Typhoons, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis have Convoy of Hope deploying assessment teams and aid in the United States and throughout the world.
“In addition to having teams on the ground responding to flooding in Georgia, we have a team en route to the Philippines where a typhoon flooded much of Manila,” says Kary Kingsland, vice president of disaster response for Convoy of Hope. “We also have a team en route to the Samoan Islands to determine the best way to help those victims hit by the tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake.”
In Manila hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by floodwaters. Already, Convoy of Hope partners have set up food and water distribution points throughout the city. Friday, a shipping container of food and supplies will leave Convoy of Hope’s world distribution center in Springfield, Mo.
“We just opened a warehouse in the Philippines in order to assist with our children’s feeding program,” said Convoy of Hope president Hal Donaldson. “We were able to make supplies available immediately from that warehouse shortening our response time considerably.”
“Initially, our team will purchase food and supplies in country to stock the distribution points,” says Kingsland. “Food and water are in short supply in Manila, but we’ll be able to get such items in outlying areas. It’s a Katrina-like event that we will be responding to long after the waters have subsided.”
Convoy of Hope leaders are also in communication with contacts in Samoa and American Samoa to determine the best and most effective way to help the villages and communities decimated by tsunamis.
“As in the Philippines, residents in Samoa and American Samoa are reeling,” says Kingsland. “Several homes and villages were flattened by the surge of water which measured nearly 40 feet high in some places.”
A Convoy of Hope team will be leaving from Springfield and heading to Samoa almost immediately. President Obama has issued a FEMA declaration for the area, which has suffered significant damage to their power, water, and communications systems.
Nearly 25% of the population has been affected by this tragic situation.
If you would like to help families impacted by natural disasters donate here.
