Philippines / Vietnam 250+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm Ketsana

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/...8325076&pagename=Zone-English-Youth/YTELayout

Due to Climate Change
100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless

Manila; Philippines- In one day after flash floods swept through the city of Manila dramatically affecting its 15 million residents, over 95 have been found dead, with half a million homeless.. The figures are expected to increase as the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reports that the floods have swept 25 other provinces, leaving thousands homeless.

Millions now are faced with all the devastation, and as a consequence many diseases are now developing as a result.The disaster, the worst in over a hundred years, was caused by tropical storm ?Ondoy? (international codename: Ketsana). It has left a trail of death, destruction, and citizens responding to theirowngovernment, are now venting an aggressive response.

According to the Manila Time?s environmentalist from the PAGASA (government?s Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration) said that the volume now is more than the 390 mm average rainfall for the whole month of September.

?In just nine hours, the whole month?s rain fell?, said Dr. Prisco Nilo of PAGASA

He said that the epic rainfall that submerged 80% of the metropolis in floodwater
was the capital?s ?greatest? amount of rain since June 7, 1967..

Typhoon ?Ondoy? dumped 410.6mm of rain in Manila in a span of nine hours. The amount exceeded the average monthly rainfall of 391mm, and the 1967 record of 331mm, which was tallied in a 24-hour period, he added.

In a recent comparison by Dr.Nilo, he has brought it to attention that Saturday?s deluge exceeded the 380mm rainfall brought by Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged Louisiana and other southern regions of the US in 2005.

Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is leading the staggering responsibility of rescuing hundreds of people trapped on their rooftops, the distribution of food to thousands of homeless and hungry families and attending to the sick, critically wounded by the floods.

She has instructed soldiers and all government agency personnel to work around the clock, but many of the helpers are victims themselves.
She ordered rescue efforts to double as another devastating typhoon is expected to crash through the country in the next couple of l days.


?There will be no bringing down of alert levels in the next four days,? Mrs. Arroyo, (wearing a black raincoat and rubber boots), told the reporters.

Diseases to Rise

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) has issued a warning to all residents to be on high alert against water-borne diseases and contaminated drinkingwhich is expected to affect many of Manila?s residents. Dr. Eric Tayag of the department?s National Epidemiology Center (NEC) said that influenza, leptospirosis and dengue fever are only a few diseases that could be expected.

Even before the flood, the number of dengue cases has been rising in the Philippines.
Dengue is a killer especially during the rainy season due to the the mosquito Aedes egypti, which carries the dengue virus and lives in stagnant water accumulated by rainwater.

The department is encouraging people to remain cautious against dengue and seek early detection and treatment. However, people may not be find that seemingly impossible as their major concern is to look for food, lost relatives and shelter for safety.

Dr. Tayag also warned against leptospirosis ( a bacterial diseases), and other waterborne infectious diseases.

He said ?leptospirosis is from rodents and it can be transmitted to humans through skin abrasions and the mucus of the nose, mouth and eyes?.

Deeply concerned, he added:?Since thousands of people have been wading in the dirty waters to escape the flood, many face the chances of infection.

Children and Women at Risk

The typhoon has shown that the government is not adequately equipped, and has never prepared for such a disaster.

?There are no rubber boats, a few helicopters for rescuing and there is pandemonium, no one seemed to be in charge , because many people decided to save themselves?, an angry and frustrated Dr. Berndette Quensay said as she and thousands braved the floodwaters to cross to higher ground in Pasig.

The Philippines is known to have more generals than tanks, airplanes and tanks combined together.

?I pity the women and children who are left wet and hungry and the thousands more on rooftops begging the government to help?, a popular actress Christine Reyes said. She to spent a night in the cold, experiencing heavy rain and wind-swept conditions, begging for her life.

No less than Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Victor Ibrado was shown on television, flying over the helpless victims waving his hand but never ordered his own helicopter to pluck a few of the drenched, hungry and helpless victims marooned on half-submerged buses and rooftops.
Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza said it was tragic that ?people drowned in their own homes because there was no prior warning and organized rescue teams with proper safety equipment.

Indeed, the National Disaster Coordinating Council was caught off-guard, and their response has been a very slow one..

?I had to wade and swim through the waters myself to get to my office and coordinate the rescue efforts?, admitted Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

The typhoon is packing gusts of up to 100 km an hour sweeping away cars, trucks and buildings like mere matchboxes. It has brought with it tons and tons of mud and garbage that has blocked roads making for rescue efforts an impossible task.

?Our rescuers are no match for the flood?, lamented Teodoro, even as thousands of policemen and soldiers are still conducting rescue operations.

