UN allocates 12 mln USD for Rai typhoon response in Philippines (Photo: https://www.daijiworld.com/)Hanoi (VNA) – UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and EmergencyRelief Coordinator Martin Griffiths on December 23 announced a 12-million-USD rapidresponse allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support theresponse to Typhoon Rai in the Philippines.
According to the UN Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the allocation will help 220,000 victimsof the typhoon through interventions in food, security, water and sanitationhygiene, camp management, shelter and logistics, as well as telecommunicationsin the hardest-hit Caraga region and Region VIII, said the UN Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Speaking at an onlinepress conference on the same day, UNresident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in the Philippines GustavoGonzalez said the UN would launch a humanitarian needs and priorities plan onDecember 24, which is expected to raise 6.5 million USD to support victims ofTyphoon Rai in the Philippines.
The amount will target 530,000 people in the worst-hit areas, Gonzalez said.
According to Gonzalez,some 3 million people in the Philippines need assistance,including 1 million children.
A total of 631,000 people have beendisplaced and about 200,000 houses have been damaged, he noted, adding that peopleare in urgent need of emergency shelter, drinking water and food.
Super Typhoon Rai smashed into the Philippines on December16 packing wind speeds of 195 kilometres per hour, becoming one of the strongeststorms hitting the Southeast Asian nation in recent years.
The storm ravaged many areas in the central and southern regions, including Luzon island - the country's largest andmost populous island.
President Rodrigo Duterte on December 21 declared a state ofcalamity in several regions to speed up relief efforts for victims of TyphoonRai./.
