Guernsey's Bailiff launches Philippines typhoon appeal

Guernsey's Bailiff is appealing for donations to help victims of the typhoon that has devastated the Philippines.

It follows the launch of a national appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), a group of 14 leading UK aid organisations.

Guernsey's Overseas Aid Commission has already donated £50,000 to the appeal.

Bailiff Richard Collas said: "Nobody could fail to have been touched by the misery resulting from Typhoon Haiyan."

He said: "In the past few days the full extent of the disaster has become plain. The typhoon is said to be the most powerful to reach land with gusts of some 175 miles per hour.

"The heartfelt sympathy of our community is clearly with the families of the bereaved, with those who have suffered injury and with the people of the Philippines.

"The sheer scale of the disaster is difficult to comprehend."

The Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund has existed since 2001 and acts as a focus for donations from the Bailiwick in support of fundraising initiatives promoted by the DEC.

Mr Collas said: "The policy of my predecessors and myself has been to promote appeals where a disaster has been declared by the Disasters Emergency Committee provided that the States of Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission has also seen fit to support it with public funds."

After the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 the fund sent £500,000 to the DEC and £74,000 was given to the Guernsey Tsunami reconstruction project, which supported islanders working on the ground in Sri Lanka to help rebuild communities.