Monday, November 18, 2013

Newest British destroyer deployed to remote typhoon-hit areas

From the Philippine Star (Nov 19): Newest British destroyer deployed to remote typhoon-hit areas



British destroyer HMS Daring set sail from Exercise Bersama Lima to the Philippines as part of the British government's humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Wikimedia Commons

 The latest air-defense destroyer of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy arrived in the country as an addition to the British contingent assisting in relief mission to victims of super-typhoon Yolanda.

The HMS Daring, delivered relief goods  to 200 families living in three barangays of Guintakan Island in devastated Sta. Fe town in Cebu on Monday night as its first mission.

Commander Angus Essenhigh, its captain, said that the warship's "flexibility" allows it to reach remote coastal communities flattened by the severe weather event.

"Overnight, we'll sail out to the worst of affected areas to hopefully start distributing relief that is so urgently needed in the islands," Essenhigh said in a CNN interview on Monday.

"The outlying islands have not been visited yet and that's part of what we're doing," he added.

Essenhigh said that the Type 45 destroyer is also out on a reconnaissance mission to scout for areas that have not yet received sufficient aid.

"[We are] passing that information back to the UK channels to inform the wider government or the NGOs active as to where we could prioritize," the Navy official said.

The UK has also sent an airplane carrying 95 tons of emergency aid.

Earlier, a 12-strong medical team from the UK has been deployed to various areas to treat typhoon victims.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/11/19/1258476/newest-british-destroyer-deployed-remote-typhoon-hit-areas

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