International express operators are scaling up their efforts to help aid organisations getdesperately-need emergency supplies to survivors of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan in the
Philippines.Heavy rain and a small earthquake have held up international efforts to get food, water andother supplies into the affected areas where some 800,000 people are displaced and more than 11million people have been affected by the devastation. The typhoon is believed to have killed up to10,000 people.
UN agencies, led by the World Food Programme (WFP), are organising airlifts of supplies toManila or Cebu, about 150km from Tacloban, the worst-hit area where local airports are out ofaction.
UPS, a member of the WFP Logistics Emergency Team (LET), has donated large-scale financialassistance and is working with UN logistics experts to coordinate aid activities, FedEx is helpingwith relief supplies, DHL hopes to provide logistics services at Cebu airport and TNT has offeredlocal warehousing and ground transportation services.
UPS today pledged US$1 million in support for recovery efforts through a combination of cashgrants, in-kind transportation movements and technical expertise to provide urgent relief as wellas strategic support for the long-term needs.
The US$500,000 financial and in-kind contribution for urgent response comprises donations toseveral aid organisations. This includes up to $250,000 for the World Food Programme for urgentneeds in mobilizing its Logistics Emergency Team (LETs) program, US$100,000 for the United NationsChildren’s Fund to assist the 1.7 million children impacted by the typhoon, US$100,000 to the CAREcharity for short-term sheltering and food, US$30,000 for the Salvation Army’s emergency fund andUS$20,000 to Medshare for medical supplies. UPS said it will also commit at least US$500,000 inadditional financial support over the coming months to help speed long-term recovery efforts in thePhilippines.
The company is currently working with its humanitarian relief program partners to assessrecovery needs in local communities. Oliver Bartolo, Logistics Manager of UPS Philippines, has beenassigned to the UN World Food Programme’s Logistics Emergency Team in the Philippines to assist theGlobal Logistics Cluster to coordinate relief efforts to areas hardest hit by the typhoon. UPS isalso in close coordination with its local operations people as well as with key customers in orderto help facilitate a more efficient response to relief efforts.
“UPS and its partners quickly moved our Global Humanitarian Relief Program to urgent responsemode and together have set into motion a multi-faceted relief effort,” said Eduardo Martinez,president of The UPS Foundation. “The victims of Typhoon Haiyan are facing many hardships. Bydonating financial and logistical support to organizations that will provide assistance in thedays, weeks and months ahead, we are helping ensure impacted citizens have a reliable, efficientand predictable path back to recovery.”
Deutsche Post DHL has sent Chris Weeks, head of the DHL Disaster Response Team, to Cebuairport together with two locally-trained DHL DRT volunteers to start planning with airportauthorities how to handle large quantities of emergency relief aid once flights come in. “Notenough freight is yet coming in for a DRT deployment. But we are ready to help with offloading,warehousing and preparations for distribution,” DP DHL spokeswoman Christina Mueschen toldCEP-Research. The company has also flown to Cebu a supply of ‘Speedballs’ – large round netsdesigned to contain diverse supplies for a family which can be directly dropped from helicopters inremote areas.
TNT Express, also a member of the WFP Logistics Emergency Team (LET), has offered use of itslocal warehouses and depots in the Cebu area as well as overland transportation. “We’re ready toprovide the facilities and road transportation as well as staff support for customs clearance,”spokesman Cyrille Gibot said.
FedEx has linked up with Water Missions International and The Pentair Foundation to providesafe drinking water for some 160,000 people in the Cebu region. FedEx has sponsored two disasterresponse water treatment systems while Pentair is funding 20 safe water treatment systems and 10potable water chlorinators.