The country has continuously been rocked by financial scams and scandals over the years by high profile politicians and business people and this is just something the economy and manpower of the country could really do without.

?On election day, we will not forget what the government has done and has not done?, Emilia Debon, a tailor whose two children died in the floodwaters said.
?The price we have to pay for our leaders? scandals is just too much?, she cried.

Sources:

manilatimes.net

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Philippines: 100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Re: Philippines: 100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=509591&publicationSubCategoryId=130

DOH warns of disease outbreak in flood areas
By Shiela Crisostomo (philstar.com) Updated September 29, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, PHilippines - The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned that there could be an outbreak of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, dengue, measles, leptospirois, and even Influenza A(H1N1) in flooded areas, especially in evacuation centers, if there is no sufficient potable water supply and basic personal hygiene
is not practiced.

As of press time, more than 115,000 people are crammed in makeshift evacuation centers as large parts of Metro Manila remain submerged in filthy floodwaters. In some centers, bodies lay in flimsy coffins next to flood survivors.

?Now that you have a breakdown in water (supply) and sanitation, the transmission of diseases will be faster,? said Dr. Melissa Guerrero, chief aide to the health secretary, said.

In three to four weeks, the DOH is expecting a rise in dengue cases in affected communities, where stagnant floodwaters can be breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

DOH chief epidemiologist Dr. Eric Tayag said that to prevent the onset and spread of diseases, temporary shelters must have a steady supply of fresh water.

He said an average person needs at least 20 liters of fresh water a day for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene.

He said tap water should be boiled at least three minutes before it is safe for drinking. If a stove or a heating appliance is not available, chlorine solution may be used to kill harmful microorganisms in the water.

Tayag also advised shelter managers to avoid overcrowding of evacuees and to separate those suffering from cough, cold, flu and other contagious illnesses from the healthy ones to prevent the spread of disease.

?The diseases that are related to overcrowded relocation centers are measles, meningococcemia and influenza including A(H1N1),? he said.

Tayag also said local authorities should devise a system for disposing of garbage because these could also trigger the spread of diseases.

Those who wish to retrieve belongings from flooded houses should get an anti-tetanus shot in case they are injured by debris.

Tayag also advised that relief operations should include a debriefing for persons who lost loved ones or property in the storm.

?Many people have either lost their loved ones or property or both. It is important to subject them to psychosocial debriefing to ease the burden or grief that they feel. This should be part of relief operations,? he said.

Neighboring cities and provinces also remained submerged until yesterday.

More than a hundred people have died and there are thousands displaced.

Sanitation conditions in schools, gymnasiums, and other buildings that have been turned into evacuation centers were deplorable, AFP reporters at the scene observed.

In one makeshift evacuation center in Bagong Silangan Village in Quezon City, about 3,000 people were crowded in an open-air gymnasium, cooking and sleeping on the floor as human waste lay nearby. Eleven bodies were kept in coffins in the same center.

Barangay captain Armando Endaya, who is in charge of that center, said they were forced to fend for themselves and rely on aid from private groups as they wait for government relief.

 

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Re: Philippines: 100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Re: Philippines: 100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/world/asia/29philip.html?hp

Toll Hits 140 in Philippine Flooding
John Javellana/Reuters

All Maximo Merioles Jr. could think about were his two young children. As the floodwaters that had swamped his neighborhood came close to submerging the stocky electronics repairman, he grabbed his two kids, ages 12 and 10, and swam toward another house, clambered up to the third floor, jumped between roofs and climbed down a wall to safety across the street.

Aaron Favila/Associated Press
A resident salvaged belongings in suburban Marikina, east of Manila, on Monday. More Photos ?
Mr. Merioles?s heart sank Saturday as he watched not just the flood but a raging fire eat up most of the houses in Tatalon, a slum area in Quezon City, one of the cities that comprise Greater Manila.

As residents dealt with the calamity, the government was facing criticism on two fronts: Did it provide enough warning before the floods, and was it doing enough to help people recover?

To help with the recovery, the government on Monday appealed for international help as the death toll rose to at least 140, according to The Associated Press.

The American Embassy deployed Navy personnel to help out in the rescue and relief operations and also promised $50,000 in immediate disaster aid. Groups like World Vision and Catholic Relief Services have been ministering to the displaced, while the World Health Organization promised to set aside $42,000 for the flood victims. Local charitable organizations and media companies have likewise organized relief drives, many seeking donations for the victims.

?The system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed,? Anthony Golez, a spokesman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, told reporters during a briefing on Monday. ?Our assets and people are spread too thinly.?

