shelterbox

Taipei embassy praises ShelterBox response

Following a recent visit by Tom Henderson, Founder and CEO of ShelterBox, to the Taipei UK embassy, Katharine Siao-yue Chang, Taipei UK Representative, has praised ShelterBox’s response to Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, thought to be the strongest typhoon to hit the region in recorded history.

Floods caused by Typhoon Morakot left many parts of south Taiwan under three metres of water, with 1,766 homes destroyed.

ShelterBox were one of the first agencies to respond deploying a total of 324 boxes.

Katharine Siao-yue Chang praised the global humanitarian response to the disaster, bringing special attention to ShelterBox’s work.

‘The timely assistance of ShelterBox in particular was crucial to those affected by Typhoon Morakot. A safe place to sleep is one of the most fundamental of human needs, and your provision of tents and sleeping bags in this time of crisis ensured that this need was met despite the destruction wrought,’ she said.

‘This demonstrated great compassion and generosity on your part, for which we will always be very grateful.

‘We are truly grateful to organisations in the international community such as yours, who provided such great support and generous assistance in the wake of the disaster. The people of Taiwan will forever hold your generosity close to their hearts.’

New Team in Taiwan

ShelterBox is continuing to send aid to Taiwan as the country recovers from its worst typhoon in half a century.

Typhoon Morakot struck the country at the start of August, bringing with it record amounts of rainfall which triggered widespread landslides. ShelterBox responded to the disaster immediately and had the first ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) on the ground just days after the typhoon struck.

An initial consignment of 100 ShelterBoxes was sent to Taiwan with another consignment of 224 ShelterBoxes arriving at the weekend. These were met by the first response team of Dave Ray (UK), Phil Duloy (UK), Yi Shun Lai (USA) and Mike Greenslade (UK). Mike has now returned to the UK to be replaced by SRT member Keith Robins (AU) while the rest of the team are due to return shortly.

A second response team, consisting of Raul Fernandez (UK), Graham Henderson (UK) and Alan Monroe (USA) touched down in Taipei this morning and will be carrying on where the first tem left off. They will be joined by SRT member Sharon O’Keefe (UK) who is flying out for her first deployment.

ShelterBox Founder & CEO Tom Henderson said: ‘This is the first time ShelterBox has operated in Taiwan and the returning team have done a fantastic job in establishing the groundwork for us to build on, which I’m positive the second team will do.

‘The support we’ve received from Rotarians and World Vision in Taiwan has been essential in helping us get ShelterBoxes to the people who need them most, as quickly as possible.’

Emergency shelter

The boxes are being distributed in the southern, mountainous regions of the country that were hit particularly badly. It has been extremely challenging terrain and conditions for the teams to overcome.

Phil Duloy, who is on his first deployment, said: ‘Keith (Robins) and I will be heading to the remote mountainous regions of Pingtung County, to three villages called Wu Tai, Da-Shehr and Taoyen in an aboriginal township region called Sundimen where there are still people in need of our emergency shelter.

‘We attempted to visit them last week in four-wheel drive vehicles but the roads were utterly demolished by landslides – these are very steep mountains.’

Phil added that landslides are still occurring on a daily basis while the river’s boundaries in Taimali, a city in Taitung, spread from 100 ft to more than half a mile wide. Taimali is on a coastal plain about a mile from the mountains and it was the water flowing down from the mountains, with incredible momentum, which caused so much destruction.

One recipient of a ShelterBox, Li Wu Dao Yi, a man in his early thirties with two small children from Jiedah village in the Jinfong region of Taitung County, has praised the efforts of ShelterBox and is delighted by the privacy the tent will give his family.

He said: ‘Thank you, when my wife comes back she is going to be so happy that we will now have some space for ourselves.’

Li Wu Dao Yi and his family have been staying in a crowded school since the typhoon hit two weeks ago.

Phil Duloy said: ‘He and his fellow villagers were very grateful, shaking the hands of Kieth and myself many times and bowing frequently – very moving for me on my first deployment.’

ShelterBoxes delivered and more en route

International disaster relief organization and global Rotary club project, ShelterBox, have escalated their aid effort after the trail of destruction left by Typhoon Morakot.

