Tropical Storm Jangmi tragically claimed at least 53 lives and displaced 80,186 people to evacuation centers this week in the Philippines. The storm, called Seniang locally, made landfall on the southern island of Mindanao on December 29, 2014 before moving to the central islands where it caused deadly flash floods and landslides.

Reinforcing the importance of emergency preparedness, health providers in the regions hit by Tropical Storm Jamgi should have access to the medical resources distributed by Direct Relief earlier this month in response to Typhoon Hagupit. This includes emergency response packs, medications and supplies that were sent to Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital and Samar Provincial Hospital. Three Typhoon Modules are still positioned in the Visayas and Direct Relief’s main warehouse in Cebu.

Emergency staff are working to connect with local health facilities in the affected regions, although the holiday might slow responses.

Please check back in the coming days for more updates.