In Tatalon, unlike the other areas that were ravaged by Tropical Storm Ketsana, what the flood did not destroy, the fire did. Seven residents died in Tatalon, officials said.

Mr. Merioles and the others interviewed in his neighborhood said electrical power remained live in their area even as the floodwaters were reaching above four feet high. No one knows exactly how the fire started. ?Either you die from the fire or from the flood,? said Mr. Merioles, who was wearing what used to be a white shirt that was now completely covered in dirt and soot. ?Can you imagine a fate worse than what we just went through?? In many suburbs of the capital and in several towns and provinces outside, Ketsana wrought so much havoc that the government was struggling to deal with the disaster, which many here say was the worst they had ever experienced. The amount of rain that fell was the largest in nearly half a century, according to the government weather bureau, and flooded 80 percent of this metropolis of 12 million people.

Nearly 500,000 people were affected, according to wire reports, more than 100,000 of them displaced from their homes after the storm dumped 42.4 centimeters, or 16.7 inches, of rain in just 12 hours on Saturday.

The sun shone Monday, and many Filipinos were happy that their lives were slowly inching back to normal.

But in Pasig City, one of the hardest-hit suburbs, where the heavily silted and polluted Pasig River is located, the floodwaters in many communities hardly decreased. ?The water is not moving,? a tearful Nene Monfort, a 71-year-old woman, told ABS-CBN television in a live interview. She said she and her family, who have been holed up on the second floor of their apartment, could not come down because of the water.

The Health Department warned Monday of a possible spread of infectious diseases and asked those in the more than 200 refugee centers in Manila and nearby provinces to take extra precaution.

And as the affected residents in Manila and the provinces that Ketsana damaged tried to rebuild their lives, they were seeking answers as well.

Many, like Rene Anselmo, 57, a retired driver in Tatalon whose three-story house was burned down except for about 5 feet of browned concrete and singed wood, wanted to know ?why there was no warning about a flood this big.? In his 38 years in Tatalon, Mr. Anselmo said it was the first time he had experienced such flooding.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the government?s weather bureau, denied in local reports that it had been negligent in warning people, saying it had issued warnings as early as Thursday, even raising storm alert levels the next day.

In an attempt to help deal with the aftermath, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo decided to open a portion of the grounds of the presidential palace to refugees. ?The president has allowed the use of Malacanang itself, her own home, to be a center of relief operations,? said her press secretary, Cerge Remonde. He said the first family would be transferred to another area in the presidential compound.

It also had declared a ?state of calamity? in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces, including many that had not flooded before, allowing officials to use emergency funds for relief and rescue.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier announced that her government would not relent in its efforts to help the affected, promising to use every resource at her disposal to deal with the disaster, which affected both rich and poor, even high government officials.

?Everybody must be on the alert. In the next four days, there will be no bringing down of the alert level,? she promised Sunday. She even ordered the military to air-drop relief goods if it had to.

Criticism of Mrs. Arroyo?s response could affect the presidential election, which is just eight months away. The administration?s candidate is Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who also leads the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Critics are now zeroing in on Mr. Teodoro?s infomercials, which ran for months earlier this year, that urged people to be prepared for disasters.

?Clearly, the government is not putting its money where its mouth is,? said Elmer Labog, chairman of the labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno.

In the narrow streets of Tatalon, residents spent their day on Monday taking out burned trash from inside their homes, dumping it on the main street outside of the slum, where mounds of black debris had been piled, practically blocking the street. Beneath the rubbish, filthy floodwaters snaked through.

Zoraya Tera, a 39-year-old homemaker, spent hours scrubbing her floor tiles and cleaning up her burned utensils. ?Nothing is left, as you can see, but I am glad that none of my children were hurt,? she said, gesturing at what remained of her home, which had nothing in it except the burned and now rusting galvanized iron roofs.

For Mr. Merioles, rebuilding what they had ?would probably take a long, long time.? They are happy that they survived, he said, but ?I only wish that we never have to go through this again.?

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Philippines: 240+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Re: Philippines: 240+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Over 240 dead, scores missing in Philippines storm

Jaime Pulfer and 680News staff | Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 6:50 am

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Philippines is appealing for foreign aid to deal with the worst flooding to hit the country in 40 years.

Tropical Storm Ketsana, which hit Manila on Saturday, is now being blamed for over 240 deaths.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council said close to 40 others are missing. The latest numbers also show more than 450,000 people have lost their homes.

The storm dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours. And now, there's even more concern now that two new storms have been spotted by forecasters in the Pacific Ocean.

