CARE Australia emergency experts are on their way to the Philippines ahead of the expected impact of Super Typhoon Hagupit, which is due to make landfall this weekend.
The team will be on the ground to support initial damage assessments from Super Typhoon Hagupit (meaning lash in Philippino) and to advise on CARE’s response.
The super typhoon, which is packing wind gusts of up to 230 kilometres per hour, is now classified as Category Five, the same category as Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed over 6,000 people and affected more than four million last year.
The super typhoon, known in the Philippines as Ruby, is projected to hit the same provinces devastated by Haiyan a little over one year ago, and is currently carrying similar wind speeds. CARE is coordinating with the Government of the Philippines as the country braces for the impact of Hagupit.
Alex Maclean, Country Director for CARE Philippines said:
“CARE staff are on red alert and are closely tracking Super Typhoon Hagupit. Plans are in place to respond, and if needed, our teams are ready to deploy to affected areas.”
On the ground, CARE emergency action plans are in operation to assist communities at risk.
“We are providing safety information to communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan last year. They are now potentially in the path of another strong typhoon,” Ms Maclean said.
CARE has worked in the Philippines since 1949, providing emergency relief when disaster strikes and helping communities prepare for disasters. CARE’s past responses in the Philippines have included Typhoon Ketsana (2009), Typhoon Bopha (2012) and Super Typhoon Haiyan (2013).
Over the past 12 months since Haiyan, CARE and its partners in the Philippines have reached more than 318,000 people with life-saving food, shelter support and financial assistance to rebuild their incomes.
Please donate to CARE’s Global Emergency Fund, to help us prepare to respond to disasters immediately with relief such as food, water and shelter.
