SAF to deliver aid supplies to communities in Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam hit by Typhoon Yagi

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will deliver humanitarian aid to communities in Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam that have been affected by Typhoon Yagi. 
An A330 multi-role tanker transport and two C-130 transport aircraft will be deployed to deliver the aid supplies, said the Ministry for Defence (MINDEF) on Wednesday (Sep 18) in a news release. The supplies include blankets, hygiene kits, water filters, collapsible water containers and meal packs. 
On top of drawing from SAF’s stockpiles, the items were consolidated with the help of non-governmental organisation partners, MINDEF said. 
They include Caritas Singapore, Humanity Matters, Singapore Red Cross, Relief Singapore as well as the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). 
Several Southeast Asian countries have been hit hard by the typhoon, which first made landfall in the Philippines on Sep 2. 
The tropical storm tore through northern Vietnam, damaging several factories, causing severe flooding and killing more than 290 people. 
More than 200 people in Myanmar have also been killed, with state media reporting that nearly 260,000ha of rice paddies and other crops had been destroyed by floods.
The damage led the junta to issue a rare appeal for foreign aid over the weekend. 
In Laos, authorities are carrying out rescue operations to help people stranded by floodwaters after the typhoon brought torrential rains to the country, reported Radio Free Asia. 
Colonel Fredie Tan, the director of SAF’s Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre, said the centre and Singapore’s armed forces “stand ready and committed” to support regional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts and to bring relief to the affected communities in neighbouring countries. 
“We will continue to work closely with our civil-military partners such as local and regional non-governmental organisations, as well as the AHA Centre,” he added.