Typhoon Utor (local designation Typhoon Labuyo) battered the northern part of Luzon island in the Philippines on Monday, August 12. It brought strong winds and heavy rain and has left behind damaged crops, infrastructure and thousands of residents affected. It is described as the strongest tropical cyclone globally this year.

Asia Pacific Alliance member Citizen’s Disaster Response Center (CDRC) and its regional partners have begun relief efforts in the affected areas. CDRC has also shared the following information and appeal for donations:

The impact of Typhoon Utor (Labuyo) was indeed devastating, especially in Central and Northern Luzon. Our Regional Centers — Alay Bayan-Luson, Inc. (ABI) and Cagayan Valley Disaster Response Center (CVDRC) — are currently raising funds and resources for the planned relief delivery operations in the affected communities.

Many houses and crops were destroyed by the typhoon. The government pegs the total amount of damages at Php 816 million. As of today, ?41,163 families or 186,378 persons were affected. There were casualties as well –?6 dead, 6 injured, and 5 missing.?The provinces of Aurora and Quirino were declared under a state of calamity.

As immediate response, CDRC has already released funds to ABI and CVDRC to jump-start the relief operations in their respective areas. But these are small amounts — only Php 25,000 to 50,000 — just enough to distribute cooked meals and a few relief packs. We are still trying to raise more funds in order to respond to more affected families.

Here are links to the appeals sent by ABI and CVDRC that we posted on our website:

http://www.cdrc-phil.com/typhoon-labuyo-destroys-houses-crops-in-isabela-quirino-and-nueva-vizcaya/

http://www.cdrc-phil.com/typhoon-labuyo-batters-central-and-northern-luzon/