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S. HRG. 113–155

ASSESSING THE RESPONSE TO

TYPHOON YOLANDA/HAIYAN

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EAST ASIAN

AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman

BARBARA BOXER, California 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire 

CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut 

TIM KAINE, Virginia 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JOHN McCAIN, Arizona 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

DANIEL E. O’BRIEN, Staff Director

LESTER E. MUNSON III, Republican Staff Director

——————

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland, Chairman

CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut 

BARBARA BOXER, California 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JOHN McCAIN, Arizona 

(II)

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

C O N T E N T S 

Page

Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from Maryland, opening statement ... 1

Konyndyk, Jeremy, Director, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, U.S. 

Agency for International Development, Washington, DC ................................. 7

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9

Responses to questions submitted for the record by Senator Benjamin 

L. Cardin ........................................................................................................ 25

Rubio, Hon. Marco, U.S. Senator from Florida, opening statement .................... 2

Marciel, Hon. Scot, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East 

Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC .......... 4

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6

Responses to questions submitted for the record by Senator Benjamin 

L. Cardin ........................................................................................................ 27

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

Map Submitted by Jeremy Konyndyk .................................................................... 25

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) Catastrophic Damage in Tacloban Map ....... 28

(III)

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

(1)

ASSESSING THE RESPONSE TO

TYPHOON YOLANDA/HAIYAN 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:33 a.m., in room 

SD–419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Cardin, Markey, Rubio, and Flake. 

Also Present: Senator Brian Schatz. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN,

U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND 

Senator CARDIN. Well, good morning. Let me welcome you all to 

the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific from the Senate 

Foreign Relations Committee. 

Let me thank Chairman Menendez for allowing us to conduct 

this subcommittee hearing on such short notice. 

Senator Rubio, thank you very much for your help, and your 

staff’s help, in arranging this hearing in record time. 

When they say the Senate cannot act quickly, we did act quickly 

on putting this hearing together, and I very much appreciate that, 

all the people who worked to make this possible. 

To Ambassador Cuisia, it is nice to see you again. We were 

together yesterday in Bowie. I will refer to that a little bit. But, 

the Filipino Ambassador to the United States is a friend and has 

been extremely helpful to us. Shortly after the typhoon, we had a 

chance to talk, and, at that time, I expressed our deep condolence 

on the loss of life as a result of the typhoon and America’s interest 

to exercise leadership internationally in assisting the Filipinos in 

the recovery, saving lives, and dealing with the restorations that 

are going to be necessary for the people of the Philippines. 

The tragic typhoon, Yolanda, was horrible, tragic. The numbers 

that we have from yesterday—as of yesterday, from USAID—indicates that over 10 million people were affected. There were close 

to 4,000 confirmed deaths, to date. That number will certainly 

change, unfortunately. Four million people have been displaced, 

571,000-plus homes were damaged or destroyed by the typhoon. 

And the U.N. humanitarian action puts the emergency response 

humanitarian dollar need at over $300 million. And I know that 

that is just an estimate. It could very well exceed those numbers. 

And obviously, it presents a real challenge. 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

2

I wanted to also acknowledge Senator Schatz, who is with us 

today representing the State of Hawaii. He is not a member of our 

committee, but he has been deeply concerned about this issue. 

Many Filipino Americans live in Hawaii, and I know that he has 

been very actively engaged, and we welcome you to this hearing. 

The Philippines is a close ally of the United States. I need not 

tell that to the people in this room. We know the sacrifices that 

they endured during World War II, their incredible strategic partnership with the United States. It is a very important partner of 

the United States. And obviously we are concerned about humanitarian needs anywhere, but, when it hits one of our friends, it is 

a particular concern to the United States. 

The response has been led by the Philippine Government, as it 

should, and they recognized immediately that they needed help. 

And the United States responded, even before the typhoon struck, 

by positioning resources, knowing that it may well have been 

needed. In fact, it was needed. 

I am proud of the U.S. leadership committing $20 million in aid. 

The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team is on the ground. 

We appreciate that very much. The Department of Defense has mobilized in the region, and the State Department has been engaged. 

So, there has been a United States response, with the international 

community, to assist the Philippine Government. The immediate 

needs have been in the area of food, water, medicine, and logistics. 

The long-term needs are going to be the rebuilding of the affected 

areas. And clearly that will become a challenge for the Philippine 

islands and for the help of the international community. 

It is personal to many people in America. We have 4 million 

Americans of Filipino descent that live in America. In my own 

State of Maryland, we have 26,000. And yesterday, with the 

Ambassador’s assistance, and, Jeremy, with your help, we met with 

representatives of the Filipino community in Maryland. And they 

are obviously very anxious, because they have relatives and friends 

that were directly impacted, and they are worried about their wellbeing. They also are frustrated because they want to help, and how 

can they help? And that is a question that we are going to try to 

focus on during this hearing, is, How can individuals help in the 

response effort? What is the best way to do it? 

I thought the meeting in Bowie was particularly helpful, but it 

was clear to me that we have to keep a focus on what is happening. 

And that brings me to this hearing. The purpose, of course, is to 

get an update as to where the circumstances exist today in the 

Philippines, what is the government doing, what is the international response, and what role America is playing on this latest 

humanitarian need. 

With that, let me turn it over to Senator Rubio for his comments. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARCO RUBIO,

U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA 

Senator RUBIO. Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this 

timely hearing. 

Over the past week, our hearts have been broken by the news 

and the images that have been coming out of the Philippines. 

Entire towns and villages, and of course the lives of real people, 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

3

have been ruined. Thousands of human beings are dead, and the 

toll continues to rise every day. 

It is in times like these, by the way, where we are reminded of 

how important an engaged America is for the world, especially for 

allies like the Philippines. We, as a nation, have pledged to provide 

the Filipino people with humanitarian assistance, and deployed 

some of our brave men and women in uniform to assist with these 

efforts. 

And, as yesterday’s front page of Florida Today—which is a 

newspaper in my State’s Space Coast—ran a story that sums up 

what impact we are having, and the good will that it engenders. 

So, in addition to being the right thing to do morally, this has 

a foreign policy implication for our country. Let me tell you what 

it says in the article, briefly. It says, ‘‘U.S. Military a Godsend for 

Typhoon Victims.’’ ‘‘ ‘They are saving us,’ says one grateful victim.’’

As Americans, this is what we have always done as a people. 

This is who we still are. Contrast that, by the way, with Beijing, 

whose initial pledge was $100,000—$100,000, just a fraction of 

what was committed by other countries a fraction of their size. 

They have, of course, increased that pledge now to 1.6 million, in 

U.S. dollars—again, still dwarfed by what China can and cannot 

do. It is a separate conversation to be had, but a point of why it 

is so important that the United States remain engaged. 

By the way, our assistance is not just limited to what our governments can do. American civil society, like non-for-profits, like the 

American Red Cross, and faith-based organizations, like Samaritan 

Purse and the Tim Tebow Foundation, have stepped up to help 

Americans turn their desire to help into action. This includes, by 

the way, many Floridians of Filipino descent, who have expressed 

a number of concerns I will address in my questions later on. And, 

as the chairman has already pointed out, Americans of Filipino 

descent are a significant part of our country involved in every 

aspect of our lives. In my own office, my chief of staff, Cesar Conda, 

who is here today, has family in the Philippines. And so, this is an 

issue that reaches all of us. 

As a nation, we all know too well about the tragedies that natural disasters can cause. We know about how to save lives and help 

ensure much-needed food, water, and supplies reach the people 

who need it most. And we know about the resilience of the human 

spirit and how to rebuild our communities better and stronger than 

ever. Our example, our assistance, and our prayers are needed, 

today more than ever, by our allies in the Philippines, because, 

again, this is simply who we are as a people. This is who we are 

and have been and continue to be as Americans. 

In return, the American people, as taxpayers, as charitable 

donors, expect us to ensure that this assistance does what it is 

intended to do and reaches whom it is intended to reach. We recognize that nothing does more to undermine Americans’ willingness 

to help other nations in time of need than seeing unscrupulous 

actors filling the void left in the wake of natural disasters and 

exploiting the moment. So, it is important to ensure that that does 

not happen, as well. 

So, I look forward to learning more about the administration’s 

plans to ensure that our response to the calamity in the Philippines 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

4

is swift, transparent, and effective. And I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for making this a priority. 

Senator CARDIN. We also recognize Senator Flake, who is on the 

subcommittee. Nice to have you here. Thank you for being here. 

I am going to turn to our two witnesses, at this point. First, the 

Honorable Scot Marciel, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, 

Department of State, Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs. Scot 

Marciel began his term as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in 

August 2013 after serving for 3 years as the U.S. Ambassador to 

the Republic of Indonesia. He has previously served as the Assistant Secretary, East Asia and Pacific Bureau, responsible for relationships with Southeast Asia, and the Ambassador for the ASEAN 

Affairs. Deputy Assistant Secretary Marciel is a career member of 

the Senior Foreign Service and joined the State Department in 

1985. So, we thank you very much for your long, distinguished 

career in public service. 

Our second witness will be Jeremy Konyndyk, the Director of 

USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, who has delayed his 

trip to the Philippines to be here today. We thank you very much. 

And I very much appreciate the fact that you traveled all the way 

to Bowie, MD, yesterday to be with me and the Filipino community 

in Maryland. I thought that was very helpful, and I was very 

impressed by the coordinated efforts that you have undertaken on 

behalf of USAID. 

We will start with Mr. Marciel. 

STATEMENT OF HON. SCOT MARCIEL, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF EAST ASIAN AND 

PACIFIC AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Rubio, 

Senator Flake, Senator Schatz, for giving me this opportunity to 

testify on the U.S. Government’s response to Super Typhoon 

Yolanda, which struck the Philippines on November 8. 

