain stranded after Typhoon Morakot brought the worst flooding Taiwan's experienced in decades.
Mike Greenslade said: 'World Vision and Rotary have been extremely valuable in helping us coordinate of our aid effort. This is the first time ShelterBox has operated in Taiwan and people have been amazed by the quality of our disaster relief tents.
'We're looking to direct our efforts to areas where there is massive overcrowding so we can ease the pressure there but it could take many weeks, if not months, for these people to return to their homes.'
100 ShelterBoxes have been sent to Taiwan and will be met by the ShelterBox Response Team on Monday. SRT member Yi Shun (USA), who has family in Taiwan, will also be joining up with the team.
She said: 'This is such a rapid response and a real testament to the work ShelterBox does and how quickly they do it. My home country gets hit by a typhoon and ShelterBox is immediately there.'
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