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Response readied as Typhoon Koppu hits Philippines
In ruins: Residents and rescuers stand on top of a damaged house as they cut apart a toppled tree from Typhoon Koppu in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday
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In ruins: Residents and rescuers stand on top of a damaged house as they cut apart a toppled tree from Typhoon Koppu in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday. Army, police and civilian volunteers scrambled Monday to rescue hundreds of villagers trapped in flooded homes and on rooftops in the northern Philippine province battered by slow-moving Typhoon Koppu. (AP/Aaron Favila) (AP/Aaron Favila)
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span class="inline inline-center">In ruins: Residents and rescuers stand on top of a damaged house as they cut apart a toppled tree from Typhoon Koppu in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday. Army, police and civilian volunteers scrambled Monday to rescue hundreds of villagers trapped in flooded homes and on rooftops in the northern Philippine province battered by slow-moving Typhoon Koppu. (AP/Aaron Favila)
International aid agency Oxfam says it has readied emergency relief assistance to respond to the impacts of Typhoon Koppu, which has struck the Philippines.
It predicts the storm could be uniquely destructive because of the length of time it will hover over the disaster-prone country, which has experienced more than 15 typhoons this year alone.
Oxfam Australia CEO Helen Szoke said the number one priority in responding to the disaster was determining the impact of the storm, and which areas had been hit hardest.
'The Philippines has suffered yet another blow, with Typhoon Koppu making landfall earlier this morning,' Szoke said on Monday.
'Our rapid assessment teams are ready to deploy if needed to survey the scale of the damage and respond to immediate needs.'
Typhoon Koppu has made landfall in the north eastern province of Aurora, pummeling the coastal community of more than 200,000 people with wind gusts of 195 kilometers per hour.
The Philippines government reportedly has evacuated parts of the country at risk from the typhoon, known locally as Lando. Typhoon Koppu is expected to sit semi-stationary above the country for up to three days, creating intense rainfall and potentially causing devastating flooding and tsunami-like storm surges in coastal areas.
Szoke, who was in the Philippines for the Typhoon Haiyan response, said contingency stocks had been in place and were ready to be distributed to those in need.
'Vehicles are on standby and stocks have been prepared, including bladder tanks to provide clean water ready to deploy,' Szoke said.
Typhoon Haiyan, which decimated the central region of the archipelago in 2013, killed more than 6300 people and forced 4 million people to leave their homes. (ebf)