The typhoon, which was, as you know, one of the largest and 

strongest in history, struck the central Philippines from the east 

and carved a swath of destruction across the middle of the country. 

Hardest hit were Leyte, which is the site of General MacArthur’s 

return to the Philippines in 1944, Samar, and a series of other 

islands. The typhoon’s winds and a major storm surge killed an 

estimated 4,000 people, left hundreds of thousands of others homeless, and devastated cities, towns, and villages. 

Even before the storm hit, U.S. Government agencies began preparing to respond. USAID prepositioned a team in Manila. Our 

Embassy in Manila issued a message warning American citizens of 

the storm, urging that they seek shelter. And many of us in Washington began to communicate and coordinate to prepare to respond 

to the storm. 

Then, once the storm hit, the State Department, USAID’s Office 

of Foreign Disaster Assistance, the Pentagon, Pacific Command, all 

working closely with the U.S. Embassy in Manila, began intensive 

communication and coordination to ensure a swift, effective, and 

transparent response. So, USAID and PACOM Disaster Assessment Teams went almost immediately to Tacloban, which you all 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

5

have seen in the press, to coordinate our response, working very 

closely, of course, with Philippine authorities, who, as you said, Mr. 

Chairman, have the lead on this. 

There was an immediate agreement, throughout the administration at all levels, on the need for a rapid, effective response, both 

because of the scale of the disaster and because—as you said, Mr. 

Chairman—because the Filipinos are long-time friends and allies of 

the United States. 

So, Jeremy is going to describe in detail the efforts on the 

ground. What I would like to do is highlight that the U.S. Government’s response has been, I think, extremely well coordinated and 

substantial. Within a few days of the disaster, USAID had 

announced $20 million in humanitarian assistance, and, just a few 

days ago, announced an additional $10 million in assistance. So, as 

of yesterday, combined U.S. Government assistance in response to 

the disaster totaled $37 million. That includes $7 million of 

Defense Department funds. 

Our military, as you know, has deployed substantial assets to 

assist, and, with the help of USAID colleagues and U.S. military 

on the ground, our assistance is reaching people in the affected 

areas and is making a difference. And, of course, U.S. companies, 

foundations, and private citizens are also contributing. 

President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have called their 

Philippine counterparts to offer condolences and assistance, and to 

stress our commitment to helping the Philippines respond to, and 

recover from, this disaster. At the State Department, we set up a 

Crisis Response Task Force to monitor developments and try to 

identify any obstacles to effective relief supply, and make sure we 

were well coordinated, as well as deal with a lot of calls from concerned American citizens. Our Embassy in Manila continues to 

play a very crucial role. It is kind of serving as a platform for coordination of all the agencies working through them to coordinate 

with Philippine authorities and private organizations, as well. 

The State Department and the Embassy have a special responsibility for helping American citizens caught up in the disaster. 

There are now five confirmed American deaths caused by the 

typhoon. The State Department and the Embassy have been working pretty much around the clock to assist the families of those victims, but also have received nearly 1,000 requests for information 

from U.S. citizens—or, on U.S. citizens in the disaster area, and we 

have located almost 500—about 475 American citizens through our 

efforts. 

Our consular officers from the Embassy are visiting Tacloban 

and the area around it pretty regularly to try to help out with 

those American citizens’ services. And we continue, of course, to 

work very closely with the Philippine authorities, making sure to 

address any security concerns—again, identifying any obstacles to 

relief, and asking them constantly what more they need, so that 

our response is effective and targeted. 

President Obama told President Aquino, during a November 12 

phone call, that the United States was fully committed to a swift 

and coordinated response to help the people of the Philippines 

recover, and that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Philippines, our treaty ally. 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

6

Mr. Chairman, Senator Rubio, other members, thank you again 

for allowing me to appear. I would be delighted to answer any 

questions. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ambassador Marciel follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. SCOT MARCIEL

Thank you Mr. Chairman, Senator Rubio, and other members of the subcommittee for giving me this opportunity to testify on the U.S. Government’s response to 

Super Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines on November 8. 

The typhoon, one of the largest and strongest in history, struck the central Philippines from the east, and carved a swath of destruction across the middle of the 

country. Hardest hit were Leyte, site of General MacArthur’s return to the Philippines in 1944, Samar, and a series of other islands. The typhoon’s incredible 

winds, plus a major storm surge, killed an estimated 4,000 people, left hundreds of 

thousands of others homeless, and devastated cities, towns, villages, and the 

region’s infrastructure. 

Even before the storm hit, U.S. Government agencies began preparing to respond. 

USAID prepositioned a team in Manila, our Embassy in Manila issued a message 

warning American citizens of the storm, and many of us in Washington began to 

communicate and coordinate in preparation for a potential disaster. 

Once the storm hit, the State Department, USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster 

Assistance, the Pentagon, and the Pacific Command—working closely with the U.S. 

Embassy in Manila—began a period of intensive communication and coordination to 

ensure a swift and effective response. USAID and PACOM disaster assistance teams 

headed to Tacloban, the capital of hard-hit Leyte province, and moved rapidly to 

conduct joint disaster assessments. USAID is leading and coordinating the U.S. 

Government response, including with other donors. 

There was immediate agreement within the administration on the need for a 

rapid, effective response, both because of the scale of the devastation and because 

of the close historic and people-to-people ties between the United States and the 

Republic of the Philippines. 

My colleagues from USAID will describe in detail their agencies’ efforts here and 

on the ground. I would simply highlight that the U.S. Government’s response has 

been rapid, well-coordinated, and substantial. Our Embassy in Manila announced 

an initial $100,000 in assistance almost immediately, and USAID announced $20 

million in humanitarian assistance a few days later, and an additional $10 million 

in humanitarian assistance on November 18. Including another $7 million in 

humanitarian assistance through the Defense Department, the combined U.S. Government assistance being provided in response to the disaster is $37 million. 

President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have both been monitoring the situation closely. Both have called their Philippine counterparts to offer condolences 

and assistance, and to stress our commitment to helping the Philippines respond to 

and recover from this disaster. The State Department also set up a Crisis Response 

Task Force to help monitor and report on developments, help identify any obstacles 

to effective relief supply, help facilitate coordination with other agencies, and deal 

with large numbers of phone calls from concerned Americans. 

Our Embassy in Manila has also played an important role. It has served, for lack 

of a better term, as a physical platform for all of the agencies involved in the relief 

effort, as well as a center for coordination and communication with other agencies, 

Philippine authorities, and private organizations and citizens. 

The Embassy and the State Department as a whole have as a top priority helping 

American citizens caught up in this disaster. In the days before Haiyan made landfall we activated our messaging system and warden network so that American citizens who had registered with Embassy Manila would get the word that a colossal 

storm was coming, and that they needed to find refuge, immediately. We put warnings up on our Embassy Web site. We also tweeted warnings, not only to the American community but to our Filipino and third-country friends. In both Manila and 

here in Washington, we mobilized human resources for deployment in the event of 

a catastrophic storm—a mobilization that helped us move quickly when damage 

assessments started coming in. In both cities, we consulted with senior Philippine 

Government officials on prospective relief operations. 

There are, Mr. Chairman, now five confirmed American deaths caused by the 

typhoon which reportedly killed about 4,000 people and injured more than 18,000 

people. The State Department has been working around the clock to assist those 

who have lost loved ones. The Embassy has received nearly 950 requests for inforFOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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mation on U.S. citizens in the disaster area, and we have located more than 475 

U.S. citizens at this time. Our first consular team arrived in Tacloban on November 

13, to assist the evacuation of American citizens from the region, and consular officers are traveling to Tacloban regularly to provide any assistance required by American citizens. A second team has met evacuated Americans upon their arrival at 

Villamor Air Base, providing emergency cash assistance and help with emergency 

loan applications. We will do everything we possibly can to locate and assist these 

U.S. citizens. In both Manila and Washington, we are responding to phone calls and 

e-mails from the many concerned relatives of those who are missing. 

The American people have responded to this natural disaster with an outpouring 

of support, not least of all in the Philippines itself, where the American business 

community has made donations to help those in storm-hit areas. The U.S. Embassy 

has worked with the American business community to ensure that donations are 

channeled most directly and effectively. As President Obama said, the best way for 

private parties to help is to make a monetary donation to a relief organization 

already working to provide aid on the ground. Begun months ago in anticipation of 

a future disaster, our public-private coordination has already made a meaningful 

difference in the relief effort, through monetary donations, as well as the donation 

of mobile power generators, transport equipment, and other goods. 

The United States is also coordinating with other international donors, and 

together, donors have already pledged funding nearly $200 million, an amount equal 

to about two-thirds the U.N. flash appeal of $301 million. 

The Department of State is working closely with Philippine Government officials, 

not only at the working level but also at higher levels. We have activated our 

response in close partnership with the Philippine Government, which has been helpful in facilitating the entry of assistance into the country, responding quickly to 

security concerns, and identifying urgent needs. At every such meeting, we underline what President Obama told President Aquino during their November 12 phone 

call: that the United States is fully committed to a swift and coordinated response 

to help the people of the Philippines recover. That we stand shoulder to shoulder 

with the Philippines, our treaty ally with whom we have kept the peace in the AsiaPacific for more than 60 years. Given the strength of the Philippine people and the 

U.S. commitment to the bilateral relationship, I believe that Filipinos will emerge 

from the current difficulties even stronger than before. Similarly, I am convinced 

that our joint work to help the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan will deepen the 

already robust U.S.-Philippine partnership and demonstrate U.S. commitment to 

this alliance and to our rebalance to the region. 

