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AmeriCares 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. Help us deliver critical aid >>
“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 (Pepeng) – 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 from AmeriCares global programs.
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.
Everyday, AmeriCares is prepared to respond to men, women and children in crisis. Disaster relief stocks are strategically located to help in the world’s danger zones – such as the Ring of Fire in the Pacific which has seen great devastation in recent days. Ongoing medical aid strengthens our capacity to deliver lifesaving medicines and medical supplies throughout the world. A critical issue remains – the challenge of responding to several major disasters in these difficult economic times.
When disasters strike, health care facilities struggle to cope with a surge in demand as survivors seek care. The supply chains that keep those facilities stocked and caring for patients are usually disrupted for weeks, if not months.
Medicines and medical supplies are urgently needed by emergency health providers and public health responders to treat mounting illnesses and injuries. That’s why AmeriCares strives to maintain its ability to deliver disaster relief and medical aid to men, women and children in need – wherever they are, whenever they need it.
Update as of November 3, 2009: AmeriCares continues to help survivors of the recent typhoons, tsunami and floods in Asia and the South Pacific. And we also continue our on-going efforts to provide lifesaving medical and humanitarian aid to people in poor and conflict-ridden countries struggling for daily survival around the world.
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