Overwhelmed officials have called for international help, warning they may not have sufficient resources to withstand another storm that forecasters said is brewing east of the island nation and could hit as early as Friday.

Toronto is home to a large Filipino community and Scarborough MP Jim Karygiannis, who has about 1,500 families in his riding with relatives in affected areas, has called on Ottawa to commit $5-million in humanitarian aid.

The storm that struck the Philippines has now strengthened into a typhoon and is bearing down on Vietnam, where the authorities have ordered the evacuation of 170,000 people in coastal areas.

http://www.680news.com/more.jsp?content=20090928_214236_6756

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Philippines: 100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Re: Philippines: 100+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm

Typhoon Ketsana kills 22 in Vietnam

By Tran Thi Minh Ha (AFP) ?

DANANG, Vietnam ? Typhoon Ketsana slammed into Vietnam Tuesday, killing at least 22 people and causing almost 170,000 people to flee their homes, after wreaking havoc in the Philippines.

"According to our official count as of Tuesday afternoon from the local authorities, the typhoon killed 22 people," said an official with Vietnam's national flood and storm control committee.

The official, who declined to be named, said losses were heaviest in inland Kon Tum province, where nine people had died.

The typhoon made landfall at about 0700 GMT about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Vietnam's fourth-largest city, Danang, the committee official said.
Ketsana killed at least 240 people and left nearly 400,000 homeless in the Philippines at the weekend, when it was classified as a weaker tropical storm.

Flooding hit parts of Danang as well as Hue, the former capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site, forcing residents to get around by small wooden and steel boats, an AFP reporter saw.

Fallen trees littered the streets and the Perfume River, which winds through the ancient city, had risen considerably, AFP observed.

"My house is now flooded to my knees," said one resident, out collecting wood from downed trees that he said he would use for cooking.
"We have enough instant noodles," he said.

In some places, water had come within 10 or 15 centimetres (four to six inches) of the country's north-south railway line, AFP observed.

More than 1,000 passengers were stranded at Hue's train station, said Nguyen Ngoc Thien, president of the People's Committee, or communist local government, in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Thien, speaking on state television, said up to 50cm of rain had fallen.
"There were two dead and three injured in our province," he said, adding that 300 houses were damaged.

The front doors of many homes were fortified with wood, and the roofs had been sandbagged, AFP observed. Few people were on the streets.
"We are preparing to supply the evacuees with food and water for one month," Thien said.

Ketsana hit the coast between the two fishing provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, an official from the flood and storm committee said.
Authorities had lost contact with Ly Son, an island in the South China Sea, state TV reported.

Hoi An town, another World Heritage site, is located in Quang Nam.
In Danang, government television showed trees toppled on roads and corrugated metal and other debris tossed around.

"What worries us is that the flooding could worsen because of heavy rain raising water levels in the rivers but in particular rising sea water, which threatens coastal residents," said Duong Van Ngoc, vice-president of Phu Vang district in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Authorities mobilised several thousand police and military personnel with armoured cars to help residents escape the typhoon's path, said Nguyen The Hung of the flood and storm control committee.

The agency said 168,585 people in six coastal provinces have been evacuated.

They were moved to schools, military camps and newly built high-rise apartments, Voice of Vietnam radio reported.

The aid organisation World Vision said it had distributed noodle packs to 700 families.

State radio reported that electricity in the region was out.
Hung said most fishing vessels in the area had returned to port, and he urged residents who had not left their homes to stay indoors and avoid non-essential travel.

Vietnam Airlines suspended flights to Hue and Danang Monday but said they would resume on Wednesday.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jfeDpEFNmvBsvYcogTz-lKWGH1Mg

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Philippines / Vietnam 250+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm Ketsana

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/08/content_12194677.htm

Two weeks after storm, Filipinos struggle to survive in still flooded villages
www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-08 17:20:00

by Xinhua Writer Xu Lingui

MANILA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Two weeks have passed since the tropical storm Kestana whipped the Philippine capital with epic rainfall, but many river-bank villages in Manila's eastern outskirts today remain submerged in almost waist-deep stagnant water.

Filipinos who choose to stay behind in their flooded shanties are struggling to cope with the multiple challenges of living in floodwaters, and perhaps for months.

Barangay Lupang Pari, literally translates as the Land of Priests, is one of these towns of despair. Villagers sleep in stilted beds, eat canned sardines on balconies and ride makeshift boats to zigzag out of town in order to fetch clean drinking water.

"I don't want to leave my home. As long as the family is complete, I have no fears," 55-year-old Teresita Vitorino, a mother of thirteen and grandmother of four, told Xinhua.

