U.S. to provide plastic sheets for 20-T homeless families in DavOr, ComVal

DAVAO CITY Dec. 10 (PIA)-The United States is set to provide plastic sheeting for the homeless victims of Typhoon Pablo in Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.

“This evening a 747 (plane will arrive) loaded with plastic sheeting to provide shelter to those who have lost their homes in the typhoon,” United States Charge’ d’Affaires Brian L. Goldbeck said during a press conference at the old Davao Airport in Lanang Monday.

Goldbeck said the plastic sheeting will provide “shelters for up to 20 thousand people” in the areas affected by the typhoon which made a landfall in Baganga, Davao Oriental on December 4.

As of Monday, the Office of Civil Defense XI (OCD) reported that the number of evacuees has now reached 43,112 families or 198,287 persons in the three cities and 27 towns in Region XI.

He said the US is working closely with the Philippine government “to tailor our assistance to what the Philippines needs.” He said the United States Agency for International Development Office of the U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) initially provided $100,000  to the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for the provision of emergency relief commodities and requirements for hygiene, water and sanitation.

“But when Washington recognized that the disaster is much more devastating than what was initially thought of, it sent an additional $3M  to address the humanitarian needs of the affected residents,” he said.

Goldbeck said they continue to monitor the impact of the disaster to the residents of the affected areas to facilitate the recovery process. He said the US military has coordinated with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to provide transportation support for the relief efforts. He mentioned two C130 flights last week, three more additional flights yesterday (Dec. 10), and more flights during the week.

He said the US Government has also provided more than $4.1 million for “disaster risk reduction activities in the Philippines” for 2012, on top of the amounts released for the humanitarian needs of the disaster victims in DavOr and COmVal.(LAC)