Mr. Chairman, Senator Rubio, and other subcommittee members, thank you for 

allowing me to appear before you today.

Senator CARDIN. Well, thank you very much. 

Mr. Konyndyk. 

STATEMENT OF JEREMY KONYNDYK, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF 

FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WASHINGTON, DC 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Thank you, Chairman Cardin. Thank you, Ranking Member Rubio. And thank you also for joining us, Senator 

Flake and Senator Schatz. And thank you for the invitation to testify on the ongoing U.S. Government response to Typhoon Haiyan, 

known locally in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda. And thank 

you also very much for your continued support of U.S. humanitarian programs around the world, which, every day, as they are 

doing currently in the Philippines, are saving many, many lives. 

Chairman Cardin, I want to thank you, as well, for the invitation 

to participate yesterday in the event in Bowie. It was very enjoyable, and it was good to see the energy that exists in the FilipinoAmerican community, and their deep, deep commitment to helping 

with the response to this. 

Super Typhoon Haiyan was one of the most powerful storms ever 

to make landfall, and the Government of the Philippines estimates 

that around 10 million people have been affected, of whom 4 milFOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

8

lion have been displaced from their homes and roughly 4,000 

deaths have, so far, been confirmed. 

The devastation and the loss of life is absolutely staggering, and 

I want to express my deepest condolences, and, of course, on behalf 

of USAID, our deepest condolences, to the people of the Philippines 

for these horrific losses. 

In the face of this disaster, the U.S. Government has mobilized 

the full range of our humanitarian response capabilities. My office, 

the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance at USAID, is mandated 

to direct and coordinate that overall USG humanitarian effort, in 

close partnership with our military, State Department, and a range 

of other interagency colleagues. And I have to say that the collaboration and cooperation we have seen across the USG in assistance 

has been absolutely exemplary, and we have seen tremendous collaboration and coordination both here in Washington and in the 

Philippines. 

Before the storm hit, the U.S. response was already beginning. 

Our hydrometeorological experts identified the severity of the 

storm, and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance predeployed a 

Disaster Assistance Advance Team in Manila. That team was on 

the ground in Leyte province almost immediately after the storm 

passed through, and was beginning to assess damage and send 

back reports on assistance priorities. And we rapidly stood up a 

Response Management Team, back here in D.C., as well, and 

started sending people out to the Philippines to lead that response. 

We have been working hand in glove with the Department of 

Defense’s Pacific Command, which has proved absolutely critical. 

There were enormous logistical constraints that we faced in the 

first days after the storm, and the DOD involvement has been vital 

to getting some of those obstacles cleared and enabling the initial 

aid effort to gain momentum. 

As Scot said, we have mobilized, now, across the U.S. Government, more than $37 million in assistance to help typhoon-affected 

populations. And, while much still remains to be done, we are 

beginning to see some notable progress. 

Several days ago, USAID partnership with UNICEF and the 

Government of the Philippines, with support from DOD, got the 

water turned back on in the city of Tacloban, restoring clean water 

to roughly 200,000 people in that town. That was a major accomplishment. DOD has, so far, transported than 1,000 metric tons of 

relief commodities to communities throughout the affected areas. 

And USAID’s Food for Peace Program, in partnership with the 

Government and the World Food Programme, has provided, really, 

the backbone of support to a joint food response that, so far, has 

fed 1.9 million people. 

Going forward, we are seeing a range of different needs. And I 

will go through those quickly and turn it over for questions. 

On logistics, that will remain a challenge. That has been the 

major challenge, as I think everyone is aware. We have seen real 

progress in clearing of blocked roads, restoration of airport services, 

and, notably in the past few days, restoration of ferry services to 

enable much greater scale of aid to reach affected areas. So, we are 

seeing improvements here, but it still will remain a major focus. 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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Food will also remain a major focus. We anticipate 21⁄2 million 

people will require emergency food aid over the next 6 months. 

USAID has, so far, provided $10 million in food support—that is, 

working with the World Food Programme. 

And, in particular, I want to emphasize the importance of flexible 

cash programming for food aid in this instance. We were able, 

using some of the flexibility that Congress has granted us, to procure 2,500 metric tons of rice on local markets in the Philippines 

for immediate distribution. This was much faster than would have 

been possible using traditional food-aid tools. So, that flexibility 

has really helped enhance the response. 

We are also focusing quite a lot on water. As I mentioned earlier, 

we helped get the water turned back on in Tacloban City. And, 

looking ahead, we are continuing to source generators for water 

pumping stations, to provide chlorine tablets for household-level 

treatment of water, and bulk chlorine for larger scale treatment, as 

well as providing family water containers for transport of clean 

water. 

Shelter remains an urgent priority, as well. And I know, Senator 

Cardin, you have seen the emergency shelter sheeting kits that we 

are currently distributing. And that is—we have—we will have distributed enough of those for about 30,000 families’ needs. 

I want to just conclude quickly. And I see I am over time. We 

are looking ahead to the early recovery process. We are starting to 

plan on that. And I want to just call specific attention, again, to 

the important contributions of the Filipino-American community in 

the United States. We are looking for ways to partner with them. 

We are setting up some mechanisms for that, and they will be a 

critical piece of that response, going forward. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Konyndyk follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT JEREMY KONYNDYK

Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member Rubio, and members of the subcommittee, 

thank you for inviting me to testify on the ongoing U.S. response to Typhoon 

Haiyan, known locally in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda. Thank you also for 

your continued support for our humanitarian programs around the world, which 

make a positive difference every day in the lives of millions. 

It is truly heartbreaking to see the devastation and loss of life caused by Super 

Typhoon Haiyan, and I would like to express my deepest condolences to those who 

lost loved ones due to the storm. 

Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines on the morning of November 8 local time. The storm was one of the most powerful typhoons ever to make 

landfall, bringing heavy rains and sustained winds of up to 195 miles per hour, and 

a resulting storm surge that caused near complete destruction in many coastal areas 

of East Samar and Leyte provinces. 

The strong, experienced disaster preparedness and response capacity of the Government of the Philippines undoubtedly saved countless lives. For more than two 

decades, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance and Mission in the Philippines have worked with the Philippine 

Government to strengthen its disaster management system and response capabilities. Prior to the storm making landfall, the Philippine Government evacuated 

792,000 people to 109 evacuation centers in 22 provinces. In the first 24 to 48 hours, 

the government quickly triaged and evacuated many critically injured survivors to 

receive medical care, and subsequent government response efforts have been aggressive—mobilizing airlifts of safe drinking water, relief supplies, and food commodities 

to Tacloban and other hard-hit areas. 

As of November 18, an estimated 10 million people have been affected and more 

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ippines, according to the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center (NDRRMC). There are at least 4,000 deaths, and this figure will likely 

continue to fluctuate pending further verification. 

On November 12, the U.N. released a Humanitarian Action Plan requesting $301 

million for the response, including approximately $76 million for food assistance; 

$46 million for shelter; $31 million for livelihoods; $22 million for water, sanitation, 

and hygiene (WASH) activities; and $21.5 million for health. As of November 13, 

international donors had pledged approximately $193 million in funding to address 

humanitarian needs among populations affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The total 

amount pledged represents more than 64 percent of the $301 million requested by 

the U.N. Humanitarian Action Plan. 

U.S. RESPONSE EFFORTS

As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Marciel said, the U.S. response 

to Typhoon Haiyan has mobilized capacities across the U.S. Government (USG). The 

Administrator of USAID is the President’s Special Coordinator for International 

Disaster Assistance, an authority that is executed by my office—the Office of U.S. 

Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). USAID/OFDA is charged with directing, coordinating, and prioritizing the overall U.S. humanitarian response effort, 

working closely with our interagency colleagues as well as other USAID offices, 

including USAID’s Office of Food for Peace to help meet emergency food needs, as 

well as USAID’s Asia Bureau and the USAID Mission in the Philippines. 

In anticipation of Typhoon Haiyan, USAID predeployed disaster experts to the 

Philippines, enabling us to conduct some of the first rapid assessments of hardesthit areas and establishing teams to lead and coordinate the USG humanitarian 

response. Our response management structure ensures a fast and flexible response, 

efficient and effective action, clear communication, and clear lines of authority. 

Consistent with our mandate to direct and coordinate the overall USG response, 

USAID is working hand in glove with the Department of Defense (DOD) Pacific 

Command up and down the chain of command to ensure the U.S. response effort 

is effective, timely, and comprehensive in reaching the response needs identified by 

the USAID team on the ground. 

On November 11, USAID’s field-based Disaster Assistance Response Team 

(DART) leader and the Commanding General of III Marine Expeditionary Brigade 

Forward Command Element conducted the first U.S. aerial assessments in severely 

affected Tacloban City in Leyte province and neighboring areas, including the southern coast of Samar Island. We have since worked together to airlift critically needed 

aid to the affected areas and address major logistical obstacles, working jointly to 

transport U.S. humanitarian assistance to affected areas. USAID is also supporting 

delivery for the humanitarian community, enabling United Nations, the Philippine 

Government and other international responders to utilize DOD airlift capacity. The 

collaboration and coordination between USAID and the U.S. military in this 

response has been exemplary. 

USAID’s assessments in the days after the storm quickly identified shelter, water 

and sanitation, and food as immediate priority needs. In response to the storm, the 

USG is providing more than $37 million in humanitarian assistance to help 

typhoon-affected populations. USAID began to immediately call forward shelter 

materials and hygiene kits from our global stocks, mobilize food assistance, and support programs to address these priorities. 