She said despite a deluge of floodwaters, there is no casualty in this small village.

But elsewhere in the country, about 300 people drowned or were buried in landslides as more than one month's rain befell Metro Manila and surrounding areas on a single day -- September 26 -- when Kestana raged across central Luzon region.

Government data show that 16,300 houses were completely destroyed, 23,000 others were partially damaged. Around 316,902 people fled to 473 government temporary shelters which entail schools, churches, stadiums and even the presidential palace's compound.

There is no official head count of how many still living in flooded homes. Emily Lerma, who escaped from Lupang Pari to a major temporary shelter, said almost every evacuated family has somebody left behind to guard home assets such as cooking utensils against robbers.

"We can't move back now because there may be other storms coming, but we really have nowhere to go," she said.

To support the massive displaced remains a big challenge. The Philippine government is exhausting its disaster relief resources and has appealed for foreign aids. The U.N. agencies on Wednesday made a fresh appeal to raise 74 million U.S. dollars in order to carry out their response plans to help hundreds of thousands of homeless start life anew.

Officials said in some parts of the hard-hit areas it would take two months before floodwaters to completely subside through trash-filled drains and one more month to get rid of piles of garbage at roadsides and in the waterways.

Local newspaper on Thursday reported that dry land disappeared in hundreds of villages as the Laguna Lake, south of Manila, swelled. Riverside zones are now uninhabitable for more than 700,000 people.

Vitorino, who was born in Lupang Pari, said floods were worsened by an overflowing Pasig river not far from the village. Pasig, once a clear water channel through the heart of Manila, is now congested with mud and trash. It overflew at almost every heavy downpour in the past few years.

Lupang Pari villagers said they seem to have been ignored by the relief teams. Only came once the Army truck carrying food and other relief goods, they said. A couple of villagers, hungry for the food, got a bruised eye as they fought for canned sardines being hurtled out of the truck

Days passed, villagers now not just yearn for more food but also medicines.

"When the skin begins to feel itchy, we apply some alcohol and calamansi (a locally-grown lemon), and when it recovers, we get down and get wet again," Vitorino said, showing to reporters the rashes on her left leg.

Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III Wednesday said epidemic risk now runs very high in overcrowded temporary shelters and places surrounded by stagnant floodwaters.

Health experts said stagnant floodwaters usually serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread dengue and organisms that cause respiratory illnesses, allergies and skin diseases.

"I leave my family's safety to the God, but I do hope the government and agencies can provide us medicines," Vitorino said.

If floodwaters would take months to subside as officials estimated, Vitorino said her family would have to celebrate Christmas in their half-submerged home.

"We are ok with that. But what I fear most is once water starts to rise up again, we will really have nowhere to sleep," she said.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Philippines / Vietnam 250+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm Ketsana

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquir...456/Typhoon-battered-RP-appeals-for-intl-help


Typhoon-battered RP appeals for int?l help

By Amy R. Remo, Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:55:00 10/11/2009

Filed Under: Foreign Aid, Disasters (general), Pepeng, Ondoy

MANILA, Philippines ? With government resources stretched to the limit after the country was hit by two successive typhoons, the Philippines has had to appeal to foreign countries and international aid and humanitarian agencies for assistance.

The Japanese government has given $4.5 million (P210 million) for typhoon relief operations through the World Food Programme, the largest foreign assistance yet since Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro issued a flash appeal for aid to the international community in the wake of tropical storm ?Ondoy? last September 26.

The WFP said the money would be used to buy 6.7 million kilograms of rice, enough to feed 670,000 people for one month.

Part of the donation will also be used to mobilize three emergency relief choppers for relief sorties over the next month, said Stephen Anderson, the WFP Country Director in the Philippines.

The WFP said it urgently needed $26 million to provide food assistance, air services, logistical support, and emergency telecommunications to one million of the worst-affected.

In addition to the helicopters, WFP has been airlifting other urgently needed supplies and equipment into the country in recent days.

Total of $10M in int?l aid

Besides Japan, other donors who have so far contributed to the WFP?s flood relief efforts in the Philippines included UN CERF ($3 million); Spain ($2 million); Australia ($1.7 million) and ECHO ($600,000).

Teodoro said the Japanese donation raised the total international aid to around $10 million, excluding in-kind donations from other countries like Spain and Jordan.

?They?ve been a big help. It is substantial and right now, they assist us not merely in providing relief but also with the systems [mobilization],? said Teodoro.

