Blog Archives - Page 20 of 48 - Canadian Medical Assistance Teams

CMAT Assessment Team completes initial survey of Northern Cebu

2013 - Philippines Super Typhoon Haiyan

The CMAT Assessment team stops at Daanbantayan District Hospital in northern Cebu, to assess the infrastructure and damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)

Daanbantayan, Cebu Province – Saturday November 16, 2013: The CMAT Assessment today travelled to the northern tip of Cebu island, which was in the direct path of Typhoon Yolanda, and was devastated late last week. The team spent the day assessing the infrastructure, trying to ascertain what level of assistance may be needed in the region.

Leaving Cebu, life appears to have continued on as normal. As anticipated though, there was a distinctive ‘line in the sand’, where the edge of the storm had its brunt. After this line, the destruction was immense. Trees were snapped in half, electrical and phone poles were toppled, roofs were completely blown off, and most thatched huts were flattened. That being said, the resiliency of the people was astounding. People are already repairing their homes. Unfortunately, there were a significant number of children begging along the side of the road… hands reaching out and yelling at all passing vehicles. Also unfortunate was our observation of some vehicles throwing candy out the window.

Initial survey findings however, indicated that this resilient population was coping well, and that local providers, as well as teams from Israel and France were meeting the health needs of the population in this area.

The assessment team continues its assessment in the affected regions, and is departing early in the morning for the island province of Leyte to continue its assessment.

CMAT continues to appeal to the public to help us provide medical relief for the affected population. Please visit CanadaHelps to contribute to our relief efforts. Air Canada Aeroplan miles are also being collected, through the Beyond Miles program

Philippine Consul General to send off CMAT Assessment team, Wednesday for Philippines.

2013 - Philippines Super Typhoon Haiyan

The CMAT Assessment Team is departing Wednesday for the Philippines.

VANCOUVER – CMAT will be deploying its initial disaster assessment team on Wednesday to respond to Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines late last week. An emergency appeal for donations has been launched to help the people of the Philippines, after the catastrophic Typhoon struck the region on November 8, 2013. Several thousand people are estimated to have perished, and numbers are expected to climb.

The organization is also making an emergency appeal for donations to help the people of the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) estimates 11.3 million people are affected by Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda). A total of 673,042 people remain displaced (367,744 people in 1,217 evacuation centres and 305,298 people outside the centres).

On Wednesday morning at 10am, Consul General Mr. Neil Frank R. Ferrer is expected to meet and greet the CMAT Rapid Assessment Team, as they gather at Vancouver International Airport to check for their flight bound for the Philippines.

The Air Canada Foundation has generously donated the flights for the four CMAT assessment team members.

CMAT Rapid Assessment Team deploying to Philippines Wednesday

2013 - Philippines Super Typhoon Haiyan, News

CMAT Volunteers check equipment, including the field hospital tent, in anticipation of deployment to the Philippines.

ASSESSMENT TEAM DEPLOYMENT:

CMAT has mobilized its Rapid Assessment Team, which will depart for the Philippines early Wednesday morning in response to the catastrophic typhoon which struck the island nation on November 8th. The four-member team will conduct a needs assessment on the islands of Cebu and Leyte, and the environs, to ascertain the level of devastation, destroyed infrastructure, and health needs of cyclone- affected persons, in order to prepare for the deployment of CMAT’s field hospital and medical personnel.

CMAT needs your help to assist those impacted by the typhoon in the Philippines. Please donate generously by clicking:

or by donating your Air Canada Aeroplan miles:

For those who wish to download a fundraising poster, to print out and post in their community, please click here: CMAT Philippines Fundraising Poster

VOLUNTEERING WITH CMAT:

We thank all interested individuals for their overwhelming offer to volunteer with our organization. At the present time, we are awaiting the findings of the assessment team, in order to deploy the first medical team. These findings are key in building the professional profile of our teams of volunteers, as well as to decide the most appropriate equipment and supplies so send to the area.

Minimum Requirements for Volunteering: (Medical and Non-Medical Volunteers)

*A preference will be given to volunteers with disaster experience, and training in Sphere Minimum Standards for Humanitarian Response. (course is being offered November 16-17, 2013 in Toronto. Click here to send an email to register!)

– Canadian Passport with minimum 6 months left from expiry.

– Medical volunteers must provide proof of Canadian Professional Registration or Licensure.

– A minimum availability of 3 weeks duration

– Willingness and ability to fund their own travel (fundraising is encouraged through our website, and volunteers can be recognized by submitting their name “in honour” during the donation process).

– An understanding that this is a hardship mission, and will be exhausting.

– Interested volunteers are encouraged to visit the Canadian Government’s Travel Health website to ensure your vaccinations are up to date.

DEPLOYMENT UPDATES

While we strive to distribute regular information to our mailing list and keep our website as up-to-date as possible, other sources of information from CMAT which would be updated more frequently would include Facebook and Twitter. Please follow us there for rapid up-to-date information!

CMAT Rapid Assessment Team on standby for Philippines Typhoon.

2013 - Philippines Super Typhoon Haiyan, Disaster Monitoring

Super-Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines in the early morning hours of November 9, 2013.

Super Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Typhoon Yolanda) made landfall in the early hours of November 8th in Eastern Samar province in the Philippines. It had maximum sustained winds of 315 km/hr making it the strongest storm ever to make landfall and the fourth most powerful storm ever recorded in history. Flash floods, landslides and wind damage are reported in Eastern Samar and Leyte provinces. Waves reached 12 to 15 feet in Samar and Leyte.

At least 18 million people live in the worst affected Visayas Region. The Government of the Philippines conducted comprehensive preparedness activities including evacuations of 125,604 people in 22 provinces according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDDRMC).

The cities of Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte province were the worst hit. Communities in Cebu and Bohol provinces lying close to the Typhoon’s track are still reeling from the impact of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which hit the area on 15 October 2013. Homes and businesses in Tacloban were destroyed, while the town’s airport has been reported have sustained major damage. Strong winds have interrupted telecommunications, which has limited the information received from the most affected areas, especially Eastern Samar and Leyte. Electricity is out in Tacloban, which raises concerns for access to water, as pumps would be ineffective. The Governor of Leyte stated that power lines were down, roads impassable and that there is need for food, flash lights and other non-food items.

CMAT’s Disaster Rapid Assessment Team response has been activated, and is standing by, pending further developments. Skilled and highly experienced CMAT volunteers who have previously responded to disasters in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan and Haiti are ready to deploy, depending on need, and include paramedics, and experienced Emergency Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. CMAT collaborates directly with the local community and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), and has the capability to deploy a fully equipped, inflatable field hospital, and water purification equipment anywhere in the world within 24 to 48 hours.

CMAT appeals to its supporters to donate towards the relief effort.

Please donate generously at http://www.canadahelps.org/dn/16574 or

Click here:

CMAT kicks off it’s “Get on the ground” campaign!

News

November 1 – 2013, CMAT in partnership with Air Canada Aeroplan’s Charitable Pooling Program “Beyond Miles” has launched the “Get on the Ground campaign to help raise donated aeroplan miles for CMAT. The Beyond Miles program focuses on supporting organizations who want to improve the lives of people in their communities. Using a pool of donated Aeroplan Miles, CMAT can redeem them from the Aeroplan Program for travel on Air Canada and its partners, which will help our volunteers offset their travel costs.

In partnership with Air Canada Aeroplan, help us reach our goal of 500,000 Aeroplan miles by November 30th!

Donate your miles at: http://beyondmiles.aeroplan.com/