Typhoon Parma: World Vision Launches Relief Efforts in the Philippines, Pre-positions Supplies...( We're not waiting for sunrise says ...),Health

"We're not waiting for sunrise," says aid worker in Northern Luzon Aid agency to begin distributing rice, additional food, candles in the next few hours

ISABELA PROVINCE, Philippines, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- World Vision will begin relief operations this evening in Isabela Province, one of the areas wracked by Typhoon Parma.

"We are not waiting for sunrise," says Fe Olonan, World Vision programme manager in Northern Luzon. "We will begin distributing rice and other food, as well as candles, in the next few hours."

Some 200 families in Isabela had been evacuated Friday night in preparation of Typhoon Parma. The typhoon, however, changed its course and speed and made landfall in Cagayan Saturday around 3 pm (local time). Olonan said that much more assistance will be needed in Cagayan, a nearby province four hours' drive from Isabela. World Vision staff have also reported that Cagayan's capital, Tuguegarao, is being hit hard by Parma's severe winds, with gusts of 204 kilometers per hour (167 mph). Roofs are being blown off homes and other buildings.

"We also are worried about the flooding in low-lying areas alongside the Cagayan River," she said from Isabela. "World Vision has pre-positioned 350 sacks of rice in Cagayan for possible relief distribution. Additional food items will be provided by the local government. However, as of this time, we have no means to say if the supplies are enough."

According to Olonan, it is currently impossible to assess the needs and extent of damage in Cagayan. "Assessments will be conducted as soon as the weather calms down."

There are 10 coastal municipalities in Cagayan Province, which, as of 2007, had a population exceeding 10 million. World Vision is also concerned about the long-term recovery for survivors of Parma and Typhoon Ketsana, which slammed into the Island nation last Sunday. With extensive crop damage on farms, many livelihoods w
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