Statement from USAID Spokesperson Matt Herrick on Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby) in the Philippines:

"The United States is tracking Typhoon Hagupit closely and understands that, if it remains on its current trajectory, it will likely make landfall along the eastern coast of the Philippines within the next 24 hours. The U.S. government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has staff in the region, as well as in Washington, D.C., who are in contact with the U.S. Embassy in Manila as well as the Government of the Philippines regarding the typhoon. At the same time, we have reached out to the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and other government officials to identify points of coordination. In support of the Government of the Philippines, the U.S. government has a disaster team from USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance arriving on Saturday, December 6, to monitor the storm, coordinate with local government agencies and humanitarian organizations on the ground, and coordinate any subsequent U.S. response. Additionally, a team from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3rd MEB) will arrive on Saturday, December 6, to evaluate the situation and conduct preliminary coordination. Additional U.S. government personnel in the region and in Washington, D.C. are on standby to deploy to the Philippines as needed. In preparation for the storm, the Government of the Philippines has begun pre-positioning food, medicine, and relief supplies in central provinces and is disseminating weather advisories to keep the public informed on the typhoon. Additionally, the Government of the Philippines launched emergency Civil-Military Coordination Centers. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also established dislocation centers along the projected path of the storm, and the Government of the Philippines is already evacuating some populations to the dislocation centers."