This Bulletin is for information only. The Federation is not seeking any funding or other assistance from donors for this operation at this time.
The Situation
Typhoon Rusa ripped through the Republic of Korea between 31 August and 1 September, affecting the eastern coastal areas and southern parts of the country. Some of the regions experienced almost 900 mm of rainfall over 30 hours. The typhoon submerged about 9,000 houses.
The government's National Disaster Prevention and Countermeasures Headquarters reported 123 people were confirmed dead and 61 more remained unaccounted for in the deadliest storms in over 43 years, and the total property damage was temporarily tallied at 5.38 trillion won (USD 4.15 billion) as of 8 September. Tens of thousands of soldiers, university students, public servants, Red Cross staff and volunteers, and other volunteers assisted in delivering assistance to victims of the storm. Public utility service providers were busy repairing damaged roads, railways, power and telecommunications lines. These have now returned to normal.
The National Council of Disaster Relief, an NGO in which the Republic of Korea National Red Cross (KNRC) participates, launched a domestic appeal for the affected people and received more than 58 billion won (USD 49 million) over the last week.
Red Cross and Red Crescent Action
Responding to the immediate needs, the KNRC mobilized staff and volunteers and ordered relief items to cover for a possible shortage of stocks. The distribution of relief items started and mobile kitchens were mobilized in the disaster areas, while needs assessments were carried out at the same time.
Many relief items, mobile kitchens, and personnel have been mobilized to the affected areas from the northwestern parts of the country which were less affected by the storm. There has not been any serious shortage of relief items and personnel. As of today, the KNRC provided 1,174,290,000 won (CHF 1.47 million) worth of relief items to 16,919 families through its 10 chapters in the affected areas. It also provided 50,680 meals to the disaster victims and relief workers through its 15 kitchens. The major relief items were rice, instant noodles, cooking utensils, gas ranges and canned gas, clothes and hygiene items.
The following table reflects the KNRC's activities from 31 August to 8 September, 2002
| Region
|
Families benefited.
|
Personnel mobilized
|
Meals Provided
|
Value of goods distributed (in CHF)
|
| Total
|
16,919
|
4,579
|
50,680
|
1,467,864
|
| Busan
|
16
|
30
|
|
4,303
|
| Daegu
|
79
|
37
|
650
|
22,369
|
| Ulsan
|
4
|
5
|
|
873
|
| Gangwon
|
10,390
|
2,678
|
29,150
|
788,931
|
| Chungbuk
|
639
|
475
|
1,600
|
142,396
|
| Daejon/ Chungnam
|
34
|
95
|
|
13,741
|
| Chonbuk
|
417
|
580
|
2,390
|
47,669
|
| Gwangju Chonnam
|
715
|
85
|
|
122,138
|
| Gyongbuk
|
2,854
|
320
|
11,850
|
181,765
|
| Gyonnam
|
1,771
|
274
|
5,040
|
143,679
|
For a full description of the National Society profile, see www.ifrc.org
For further details please contact:
Aurelia Balpe, Phone: 4122 730 4352; Fax: 4122 733 03 95; email: balpe@ifrc.org
- Richard Grove-hills, Head of Regional Delegation, Phone: 86 10655 99 552; Fax: 00 8610 6532 7166; mobile: 86 13 50 120 5973; email: grovehills@hotmail.com
- Byong-Hak Yoon, Republic of Korea National Red Cross, e-mail yoon@redcross.or.kr, tel 82 2 3705 3661, fax 82 2 3705 3667
All International Federation Operations seek to adhere to the Code of Conduct and are committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (SPHERE Project) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
For support to or for further information concerning Federation operations in this or other countries, please access the Federation website at
http://www.ifrc.org
For longer-term programmes, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal.
John Horekens
Director
Division of External Relations
Simon Missiri
Head
Asia & Pacific Department