KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is ready to send members of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) to the Philippines if there is a need and request for a humanitarian aid mission following the earthquake which hit Cebu and surrounding areas.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the move was to express Malaysia's commitment to ASEAN regional solidarity and to ensure that humanitarian aid could be mobilised to save lives and restore the lives of disaster victims in the country.
"Let us pray together that the Filipino people will continue to be blessed with strength, perseverance and divine protection in facing this great test.
"May every search and rescue effort be facilitated, every victim affected be defended and the Philippine nation recovers and rebuilds the lives of its people who were affected by the earthquake," he said in a Facebook post today.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Central Disaster Management Committee chairman, expressed his sympathy for the Filipino people following the disaster that has injured hundreds of victims and affected the lives of millions of people in the affected regions.
According to Ahmad Zahid, initial reports showed very serious infrastructure damage, including partial collapse and damage to residential and commercial buildings.
"In fact, the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan, a historic structure that is hundreds of years old, also suffered partial collapse.
"Power outages were also reported in several areas while roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure were also severely damaged with initial estimates of total damage reaching USD45.7 billion," he said.
According to international media reports, at least 26 people were killed and 147 others injured after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the waters off Cebu province in the Philippines on Tuesday night.
The Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Wednesday said the death toll was expected to continue to rise.
-- BERNAMA
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