Rapid assistance for typhoon-ravaged Philippines

Australia provides rapid assistance for typhoon-ravaged Philippines

I am pleased to announce that Australia will contribute $500,000 in emergency humanitarian relief to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Winnie.

Australia will provide $300,000 through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which is coordinating relief efforts at the request of the Government of the Philippines.

The Philippines Red Cross will receive $200,000.

The typhoon has devastated areas east of the capital Manila, with reports placing the dead and missing in the hundreds.

Search and rescue operations are continuing.

Worst affected are the provinces of Quezon and Nueva Ecija and parts of the Bicol region where heavy rain has brought landslides and flooding, destroying homes and cutting roads and bridges.

Philippines officials continue to closely monitor the progress of Typhoon Nanmadol which passed over central and eastern Luzon last night.

Australia stands ready to provide further rapid assistance to the Philippines should it be requested.

ENDS

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