The United States military also continues to provide airlift for relief operations in affected provinces. Teodoro said a US C-130 cargo plane delivered some 29,000 pounds of food to Batanes on Friday, while 10 Chinook choppers continued to ferry relief goods around northern Luzon.

The Taiwan Embassy in Rome has donated 10,000 euros through the Pontifical Council ?Cor Unum,? the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office said in a statement. The donation is in addition to the $50,000 turned over earlier by Ambassador Donald C. T. Lee, the Teco representative, to Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral. The Taiwan government is also sending two medical missions to the Philippines, the Teco statement said.

WHO warns of outbreaks

The World Health Organization yesterday announced a P26-million emergency health response assistance as it warned of an outbreak of measles, leptospirosis and hepatitis A among tens of thousands of people displaced by Ondoy.

With the P26-million assistance through the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the WHO said it will help the Department of Health prevent worsening health conditions in the most affected areas and help affected health facilities to resume essential operations as soon as possible.

The WHO said the emergency health response assistance will target affected families in Metro Manila and the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon).

?WHO is on the watch-out for an increase in cases of measles, leptospirosis and hepatitis A. Mental health and psychosocial support are also priority concerns,? said Dr. Soe Nyunt-u, the WHO representative for the Philippines.

Children who suffer from measles may experience complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, blindness, deafness, ear infection, diarrhea and dehydration.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection when open wounds are exposed to contaminated animal urine usually found in floodwaters. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches and vomiting, and may include jaundice, red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rashes.

Hepatitis A, a highly contagious disease, is an infection of the liver caused by a virus from taking contaminated food and water prepared in unsanitary conditions such as in evacuation centers.

The floods have damaged many hospitals, clinics and barangay health stations making them inaccessible to patients. Medical equipment, supplies and medicines have also been destroyed while many health workers have been unable to work since their homes were also affected by the floods.

At least 16 DoH-run hospitals in Metro Manila and nearby provinces sustained damage in infrastructure and equipment worth at least P670 million. The Amang Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Marikina City, one of the most affected cities, sustained the worst damage worth about P380 million.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Philippines / Vietnam 250+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm Ketsana

Source: http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl109034.htm

FLOOD-BORNE DISEASES RISING / MORE BODIES PULLED OUT FROM RUBBLES


MANILA, OCTOBER 13, 2009 (STAR) By Sheila Crisostomo - Health officials warned the public yesterday of an increase in cases of leptospirosis and other water-borne diseases in calamity areas that are still flooded after Luzon was ravaged by tropical storm ?Ondoy? and typhoon ?Pepeng? in the past two weeks.

From Sept. 29 to Oct. 12, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 181 leptospirosis cases, with 152 of the patients reported in Metro Manila.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of infected animals, particularly rats. This can happen by swallowing contaminated food or water or through skin contact, especially broken skin, or through the eyes or nose.

The victims are usually infected after wading in floodwaters.

Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches, redness of eyes, vomiting and jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes.

Health officials said other flood-related diseases that are expected are dengue fever, diarrhea and cholera.

The DOH said the number of leptospirosis cases had more than doubled since Ondoy brought heavy rains last Sept. 26 and flooded portions of Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna and Bulacan.

During the same period in 2008, the total number of cases stood at only 69, with 26 recorded in Metro Manila.

Philippine General Hospital (PGH) spokesman Dr. Michael Tee said that from Oct. 9 to 11 alone, a total of 20 leptospirosis patients were brought to the hospital. The patients included three children.

Tee said that all of the patients have already developed acute renal or kidney failure requiring them to undergo at least two sessions of hemodialysis.

Two of the victims ? a 32-year-old man from Quezon City and a 28-year-old man from Manila ? died even before they were subjected to hemodialysis, which costs around P10,000 per session.

?This is very alarming. Having this many is a serious matter. The PGH is mobilizing its resources as we expect more leptospirosis cases in the coming days due to the massive flooding brought about by Ondoy and then Pepeng,? he told The STAR.

Tee added the PGH had set up a leptospirosis zone wherein those who have waded in floodwaters and have manifested symptoms are immediately attended to. ?Speedy treatment and proper management can result in better prognosis,? he added.

Dr. Elizabeth Montemayor, head of PGH?s Nephrology Section, said the victims waded in floodwaters but it was only recently when symptoms started showing up, since the incubation period for leptospirosis is 10 to 14 days.

?We want to warn the public that if they have history of wading in floodwaters and they develop fever and other symptoms, they have to see a doctor immediately. They should not wait for more serious complications to develop. Otherwise, the damage might already be irreversible,? he added.

Leptospirosis can become fatal when an infected individual develops kidney failure, meningitis or inflammation of the membrane around the spine and brain, liver failure, pulmonary hemorrhage and respiratory distress.

