DHL Provides Relief in Typhoon Hit Philippines Province

DHL Disaster Response Team packs and delivers 500 relief bags; DHL transports emergency sleeping mats for homeless in Mindanao

SINGAPORE, Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Volunteers from DHL, the world's leading logistics company, left their homes during the holiday season to provide relief for victims of Typhoon Bopha, the strongest typhoon that hit the Philippines in 2012. The typhoon forced more than 41,000 people from their homes in the country's southern provinces -- cutting power, suspending travel and flooding areas prone to landslides.

DHL Disaster Response Team packed and delivered 500 relief bags during the holiday season for Typhoon Bopha victims in the Philippines.

DHL transported 900 sleeping mats from Melbourne to Davao City in Mindanao and deployed one of its specially-trained DHL Disaster Response Teams (DRT) from December 27 to 30, 2012, to assist with the delivery, warehousing and distribution.

Carl Schelfhaut, Head of International Relations & Disaster Management Asia Pacific, Deutsche Post DHL, directed the deployment. He said: "Training and flexibility are key to assisting in a desperate and chaotic situation such as this and our mission evolved over the course of the deployment in Davao City. In the end, the DHL DRT team worked tirelessly in assembling relief bags. Each bag weighed 45 kg and consisted of 3 sets of individually packed 10 kg of rice, canned fish and beef, coffee, milk powder and noodles. These 3 sets were sufficient to sustain 3 families for about 3 to 5 days, depending on the size of the individual family. As well as taking delivery and unloading the sleeping mats, the DHL DRT team packed a lorry with 500 relief bags and delivered them to Mabini, some 2.5 hours north of Davao City."

Marcus Soawyer, Field Assessment Coordinator, Access Aid International, said: "The DHL DRT team worked closely with us at the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (DRRC) for Logistics from where the national relief operations were coordinated with the Philippine Department of Social Welfare & Development. Their expertise, commitment and professionalism are highly valued and commendable."

DHL DRT, which can be on the ground and operational within 72 hours of activation by the United Nations, provides critical support in the movement of relief supplies, including unloading cargo planes and conducting professional warehousing and inventory. It is managed from DHL GoHelp sites in Panama, Dubai and Singapore. In 2007, the Philippines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DHL to allow for faster disaster mobilization by being able to request direct assistance. China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also signed disaster relief MoUs with DHL.

Over 400 DHL employees are trained as DHL DRT volunteers creating a global network that covers vulnerable regions worldwide. Regular training is conducted to ensure operational readiness and seven DRT training courses were held across Asia Pacific in 2011 involving more than 250 employees. DHL DRT teams deploy for up to three weeks at a time, with up to 10 employees making up a single DRT. In 2011, DHL DRT provided disaster relief services in New Zealand and El Salvador. Sixty-four DHL volunteers were deployed for 20 days processing over 115 tonnes (Note 1) of relief aid and packing over 10,500 Speedballs.

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