JCB send kit to Philippines
JCB sends machines worth $500,000 to disaster zone
The JCB backhoes will be deployed in clear up operations in the province of Tacloban City.
British construction machinery JCB has responded to the typhoon disaster in the Philipines by donating backhoes and generators worth more than $500,000 to help with the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
The three 3CX backhoe loaders will be used to help in the clear up operations following the typhoon, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on land and which has left up to 2,500 people dead.
In addition more than 120 JCB electrical generators are being provided through the company’s Filipino dealer Camec.
The generators are already being used to power community buildings, including hospitals and local authority premises. The JCB backhoes will be deployed in clear up operations in the province of Tacloban City.
“The human suffering and scenes of devastation in the Philippines have been heart-rending and I hope JCB’s contribution to the relief effort will help, in some small way, those who are bearing the brunt of this disaster,” said JCB Chairman Lord Bamford. “One of the main challenges facing rescue workers is clearing roads in the affected areas and the JCB backhoe is exactly the right machine for the job of removing debris.”
JCB has a long history of helping countries affected by major natural disasters and this is the second time the company has sent aid to the Philippines. In 2006 JCB sent a fleet of 3CX backhoe loaders after Typhoon Reming hit the Bicol region, destroying much of the infrastructure.
Machines worth more than £1 million were sent to help in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami in 2004, with JCB diggers deployed to Thailand, southern India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In 2008, six backhoe loaders worth over $600,000 were donated to help with the clear up in the aftermath of an earthquake in Sichuan province in China, as well as donations following earthquakes in Sumatra and Haiti.
The versatile JCB backhoe loader is the ideal machine for disaster situations thanks to its front shovel which can be used as a bulldozer and rear excavator that not only be used to dig emergency drains, but also to crane heavy objects.
Crucially, the machine can get from site to site under its own steam with no need for additional transport.
The gift of two 3CX backhoe loaders was made by JCB Chairman Lord Bamford in response to an appeal from relief agencies for foreign aid.