The website of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that leptospirosis can be treated with antibiotics ?such as doxycycline or penicillin, which should be given early in the course of the disease.?

?Intravenous antibiotics may be required for persons with more severe symptoms. Persons with symptoms suggestive of leptospirosis should contact a health care provider,? the website said.

Montemayor said that before Ondoy, a month could pass before the PGH admits leptospirosis-related renal cases.

?In September, there were only three cases. With the massive flooding, we expect to see more cases of leptospirosis. We hope the public would not be complacent about this,? she added.

Red Cross sets up medical station

The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) has set up a 50-bed medical station at the Philippine Sports Arena (former ULTRA) in Pasig City to extend medical assistance to victims of Ondoy.

PNRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said the medical station is open 24 hours a day to provide medical assistance for typhoon victims who are now temporarily housed at ULTRA and suffering from minor illness.

Pang said the Red Cross decided to put up the medical station after they observed an increase in cases of diarrhea, cough, colds and other minor infection among the 734 families staying at ULTRA.

Volunteer doctors, nurses, first aid staff, social workers and PNRC staff will man the medical station round-the-clock until such time that evacuees return to their respective homes, she added.

?This is not the first time that PNRC is setting up a medical station. During the typhoid outbreak in Laguna, we successfully gave medical assistance to children and adults in Calamba. And now, we are doing this again for the victims of Ondoy,? said Pang.

Pang, however, clarified that the medical station is not intended to replace hospital services but is an extension area only to give immediate medical assistance to evacuees suffering from minor illnesses.

Stranded comatose patient transferred

The PNRC reported that they have rescued a 58-year-old coma patient and 800 other people from flooded areas in Pangasinan.

PNRC said Ludivino Apalis was transferred to a safer hospital with the help of volunteers from Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) who passed by Dagupan Medical Center, which was already flooded.

Ludivino is in critical condition at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Dagupan Medical Center, but doctors could no longer attend to him because of the flood.

A Red Cross truck eventually transferred the comatose patient to Nazareth Hospital where doctors found out that Ludivino was already in a coma and suffering from acute renal failure or malfunctioning of kidneys and enlargement of prostate. He is currently confined at the ICU of Nazareth Hospital.

PNRC said SBMA volunteers also rescued 800 stranded people and brought them to the Dagupan Astrodome. With Mayen Jaymalin
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More bodies pulled out from mountainside rubble By Cecille Suerte Felipe and Artemio Dumlao (The Philippine Star) Updated October 13, 2009 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - As the weather cleared, disaster teams pulled out more bodies from tons of earth that buried several mountainside communities in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) during the onslaught of typhoon ?Pepeng.?

Olive Luces, executive director of the Office of Civil Defense-CAR, said the death toll from the landslides and floods reached 270 yesterday. The CAR police said 82 people were injured and 32 still missing.

Rescue workers were trying to clear roads so that food, water and other supplies could reach survivors.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said over 50 road sections and nine major bridges had either been destroyed in the landslides or washed away by floods, making it difficult to reach the hardest hit areas.

The relentless rain loosened saturated soil in mountain communities in CAR, triggering a deadly torrent of mud and rocks late last week that swallowed houses and roads.

In Baguio City, desperate residents were clambering through debris and negotiating roadside cliffs to bring supplies or to seek help.

The city had been totally isolated for two days, forcing the US military to airlift food supplies to the area.

?Our food supply was gone, our gasoline requirements are now reserved for priority emergency vehicles,? Baguio Mayor Peter Bautista said on local radio. Over 300,000 people live in the summer capital. He said funeral parlors were also running low on coffins.

Most of the dead were recovered in a mountainside community called Little Kibungan, where tons of mud and floodwaters buried or swept away houses as people slept.

Marsman Diang said he wept as he frantically dug into the mud Friday for his five nieces and nephews. Four were found dead, wrapped in a bed sheet.

One was pulled out barely breathing and did not make it to the hospital alive.

The children?s father, Diang?s brother, left to work in Japan two months ago to raise money for the kids? education. He heard about their deaths in a phone call from Diang. ?He couldn?t talk. I heard him weeping with his wife when I called to tell them that their children were gone,? Diang said. President Arroyo is expected to visit the community today.

In barangay Twinpeaks in Tuba, Benguet, councilman Ambrosio Bengwasan and his 26-year-old son Oliver remain unaccounted for.

A relative, Romeo Milo, 60, had been walking around the devastated village trying to locate the spot where the two could have been buried. He related how a loud thud preceded the surge of mud and floodwaters from a nearby mountain. The landslides killed five villagers.

