TEHRAN (Tasnim) – As international aid efforts gather pace in the Philippines, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) dispatched its first consignment of relief aid and a disaster assessment team to typhoon-stricken regions of the country on Tuesday.
“The Iranian disaster assessment team is led by the head of the Rescue and Relief Department of the IRCS,” Head of IRCS Public Relations Office Vahid Rahmati Roudsari told the Tasnim News Agency.

He said that the Iranian disaster assessment team is going to purchase the demands of the typhoon disaster victims in the Philippines, attach the IRCS labels on them, and distribute them among the people in need as long as necessary.

The first 40-ton Iranian relief aid consignment includes blankets, tents, foodstuff, and packages of sanitary items.

The UN says it and its partners hope to provide enough aid for six months.

Authorities estimate more than 3,900 people were killed when Typhoon Haiyan made landfall on November 8 and the sea surged ashore. Estimates of the death toll have varied widely, and the governor of worst-hit Leyte province said more than 4,000 people could have been killed on the island of Leyte alone.

Although a huge international aid effort is under way, extensive damage to infrastructure has hampered efforts to distribute it to some areas

It was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on land, with winds exceeding 320km/h unleashing massive waves and made landfall in the Philippines on November 8.

Health experts have warned that the worst-affected areas are entering a peak danger period for the spread of infectious diseases.

The number of injured stood at 12,544, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported. At least 1,186 were missing.

The nation's disaster agency said between 9 million and 13 million people were affected in 44 provinces, 536 municipalities and 55 cities.

By Tasnim News Agency

 

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