UN appeal to help Philippines typhoon victims

The UN and its humanitarian partners launched an appeal for 107.2 million US dollars to respond to the needs of people in the worst-affected areas of the Philippines as a result of Super Typhoon Rai, locally known as Odette.

The UN Humanitarian Country Team in the Philippines launched the Humanitarian Needs and Priorities plan on Friday for the needs of 530,000 people in Caraga and Eastern Visayas.

Response efforts  were already under way, said the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), after the Super Typhoon made landfall on December 16, pummelling six of the Philippines' 17 regions.