The images of the destruction caused by Supertyphoon Haiyan are horrific. Whole cities have been flattened to the ground, hundreds of thousands are without shelter, many lack food and water. 

With winds of more than 330 kilometres per hour and had a diameter of approximately 800 km wide, it is the worst storm to have ever made landfall in modern history. Approximately 9.5 million people have been affected in the Philippines, and authorities warn many hundreds of thousands of people could also be affected in Vietnam.

Malteser International’s emergency relief experts are on their way to Leyte Province in the Philippines, where Typhoon Haiyan left a path of utter destruction and cost the lives of at least ten thousand people. The experts and representatives of the Philippine Association of the Order of Malta will conduct an assessment of the needs in the most affected region around Tacloban City and prepare emergency relief for the survivors.

“Gaining access to the disaster region is extremely difficult at the moment, since the Tacloban Airport was destroyed in the storm, so we have to find alternative ways of getting there,” says Cordula Wasser, Philippines program manager for Malteser International.  Malteser International’s local partners report that Haiyan also affected the evacuation centers and temporary camps on the neighboring island of Bohol, which had recently been struck by an earthquake. “For this reason, Malteser International will also expand their ongoing relief measures for the earthquake survivors,” Wasser says.

Donate now and give life-saving relief to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.