Switzerland will send six experts to the Philippines to aid relief efforts in the wake of tropical storm “Washi” which killed 1,000 people last Saturday.

The foreign ministry said the six included four water experts and two logistics experts whose mission would be to ensure access to clean drinking water and to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases in areas hit by the storm.

The experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit began travelling to the disaster area of Cagayan de Oro on the island of Mindanao on December 21. They will carry out water analyses and disinfect water, as well as raise awareness of the local population for hygiene measures.

The tropical storm hit the Philippines during the night of December 17 and cause devastating floods and landslides in the south of the country. Some 350,000 people have been affected by the storms, and hundreds are still missing.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative