Tropical Storm (Category 1) Ketsana a.k.a. Ondoy, landed in Luzon on Saturday morning, 26 September, bringing over 400mm of rainfall within 6 hours, causing severe and deadly flash floods (water level 6 feet) in 25 provinces and cities. As at 0600 hrs on Tuesday, 29 September:

• almost 2 million people have been affected
• nearly 300 confirmed dead
• 400,000 evacuated to more than 600 evacuation centres
• 80% of Metro Manila is flooded and other areas in Central Luzon have been submerged

Ground response status:

– Search and rescue phase as many people are still stranded and trapped in and at their houses

Force of the tropical storm

The Philippines government has declared a state of calamity and has made an appeal for international aid. Mercy Relief has obtained its fundraising permit from the Commissioner of Charities and will be collecting donations for the victims of the ‘South Pacific Tropical Storm’ in the Philippines from the 29 Sep-18 Oct 2009.

MR’s response:

• monitoring situation since last Saturday evening
• since yesterday, MR has been in close communication with our existing partners SIKAT (development project partner and also partner for MR’s last medical relief mission to Zambales last month) and Gawad Kalinga (one of the largest NGO in the Philippines)
• US-based humanitarian NGO Direct Relief International has contacted MR to provide medical supplies through us
• Mercy Relief has informed the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) on our response plans.
• Following this, MR is preparing to send a preliminary team together with the first batch of relief items over the next few days. As it is important now to address the most immediate and basic needs of the victims- which is to keep them fed, hydrated, and warm, Mercy Relief will be sending the following relief items, which will be dispatched and distributed by the preliminary team:
  • 10,000 packs of rice sticks
  • 3,000 packs of porridge to the very young, sick and elderly
  • medicines (painkillers)
  • blankets
  • water purification tablets

The plight of the victims

About Mercy Relief

Mercy Relief is a Singaporean humanitarian organisation which engages in both disaster relief and sustainable development programmes. It was established in 2003 as an independent non-governmental humanitarian charity responding to the human tragedies in Asia. Mercy Relief’s aid programme focuses on providing timely and effective assistance to disaster-stricken communities and has maintained the delivery of emergency aid within 72 hours from the point of appeal for assistance.  

In the past 12 years, Mercy Relief has disbursed over S$32 million in aid across 40 disaster relief and 53 sustainable development initiatives. Mercy Relief has impacted an aggregate of 2 million lives in 24 countries and areas, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal,  Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen.

For more information, you may call us at 6514 6322 or email corporateaffairs@mercyrelief.org