SINGAPORE - Two more Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers have been deployed to the Philippines, after Typhoon Hagupit tore through the country over the weekend.

The two officers left Changi Airport on Sunday evening, according to an SCDF statement. They are in the Philippines under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to reinforce the UN's Disaster Assessment and Coordination team.

Both info-comms specialists, they will provide IT and communications support "critical for the overall coordination of the humanitarian relief efforts", said the SCDF.

Both had also been deployed to Tacloban City in the Philippines during last year's Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon in recorded history which left at least 7,000 dead.

Typhoon Hagupit made landfall on Saturday, destroying homes and knocking out power and communication lines. But with the evacuation of more than 700,000 people and the early deployment of emergency workers and government resources, there were only six fatalities as of Sunday.

An SCDF officer was earlier deployed to the Philippines on Dec 5, ahead of Typhoon Hagupit, as part of a six-man Asean Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT).

The team comes under the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and its primary function is to provide rapid assessment and determine the critical resources - such as tents, medical kits, and sanitation facilities - required for the areas affected by the typhoon.