As all of you well know by now, the Philippines has been hit with a one-two punch of a massive earthquake and now a typhoon that is already considered the greatest natural disaster in the history of the Philippines. They are completely overwhelmed and don't have nearly enough air and naval assets to provide relief to the vast coastal areas of the Central Visayas Islands that have, in large parts, been virtually flattened by Typhoon Haiyan. They only have 3 military transport planes, for example, which is equivalent to a small bucket of water on a raging fire in this situation.
Luckily, we now have a President who has his head screwed on straight and is putting our considerable military and civilian resources in the Pacific to good use by ordering the largest U.S. relief effort that the Pacific has ever seen.
US Massing Largest Ever Pacific Relief Effort
Nov 12, 2013
Military.com| by Richard Sisk
The U.S. Marine commander on the ground in the Philippines called Tuesday for more ships, supplies and troops to cope with the vast devastation caused by super Typhoon Haiyan in what was shaping up as the biggest relief effort ever undertaken by the U.S. military in the Pacific.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington and its battle group were expected to arrive in Philippine waters Wednesday. However, Marine Brig. Gen. Paul Kennedy said his more immediate need was for amphibious ships and the tracked vehicles, landing craft and added Marines they bring with them.
"They are the Swiss army knife of the U.S. military," Kennedy said of the capabilities of the amphibious ships, which also have helicopter landing pads, medical staff and facilities for providing potable water.
In addition to help from the U.S., "the rest of the world needs to get mobilized, the rest of the donor community," Kennedy told NBC News. "A week from now will be too late."
http://www.military.com/...
That last sentence uttered by Brig. General Paul Kennedy is chilling to the core. Across both Leyte and Samar islands, millions of people are cut off from aid because roads and ports are destroyed, communication lines are down, and debris clogs roads and ports. The Philippines urgently needs helicopters and ships in action to provide relief to those zones until roads can be cleared and repaired and civilian relief agencies can get to the affected areas and the U.S. is the only country in the world that can quickly provide those assets on a scale and in a timeframe that will make a huge difference.
I have traveled to the Philippines and have many friends there, some located in the areas where the typhoon blasted through. For this reason, on a very personal level, on this day I am grateful to our President and our military men and women for stepping in to help those who are in desperate need.
I am also grateful to all who are stepping up by opening their wallets and coming to the aid of the Filipino People in their time of dire need. If you can, please also donate to Filipino charities, where every dollar goes a long way because they are on the ground, have low administrative costs, and are staffed mostly by volunteers in these relief efforts. A donation of a mere five dollars buys a Filipino family of 5 an additional 4 to 5 days of life by providing them with enough food and drinking water for that time period.
There are 2 quality Philippine NGOs that I know of and have donated to where every donation should have a big impact:
Gawad Kalinga - http://gk-usa.org/...
They offer options for donating specifically for earthquake and typhoon relief efforts and offer both credit card and PayPal as donation payment options.
The Philippine Red Cross - http://www.redcross.org.ph/...
They accept credit cards, PayPal, and other donation methods
Please give, if you can. Every bit helps as the Filipino people face the largest natural disaster that they have ever had to deal with.