The first airlift of USAID heavy-duty tarpaulins and family hygiene kits arrived 

in Manila on November 12, and the U.S. military flew these much-needed supplies 

to storm-affected communities in Guiuan City and surrounding communities on 

November 13. A second identical airlift arrived on November 15. In line with the 

Philippine Government shelter-in-place strategy, these shipments support emergency shelter efforts that work with households to identify salvageable material and 

heavy-duty tarpaulin kits to address immediate shelter needs. USAID is providing 

enough materials to provide temporary shelter for 30,000 families. 

On November 14, approximately 55 metric tons of USAID emergency food aid—

airlifted from the USAID warehouse in Miami, FL—arrived in Cebu and was transported to Tacloban for onward distribution. The food commodities, comprising nutrition-dense food bars and other food items that do not require cooking, are sufficient 

to feed 15,000 adults and 20,000 children for 5 days. These rapid efforts helped families in hard-hit areas begin to meet basic food, shelter, and hygiene needs. 

Progress has accelerated since those initial efforts. In partnership with UNICEF 

and with the help of DOD-supplied fuel, USAID helped Tacloban’s municipal water 

pumping station regain full functionality on November 17, providing access to safe 

drinking water for up to 200,000 people. We are also taking other measures to 

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improve access to, and distribution of, safe drinking water, including mobilizing 

water tanks, distributing jerry-cans, and installing mobile water treatment units. 

PRIORITY NEEDS

Despite the significant progress over the past week and a half, significant needs 

remain: 

Logistics 

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, the relief effort was badly hampered by 

destroyed infrastructure and blocked roads. For the first several days, the only 

means of delivering aid to Tacloban City was through the small and badly damaged 

city airport. Land routes into the city and toward outlying areas were blocked by 

debris, and the destruction of buildings had made many roads impassable in the 

city. Though aid was available, the throughput capacity of the airport was extremely 

limited, and ‘‘last mile’’ distribution—challenged by impassable roads—created bottlenecks for the little aid that did arrive at the airport. 

Helping the government address these logistical constraints has been a top USG 

priority, and the partnership between USAID and the U.S. military has been crucial 

to the progress seen in recent days. We have sought to address logistical challenges 

by supporting combined U.S. Government, Philippine Government, and U.N. efforts. 

Government road clearing has opened up many transport routes. DOD has operated 

an air-bridge between Manila, Tacloban, and Guiuan, thereby facilitating allowed 

access to most-affected Tacloban City, as well as outlying areas. The opening of 

roads has also enabled a World Food Programme (WFP) land-bridge between Cebu, 

Ormoc, and Tacloban, further expanding the logistics network and easing congestion 

at the airports. 

Remaining challenges include fuel supply in some affected areas, and availability 

of smaller vehicles for end-point distribution of relief to affected populations. WFP 

is sourcing additional trucks that will arrive in Tacloban with relief commodities in 

the coming days and will remain in the area to facilitate the transport and distribution of supplies to populations in need. Despite the remaining challenges, the 

progress made over the past week means the humanitarian relief effort is now gaining momentum with significant international contributions and strong engagement 

and support from the Government of the Philippines. 

Food 

An estimated 2.5 million people are expected to require emergency food assistance 

over the next 6 months. USAID is providing $10 million toward WFP’s Emergency 

Operations Program that will work to help these vulnerable storm-affected individuals. 

In the wake of the disaster, we have been able to use cash to immediately purchase food locally in the Philippines to meet urgent needs. A cash contribution from 

USAID enabled WFP to purchase 2,500 metric tons of rice in local markets for 

inclusion in the family food packs that the Philippine Department of Social Welfare 

and Development is distributing to typhoon-affected populations. By November 15, 

the family food packs had reached more than 170,000 people. These packs supply 

more than six pounds of rice and canned goods—an amount adequate to feed a family of five for up to 3 days. The food that WFP procured with U.S. funds was able 

to arrive faster than the prepositioned food that the U.S. airlifted. 

USAID funds have also allowed WFP to procure 555,000 packets of high-energy 

biscuits, which arrived in Tacloban on November 13 for onward distribution to evacuees and other vulnerable populations in typhoon-affected areas. WFP distributed 

packets of high-energy biscuits to 5,000 people awaiting evacuation at Tacloban airport on November 14, and distributions of the biscuits are ongoing in Guiuan and 

Tacloban. 

The U.S. response to the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines illustrates why 

greater flexibility in our food aid programs is needed. 

Water 

The typhoon has damaged most if not all water infrastructure in affected areas, 

while a lack of power has left some water systems inoperable. Current response 

efforts are expected to adequately address sanitation and hygiene needs, as well as 

medium-term water production capacity through existing water pump stations. 

Following a disaster of this magnitude, humanitarian organizations typically focus 

on identifying and restoring sources of safe drinking water that have not been damaged, such as groundwater sources that can be treated with chlorine and wells that 

are intact but require generators for production. USAID partners are currently 

sourcing generators for a water pumping station that is expected to supply water 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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in the coming weeks. Additional USAID partners are providing chlorine tablets for 

household-level treatment and utilizing bulk chlorine for larger scale treatment, as 

well as providing water containers to assist with distribution. 

In addition, USAID has directed its Be Secure program—an existing USAID program focused on water security for resilient economic growth—to support the Philippine Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) to conduct rapid damage 

assessments of water systems and facilities in Aklan, Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte, Negros 

Occidental, and Samar provinces. LWUA and Be Secure plan to send six teams—

29 people—to conduct the rapid assessments over a 5-day period. 

The assessments will serve as the basis for prioritizing assistance to critical areas 

and identifying appropriate interventions to repair, rehabilitate, and develop water 

systems able to withstand future hydrologic disasters. 

Emergency Shelter 

Emergency shelter is a priority humanitarian need in the immediate aftermath 

of the typhoon, which damaged or destroyed nearly 600,000 houses. USAID and 

DOD are supporting the government’s shelter-in-place approach by distributing 

plastic sheeting, which affected populations can use with locally available materials 

to create temporary shelters. USAID is also supporting the distribution of shelter 

kits to typhoon-affected households. 

Health 

Due to immediate health concerns caused by the effects of the typhoon, numerous 

actors have begun health-related relief activities to address the immediate needs of 

typhoon-affected populations. The Armed Forces of the Philippines successfully evacuated severely injured persons out of Tacloban City within 24 to 48 hours after the 

typhoon made landfall. The Philippine Government has established several field 

hospitals and continues to identify appropriate sites to place additional hospitals 

already in-country. Relief organizations have set up numerous other health points 

and are providing medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and medical staff to assist the 

most vulnerable. The U.N.’s health coordination cluster and the Philippine Department of Health have said in the past several days that the needs in the health sector are now being met and that additional relief should be directed toward other 

priorities. 

Our USAID mission in the Philippines has played an important role, providing 

six solar-powered refrigerators from its existing health project to enable the Philippine Government to implement a mass immunization program against measles 

and polio and thus prevent disease outbreaks in the affected areas. Additionally, 

USAID, in response to a government request, has provided two technical advisors 

to the Department of Health to help develop a mid-to-long-term health recovery and 

rehabilitation plan. 

NEXT STEPS

In this initial response phase, USAID has focused on programs that provide emergency shelter, increase food security; and improve the water, sanitation and hygiene 

situation. Our programs remain flexible to allow us to meet needs that are identified 

by the Philippine Government. 

Looking beyond the immediate emergency response, USAID has already initiated 

and will continue to pursue and coordinate medium- and long-term recovery and 

rehabilitation planning in consultation with the U.N., international donor community, and the Philippine Government. Concurrently, existing USAID programs in the 

Philippines will facilitate recovery and rehabilitation efforts. For example, through 

the Cities Development Initiative, a focus of the Partnership for Growth, recovery 

programs will work to bolster the environmental resilience of affected cities to mitigate impact of future disasters—both in the typhoon-affected areas as well as countrywide. As the second most disaster prone country in the world, the Philippines 

loses up to 2 percent of its gross domestic product to national disasters each year. 

Therefore, USAID’s country strategy has the achievement of environmental resilience as one of its three development objectives for the Philippines. 

CONCLUSION

The typhoon that struck the Philippines was devastating. Lives were lost, homes 

were destroyed, and livelihoods were decimated. Helping provide aid to the 10 million people affected by this disaster is an extraordinary logistical challenge, but the 

United States is meeting the challenge, working in support of the Philippine Government’s strong response effort. 

In the wake of crisis, the generosity of the American people is evident. And I 

would be remiss if I did not call specific attention to the Filipino-American commuFOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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nity’s contribution. Their historic generosity in providing support to friends and relatives in the Philippines through remittances and in the wake of natural disasters 

is laudable. The United States has already begun outreach to the diaspora community, and USAID’s Center for International Disaster Information has been invaluable in helping with our outreach effort. We encourage those who want to help to 

visit usaid.gov/haiyan for more information on how to make the most effective 

contributions. 

The United States was helping the people and Government of the Philippines long 

before this crisis, and we will continue to stand by them in their time of need.

Senator CARDIN. Well, thank both of you for testimony, and 

thank you for updating the dollar amount from the original $20 

million. Now we are close to double that, as far as the direct 

support that we have given. And I very much appreciate your testimony. I think Senator Rubio pointed out pretty clearly, U.S. leadership and what that is all about, and the fact that, but for U.S. leadership, the international partnership could not be as strong with 

the Government of the Philippine Islands. 

So, we are proud of what we have been able to do. Our technology in dealing with these crisis, we know—I mean, you—I was 

impressed by the temporary shelters. They are pretty simple, but 

they do protect people from the elements and allow for international assistance, or local assistance, to provide a more permanent type of housing for individuals who were left homeless. 

These high-energy bars are interesting. I do not know whether 

I would—they were not—they are not on my diet, I see that. The 

number of calories that are included in these high-energy—but, 

they are efficient, they keep people alive. And people were desperate immediately after the typhoon; they did not have food, and 

there was no place to get food. So, to be able to distribute these 

type of high-energy bars so that they can get through the day with 

enough calories to survive was critical, and we have the expertise 

here, through—this is, by the way, a—nine bars is included in this, 

so that is a—we know how to get this type of sustenance out, and 

I applaud the U.S. leadership. 

And then, on the logistics, I really do thank our Department of 

Defense. They understand how to get to people who have been isolated, and to get a better assessment. 

Let me just point out one other obvious point, here. And most of 

the damage was done on the coast, and that is what we saw. And 

we could reach the coast. We could not reach those communities 

that were isolated from the coast, so therefore, at least initially, 

there was not a good understanding as to the severity of the damage inland. Do we now have some indication as to whether there 

is going to be additional significant losses as a result of reaching 

people that we were not able to reach originally? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Shall I? Thank you, Senator. 

We did initially focus on the coast. We also did initial overland 

and overflight assessments in some of the inland areas, as well, 

working with our DOD colleagues. Our initial assessment was that 

the coastal areas were the worst affected, and so that was the first 

priority for focus. And, as that situation has started to—‘‘stabilize’’ 

may be too strong a word, but let us say ‘‘head in the direction of 

stabilizing,’’ we have also begun looking further afield, in partnership with Government of Philippines colleagues, to try to reach 

some of those inland areas. 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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I would emphasize, as well, that our initial prioritization of the 

coast also reflected in what we have been given by the Philippines 

Government. So, from the early days, we were talking to mayors 

and governors from the affected provinces to get their input on 

where they would advise we focus, at first. And so, we followed 

that guidance fairly closely. 

We are getting better visibility now on what is the situation 

inland. And, while the loss of life is obviously less, because they did 

not face the storm surge, there is fairly significant damage to structures and to crops. And so, that is going to be a focus, going forward, and we are gathering more and more information on that 

every day. In fact, we had teams out today going to some of those 

areas. 

Senator CARDIN. Thank you. 

The question that is frequently asked is, How well is the help 

being coordinated? The Catholic Relief Services, which is located in 

my State of Maryland—we are very proud of the role that they 

have played. They have a natural alliance and are very well represented in the Philippines. We know that they mobilized right 

away to help in regards to their international humanitarian 

mission. 

Can you just share with us how the coordination is taking place 

between the Philippine Government, international governmental 

responses, and the NGO responses, and how that is coming 

together? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Absolutely. Well, I think it is, first, important to 

emphasize that the Government of the Philippines is in the lead. 

And we have worked with them for what is sort of a good-news/

bad-news story. On the one hand, we have a great relationship 

with them because we are there five or six times a year responding 

to disasters. The bad news is that we are there five or six times 

a year. But, because of that, we have a longstanding relationship 

with the Philippines authorities, the National Disaster Management Authorities there, and we work very closely and very well together. And they are in the lead, they have been providing invaluable information on priorities and needs. 

The U.N. has also activated what it calls the ‘‘cluster system,’’ 

which is the globally recognized system for coordinating response 

across United Nations, NGOs, and all humanitarian actors. And 

that is being coled with the Government of the Philippines, so they 

are directly integrated into that. And we are working very closely 

with that and then, within the U.S. Government, also have been 

doing nightly interagency calls and a variety of other mechanisms 

to make sure that, in our own—that we have our own house in 

order. And I think that it is been going fairly well, so far. As more 

and more NGOs and more actors come in, it will become a greater 

challenge. 

Senator CARDIN. So, does the Government of the Philippines coordinate the capacities of the NGOs and the capacities of the participating international partners, as well as their own cash requirements? Is that all sort of balanced together? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Yes, their involvement in those cluster coordination meetings—which are by sector, so you will have a meeting on 

health every day, you will have a meeting on water every day—the 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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Government of the Philippines is involved in those, so is able to 

hear what the NGOs’ capacities are available, what their plans are, 

provide feedback on that, and provide feedback on priorities, in 

addition to its own activity. 

Senator CARDIN. Now, as I mentioned, there were 4 million 

Americans-plus that have Filipino heritage. There is strong compassion among the American people, generally, to be engaged. People want to help. I think that is true internationally, but particularly true here in America. Is there any advice that you can give 

Americans who may want to participate in the relief effort as to 

how they can best interact into the coordinated efforts? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Absolutely. Our general advice is always—the 

best way to support, in the early response, is to give cash. It is the 

most efficient way to—to give cash to a reputable organization that 

they know and trust is the best way to get assistance in. In-kind 

assistance from the United States can be valuable, but it often 

costs more to ship it from the United States than the value of the 

assistance, itself. So, it is generally more efficient, and certainly a 

lot quicker, to provide cash assistance to, you know, groups like we 

met yesterday at the roundtable meeting. 

And, for more information on that, there is a Web site called 

CIDI.org, which is the Center for International Disaster Information, that is a USAID partner, and they have a lot of information 

there on how to give effectively in this kind of situation. 

Ambassador MARCIEL. If I could just add, Mr. Chairman, both 

USAID and State have been in touch with major Philippine-American associations, talking—both briefing them on what we are 

doing, but also talking about ways that they can help, sort of, I 

hope, complementing your outreach efforts and those of other members, and then, looking forward, because there is still going to be 

a lot of work to do—you know, recovery, reconstruction. It is still 

early days, but talking to both Philippine-American associations, 

U.S. foundations, U.S. businesses, about how, going further down 

the road, they can contribute. So, this is going to be a long-term 

effort with a lot of coordination. 

Senator CARDIN. Thank you. 

If Americans want to check on the status of relatives and friends, 

how do they go about doing that if they cannot make direct connections? 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Mr. Chairman, so the Embassy and State 

Department have been focused on American citizens first in—as a 

priority for us. And so, we have a system set up, through our own 

task force, where people who have been able to call in or e-mail in, 

talk to people, and then working with our Embassy, we have been 

able to, as I said, track down almost 475 Americans, in response. 

For people looking to try to track down non-American citizens—

Filipino nationals—it is a little bit harder, just given the numbers. 

We have encouraged them to, of course, contact Philippine authorities. The Red Cross in the Philippines can also help. The Philippine 

Red Cross has a Web site that families can reach out to directly 

to try to—or friends—to try to help locate Filipino citizens. 

Senator CARDIN. Thank you. 

We know this is going to be a long-term project—first, of course, 

dealing with the immediate individuals that are still in harm’s 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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way, and then looking at how the United States properly can assist 

in dealing with the long-term needs. We would appreciate you 

keeping this committee informed as to the status and how you see 

the needs and the role that the United States should consider playing. 

Senator Rubio. 

Senator RUBIO. Thank you. 

I have heard from a lot of people in Florida who are desperate 

to hear from their loved ones and to provide a helping hand during 

the relief-and-recovery operations. For example, Monica Andrade, a 

resident of Jacksonville, last spoke to her parents 5 minutes before 

they were evacuating, and she has not heard anything since, she 

said, and she has not slept for 5 days. What advice do we have for 

people in this circumstance that are trying to reach loved ones in 

the Philippines? I imagine it is still logistically pretty difficult. Do 

we have any advice that you would say I should be giving people 

desperate to hear from their loved ones and looking to offer a helping hand? 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Senator, I wish there was an easy answer. 

Again, if they are Philippine citizens missing or who have not been 

heard from in the Philippines, perhaps going to the Philippine Red 

Cross Web site, where you can make inquiries, as well as contacting Philippine authorities, who are, I think, in a long effort to try 

to make sure everybody is found. 

I think—maybe Jeremy could speak a little bit to the communications, because I think one of the problems is cell phone connections were lost, and that will be key to getting that going again. 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Senator. 

The communications infrastructure, especially in the coastal 

areas, was just ravaged by the storm. It is slowly returning, and 

there is 3G coverage now. It is spotty, but it is there in Tacloban 

City. So, we are seeing that slowly restored. 

I know, as well, that the Philippines Embassy here has set up 

some mechanisms for citizens to check up on their relatives in the 

Philippines, and can be a hub for information on that. So, I think 

they could be directed there, as well. 

Senator RUBIO. We have also heard from several organizations—

the Filipino-American Association of Southwest Florida in Cape 

Coral, the Council for Filipino-American Organizations—they are 

looking for ways to help in the relief-and-recovery efforts. What 

advice do we give them, in terms of streamlining their efforts to 

make sure it reaches the intended beneficiaries as quickly and as 

efficiently as possible? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Well, if they are Filipino-American groups, I 

would imagine they have very good connections with communities 

there in the Philippines. And that is often one of the best protections. You know, you want to make sure that any group that you 

are supporting actually has a footprint that is relevant to the 

nature of the crisis. And so, I would image that—you know, many 

Filipino-American organizations will have links to community 

groups in the Philippines that would have that kind of a footprint. 

And again, I would underscore that it is always best, in this kind 

of a situation, to support them with cash. Not only is that more 

efficient, but it also helps support the recovery of local markets. So, 

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if we bring in—you know, if groups bring in a lot of in-kind supplies, then those are supplies that are not being bought in the Philippines are not ending up in the Philippines economy. 

So, those would be a couple. And there is a lot more on the 

CIDI.org Web site. 

Senator RUBIO. I think you have both answered this before. I 

might have missed it as I was taking notes here. But, what is the 

Federal agency in our Government that has the lead and convening 

power, in terms of our relief efforts? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. So, that is my office. We have—under the Foreign Assistance Act, there is authority that is delegated to the 

President, which is then delegated to USAID as the lead Federal 

coordinator on international disaster response. And so, we have 

been coordinating—we work with the military to validate requests, 

and work with them to help steer their effort toward where it is 

the most value-add, and working closely with the State Department and other interagency colleagues on that coordination. 

