AmeriCares Expands Disaster Relief Efforts in Indonesia, Philippines and the PacificAmeriCares
emergency aid is helping survivors of catastrophic earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons in Asia and the South Pacific. AmeriCares emergency staff will arrive in Padang, Sumatra today where two massive
earthquakes have killed over 1,000 people and caused massive destruction. Thousands more are feared dead or trapped under collapsed buildings. "Countless survivors cannot be reached due to
landslides and damage to roads and bridges," reports Puji Sutrisno, AmeriCares Emergency Response Manager in Indonesia. "Heavy rains are hampering the relief efforts and creating great misery for the
survivors. We desperately need help, especially medical supplies to help treat the growing number of people who have been injured in the earthquakes."AmeriCares is delivering antibiotics, pain
medicines and critical medical supplies for earthquake survivors in Indonesia. An additional emergency airlift of aid is also being readied for Padang. As the Philippines braces for a second,
deadly typhoon, AmeriCares is sending emergency shipments of medical aid and humanitarian relief supplies to the battered country.Typhoon Parma (Pepang) – classified as a “super
typhoon” because of its fierce winds – is expected to barrage the Philippines tomorrow. The country is still recovering from severe devastation in the wake of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy),
which struck only days ago. The “super typhoon” could also track toward vulnerable Vietnam and Cambodia, which are in the midst of typhoon-related floods and mudslides. The
emergency shipment for the Philippines contains $200,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies, including antibiotics and topical solutions that fight infections and treat waterborne diseases spread
by floodwaters. AmeriCares also will deliver 1,000 hygiene kits to survivors in coming days to help stem the spread of disease. Relief workers are already distributing water purification treatments
donated by AmeriCares – enough to provide survivors with 1.2 million gallons of clean water. The most recent shipments of aid to the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia include more than
$6 million worth of lifesaving medicines and medical supplies AmeriCares sent previously. Assessments are underway in American Samoa where hundreds of people were killed by a 20 foot tsunami. AmeriCares has mounted emergency response efforts from its U.S. headquarters and on the ground - working around the clock to save lives and restore health to thousands of people affected by
the devastation. Visit www.AmeriCares.org/donate to help.Contact:Peggy Atherlay, Communications Director(203)
658-9262patherlay@americares.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A woman looks at a landslide in the village of Molino near the Sicilian town of Messina October 2, 2009. At least 20 people were killed and 40 injured in rainstorms ...
