Anyone in the Philippines? I haven't seen many photos of the devastation yet, but heard one town thinks 10,000 people died in just that one town. It's so awful. If you're in the area, how are you doing? What do you need?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24901993

Our team members live further north and are safe, but on the ground they are asking for donations to disaster relief for shelter and water. The response has started well, but the devastation is huge.

Australia: Aus$10m ($9.4m; £5.8m), including medical personnel
China: $200,000 (£125,000)
European Commission: 3m euros (£2.5m; $4m)
Indonesia: Aircraft, personnel, drinking water, food, generators, medicine
Japan: 25 emergency medical personnel
New Zealand: NZ$2.15m (£1.1m)
Taiwan: $200,000
UK: £10m ($15m) non-food aid package
UN central emergency relief fund: $25m
US: At least 180 marines and sailors, transporter planes, emergency food, water, shelter and hygiene materials
Vietnam: $100,000

So far, but the list of support is still growing, as are contributions from individuals.

I understand that Pope Francis has thrown in a big bunch of euros to keep the churches running as shelters.

Relatively small initial donation, but he's sent a message to Catholics to provide prayers and concrete help. Which should have a bigger impact.

About $4bn, already gone there I think, as well as all our usual relief forces.
This , of course, in spite of our stupid government's ongoing threat of sanctions on the PI, over the Manilla Hostage crisis. Thank goodness our people in charge of relief provision are still sane.
We hear that in fact people were well warned in advance and lots of early protection measures put in place , which is wonderful progress.However that was such a wickedly powerful force that no one had a chance. The buildings were not exactly stalwart to say the least and thus the island was flattened.
The Philipino community here is full of its loss, many of our domestic helpers come from the Leyte area, and they are mainly concerned with trying to contact their families and with raising funds to help.
My school are trying to find a way to help, as they usually do.
It has occurred to some of us that since many of the tragic deaths were caused through drowning in a tsunami, it would be a way of practical help if groups of swimmers could, in the future go out and provide swimming lessons. So many of the inhabitants cannot perform this lifesaving skill and could have been saved. Just a thought in our minds for the future.
One could easily become hardened to extreme tragedy of late, in this part of the world in particular. But when you hear of 30 family members in one village dying,when you see the helplessness of people already living under such extremes of poverty, you cannot help but weep.
The Philipino people have really done no harm to the world. Why them every time I wonder.

From our news this morning it appears that the main problem is not a lack of aid pouring into the country, but getting it to where it is needed because of washed out roads, inoperative airports etc. If they can get some engineers in on helicopter to clear runways then aid should, hopefully, start to flow more quickly.

American aircraft carrier with I think 6 helicopters is rushing to get there Should take a day or two.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-24899006

Shelterbox is a charity I've supported in the past and will continue to in future years.

The Phillipine consulate in New York has specifically asked for people to contribute to the Red Cross.
I haven't checked the Red Cross website yet, but several years ago (after Katrina?) it now sets up specific funds earmarked for one's diasaster of choice to contribute to.

We have a warship on the way which can then distribute aid to isolated coastal communities and islands, and it also has desalination facilties on board so can make almost unlimited clean water as well. That is still a couple of days out though even though it is going at top speed.

I believe Queen Elizabeth has also made a donation.

I hope this is not considered as advertising.....www.dec.org.uk

Red Cross and Medecins San Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) are both there now.

News today was saying the death toll is currently estimated at 2,000 - much lower than the original 10,000 I was hearing a couple days ago.

So many of the survivors don't have food or clean water - without clean water, the very young and old are at risk for dysentery and any number of other water-borne illnesses...

Another problem is they lack morgue space, so a lot of the bodies are just sitting out exposed to the elements.

Wonderful 7/11!! All of our branches (and there is one in nearly every street) are accepting even a few dollars cash and giving out forms so you can get a receipt from World Vision.
As opposed to HK HSBC where I stood ages and they didn't know what the account numbers were for donations. In the end the teller searched his own wallet for the details. There was no donation box, no poster, nothing! I let them know my feelings about that, as you may imagine.

The DEC appeal has apparently raised £13 million so far in public donations.
They've got buckets all round my town, being shaken by a very wide selection of people, and there's a string quartet in the shopping arcade with the tag 'Fiddling for the Philippines'

It is wonderful to see the responses from ordinary people.

I think the dec.org.uk appeal has now reached 23 Million. As I wrote on my networking page....Just a little....helps a lot!

I think the dec.org.uk appeal has now reached 23 Million. As I wrote on my networking page....Just a little....helps a lot!

I think I read the death toll is up to ~4,500 now...

US $20M
Japan $10M
IKEA the furniture shops $2.7M
The Glorious Peoples Republic of China$2M
Surprise surprise....

Erm, your figures are a little out of date, Ren. According to the BBC and DEC the latest figures are:

Japan $50 million
UK $32 million
Australia $28 million
USA $20 million
IKEA $2.7 million
China $1.8 million

The UK government's aid will be increased by $7.5 million as they have promised to match the first £5 million of public donations to DEC* pound for pound. As of this morning the DEC appeal has raised over £30 million ($48 million).


*In case people outside the UK don't know, we have a central body - the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) - that runs national appeals for disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan and then channels the aid to charities based on an agreed assessment of need for the particular disaster. Members of the public can of course give directly to the charities if they wish but all the major charities are members of DEC and they are saved the work, and cost, of doing the fund-raising themselves.

Other countries may do something similar but I thought it was worth explaining DEC as it's already been mentioned a few times.

Wonderful then. Thanks Flopsy.
Still makes our wonderful neighbour and great protector the meanest in the world.
Anybody remember a certain earthquake?

You might like to know, Ren, that the UK's public appeal through the Disasters Emergency Committee had raised £50 million by 20th November - and the British government has also promised to donate the same amount. But China is now sending a hospital ship so that's something.

And as an aside, the annual telethon for the BBC's Children in Need charity raised a record £31 million last Friday - got to hand it to the great British public, when times are tough they go on putting their hands in their pockets.

You are right Flopsy Hooray for the Brits!