Senator RUBIO. Related to that, one of the things we have seen 

in the past, from humanitarian crisis in places like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and others, is that children who are displaced 

become potential victims of trafficking and things of this nature. 

Reportedly, about 2 million children have been affected by Typhoon 

Yolanda in the Philippines. What steps are being taken, and who 

is thinking about steps we can take to reduce the risk of abuse and 

trafficking? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Absolutely. Yes, thank you. Absolutely, that is a 

serious concern. And trafficking in the—and I know that Scot can 

talk more to the trafficking aspect, in particular. 

On the USAID side, we have sent a protection advisor on to the 

Disaster Assistance Response Team to look into exactly this set of 

issues. We have also been, in all of our partnerships so far, ensuring that we do a technical review of those, that takes those kinds 

of issues into account to make sure that nothing that any of our 

partners are doing could inadvertently be supporting or enabling 

that. And, going forward, I think we are going to look into more 

specific program options to ensure that that is addressed. 

Senator RUBIO. My last question is more in the geopolitical 

realm, but, I think, still critical, long term, as we go to the American people and justify our ability to project our influence abroad. 

Because if you look at this, it is a multifaceted response, right? It 

involves our aid agencies, our diplomatic programs. But it also 

involves military assets, in terms of being able to deliver aid and 

so forth, and it calls attention to why our military serves a purpose 

well beyond just conducting warfare. Obviously, that is its principal 

objective, is to provide for our national security, but it also has 

logistical capabilities that, quite frankly, are unrivaled and 

unmatched anywhere in the world. 

In contrast, the Chinese response to this has been so limited, at 

best. And there is all kinds of speculation as to why. What has 

been the perception of that? I mean, has that been noticed, that the 

Chinese are not there? They do have an aid ship—I think it is 

called the Peace Ark. It is a hospital ship that they have not made 

available. What is the perception as to why the Chinese have not 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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participated more robustly in responding to this crisis in the Philippines? 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Senator, it is a good question. I would say, 

I absolutely agree with you, that we have responded fully to this 

crisis, for humanitarian reasons. But, I think it has shown—

I think, reinforced, in the minds of Filipino people, that we are a 

long-time and good partner that they can depend on and, I think, 

more broadly throughout the region, has highlighted what we have 

been saying throughout the region, that the U.S. military, as you 

said, in addition to being an unmatched fighting force, also brings 

unmatched logistical capabilities, which they use—unfortunately, 

have to use quite often in the region for disaster response. So, I 

think that is gone widely noticed. 

I would not want to speculate on, you know, why the Chinese 

have responded the way they have. I do know that, at some point, 

Philippine authorities suggested there was no need for further 

medical equipment and support. Whether that played a role on the 

hospital ship not coming, I am not sure. But, I think the more 

important point, from our perspective, is that, by doing the right 

thing, we have been seen in the region as doing the right thing. 

Senator RUBIO. Well, just my editorial comment, to close. And I 

do not expect you to respond to it. We have this debate going on 

in this country about how engaged the United States needs to be 

around the world diplomatically in aid programs, and of course, 

militarily. And I would just point to this as an example of what 

would happen if the United States did retreat from the global 

stage. There is no substitute for the United States, as the people 

of the Philippines would probably agree, given our response. 

As far as the Chinese Government is concerned, all this talk 

about containing China—that is not really our goal. We would love 

to see the peaceful rise of China. But this is an example of Chinese 

foreign policy, which is a one-way street. Right? If you can go into 

these countries and do everything they want you to do, then they 

respond with cash assistance and things of this nature. On the 

other hand, it is well documented that they have territorial disputes with the Philippines, which the Philippines is right on and 

the Chinese are wrong on, and you have seen the result, now. 

When you have a humanitarian crisis, the Chinese have been less 

than willing to respond. Compare that to the United States, which 

consistently has been willing to put aside whatever political differences we may have when a humanitarian crisis strikes. We saw 

it in Pakistan. We have seen it in Haiti. We have seen it here and 

in other places, and including Japan, of course, a very close ally. 

But, my point is, I think this is a graphic example of—imagine a 

world without an engaged United States. This response effort 

would not be at the stage it is at right now, and I think it is just, 

obviously, the right thing to do, but also calls attention to how 

important it is that we remain engaged, not just in this region, but 

all over the world. 

Thank you both for your service. 

Senator CARDIN. Senator Rubio, thank you for your comments. 

Senator Flake. 

Senator FLAKE. With regard to Chinese involvement, also issues 

that they have disputes with the Philippines in the South China 

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Sea—how much has that played, do you think, in their inability or 

unwillingness to help out? 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Senator, it is a good question. The disputes between China and the Philippines over maritime boundaries, in particular, are pretty well known. I do not want to try to 

speak for the Chinese Government, because I do not know how 

much, if at all, that has affected their response. But, certainly the 

disputes have been getting a lot of attention, and something we pay 

a lot of attention to, as well. 

Senator FLAKE. We have heard mostly about the efforts in 

Tacloban. Can you tell about some of the efforts in some of the 

other provinces or islands? What is the United States doing? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Absolutely. So, the storm first made landfall in 

the area of Guiuan, which is in the far east of Samar Island, and 

then continued along through the central Philippines, going almost 

directly over top of Tacloban City and onward across the northern 

tip of the island of Cebu and then some of the islands further west. 

It had weakened by that time. So, the worst damage that we have 

seen, really, is in that—about a 40-mile—a 40-mile strip north and 

south of the central path of the typhoon. And the worst affected 

really are in those coastal areas from Guiuan in the east over to 

Tacloban and then Ormoc, on the other side of Leyte Island. After 

that, it is bad, but it was not—we did not see the ferocious storm 

surge. 

So, the U.S. military, working in partnership with USAID, has 

been delivering aid shipments all over those coastal areas. And 

there is a great map—I do not have it with me, but we can make 

sure you get it—that the Marine units did, just showing where 

they did all those airdrops—not—I am sorry—all those deliveries, 

excuse me—and that it just—there are dots all over that coast, all 

over those coastal areas. So, that is really where it has been 

focused. And now we are also starting to look into some of the inland areas, which suffered wind and rain damage, but obviously 

not the storm surge. 

Senator FLAKE. All right. The World Bank has made loans available, or will make loans available, for better buildings, more stormresistant infrastructure there. Are the Philippines—the Philippine 

Government able to participate or to take advantage of this, or not? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. I would start by saying—I think in the wake—

in the face of the storm surge like we saw there, there is only so 

much you can do. And I think we even saw that, you know, here, 

with Hurricane Sandy, a few years ago. You know, that is just a 

ferocious force. 

With that said, building improved buildings and a whole range 

of other natural disaster risk-reduction activities have been a focus 

of USAID’s partnership with the Government of the Philippines, 

and the World Bank’s partnership, for quite some time. I would 

certainly imagine that that will be a focus, going forward. 

This is a huge priority now for the whole development and 

humanitarian community, and I would expect that any tool that is 

appropriate to that context will be used. Yes. 

Senator FLAKE. Well, thank you. 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Senator, if I could just add——

Senator FLAKE. Sure. 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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Ambassador MARCIEL [continuing]. Real quickly. I think, per 

Jeremy’s point, the Philippine Government actually did a lot to prepare for this storm, because they had a little bit of warning. And 

I think, if I remember right, they evacuated almost 800,000 people—evacuated, in the sense of bringing them to shelters. Again, 

not anticipating—none of us anticipated the storm surge which 

caused a lot of the damage and probably a lot of the deaths. And, 

since the storm, it, I think, has done a very good job of facilitating, 

not only ours, but international, assistance. I think they deserve a 

lot of credit for that. 

Senator FLAKE. Well, the first responsibility, obviously, of the 

U.S. Government, to make sure that U.S. citizens living there are 

taken care of. And I just want to commend U.S. Government 

response in that regard. I have family members who are there, 

serving Mormon missions, and there was a situation in Tacloban 

with a number of Mormon missionaries who were eventually 

brought to safety in Manila by a C–130 flying out of Tacloban. And 

they endured a lot. Gratefully, all were safe. But, the U.S. Government helped a great deal in that regard. 

So, are you—were you aware of that? Or——

Ambassador MARCIEL. Senator, I was not aware of that particular case, but I certainly am aware that the U.S. military did 

transport a number of American citizens. I think 123, if I remember correctly—I will double check that number—from Tacloban up 

to Manila or to Cebu, people who were affected by the storm. 

Mr. KONYNDYK. As well as a lot of Filipinos who have needed——

Ambassador MARCIEL. That is right. 

Mr. KONYNDYK [continuing]. Extra care. Yes. 

Senator FLAKE. That is right. Well, thank you for that. And 

thank you for the response. 

Senator CARDIN. Senator Schatz, as I pointed out, is not a member of the committee, but we will give him the courtesy to ask 

questions through the Chair. 

Senator SCHATZ. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members, for your indulgence. 

Thanks, to the testifiers. And, Mr. Ambassador, our condolences 

and our appreciation for all your good work. 

Director Konyndyk, could you take us through the next 6 to 9 

months as we move into the recovery phase? And, sort of, what is 

the best-case scenario, from a recovery standpoint, and what is the 

worst-case scenario? And what kinds of resources, American and 

international, private, not-for-profit, need to be put together so that 

we can avoid the worst-case scenario? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Absolutely, and thank you for that question. 

