SINGAPORE: A team from the Corporate Citizen Foundation (CCF) in Singapore is headed towards the area where Typhoon Hagupit is expected to make landfall in the Philippines within the next 24 hours.
The CCF's Swift Emergency Evaluation Deployment (SEED) team is led by Mr Ng Sin Ain, and the team of five will be there to find out the disaster relief needs in the aftermath of the typhoon. Hagupit is expected to make landfall on Saturday afternoon (Dec 6).
The team - comprising Channel NewsAsia journalists and civil engineering personnel - departed from Singapore's Seletar airport early Friday morning, bringing along two inflatable boats with outboard motors.
The team's mode of transport is a Gulfstream G150 jet, provided by Pacific Flight Services, a partner of the mission. The plane's size allows for greater flexibility in deciding where exactly to go, depending on the need.
'This trip, we brought an inflatable boat and an outboard motor to help us breach any water obstacles ... SEED is there to do evaluation to provide information relevant to the humanitarian sector,' said Mr Ng.
The team's key mission is to bring out early, accurate and synchronised information from the disaster-hit areas. It aims to provide clear and first-hand ground information that would enable incoming aid agencies to make informed decisions, rather than second-guessing what the actual ground needs are, which risks inappropriate aid and wastage.
The first location is Manila, where equipment was quickly unloaded for the start of an uncertain journey ahead. The team's plan is to set up a temporary base and make contact with local agencies. A key priority is to work out a plan with the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance.
This is the first time that CCF, which was formed on Oct 31, 2014, is responding to a natural disaster.OTHER AGENCIES RESPOND
Separately, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it has sent an officer to the Philippines as part of a six-man ASEAN-Emergency Rapid Assessment Team. He is deployed under the auspices of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and will be there for about two weeks.
The team aims to provide rapid assessment and determine if resources such as tents, medical kits and sanitation facilities are required for areas affected by the typhoon.
The Singapore Red Cross said it is monitoring the situation with the Philippine Red Cross and has a team of five Singaporeans on standby for deployment.
Mercy Relief said its response team stands ready to be deployed with relief items such as food, water, medicine and shelter. Its chief executive, Mr Goh Chin Siang, said: 'Mercy Relief is working closely with our local ground partners in determining the scope of our response to Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby), depending on the impact.' It will launch a public fundraising campaign if local partners request one.
LOCALS PREPARE FOR TYPHOON HAGUPIT
Locals in Manila have been trying to move forward after the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan about a year ago, and many refuse to be caught unprepared again.
Mr Rudy Magistrado, a driver, told Channel NewsAsia: 'First thing we intend to do is to gather some drinking water and buy some groceries for emergency. And especially a flash light. Because if you run out of power, you cannot see, especially if it is at night.'
Mr Jonas Belleza, a transport assistant, said: 'Here in Manila, we are not totally affected, but as we are monitoring the radio and news, our families in the province are preparing enough food to last for 72 hours.'
People in Manila are still going about their daily affairs, seemingly unaware that their country may be on the brink of yet another natural disaster. There is almost a sense of cautious optimism; an optimism that says: 'Let us hope the light breeze in the air now does not turn into a deadly gust'.
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