The typhoon struck south-east Asia last week and thousands are still reeling from the devastation. ShelterBox was one of the first international aid organizations in the Philippines and Taiwan with ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) on the ground in both countries just days after the typhoon struck.

ShelterBoxes, with emergency shelter provision for up to 1,000, each containing a ten-man disaster relief tent, water purification and cooking equipment, basic tools and other essential equipment, arrived in Taipei, Taiwan at the weekend. They were met by SRT members Dave Ray (UK), Mike Greenslade (UK) and Phil Duloy (UK) who have been in the field since the middle of last week.

After an initial meeting with World Vision, who are helping to coordinate relief efforts in Taiwan, the response team travelled to the southern counties of the country, some of the worst hit areas, to assess the situation.

SRT member Mike Greenslade said: ‘Communication routes have been severely affected with road and rail links cut in many places, making travel difficult.

‘We’ve seen firsthand the havoc wreaked by mudslides and floods triggered by Typhoon Morakot. The flood waters have brought with them tonnes of mud, boulders and trees ripped from the mountainside. This has destroyed riverside houses, taken down bridges and cut communication lines.’

Mike added the people in need of emergency shelter have been moved to safe areas, away from the possibility of more flooding and mudslides. The response team are now working closely with the local government to distribute boxes to vulnerable homeless families.

As the aid effort to Taiwan picks up pace, ShelterBox are preparing to send more ShelterBoxes and response teams to the region.

ShelterBox General Manager Lasse Petersen said: ‘We were the first UK aid agency to respond to Typhoon Morakot and sent 224 ShelterBoxes to the Philippines and 100 ShelterBoxes to Taiwan last week.

‘After an uncertain week it now seems the need for emergency aid is becoming much clearer with the Taiwanese government now appealing for international aid. ShelterBox has now committed a consignment for a further ten tonnes of boxes which will provide emergency shelter for up to 2,000 people and are currently en route.’

ShelterBox are using all of their resources and volunteers from around the globe in order to deliver the much needed aid as quickly as possible and in the best possible way. SRT member Yi Shun (USA), who has family in Taiwan and speaks Taiwanese, will soon be joining up with the team in the field.

She said: ‘This has been such a rapid response from ShelterBox and a real testament to the work they do and how quickly they do it. My home country gets hit by a typhoon and immediately ShelterBox is there.’

Working at the same time in the Philippines, SRT members Peter Pearce (AU), Ross Mackenzie (NZ), Lizzy Treglown (UK) and Denise Ho (USA) are providing emergency shelter to close to 2,000 people whose homes were decimated by flood waters when a 1km section of the Bucao Dike collapsed.

Speaking from Manila, Peter Pearce said: ‘We are one of the first organisations on the scene and the ones offering assistance to those people who happen to live in an area where wild weather is attacking them. The need for shelter here is huge and the 224 ShelterBoxes will help people to start to rebuild their lives after this disaster.’ 

Global response to Typhoon Morakot

ShelterBox’s response to Typhoon Morakot is continuing to pick up pace with south-east Asia still reeling from the typhoon’s destruction.

Two ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) are already on the ground in the Philippines and Taiwan. SRT members Peter Pearce (AU) and Ross Mackenzie (NZ) are in the Philippines and will soon be joined by SRT members Lizzy Treglown (UK) and Denise Ho (USA).

ShelterBox Operations Coordinator Jess Stanton has praised the fact the team is made up of SRT members from around the world.

‘We’ll soon have SRT members from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA out in the field working together to deliver emergency relief. We’re using all of our global resources and volunteers from all over the world in order to deliver the much needed aid as quickly as possible and in the best possible way,’ she said. 

The team in the Philippines are providing emergency shelter to close to 2,000 people whose homes were decimated after a 1km section of the 5km Bucao Dike collapsed. The evacuated families are currently in a temporary evacuation centre with up to 100 people sharing each room. 224 ShelterBoxes will shortly arrive in the Philippines, providing desperately needed emergency shelter. 

