Philippines calls for typhoon aid
Hundreds of thousands wait for help in Philippine storm evacuation centres.
Published On 18 Dec 2006
“We’re short of funds and whatever little resources we had to cope with disasters have been depleted by four successive strong typhoons the last three months,” she said.
Last week, the UN appealed to international donors for $46 million to help feed, clothe and rebuild hundreds of thousands of lives in the central regional of Bicol.
Nileema Noble, a UN resident co-ordinator for the Philippines, said the appeal for aid was to rebuild as well as prepare for the next typhoons season, usually between May and December.
Bicol is frequently in the path of approaching storms and has become known as the country’s welcome mat for typhoons.
Landslides
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| Mudslides triggered by November’s tyhoon Durian wiped out entire villages |
Durian, a super-typhoon which slammed into the Philippines three weeks ago, killed over 1,000 people when high winds and floods triggered landslides and rivers of volcanic ash in central Albay province.
Several villages were wiped out by the landslides and aid workers say about 120,000 people are still waiting for assistance at evacuation centres.
Meanwhile forecasters are closely monitoring tropical storm Trami, developing in the Pacific, amid fears it could change direction and hit the northern Philippines toward the end of the week.
Trami’s current path shows it blowing towards Taiwan, but officials say it could change course as it gains power
Source: News Agencies