Typhoon Haiyan Disaster in the Philippines

Blackstone said:

As a matter of fact, we WOULD assist Iran after massive natural disasters. Not sure if the Iranian government would accept, but we would offer.

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Washington offered $100,000 and a humanitarian assessment team, and the Cuban foreign ministry answered by saying what it needed was purchasing credits.
Havana sent a second, more harshly worded note last week when Washington made the same offer after Hurricane Ike devastated eastern Cuba.
The statement released Thursday called US commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez a hypocrite, and said US diplomats were cynical liars.
Washington's decision to limit the offer to $100,000 was criticised in some circles, who noted that the US government normally spends millions in such disaster relief.

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t_co said:

Really?

When Cuba got hit by Hurricane Ike in 2008, this is what the US did:

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Cuba Rejects American Offer of Hurricane Aid

By MARC LACEY
Published: September 6, 2008

MEXICO CITY — The Cuban government turned down Washington’s offer of hurricane assistance Saturday, saying the best way for the United States to help Cuban victims of Hurricane Gustav would be for it to lift the economic embargo on the island.

Cuba said it had its own experts on the job while rejecting the State Department offer to send disaster specialists to assess the damages to the western Pinar del Rio Province and the Island of Youth.

On Wednesday, Thomas A. Shannon Jr., assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told the Cuban Interests Section in Washington that the United States would aid Cuban victims with $100,000 in immediate aid and more once the extent of the need was known. The aid, State Department officials said, would be sent through non-governmental organizations and not to the Cuban government.

But Cuba said that the trade embargo costs the island yearly damages that exceed the billions of dollars in destruction that it attributes to Hurricane Gustav. Cuba has accepted hurricane assistance from Russia, Venezuela and other allies. Such aid has frequently taken on a political dimension between Cuba and the United States over the years.

“The only correct and ethical action,” Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, would be to end “the ruthless and cruel economic, commercial and financial blockage imposed against our Motherland for almost half a century.”

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Blackstone said:

If you honestly believe China's $100k donation befits her status as a global power, then we'll take that as your standard for the Middle Kingdom. Some of us have higher standards for aspiring great powers.

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Blackstone said:

The US offered $100k immediately and said upfront that more would follow... Here's the complete story-

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TACLOBAN, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 14, 2013) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Eric Chiarito, left, from Hyde Park, N.Y., and Marine Sgt. Jonathan Thornton, from Lake Havasu, Ariz., load supplies onto a forklift at Tacloban Air Base in support of Operation Damayan. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade are assisting the Philippine government in response to the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Republic of the Philippines. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman/Released)

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TACLOBAN, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 14, 2013) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Island Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 drops supplies onto Tacloban Air Base in support of Operation Damayan. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade are assisting the Philippine government in response to the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Republic of the Philippines. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman/Released)

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TACLOBAN, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 14, 2013) Naval Aircrewman 2nd Class Justin Peach, right, from Riverside, Calif., prepares to drop supplies from an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Golden Falcons of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12, into Tacloban in support of Operation Damayan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman/Released)

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TACLOBAN, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 14, 2013) A Marine Corps KC-130 prepares to transport evacuees from Tacloban Air Base to the Manila area in support of Operation Damayan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman/Released)

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TACLOBAN, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 14, 2013) MV-22 Ospreys assigned to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, load supplies to provide aid during Operation Damayan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman/Released)

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MANILA, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 12, 2013) An Airman with the Philippine Air Force helps offload Filipino civilians out of a U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Hercules aircraft at Villamor Air Base. Marines and sailors with the 3rd. MEB are supporting the Philippine Armed Forces in providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to affected areas throughout the Republic of the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Codey Underwood/Released)

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MANILA, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 12, 2013) U.S. Marines Staff Sgt. Jacques Mason, a crew master with Marine Aerial Refueling Transport Squadron 152, from High Springs, Fla., and Cpl. Zachery Stapf, a landing support specialist with Combat Logistics Battalion 4, from Atlanta, both currently assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, help offload an injured Filipino civilian out of a U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Hercules aircraft at Villamor Air Base. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Codey Underwood/Released)

