ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Typhoon Haiyan, the Order of Malta is mobilizing for the islands which have not been reached by relief

Cebu (Agenzia Fides) - Malteser International, the international relief agency of the Order of Malta, has decided to concentrate its intervention assistance in the Philippine Islands affected by Typhoon Haiyan not yet reached by humanitarian aid. So far - reports a statement sent to Fides Agency - relief efforts have been concentrated in the area around the city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte. The emergency team of Malteser International is working instead in Bantayan, north of Cebu.
"The local people told us that the typhoon is the most violent that has ever hit the area. More than 90 % of homes have been destroyed and about 30,000 families are in need of immediate shelter", is the alarm raised by Mel Capistrano, coordinator of the Malteser International emergency team.
Malteser International Rescue operations have been addressed also to the people of the islands of Samar and Bohol. In Samar, reachable only by sea, The Philippine Association of the Order of Malta has sent a mobile team with doctors and nurses in the towns of Basey, Marabut and San Sebastian.
On the island of Bohol, where the population has already been affected by the earthquake on October 15, Malteser International is organizing the distribution of vouchers to families for the purchase of building materials. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 15/11/2013)