SAF to send aid to Typhoon Yagi-hit Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos as death toll rises past 500
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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is dispatching three aircraft to deliver humanitarian aid supplies to typhoon-stricken communities in Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos.
“Singapore stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan in a Facebook post on Sept 18, adding that the first consignment has landed in Yangon.
The aid supplies include blankets, hygiene kits, water filters, collapsible water containers and meal packs, said the Republic’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a statement on Sept 18.
They are sourced from the SAF’s aid stockpiles and non-governmental organisation partners, including the Singapore Red Cross, Caritas Humanitarian Aid & Relief Initiatives (Singapore) and Humanity Matters as well as the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management.
The partners’ supplies were consolidated through SAF’s Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre (Changi RHCC).
The aid supplies are transported by an A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport and two C-130 transport aircraft, said Mindef. Both types of aircraft were also used to deliver aid supplies to Jordan, to help those in Gaza.
Colonel Fredie Tan, director of the SAF’s Changi RHCC, said regional collaboration between militaries and civilians is important when responding to disaster relief operations.
He added: “Changi RHCC and the Singapore Armed Forces stand ready and committed to... bring much-needed relief to the affected communities of our neighbouring countries.”
Heavy floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Yagi have killed more than 500 people across South-east Asia, with homes, roads and bridges destroyed, according to local media.
Vietnam, with nearly 300 casualties, has been the hardest hit, while more than 220 in Myanmar have died, with the death toll expected to rise.
At least four have died in Laos, where many have evacuated to higher ground for safety, according to the Asean humanitarian assistance coordinator.
