Stars appeal for disaster hit Asia

12 April 2012

Celebrities Myleene Klass and Christine Bleakley are to front a major fundraising appeal to help those left destitute by the devastating earthquakes and typhoons in south east Asia.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) will broadcast high profile radio and television appeals to help those affected by Typhoon Ketsana, which hit the Philippines and parts of Vietnam, and those left coping in the wake of huge earthquakes which struck western Sumatra, in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Government revised earlier figures and said 609 people were confirmed dead but the final death toll from the 7.6-magnitude quake was expected to rise to more than 1,000.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency, 83,712 houses, 200 public buildings and 285 schools were destroyed. Another 100,000 buildings and 20 miles of road were badly damaged and five bridges have collapsed.

The earthquake was not the only disaster to hit the region last week.

Floods crushed homes in Cambodia and Vietnam and submerged much of the Philippine capital Manila, where more than 330 people died.

Brendan Gormley, DEC chief executive, said: "The nature of these disasters vividly recalls the horrors of the 2004 tsunami. Millions have seen the world they know ripped apart around them.

"DEC member agencies are already responding despite the appalling conditions on the ground but we urgently need the public's help to fund their work. We recognise that these are difficult and uncertain times for many people in the UK too but we have no doubt that there will still be a strong desire to help."

Donations can be made by ringing 0370 60 60 900 or visiting www.dec.org.uk.

Meanwhile the British Red Cross also launched its own appeal to specifically help victims of the tsunami which struck Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga last Tuesday, killing 177 people. Anyone wishing to donate should visit www.redcross.org.uk/samoatsunami or call 0845 054 7200.

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