>Tzu Chi has 200,000 servings of rice and 30,000 blankets Sent to the Philippines in batches (photo)

Tzu Chi’s 200,000 portions of Xiangji rice and 30,000 blankets were sent to the Philippines in batches (photo) Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on the 8th, and the international media hailed it as the strongest in 30 years...

Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on the 8th. The international media hailed it as the strongest typhoon in 30 years. The place it passed was devastated. Tacloban City in Leyte Province, with a population of 220,000, was the hardest hit. The current estimated death toll in the province is as high as 10,000. Due to the scale of the disaster and the slow search and rescue efforts, the number of casualties is expected to continue to rise. Many people are homeless and in urgent need of food and clean drinking water. Tzu Chi Foundation has launched an emergency assistance operation and has prepared 200,000 portions of Xiangji rice and 30,000 blankets. The first batch of 30,000 blankets and 60,000 rice dishes were transported to the disaster area in batches on the 12th via the Air Force C-130 disaster relief plane. Starting from the 13th, a disaster investigation team and medical team composed of 40 Filipino Tzu Chi volunteers will fly from Manila to Cebu, and then transfer to the disaster area to provide care and begin the first phase of disaster investigation and care. The disaster investigation team has prepared 1,500 living kits and daily necessities in the Philippines to provide emergency needs for disaster victims. The medical team is composed of 10 medical staff from the Tzu Chi Medical Association to provide emergency medical services to the victims. Follow-up care will be provided after the disaster has been assessed, and then assistance and comfort will be provided based on the actual needs of the victims. Wang Yunjing, deputy director of Tzu Chi’s Religious Affairs Department, said: “Command centers have been set up in Cebu and Manila, especially since Cebu is the closest to the disaster area. Tzu Chi has also properly contacted branch liaison offices on issues such as warehouses and traffic safety for Tzu Chi residents.” Tzu Chi USA held a national emergency disaster relief meeting to launch a nationwide fundraising campaign. Tzu Chi committee members will invite colleagues, members, relatives and friends, as well as well-wishers from society to show their love and pool donations to assist the victims. Please make donation checks to [Tzu Chi] and mark Disaster Fund in the lower left corner. If you have any relevant questions, please feel free to contact Tzu Chi liaison offices in various locations, email: info@us.tzuchi.org or donation hotline: 888.989.8244 (9 am-6 pm PST). News Window: Tzu Chi Foundation Deputy CEO and Director of Charity Development Office Cao Weizong (909-447-7799, extension 695) Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation USA Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation 1100 S. Valley Center Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773 Web: www.us.tzuchi.org

Picture caption: Tzu Chi volunteers’ "Love" relay carried 200,000 portions of Xiangji Rice to the Philippines to care for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. (Photographer: Chen Jianguo, Humanities Development Office)

Caption: Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines hard. Tzu Chi prepared 200,000 portions of soy rice. Volunteers carried the rice to the platform and connected it by rail, road, and air to buy time to send it to the disaster area. (Photographer: Chen Jiangu, Humanities Development Office)

Caption: There is a food shortage in the disaster-stricken areas in the Philippines. Tzu Chi urgently delivers rice noodles to the disaster-stricken areas to care for the victims. (Photographer: Chen Jianguo, Humanities Development Office)