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Belgian disaster team heads for Philippines

10:23 12/11/2013

The government has dispatched a 40-member team from the Belgian First Aid and Support Team B-FAST to the Philippines, to help in disaster recovery following last weekend's passage of typhoon Haiyan. According to reports from the area affected, as many 10,000 people may have been killed by the storm, whose track is shown in the photo, with the most intense period shown in orange/red.

B-Fast is a rapid reaction unit set up to provide emergency aid in disaster areas, and has extensive experience in responding to earthquakes and other natural disasters. The team which left from Melsbroek air base at the weekend also took with them 40 tonnes of equipment, enough to set up a field hospital on the spot, as well as a water purification station. Most of the dead in the first instance died from drowning or in building collapse, but as time goes on the risks move to other areas, centred on lack of food, clean water and sanitation.

About 800 Belgian people live in the Philippines, according to foreign ministry records. In the immediate aftermath of the typhoon, about 50 of those were still out of touch with friends and relatives. Meanwhile in Brussels, a special Mass was said in the St Remi church in Molenbeek for the relatives of Filipinos living here. A crisis information number has been set up for queries about relatives: 02 501 4000

Written by Alan Hope