Speaking from Manila, Peter Pearce said: ‘We are one of the first organisations on the scene and the ones offering assistance to those people who happen to live in an area where wild weather is attacking them. The need for shelter here is huge.’

North of the Philippines, and SRT members Dave Ray (UK), Mike Greenslade (UK) and Phil Duloy (UK) are assessing the situation in Taiwan. They’ve travelled from Taipei to the remote mountainous regions in the south of the country where sources say hundreds of people remain stranded after Typhoon Morakot brought the worst flooding Taiwan’s experienced in decades.

Mike Greenslade said: ‘World Vision and Rotary have been extremely valuable in helping us coordinate of our aid effort. This is the first time ShelterBox has operated in Taiwan and people have been amazed by the quality of our disaster relief tents.

‘We’re looking to direct our efforts to areas where there is massive overcrowding so we can ease the pressure there but it could take many weeks, if not months, for these people to return to their homes.’

100 ShelterBoxes have been sent to Taiwan and will be met by the ShelterBox Response Team on Monday. SRT member Yi Shun (USA), who has family in Taiwan, will also be joining up with the team.

She said: ‘This is such a rapid response and a real testament to the work ShelterBox does and how quickly they do it. My home country gets hit by a typhoon and ShelterBox is immediately there.’

Typhoon Morakot

ShelterBox, international disaster relief organisation and global

Rotary club project, is responding to Typhoon Morakot after tens of thousands of people have been left stranded in the storm’s wake. During the past several days, the storm has passed over the Philippines, Taiwan and mainland China, leaving a trail of destruction.

High winds, flooding and mudslides have left thousands in need of emergency shelter. In Taiwan, 50,000 people are stranded and flooding has submerged many homes. In China nearly 1 million people have been evacuated in the Fujian Province while 13,000 people have been displaced in the Zambales Province in the Philippines with authorities describing the situation as a calamity. Typhoon Morakot has brought with it a record amount of rainfall with close to 2.5 metres falling on Taiwan.

ShelterBox is providing emergency disaster relief on all three fronts. ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members Peter Pearce (AU) and Ross Mackenzie (NZ) are already on the ground in the Philippines, SRT members Greg Rogers (UK) and Philip Duloy (UK) will arrive in Taipei, Taiwan today and SRT member Tony Zhang (CH) is assessing the situation in China.

ShelterBox Founder Tom Henderson said: ‘This is a textbook ShelterBox operation. We’ve been watching this for a few days and monitoring the situation. We now have teams in place on all three fronts that will be providing emergency disaster relief as quickly as possible. With each ShelterBox containing a 10-person tent, blankets, water purification and cooking equipment, basic tools, a stove and other essential equipment, we not only provide people with emergency shelter provision but also the tools to start rebuilding their lives.’

ShelterBoxes sent to Philipines

Thursday 14 May, PHILIPPINES: One hundred ShelterBoxes are being despatched to the Philippines to give shelter to people affected by typhoons Chan-Hom and Kujira which struck the north of the country earlier this month. The boxes are being taken from pre-positioned stock in Melbourne. On arrival in Manila they will be trucked to Pangasinan Province, which bore the brunt of the typhoons. The government estimates that 13,881 homes in the province have been totally destroyed and 10,969 partially destroyed. The boxes will be distributed by ShelterBox Response Team volunteers Peter Pearce (Aus) and Lyndon Tamblyn (NZ). ShelterBox is working in the country with the National Disaster Co-ordination Council and local Rotarians. 

Shelterbox reacts to Typhoons in Philipines

Tuesday 12 May, PHILIPPINES: A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) has been sent to assess the impact of typhoons Chan-Hom and Kujira which have struck the country in the past week. SRT volunteers Peter Pearce (Aus) and Lyndon Tamblyn (NZ) will be working with the local National Disaster Coordinating Council to assess the need for emergency shelter in the country. Typhoon Chan-Hom struck the north of the country on 7 May killing 48 people and destroying more than 6,000 homes, according to media reports. A week earlier Typhoon Kujira killed 27 people and left more than 50,000 homeless. “We will assess the situation and then decide on our level of response,” says ShelterBox Operational Manager Pete Sykes.