Saturday, June 28, 2008
Since its June 25 arrival in the Sulu Sea, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier group has supported Philippine disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Frank (Fengshen).
U.S. military personnel are supporting immediate rescue, recovery, and disaster relief efforts being carried out by Philippine authorities.
They have been directly coordinating with Philippine and provincial government officials, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC),
U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney said, “As President Bush said, friends help friends in a time of need and because of the strength of our friendship and partnership, U.S. and Philippine officials on the ground in Iloilo City were able to quickly mobilize a joint disaster relief effort.â€
Seven U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters from USS Ronald Reagan, USS Howard and USS Thach have been working around the clock with the AFP, the NDCC and provincial government leaders to transport and deliver potable water and food supplies to the hardest hit areas in the Visayan region.
Among the affected provinces are Iloilo, Aklan, and Antique on Panay Island and the North and South Gigante Islands.
Over 28,000 bottles of water, 10,000 pounds of rice, and many other non-perishable food items have been delivered with operations continuing in the coming days.
U.S. military engineering teams have been working also with their Philippine counterparts to restore electrical power in particular at major hospitals in the Iloilo region.
In addition to the P4 million ($100,000) worth of essential relief goods donated through the PNRC, the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is sending a chartered aircraft to arrive June 29 with relief supplies, worth P 28.6 million ($650,000), sufficient for 20,000 beneficiaries. PR
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