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A-PAD Philippines search and rescue team on standby to assist Typhoon Ompong affected communities MANILA, Philippines (Sept. 15)

As Typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut)  lashed out its catastrophic force in the provinces of Northern Luzon in the Philippines, Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) Philippines search and rescue team (SAR) is on standby for possible deployment in areas which will be most affected.

In partnership with Peace Winds Japan (PWJ), A-PAD Management Office in Tokyo sent a team of three (3) emergency coordinators, five (5) search and rescue personnel, two (2) medical doctors and two (2) K9 rescue dogs all the way from Japan to help affected constituents.

The team spearheaded by A-PAD COO Kaori Neki arrived Friday night in Manila. “It is better to be here in the Philippines ahead of Mangkhut’s impact to be prepared for immediate deployment should search and rescue be needed. Our experience in responding to disasters in Japan and in other countries tells us that we can be more effective when we preposition logistics and personnel on the ground,” Neki explained.
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Coordinator Keita Sone added, “we anticipate the disastrous impact of Typhoon Mangkhut, and our team is prepared to immediately conduct search and rescue on the affected communities.”

The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and the Citizen’s Disaster Response Center (CDRC), the two leading disaster resilience organizations in the Philippines that serve as co-conveners of APAD in the Philippines officially welcomed the SAR Team in the PDRF Emergency Operations Center in Clark, Pampanga

“We are very grateful to this initiative from our partners in A-PAD. This will bolster our emergency response capacity as we address this humanitarian crisis in the northern part of the country,” said Mr. Rene Meily, President of PDRF.

The A-PAD partners discussed possible areas for deployment including coordination with local incident management teams. “We will link up the A-PAD SAR Team to our damages, needs and capacities assessment (DNCA) teams deployed in our Regional Centers in cities of Baguio, Tuguegarao, and Laoag” added Ms. Kim Leduna, Deputy Executive Director of CDRC.

A-PAD Philippines coordinates and facilitates efforts of the private sector, government and civil society organizations and other A-PAD Country Platforms to ensure prompt response to communities that are severely affected by emergencies.
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