The latest from the Philippines...

Typhoon Parma passed through the northeastern tip of the Philippines over the weekend. This was the strongest storm to hit this area of the country since 2006. Although Manila escaped the worst of Parma, residents of the capital city are still reeling from Typhoon Ketsana, which dumped a month’s worth of rain on the area in just six hours.

The death toll from the two storms has surpassed 300. There is massive damage to infrastructure, and the threat of more landslides is hampering aid efforts to the more remote areas. Many places are still under water.

A Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is on the ground in Manila, working hand-in-hand with Christian partners.

How we are responding

• Team members have reached northern Luzon and are awaiting the arrival of our relief supplies to the area. Because of landslides, the 14-hour trip is taking about a day and a half.

• Supplies have been purchased for mud-outs to begin in a fishing village in the Bulacan region. The first four volunteer teams will begin working tomorrow.

• Church volunteers have packaged an additional 3,900 food parcels – 3,600 of these will be trucked to Northern Luzon; 300 will be distributed in Manila. To date, a total of 11,550 food packages have been distributed to bring relief to more than 50,000 people in metro Manila.

• Our two emergency relief shipments have cleared customs. The supplies are being loaded onto trucks to be distributed as follows: 2,100 blankets, 1,056 hygiene kits, and 1 water filtration system will be sent to Northern Luzon; 2,100 blankets, 672 hygiene kits, 1 water filtration system, and 640 kitchen kits are targeted for the greater Manila area.

• A total of 4,400 packages have been distributed to provide for more than 20,000 people. These distributions are taking place in evacuation centres and to displaced people living alongside a flooded lake.

• The team is also planning to take 15 tons of relief supplies and 2,600 food parcels to the hard-to-reach areas of the north Luzon region. This will require a 14-hour journey to reach storm survivors in very isolated places who have not received any assistance to date.

• In addition, a church partner in metro Manila has been mobilised to distribute water filters to the surrounding community in order to provide clean water. Ten volunteer teams will also begin mudding out 150 houses in a fishing village in the Bulacan region in the coming days.

Ways you can help

Pray:

•  For those who are still trying to rebuild their lives after losing their homes and crops

•  For people who are severely traumatised and at risk of disease and other complications in the aftermath of the disaster

•  That the Lord would guide us to the people He would have us reach for the Gospel

Tell:

•  Share this story with a friend or relative and encourage them respond in some way too; you might even want to email them the URL link to this story

Give:

• Giving towards our Emergency Relief fund will help us respond to disasters like the one in the Philippines