USSEC’s staff in the Philippines is safe and accounted for following the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan.

According to USSEC contractor Ted Cortes, the Manila metropolitan area, located on the island of Luzon, was barely touched, but in the Visayans region in the central Philippines, there are “whole cities and towns destroyed, and thousands dead.”  Unbelievable,” he wrote.  Dr. Neneth Reas, Technical Manager for USSEC Philippines, said in an email, “We lost thousands of lives from those two provinces particularly Leyte and Samar provinces.  And almost 100% of the livestock and poultry farms in those areas.”
Typhoon Haiyan struck the central region of the Asian-Pacific island nation on November 8 with winds as high as 230 miles per hour, torrential rains and storm surges as high as 20 feet.  On Thursday, November 14, confirmed death tolls stood at 2,357 and are expected to rise.  The impact of the storm on the livestock, poultry and aquaculture industries is yet unknown.
Jim Sutter, USSEC CEO, stated:  “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Philippines, especially those in the Leyte and Samar provinces.”