So, first, obviously, there is only so much we can speculate, 

because there is still a lot we do not know. We are gathering a lot 

of information. We are currently heavily focused on ensuring that 

we get the relief response right. And that has been an intense focus 

for the past 10 days. But, we are beginning to think, now, about 

the longer term and what that is going to look like. I will be traveling out tomorrow, and that is going to be a major focus of my 

trip, is exploring more of that. 

We know a couple of thing—you know, we know some things 

now. We know, for example, obviously, a transitional shelter will 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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be an enormous priority. We are providing emergency shelter materials right now, the heavy-duty plastic sheeting that was shown 

earlier. And that can get people a certain period, but it is obviously 

not a long-term solution. Rubble clearance will be a significant 

challenge, and we are already talking with the military about 

whether there is a role for—whether the U.S. military can play a 

role in that. That is obviously a significant policy question for the 

Government of the Philippines, as well. 

We know, as well, that things like agriculture will be very, very 

important to focus on. A number of important agricultural crops 

were wiped out by this storm. And this is an agricultural area. 

There is coconut farming, there is rice farming and other agricultural commodities. So, we are going to be moving swiftly, coordinating with the USAID development mission in the Philippines, to 

address some of those, what we would call, early recovery needs, 

and assure there are not deficits there. 

I would also point out that there is a robust development mission 

that the United States has in the Philippines, and they will be also 

prioritizing this response over the coming 6 to 9 months. 

Senator SCHATZ. So, I think it has been established that the 

United States response has been robust, has been well coordinated, 

and has exceeded, by orders of magnitude, the response of any 

other country. But, my question for you is scale. Certainly what we 

are doing is a lot. How does it compare to the current needs? Are 

we anywhere near dealing with the consequence-management piece 

of this? Before we move into recovery, the response is, no doubt, 

robust, but is it enough? And how much more will we need to do 

in order to sort of wrap our arms around this problem in the next 

several weeks? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Yes. Well, I think the U.S. role, so far, obviously 

has been crucial in getting aid in, but also has been really crucial 

in setting the foundation for a much broader aid effort. So, by 

clearing out some of those initial logistical problems, in close partnership with the Government of the Philippines, we have really 

enabled a much broader aid response that, without that partnership between USAID, the State Department, and the Department 

of Defense, would not have been possible. 

In terms of resource availability, we are getting more and more 

clarity on that. There is a lot coming in now. The United States 

is still the largest, but Australia has put in a substantial amount. 

The U.N. itself, from its Emergency Response Fund, has put in a 

substantial amount. And I think that the total committed now—the 

U.N. has asked for $300 million for the initial response, and I 

think, as of yesterday, there was about 55 percent that had been 

committed, which, for this point in a crisis, within just a few days 

of the appeal launching, is generally considered to be a pretty good 

figure. Now, that figure is not based on a huge amount of evidence, 

because it came out early. There is a lot more examination ongoing 

now of what that true scale of the need and the response requirements will be. And some of the other donor inputs are beginning 

to come online. So, I think we feel like it is in a good place for this 

point in time. The momentum is positive. The U.S. assistance and 

the U.S. role was absolutely critical in getting momentum and getting the ball rolling. And, going forward, we are going to—we will 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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have to see how needs evolve, but I think we are on a good trajectory, for this point in the crisis. 

Senator SCHATZ. Thank you very much. 

And, Chairman, on behalf of the nearly 200,000 Filipino Americans living in Hawaii, we really appreciate your indulgence and all 

of your great work in this very difficult time. 

Thank you. 

Senator CARDIN. Thank you, Senator Schatz, appreciate your 

being here. 

Today the Congress is here, and we are all focused on how we 

can help. And obviously, it is receiving the type of priority it 

should. One of the purposes for this hearing is to make sure that, 

in the months ahead, that the focus is still on how America can 

help with the international community and the Government of the 

Philippines. So, that is why I think it was particularly important 

to hold this hearing, but to let people know this is not the end of 

our interest on this issue as to how we move forward and proceed. 

Senator Markey is here, and he will be recognized. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much. 

So, in the wake of the disaster, there is also a risk of secondary 

disasters—unsanitary drinking water, rapidly spreading virus. 

What precautions and measures are being taken to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases? And I do not know if that question 

had been asked. 

Senator CARDIN. No, it is not. 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Thank you, Senator. 

That is a major concern of ours, and we have been paying very 

attentive—putting a very attentive focus on the health sector, from 

the USAID side. 

At this point, we have not seen, and the Department of Health 

has not seen, indications of disease outbreaks. It is always a risk 

in this kind of a situation, as you know, because of a lot of standing 

water and, often, poor sanitation. And that is why, from the very 

beginning, USAID, in partnership with our DOD colleagues, have 

really prioritized water and sanitation in our response, so that people have access to clean water and that they can address some of 

the sanitary issues and hygiene issues that often go hand in hand 

with that increased disease risk. 

Senator MARKEY. So, will our ship, the USNS Mercy, be deployed? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. Do you want to address that? 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Senator, at this point, no. The Pacific 

Command was prepared to deploy, but Philippine authorities 

advised that they would rather have us focus in other areas, that 

they felt like they had sufficient assistance, plus their own 

resources, on the medical side. 

Senator MARKEY. At a time like this, we need to be focused on 

helping the survivors. And the USS George Washington and other 

ships are providing essential help in saving lives, but we also need 

to be concerned about the next storm and the one after that. How 

did the early-warning system perform? And how could it be 

improved? 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

23

Mr. KONYNDYK. It was certainly a significant factor in this case. 

And, while it is hard to speculate exactly how many lives it saved, 

I think we could say, pretty confidently, it definitely saved lives. 

USAID, both my office, the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, 

and our development mission in the Philippines, have worked for 

many years with the Government of the Philippines to help reinforce and build up their disaster risk-reduction capacity. And they 

take that very seriously, because they are hit by disasters many, 

many times a year. 

In this case, the storm was anticipated well in advance, and 

there are regional meteorological networks that help contribute to 

that awareness. That enabled the Government of the Philippines to 

evacuate nearly 800,000 people into emergency shelters out of the 

way of the storm’s path, as well as preposition food and some other 

commodities. 

Senator MARKEY. So, reports that the storm surge took many 

people by surprise, you think is exaggerated? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. I think that—the storm surge was surprising. I 

think what we were anticipating was, certainly, heavy winds, rainfall—actually, we were anticipating a much worse rainfall problem 

than we saw. You know, and these predictions are never exact, 

but——

Senator MARKEY. So, did the storm surge come as a surprise to 

our scientists, as well? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. The storm surge—and much like, I think, with 

Superstorm Sandy, here, where the severity of the storm surge was 

not anticipated, I think it is a similar dynamic there. We anticipated some, but not a 30-foot storm surge. 

Senator MARKEY. Do you think, after Hurricane Sandy and after 

this situation, that we should begin to reevaluate what it is that 

we should be expecting, in terms of storm surges? Is the fact that 

the oceans are getting so much warmer and these storms much 

more dynamic now something that actually should be factored in 

to what it is that we—as warnings from storm surges? 

Mr. KONYNDYK. You know, I think—and I am not—you know, I 

am not a scientist on these issues. Clearly, we need to factor in the 

potential for storm surge. And I am not sure what the science 

behind making that possible looks like, but it is something that, 

you know, our—you know, after any disaster like this, USAID does 

an after-action review that is pretty thorough, and I am sure that 

will be a factor that we are going to look at. 

Senator MARKEY. Yes. So, it is my understanding that many of 

the casualties occurred in government shelters that collapsed or 

flooded. Were they badly built and positioned, or was the storm 

just too strong? 

Ambassador MARCIEL. Sir, my understanding is that—I mean, I 

cannot speak for everyone, but, in general, people were evacuated 

to storm shelters that most of us anticipated would serve the purpose effectively, but the storm surge, in particular, that Jeremy 

described, I think inundated some of those shelters, even if they 

withstood the wind and the rain. 

Senator MARKEY. So, what was—this was an EF–4 tornado 

strength, you know, winds—what were these shelters built to withstand, do you know? 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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Mr. KONYNDYK. I do not know offhand, but we can look into that. 

I think there—there is going to be—certainly, once this initial 

period of intense relief activity settles down, there is going to be 

a lot of probing of those kinds of questions. 

Senator MARKEY. Yes. I think it might be advisable for us to 

work with them so that we might be able to give them a good recommendation as to what the strength should be, given, kind of, the 

predictable nature of intensifying of storms. I mean, you know, 

water expands when it is heated. The oceans are getting much 

warmer. And, as a result, the waves are much higher. As a result, 

the storms are much more devastating. OK? So, this is something 

that is scientifically indisputable and, I think, something that we 

should work with them to help them to think it through. 

It is worth noting that this typhoon was forecast to potentially 

hit Vietnam after it just struck the Philippines. Just last month, 

the United States and Vietnam agreed to a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. I think we should begin to think about whether or 

not we should be putting nuclear power plants, you know, with 

United States cooperation, in countries like Vietnam, knowing that, 

without proper protection, there could be catastrophic consequences 

that flow from the interaction of a natural disaster in a nuclear 

power plant that is not as strong or as well positioned as it could 

be. We just saw that in Japan, and they are going to be going several generations with the consequences of a natural disaster linked 

to nuclear power plants. 

And so, from my perspective, you know, I want to, you know, 

congratulate everyone who participated in helping, especially in 

these early stages of relief. But, I think, for USAID, for the State 

Department, for the Defense Department, I think that we all have 

to come together in a way that deals with the national security consequences of climate change, the impact that it is having upon our 

allies and our enemies that modifies their behavior, in terms of 

how they are able to, in fact, control their own environment and 

understand, then, what the consequences are for our national security because theirs is undermined. 

