Singapore Red Cross expands Typhoon Yagi, monsoon aid efforts to Myanmar with S$50,000 contribution

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) is expanding its aid efforts for communities affected by Typhoon Yagi and the southwest monsoon to include Myanmar.

“This comes as part of a larger, region-wide effort to assist communities severely impacted across Southeast Asia”, it said in a media release on Friday (Sep 20).

At least 293 people in Myanmar have been killed by Typhoon Yagi, with state media reporting that nearly 270,000ha of rice paddies and other crops had been destroyed by floods.

The United Nations has also warned that as many as 630,000 people could be in need of assistance in Myanmar in the wake of the typhoon. The damage led the junta to issue a rare appeal for foreign aid last weekend.

The floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Yagi have affected nearly 6 million children across Southeast Asia, the UN said on Sep 18.

The SRC will contribute S$50,000 (US$38,750) to support disaster relief efforts in Myanmar, working closely with the Myanmar Red Cross Society.

“This will fund the distribution of food, clean water, hygiene kits, and other essential supplies to the communities hardest hit by the recent calamities,” it said.

“Due to the urgent need for safe drinking water, SRC will also be sending water filters in the coming weeks.”

The support for Myanmar comes after SRC’s earlier commitments of S$50,000 each towards humanitarian aid for Laos and Vietnam.

The SRC said that its public fundraising appeal will now support relief and recovery efforts in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.