Emergency Message For U.s. Citizens: Avoid Travel To Leyte And Samar

[jamesmusslewhite]

 

 

 

Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens

U.S. Embassy, Manila, Philippines

November 20, 2013

 

THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO U.S. CITIZENS IN THE PHILIPPINES.  PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD.  THANK YOU.

 

Defer Travel to Areas Affected by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda

 U.S. Embassy Manila urges all U.S. citizens to defer travel to Leyte, Samar, and other areas devastated by recent typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.  At this time, travel to these areas is hazardous.  There is no electricity in most of the impacted areas. Telephone communication is intermittent.  Water, food, sanitation services, and fuel are extremely limited.  Ground transportation is difficult due to damaged roads and infrastructure.  Medical care is limited and focused on those injured by the typhoon.  While the security situation continues to improve due to the efforts of Philippine authorities, the overall situation in these areas remains extremely difficult.

 

The American Citizen Services (ACS) section is actively working to identify, locate, and assist U.S. citizens in the typhoon impact zone.  If you have family or relatives in these areas, please contact ACS at acsinfomanila@state.gov to provide us the appropriate information.

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The Embassy is located at 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila, Philippines and is open 0730-1600, Monday through Friday.  The Embassy's main telephone number is (632) 301-2000.  U.S. citizens needing to speak to the Embassy can dial this number and ask to be connected to the American Citizen Services (ACS) unit or with the Embassy Duty Officer (for calls outside of normal business hours).  You can also contact the ACS unit through email at ACSInfoManila@state.gov or through the Embassy Facebook page.  Please visit our website for information on all services offered by the ACS unit.

 

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in the Philippines enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at www.Travel.State.Gov.  STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency.  If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. 

 

Regularly monitor the State Department's website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, including the Travel Warning for the Philippines, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution.  Read the Country Specific Information for the Philippines.  For additional information, refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad” on the State Department’s website.

 

Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions.  You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries.  These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and download our free Smart Traveler iPhone App to have travel information at your fingertips.

Edited November 20, 2013 by jamesmusslewhite

[Call me bubba]

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in the Philippines enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at www.Travel.State.Gov. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates,

and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

 

The embassy strongly suggests that 1 does this.

when they went there. was astonished at how many "Unregistered" citizens /dependents too .

So if you plan to live off the BEAT PATH. away from the "normal" areas PLEASE enroll/

 according to the US employee(from ACS) that i listen to. the embassy did send

and provided RELIEF GOODS& other related assistance  to the US citizens that they found/met,