So, again, it is just one more warning, and if we needed it—it 

is a domestic issue, as well, with 65 tornados all dropping down in 

one day out in the middle West in the middle of November. This 

is unprecedented, the impact that climate change is having, and it 

has severe long-term national security consequences. 

And we thank both of you for your work. 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator CARDIN. Well, let me join Senator Markey in his concerns. I mean, it is clear that the realities of more extreme weather 

require us to be engaged internationally on mitigating as much 

damage as we can with the new reality. Of course, the best course, 

as Senator Markey’s been one of the leaders, is to do something 

about this, from the point of view of climate change. And I think 

both are important points, that the cost of these storms, in loss of 

life and in the cost of rebuilding communities, is enormous and 

beyond the capacities of governments to be able to respond to. And 

then, when you put certain facilities in these high-risk areas, the 

security issue becomes even greater, and the cost even greater. So, 

I thank Senator Markey for raising those issues. 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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And I am very impressed by the U.S. response to this storm, and 

I thank both of you for your leadership. 

Mr. Konyndyk, we wish you safe travels tomorrow. 

Mr. Marciel, we wish you a speedy return here tomorrow for our 

second hearing, this week, of the subcommittee. But, we thank you 

both for your public service. And we will continue our interests, 

and we thank you for, not only your testimony today, but your willingness to keep us informed as we look at the long-term rebuilding 

process that is going to be necessary, and how the United States 

plays a role in that, and following up on Senator Markey’s points 

as to what we should be doing to try to mitigate these types of disasters in the future. 

And with that, the subcommittee will stand adjourned. Thanks. 

[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

MAP SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY JEREMY KONYNDYK

RESPONSES OF DIRECTOR JEREMY KONYNDYK TO QUESTIONS

SUBMITTED BY SENATOR BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

Question. Haiyan’s estimated wind speeds were between 195 mi/h at its peak and 

155 mi/h as it weakened and moved west, with wind gusts of up to 235 mi/h. The 

typhoon went directly through six provinces and affected roughly 9.5 million people. 

The typhoon caused unimaginable damage and left millions of people in need of 

assistance.

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♦ What are the initial cost estimates of how much the response to the Typhoon 

will cost? 

♦ What can we do to prepare better in the future for these types of unexpected 

storm surges both at home and abroad?

Answer. As of November 25, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) estimates 

that Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan resulted in nearly $560 million in damage, including 

approximately $300 million in infrastructure damage and nearly $260 million in 

agriculture damage. As of November 29, international donors had pledged nearly 

$393 million to address the needs of populations affected by Typhoon Yolanda/

Haiyan. The total amount pledged exceeds the $348 million requested by the revised 

U.N. Haiyan Action Plan (HAP) for the Philippines typhoon response. Both the GPH 

and U.N. are in the process of revising these initial damage estimates and resource 

requirements for the emergency relief through recovery and rehabilitation processes. 

The GPH plans to release its recovery and reconstruction plan around December 8, 

in advance of the U.N.’s Strategic Response Plan, which will be a revised version 

of the HAP based off of a U.N. multisector rapid assessment. 

Effective preparedness incorporates timely and accurate early warnings, as well 

as established procedures that enable communities to act on the available information. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) issued storm warnings that highlighted potential wind strength, 

rainfall, storm surges, flooding, and landslides. Improvements in oceanic and atmospheric modeling, as well as strengthened data monitoring and collection along 

coastal areas, would enable more location-specific storm surge forecasts. 

As evidenced by the prestorm evacuation of nearly 800,000 people, the Government of the Philippines has preventative measures in place to mitigate the human 

impact of large-scale storms, and used them to great effect to save countless lives 

during Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan. However, variance in prestorm evacuations across 

communities indicates more can be done to encourage appropriate action at the local 

level. One of the most critical components to preparing for storm surges at home 

and abroad is the dissemination of information and appropriate guidance to communities when a warning is received. Communities need to understand the warning 

and associated appropriate action. Therefore, a system that integrates monitoring 

and data gathering with dissemination to and preparedness activities by at-risk 

communities is the most effective method for preparing for future storm surges. 

Toward that end, current USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance 

(USAID/OFDA) disaster risk reduction programs in the Philippines have engaged 

with various sectors of civil society, such as community-based organizations, local 

nongovernmental organizations, and institutions of higher learning, to more fully 

integrate the whole-of-society Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction approach 

that is necessary to actualize the aspirations of the supported communities. These 

efforts will continue and, where applicable and appropriate, we will seek to incorporate relevant disaster risk reduction measures into our early recovery efforts.

Question. When the Haiti earthquake struck, ODFA had to shift funds from other 

crises to respond to the Haiti crisis. Some responses were cut by as much as 40 

percent.

♦ What steps are you taking now to ensure that OFDA can respond adequately 

to the needs of our Filipino allies and not cut some of the funds for less publicized crises around the world?

Answer. In FY 2014, USAID/OFDA may have to make very difficult tradeoffs 

among humanitarian assistance priorities, depending on the outcome of the International Disaster Assistance (IDA) appropriation. USAID/OFDA’s budget is already 

strained by the overwhelming cost of responding to the crisis in Syria, with spending levels in FY 2014 expected to increase significantly from the FY 2013 level of 

$252 million. Syria has been a strain on the USAID/OFDA budget on an ongoing 

basis rather than for just 1 fiscal year. 

FY 2014 humanitarian needs from other major complex, less publicized, worldwide emergencies are expected to be similar or greater than in FY 2013. Under 

some appropriations scenarios, USAID/OFDA would be able to maintain robust 

responses for Syria and the Philippines, and maintain adequate worldwide programming for ongoing disasters and response readiness for new small- and medium-scale 

disasters. 

Other appropriations outcomes may necessitate difficult tradeoffs among ongoing 

programs and initiatives. For example, USAID/OFDA would have to scale back or 

forgo programs to improve the resilience of communities prone to disaster shocks—

the very types of programs that help prepare communities to cope with shocks and 

save money on response costs over time.

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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Question. I understand the administration is utilizing some local and regional procurement of food to ensure vulnerable families are able to get desperately needed 

food.

♦ Could you explain the amount of time it will take to procure food locally versus 

the amount of time it would take to ship U.S. commodities to the populations 

in need? 

♦ What other innovations in humanitarian response are being utilized?

Answer. So far in the Philippines, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) 

has responded with both local and regional purchase of food and U.S. in-kind food 

commodities. Immediately following Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, USAID contributed 

$7.75 million to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) to facilitate the local and 

regional purchase of food for immediate distribution through the Government of the 

Philippines Department of Social Welfare and Development. This included 2,400 

metric tons (MT) of rice purchased in the Philippines, which was already being distributed 5 days after the storm and high-energy biscuits airlifted from Dubai. Using 

$2.3 million of Title II resources, USAID airlifted 55 MT of emergency food products 

from Miami, FL, and authorized the shipment of 1,020 MT of rice from its 

prepositioning warehouse in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The prepositioned rice is expected 

to arrive during the first week of December arrived in Cebu on December 3. 

The ability to respond with both Title II resources for U.S. in-kind food and cash 

resources for local and regional purchase has been critical to USAID’s support for 

a quick response. Generally, purchase of U.S.-sourced rice to be sent to the Philippines can take 7 days to order, 45 days to reach load port, and another 40 days 

to ship, for a total of more than 13 weeks. 

Several independent analyses point to a clear consensus: local and regional purchases allow partners to purchase food closer to the site of an emergency, thus getting food to those in need 15–16 weeks faster on average and at up to 34 percent 

less cost than traditional U.S. in-kind food aid. 

Each crisis where food assistance is needed should be evaluated based on the local 

context to determine the most appropriate intervention. This will require flexibility 

to use a variety of tools in order to ensure we reach those in need. 

USAID currently has a variety of tools available to respond to crises: U.S. commodities, vouchers, transfers, or local and regional purchase of food. These resources 

are available to USAID through Food for Peace Act funds and IDA funds. IDA funds 

became available to USAID/FFP in 2010, to be used when USAID’s in-kind food aid 

cannot arrive in time or other forms of assistance are more appropriate due to local 

market conditions. 

In Syria, for example, we are implementing multiple approaches that are specifically tailored to the situation given the intense conflict and political uncertainty. 

WFP, with funding from USAID, has provided debit cards and vouchers to nearly 

1.3 million refugees to purchase food available in host country markets. USAID and 

WFP are also purchasing wheat regionally for use inside Syria, as security concerns 

have limited the ability of USAID and its partners to transport and distribute inkind food aid. 

Limited access to flexible resources, however, means that we may well face a situation where we respond not so much based on what is the most appropriate, effective and timely tool, but rather by what resources we have on hand. As the Philippines crisis has shown, disasters can occur at any time, and flexibility is needed 

to respond. 

RESPONSE OF SCOT MARCIEL TO QUESTION

SUBMITTED BY SENATOR BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

Question. Following the typhoon, U.S. Charge` d’Affaires Brian L. Goldbeck issued 

a disaster declaration, and USAID, through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, authorized funds to be released for the initial implementation of an emergency 

response program. As of November 19, the United States has provided $37,230,302 

in humanitarian assistance.

♦ (a) Has any funding been shifted from other crises, like Syria, to respond to the 

Typhoon? 

♦ (b) If so, how has that affected our effectiveness in dealing with those crises?

Answer. We have not had to divert any funds from ongoing humanitarian crises 

to respond to the typhoon in the Philippines. Given the scale of the humanitarian 

crisis in Syria, other global needs, and the possible long-term response that is 

required in the Philippines, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office 

of Foreign Disaster Assistance will continue to monitor all demands on their 

FOREI-43947 with DISTILLER

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resources to determine if a future redistribution of humanitarian assistance funds 

may be required. 

Æ

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