WFP’s Pacific Humanitarian Air Service and the Red Cross join forces to deliver relief to typhoon-devastated Palau
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AIRAI, Palau – Relief aid is arriving in Palau after Typhoon Surigae left a trail of destruction across the tiny island state of Palau, damaging some 1500 homes, destroying roads, and cutting off water and power supplies.
To transport vital relief supplies from stockpiles in Kuala Lumpur to remote affected communities, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have joined forces.
The collaboration includes IFRC relief supplies, along with 400 family kits donated by the Government of Australia brought in from WFP-managed UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, using the Pacific Humanitarian Air Service also managed by WFP. USAID offered humanitarian assistance worth US$ 100,000 towards IFRC relief supplies.
Pacific nations brace for first major cyclones of the season
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16 Dec 2020
Suva, 16 December 2020 – Two tropical cyclones have formed in the Pacific, signaling the beginning of what is forecast to be a busy season for emergency responders across the region.
Tropical Cyclone Yasa has been building strength between Fiji and Vanuatu and is tracking towards Fiji as a severe category 5 storm. Communities in Tonga have also been on high alert for Tropical Cyclone Zazu, which passed over the country bringing strong winds and heavy rain.
The sudden simultaneous storms reinforce predictions that tropical cyclones will be more frequent and there is more risk of floods this season due to the changing climate and La Niña weather conditions.