Panama to send humanitarian aid to Philippines

PANAMA CITY - Panama will send about $200,000 worth of humanitarian aid to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

The aid package will include equipment and water-purification tablets that will be acquired in nearby Vietnam, it said in a press release.

Typhoon Haiyan, considered one of the strongest storms in history, hit the Philippines on November 3 with winds of 315 kilometers per hour and a storm surge of about four meters.

According to figures from the Philippine government, said the typhoon led to the death of 4,460 people. Initially, nearly 10,000 people feared dead.

Still, the devastating storm affected 11.8 million people, displaced 921,000 and destroyed 243,000 homes, according to official figures.