Red Cross Blogs

Monday Movement update #22

By Katrina Crew
October 5, 2009 at 3:11 pm

It’s been an incredibly busy week for Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers around the world. Here’s your weekly update on what different members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement* are doing.

Philippines typhoons and floods: The Philippines has been hit by two typhoons in the past week. The Philippines Red Cross opened 130 evacuation centres where around 75,000 survivors are receiving safe shelter, hot meals and blankets. Volunteers carried out search and rescue operations after Typhoon Ketsana and saved more than 400 people from rooftops and high walls during severe flooding. The DEC has launched an appeal.

Vietnam typhoon and floods: Typhoon Ketsana hit the central coast of Vietnam on 29 September. Volunteers evacuated 160,000 people before it hit, but 150,000 people are displaced from their homes. The DEC has launched an appeal.

Samoan islands and Tonga tsunami: Read Rosemarie North’s diary about how people in the Pacific islands are coping, with the help of the Samoa Red Cross, after an earthquake caused devastating tsunamis on 29 September. The British Red Cross has launched an appeal for donations.

Indonesia earthquakes: Hundreds of Indonesia Red Cross volunteers are involved in search and rescue operations, providing first aid, and meeting water and sanitation needs. The British Red Cross has sent a team of logistics experts – watch a video of their departure. The DEC has launched an appeal.

Indonesia tsunami preparedness: With a grant from the British Red Cross, villagers in Indonesia have created evacuation routes and warning systems to help people escape tsunamis.

Swine flu: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has prepared posters explaining how to protect yourself and your family from swine flu.

Afghanistan conflict: Patrick Hamilton, who has just finished a stint as deputy head of the ICRC’s delegation in Afghanistan, talks about how the ICRC has been able to expand its operations over the past few years thanks to its principles of neutrality and independence.

Yemen conflict: The welfare of civilians in northern Yemen is becoming a greater concern amid continuing conflict. According to Jean-Nicolas Marti, ICRC head of delegation in Yemen, the organization has worked for weeks under extremely harsh conditions.

*The Movement is made of 186 National Societies (including the British Red Cross), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Image © Reuters/Erik de Castro/courtesy www.alertnet.org

---

Comment (0) »

---

Tags: Afghanistan, conflict, DEC, earthquake, Emergency Appeal, floods, Indonesia, Philippines, Samoa, swine flu, Tonga, tsunami, typhoon, Typhoon Ketsana, video, Vietnam, Yemen

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 3:11 pm and is filed under Emergencies, Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---