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MANILA, Republic of the Philippines (Nov. 12, 2013) 1st Lt. Josiah Stephen, from Valdosta, Ga., an intelligence officer with Marine Aerial Refueling Transport Squadron 152, currently assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, helps offload a Filipino civilian out of a U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Hercules aircraft at Villamor Air Base. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Codey Underwood/Released)

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The Navy is activating the San Diego-based hospital ship Mercy to be ready if called to the Philippines for humanitarian relief following Typhoon Haiyan.

Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. directed the activation Wednesday, ordering crew and equipment to the ship, and accelerating its ability to go to full operating status.

If ordered to deploy, the Mercy would leave San Diego Bay in the next several days and could arrive in the Philippines sometime in December, said Capt. Darryn James, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman.

Travel time for the Mercy to the Philippines is roughly three weeks.

It would join other U.S. Navy and Marine Corps units already supporting the relief effort now named Operation Damayan, which reportedly means “Help in Time of Need” in Tagalog.

The typhoon, carrying up to 235 mile-per-hour winds, struck the Philippines Friday. The official death toll is around 2,300 people, down from initial reports of 10,000.

U.S. military relief flights are now operating around the clock, according to U.S. Marine Forces Pacific command.

The worst-hit city is Tacloban, a port town of 200,000 people. The airfield there is in use 24 hours a day, the Marines said Wednesday.

By midday Wednesday, American aircraft had conducted 40 flights, inserting more than 400 relief workers from the U.S. Agency for International Development and nongovernment organizations, the Marines said. More than 800 displaced people had been airlifted.

Overnight Wednesday, about 180,000 pounds of supplies – such as plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, food and water – were expected to reach the area for distribution.

A dozen U.S. Navy ships are involved in the rescue effort. By Thursday evening local time in the Philippines, the U.S. Navy’s Japan-based aircraft carrier George Washington should reach the area.

The San Diego-based cruiser Cowpens and the Japan-based cruiser Antietam are with the carrier, along with the oiler Yukon.

Separately, U.S. Navy ships Mustin, Lassen, Emory S. Land and Bowditch are now on stationed off the Philippines and are coordinating with the government there, according to Pacific Fleet officials.

The amphibious ships Ashland and Germantown are expected to depart Sasebo, Japan, on Thursday, local time. They will pick up Marines, equipment and relief supplies in Okinawa and arrive in the Philippines in about a week.

The destroyer McCampbell and the supply ship Charles Drew are also heading there.

The warships all carry helicopters that can ferry people and supplies and fly reconnaissance missions.

What the cavernous Mercy brings is rows and rows of hospital beds.

Marked with an iconic red cross, the hulking white ship houses operating rooms, intensive care units, four X-ray machines, a CT scanner, a dental suite, optometry lab and pharmacy. The crew can handle up to 5,000 units of blood.

The Navy hospital ship is nearly as big as an aircraft carrier, measuring 894 feet long. The former tanker was gutted and relaunched as a hospital vessel in 1986. Its sister vessel is the Comfort, stationed on the East Coast.

The Mercy visited the Philippines in 2008 and 2012 as part of the annual humanitarian mission Pacific Partnership. The ship stopped at Calbayog City, a poor area about 100 miles from Tacloban.

Aside from goodwill, the Navy’s floating hospitals have been used to care for injured during the Iraq War in 2003, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The Mercy typically sits in reduced operating status at San Diego Naval Base, as it commonly only deploys once every two years for Pacific Partnership.

The ship is expected to be able to move from reduced status to deployable in roughly five days.

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Blackstone said:

As a matter of fact, we WOULD assist Iran after massive natural disasters. Not sure if the Iranian government would accept, but we would offer.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

$20 million but that's not counting military related relief efforts

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