Two U.S. Ships, Hundreds of Marines Join Relief Effort in Philippines
USAID provides funds after landslide inundates farming village on Leyte
By Ralph Dannheisser
Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington -- The United States has diverted two amphibious ships to the Philippine island of Leyte to help with disaster relief efforts following a landslide that buried the village of Guinsaugon February 17, killing hundreds of people.
At the same time, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $100,000 in grant funds to the Philippine National Red Cross for immediate relief needs, the U.S. embassy in the Philippines reported February 18.
An embassy spokesman said that the two multi-mission ships dispatched to Leyte, the USS Essex and the USS Harper’s Ferry, carry some 22 helicopters that can be used in relief work, as well as rescue and relief equipment, and food and medical supplies.
Those ships are among assets that were already in the Philippines for the Balikatan 2006 joint military exercise that was to have started February 20 -- an exercise designed, according to the embassy, “to help train U.S. and Philippine service members to address disasters such as this one.”
The headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Command said the two ships, as well as elements of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, had arrived in Subic Bay on February 17 -- the same day that the landslide hit Guinsaugon.
“Our primary mission is to provide as much assistance as possible to the victims of this tragic event,” said Capt. Mark Donahue, Commodore, Amphibious Squadron Eleven. Donahue, task group commander of the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group, added, “We are here to prevent the further loss of life and to mitigate any further suffering.”
According to the embassy, the Pacific Command deployed a 12-man assessment team of U.S. military personnel to the disaster area on February 18.
The Associated Press (AP) reported February 19 that 32 U.S. Marines joined in the continued digging that day at a school inundated by the mudslide. It said that about 200 Marines were on the ground, and hundreds more were expected to come ashore the next day.
U.S. assistance had been requested by the Philippine government and, a navy spokesman said, the Philippine Red Cross had specifically requested helicopter support to assist with rescue and relief operations.
The embassy said that, in addition to providing the $100,000 in grant funds, USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance was airlifting relief commodities -- from stockpiles in Miami and Dubai -- that include blankets, plastic sheeting, water containers and body bags.
The Philippine government said February 19 that more than 1,000 people, including many schoolchildren, are feared buried under tons of mud in the farming village. Other estimates have put the number killed as high as 1,800.
Philippine authorities had reported that 57 people had been rescued from the mud, up to 9.1 meters (30 feet) deep in spots, in the early hours after the disaster occurred. But on February 19 they lowered that figure to 20 without explanation, the AP reported. No new survivors have been found since February 17; at least 72 bodies have been recovered.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
By Ralph Dannheisser
Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington -- The United States has diverted two amphibious ships to the Philippine island of Leyte to help with disaster relief efforts following a landslide that buried the village of Guinsaugon February 17, killing hundreds of people.
At the same time, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $100,000 in grant funds to the Philippine National Red Cross for immediate relief needs, the U.S. embassy in the Philippines reported February 18.
An embassy spokesman said that the two multi-mission ships dispatched to Leyte, the USS Essex and the USS Harper’s Ferry, carry some 22 helicopters that can be used in relief work, as well as rescue and relief equipment, and food and medical supplies.
Those ships are among assets that were already in the Philippines for the Balikatan 2006 joint military exercise that was to have started February 20 -- an exercise designed, according to the embassy, “to help train U.S. and Philippine service members to address disasters such as this one.”
The headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Command said the two ships, as well as elements of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, had arrived in Subic Bay on February 17 -- the same day that the landslide hit Guinsaugon.
“Our primary mission is to provide as much assistance as possible to the victims of this tragic event,” said Capt. Mark Donahue, Commodore, Amphibious Squadron Eleven. Donahue, task group commander of the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group, added, “We are here to prevent the further loss of life and to mitigate any further suffering.”
According to the embassy, the Pacific Command deployed a 12-man assessment team of U.S. military personnel to the disaster area on February 18.
The Associated Press (AP) reported February 19 that 32 U.S. Marines joined in the continued digging that day at a school inundated by the mudslide. It said that about 200 Marines were on the ground, and hundreds more were expected to come ashore the next day.
U.S. assistance had been requested by the Philippine government and, a navy spokesman said, the Philippine Red Cross had specifically requested helicopter support to assist with rescue and relief operations.
The embassy said that, in addition to providing the $100,000 in grant funds, USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance was airlifting relief commodities -- from stockpiles in Miami and Dubai -- that include blankets, plastic sheeting, water containers and body bags.
The Philippine government said February 19 that more than 1,000 people, including many schoolchildren, are feared buried under tons of mud in the farming village. Other estimates have put the number killed as high as 1,800.
Philippine authorities had reported that 57 people had been rescued from the mud, up to 9.1 meters (30 feet) deep in spots, in the early hours after the disaster occurred. But on February 19 they lowered that figure to 20 without explanation, the AP reported. No new survivors have been found since February 17; at least 72 bodies have been recovered.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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