Crises along the Pacific Rim

When Typhoon Ketsana made landfall in northern Philippines on Saturday, September 26, the tropical storm dumped a month's worth of rainfall in a 12-hour span. The result was widespread flooding in heavily populated regions of the nation, including the capital of Manila. With 3 million people displaced, thousands injured and nearly 300 drowned, local services were quickly overwhelmed and Philippine government made a plea for international aid.

A few days later, on Sept. 30, an underwater earthquake off the coast of Samoa generated a tsunami that hit several of the islands in the archipelago. The 20-foot tidal wave caused more displacement, injuries and death.

A day after that, on Oct. 1, an massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra devastated the heavily populated Indonesian city of Pandang. Nearly 1 million are homeless, thousands are being treated for injuries and the death toll is rising above 1,000.

The amazing thing is that Heart to Heart is able to respond to each of these crises with targeted shipments of aid.

We have a strong network of humanitarian groups and local partners in the Pacific Rim, as well as generous corporations and local volunteers rallying to our relief effort. We are organizing several shipments in the coming days and weeks -- even as we're receiving calls for more assistance from affected regions.

You can help us respond to the victims of Typhoon Ketsana in the following ways:

• Accelerate our aid shipments by making an online donation to our Crisis Response Fund
• Share news of what we're doing with your friends, family and coworkers [ link to news release on relief effort]
• Assemble care kits for future shipments

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