Kerry: US sending veterans to Philippines to assist with typhoon recovery

The State Department is working to deploy a team of American veterans to the Philippines and all the areas damaged by Typhoon Haiyan to assist with the recovery efforts, Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Monday. The State Department is also cooperating with the Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Fund established by The mGive Foundation, a US nonprofit organization, to coordinate donations via mobile phones to benefit victims of the typhoon, Kerry said in a statement released by the department. "Since the start of this calamity, the United States has been working closely with our partners in the Philippines to provide rapid and effective relief," Kerry said. "Our embassies in the Philippines and Palau are in close and constant contact with their partners in local governments to direct aid to the right places. When I spoke with Philippines Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario, I assured him of our full commitment to providing all necessary assistance." A US disaster assistance response team was among the first international groups to reach Leyte province, one of the hardest-hit regions, Kerry noted. Experts from the US Agency for International Development are working closely with Philippine agencies to evaluate the damage and identify the best ways to help those who have suffered losses from the storm, he said. Within hours, the US embassy in Manila provided substantial financial assistance for health, water and sanitation, he said. "The US government is organizing emergency shipments of critically needed material to provide shelter to the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos driven from their homes by this unprecedented typhoon," Kerry said. "We are also organizing emergency shipments of food and hygiene supplies to thousands of families. Pentagon personnel are also deeply involved, providing logistical support to make sure relief gets to the right locations as quickly as possible. Non-governmental organizations, charities and private relief organizations are also on the scene.