Concern’s team of disaster response experts, including engineers, logisticians, program managers, and technical advisors has been activated and is currently mounting a response that will meet the immediate needs of the Filipino people impacted by Typhoon Haiyan. In this video, Concern’s CEO Dominic MacSorley shares observations from his assessment mission in hard-hit areas in the Philippines:

Haiyan has left widespread devastation across the Philippines, killing thousands and leaving  over four million people without homes. It made landfall and worked its way across the Philippines on Friday, November 8th, and is possibly the strongest storm in recorded history. It. With sustained winds of at least 180 mph that triggered a storm surge as high as 13 feet, the typhoon was stronger than a Category 5 hurricane, and destroyed everything in its path.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that some 12.9 million people across nine regions in the country are now affected, with very few resources to meet their most basic needs.

Our mission is to serve the poorest and hardest to reach, so our approach is to go in, coordinate with other responding agencies and local organizations, and target our response to exactly those populations.  We are continuing assessments across the Vasayas region on the islands of Leyte, Negros and Panay, Samar, and Cebu, all of which have been massively affected. In the near term, we anticipate that our response will include providing clean water and sanitation, and shelter.

Please check back for updates.Your support of Concern’s Typhoon Haiyan response comes with our commitment that 100% of your donation this year will fund relief efforts in the Philippines.  To support our emergency response, donate online