An impressive 620 million VND (about 29,530 USD) was donated in Ho Chi Minh City on the first day of collections to aid victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

The donation programme, beginning on November 30, has been organised by the Vietnam Red Cross Society and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations’ Ho Chi Minh City chapter and will last until December 8.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Le Thi Phung, the Philippines Honourary Consul General in the city, expressed her deep gratitude to Vietnamese people for sympathising with the victims and hoped that with timely international support, the Philippines will be able to recover soon.

Super typhoon Haiyan made landfall on November 8 on the Philippines’ Samar Island, 600 km southeast of the capital Manila. It was one of the most devastating typhoons in the history of the Southeast Asian country and the world.

It left 5,235 people dead, 23,000 injured and 1,613 missing and caused nearly 270 million USD of damage, according to the Philippines’ statistics announced on November 23.-VNA