Asia-Pacific Disasters

Humanitarian Coalition urged Canadians to support relief efforts in Asia after a series of violent storms and earthquakes hit several countries in the region. Emergency programs included the delivery of safe drinking water, food, shelter materials and hygiene kits. The devastating week began with floods in the Philippines, caused by a tropical storm that later strengthened to a typhoon as it hit Vietnam. An earthquake then triggered a tsunami in the small island nation of Samoa, washing away homes and businesses. A day later, a powerful earthquake and its aftershocks collapsed numerous buildings on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Another typhoon gathered strength off the coast of the Philippines.