THE cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, which were devastated by flash floods that killed more than 1,000 people, look like they were hit by a tsunami, a UN official said on Thursday, as he launched a $28-million flash appeal to help the Philippine government respond to the humanitarian needs of victims of Typhoon Sendong.
The amount is on top of the $38-million UN appeal for development assistance to conflict-stricken provinces in Mindanao launched just two weeks ago.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Soe Nyunt-U said the UN headquarters in New York has initially released $3 million to kickstart efforts to address the humanitarian needs of affected people in the two cities in Mindanao, mainly health, sanitation and hygiene requirements.
He also voiced concern about possible outbreaks of disease among the thousands living in congested evacuation centers after their houses were washed away on Friday when Sendong unleashed the flash floods.
“I visited a number of evacuation centers, particularly schools and gymnasiums, some housing over 4,000 evacuees. The poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions pose a health concern,” he said. “We must improve this situation at the soonest possible time to avoid disease outbreaks that will further compound the hardships of the people already weakened by hunger, and grief from loss of family and friends.”
The funds are aimed to provide clean water for drinking and bathing, food, emergency shelter and essential household items to 471,000 worst-affected people in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan for the next three months.
The UN official said since the tragic event in the two cities happened during the Christmas season, he is hopeful that the $28 million will be achieved, despite the global economic crisis lingering in the United States and the euro zone.
In 2009, the UN also launched a flash appeal to raise $74 million to help victims of Typhoon Ondoy but the UN has been able to raise only half of the target.
“I’m very positive we can achieve this amount. It’s the Christmas season and the willingness of the international community is high. [Everyone should realize] that no country can stand alone,” he said.
Foreign assistance
Fund assistance from foreign governments and international aid agencies continue to pour for the typhoon victims.
On top of the €3-million allocation of the European Union, members France, Spain and Germany have also contributed funds for the humanitarian needs of the typhoon victims in the two cities.
The Spanish Cooperation Agency for International Development allocated €900,000 for humanitarian assistance and another €400,000 for emergency relief through its regional office in Caraga in close coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“The emergency aid will be immediately disbursed to purchase locally relief goods, such as food, water, clothing, emergency kits, shelter materials, blankets and tents among other nonfood items for delivery among the victims in the worse affected barangays,” a statement of the Spanish Embassy in Manila said on Thursday.
Likewise, the Spanish agency will allocate €500,000 through humanitarian nongovernmental organizations like Save the Children, Action Against Hunger and the Spanish Red Cross for the emergency, early recovery and rehabilitation needs in order to alleviate the suffering of those more affected.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said his government provided €500,000 in humanitarian emergency aid, which would be used to distribute urgently needed aid supplies, such as hygiene kits, mosquito nets and other vital goods.
“Germany is continuously monitoring the situation in the Philippines and is ready to provide more humanitarian assistance,” Westerwelle said in a statement on Thursday.
The French government also released €50,000 in emergency fund to the Philippine National Red Cross.
Japan and Malaysia, meanwhile, donated ¥25 million and $100,000, respectively, as emergency assistance to the Philippines
Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman gave the $100,000 check to Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya.
“Natural calamities cannot be completely avoided but its impact can be reduced,” Anifah said. “This modest contribution would, at the very least, ease the burden of the affected government to rehabilitate and reconstruct the areas affected by the destructive floods.”
The Filipino-Malaysian community in Kuala Lumpur also raised an initial amount of 3,142.00 ringgit for the Red Cross in two separate events, Malaya said.
Miracle baby
Nyunt-U said he was “shocked” by the scale of destruction that he saw firsthand, adding that a cholera type virus that may occur due to problems stemming from congestion in the evacuation centers, where poor sanitation and hygiene posed a health risk.
Such concerns were nagging Annaliza Tumanda, who is at an evacuation center caring for her baby daughter, Aizee, born at the height of the storm and floods that destroyed their home in Cagayan de Oro.
Tumanda said she, her husband and three children—aged 3 to 8—swam to a neighbor’s three-story house. She went into labor on Saturday morning and was taken by rescuers to the roof of a health center, where she gave birth to a healthy 6.6-pound girl.
“With God’s will, we survived,” she said. “It was like a miracle.”
In all, 640,000 people have been affected by the disaster, the government and the UN said.
About 45,000 displaced are inside evacuation centers, most of them in worst-hit Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities. Another 266,000 are being assisted outside temporary shelters. Nearly 30,000 houses were destroyed and damaged.
Local authorities and grieving relatives were moving ahead with dozens of burials each day. The handful of local funeral parlors are overwhelmed and have stopped accepting bodies, which are still being retrieved from the sea or mud almost a week after the disaster. (With AP)
