Dubai: The Philippine Business Council–Dubai and Northern Emirates (PBC) on Saturday started receiving food donations for its campaign to send aid to survivors of Typhoon Rai that recently hit the Philippines.
PBC chairman Bobbie Carella told Gulf News the food drive will run for two weekends and anyone can bring “unexpired non-perishable food items” to UAE Food Bank Warehouse in Al Quoz, Dubai, for repacking and delivery to various areas badly hit by the super typhoon.
PBC Dubai is a non-profit organisation of entrepreneurs and professionals recognised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Typhoon Rai was a Category 5 super-typhoon – the strongest that hit the southeast Asian country last year. With winds of up to 260 kph, Typhoon Rai first made landfall on December 16, 2021. It destroyed homes and properties, uprooted trees, toppled power and communication lines.
More than 400 people died and thousands of families were rendered homeless.
Aid needed
According to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, nine people have died and hundreds have fallen ill with diarrhoea in areas of the Philippines wrecked by Typhoon Rai last month.
“Three weeks after Typhoon Rai struck southern and central islands, destroying thousands of homes and killing more than 400 people, relief work continues to deliver supplies to stranded residents left homeless by the storm,” AFP noted.
Aid officials warned of a health crisis as millions struggle to secure clean water and food. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) also warned of a “mounting health crisis” in typhoon-hit areas as it scaled up its disaster response.
“It is extremely concerning that people have been getting very sick and even dying in areas smashed by this typhoon. The typhoon left millions without access to clean drinking water, hospitals and health facilities,” IFRC head of Philippine Delegation Alberto Bocanegra said in a statement last week.
