U.S. sending additional $19 million for Odette disaster relief

The new funding is in addition to $1 million announced earlier this week to support emergency logistics efforts, as well as $200,000 that USAID provided immediately after the storm made landfall. USAID

WASHINGTON – The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is allocating an additional $19 million in humanitarian assistance to help people affected by Super Typhoon Rai/Odette in the Philippines.

This aid brings total USAID assistance for this response to more than $20 million. The storm known locally as Typhoon Odette brought torrential rains and caused widespread flooding, landslides, and damage to homes.

With this humanitarian assistance, USAID will provide food assistance; water, sanitation and hygiene programs to help keep people healthy; shelter assistance to meet emergency needs and help affected communities start rebuilding homes; and protection for the most vulnerable.

The new funding is in addition to $1 million announced earlier this week to support emergency logistics efforts, as well as $200,000 that USAID provided immediately after the storm made landfall to provide food, water, and hygiene supplies; restore water supply services and sanitation facilities; and support hygiene promotion activities.

USAID works year-round to help communities in the Philippines prepare for natural disasters. Through these existing programs, USAID’s partners are transporting relief supplies, including enough food provided by the Government of the Philippines to feed nearly 94,000 families.

USAID partners are helping to manage evacuation shelters, deploy mobile operations vehicles to support emergency telecommunications, and provide USAID heavy-duty plastic sheeting to meet critical shelter needs for 4,800 families.

USAID disaster experts in the Philippines continue to coordinate response efforts with the Government of the Philippines and humanitarian partners.

For the latest updates on U.S. humanitarian assistance in the Philippines, visit USAID.