NDCC executive officer Glenn Rabonza, meanwhile, said the Department of Health has sent 200 cadaver bags as well as five embalmers to Baguio City.

A US Chinook helicopter airlifted coffins from Pampanga to Baguio City.

?Our disaster operation is still in the active search and rescue mode as well as relief distributions,? Rabonza said.

Early yesterday, a convoy of 32 military trucks left Camp Aguinaldo to deliver 1,000 water jugs, 5,000 kilos of used clothing, 2,000 kilos of blankets, 2,000 kilos of plastic mats, and 4,000 kilos of food packs to Baguio City.

Rabonza said 2,000 anti-tetanus shots have been delivered to CAR for injured landslide survivors.

A US-C130 cargo plane loaded with relief goods and medicine is now on standby at Clark Field in Pampanga for a mercy flight to CAR and to the Cagayan Valley region.

Rabonza said the aircraft will leave once the runways of the Loakan and Tuguegarao airports are cleared of debris.

PNP warns profiteers

The Philippine National Police said it will not hesitate to arrest violators of the price control law.

?We will require the PNP to monitor closely prices of commodities in Baguio City and all disaster affected areas,? Director Leopoldo Bataoil, chief of the Directorate for Police Community Relations, told The STAR in a text message.

?We appeal to all concerned to help the victims of calamity instead of taking advantage of them. We will arrest violators of the price control law and hoarders of basic commodities,? he said.

Clearing work in full swing

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, armed forces spokesman, said the military is working closely with US troops in clearing portions of Kennon and Naguilian Roads and Marcos Highway.

?It will be massive and expensive on the part of the AFP,? he said.

?Actually these operations starting from Ondoy are starting to take their toll on the resources of the AFP because we use much fuel,? he said.

?I?m not saying we?ve run out of resources, but we?re using much for these operations,? he said.

Since the start of the calamities, the military has deployed an estimated 10,000 troops for search, rescue and relief efforts.

He said they have already started pulling out troops and equipment from relief efforts in Metro Manila for deployment to Central and Northern Luzon.

?Some of the equipment are being pulled out from Marikina, Metro Manila and being brought now to Northern Luzon,? he said. ?Our heavy equipment are needed in Northern Luzon for rehabilitation efforts.?

But Brawner assured that relief and rehabilitation efforts would continue in the affected areas of the metropolis, as well as in the nearby province of Rizal.

NDCC spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said Kennon Road is now open to light vehicles.

He added that damage to property and crops could increase from the original estimate of P5 billion.

Pepeng pummeled northern Luzon for a week before moving on the weekend into the South China Sea.

It first hit as a typhoon on Oct. 3, exactly one week after tropical storm ?Ondoy? dumped the heaviest rains in more than 40 years on Metro Manila.

Ondoy has left 337 people dead, with the death toll from both storms surpassing 630. Another 300,000 people out of the over six million people affected remain in evacuation camps. With Jaime Laude, James Mananghaya, AP

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Philippines / Vietnam 250+ Dead and Half a Million Homeless due to tropical storm Ketsana

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/weather/10/19/philippines.storms/

Typhoon nears Philippines, as toll rises
updated 4 hours, 41 minutes ago

(CNN) -- A powerful typhoon lumbered toward the storm-battered Philippines on Monday, as the death toll from two devastating storms in the last month climbed to 858.

Typhoon Lupit, packing winds of 109 miles per hour (175 km per hour), was expected to hit land Thursday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said. It was hovering about 720 miles (1,160 km) east of Cagayan, the northernmost province.

The government placed emergency teams on standby and stockpiled food, blankets and water.

It fears landslides and storm surges from Lupit -- locally known as Ramil -- could unleash further devastation to a nation already reeling from the one-two punch of Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma.

Ketsana, also known as Ondoy, drenched the Philippines with its heaviest rainfall in 40 years when it hit September 26. Eighty percent of the capital, Manila, flooded.

By Monday, the death toll from Ketsana stood at 420, with 37 more missing.

Although most of the deaths occurred when the typhoon struck, several others died days later of leptospiroris, the government said. The bacterial infection is caused by exposure to water contaminated by animal urine.
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More than three weeks later, some areas are still under waist-high water, the disaster coordinating council said. About 189,000 residents remain in evacuation centers.

On October 3, Typhoon Parma made landfall in a rural region of fishermen and farmers in Luzon, the largest of the Philippine islands, killing 438 people and destroying 55,000 people. Fifty-one others are still missing. Video Watch stories of people who endured the flooding ?