Churches Prepare for Larger Response to Philippines
As the confirmed death toll from devastating storms in the Philippines rises to more than 760, members of Action by Churches Together are on the scene, visiting some of the most-affected areas to prepare for a larger response.
As the confirmed death toll from devastating storms in the Philippines rises to more than 760, members of a global alliance of churches and related agencies are on the scene, visiting some of the most-affected areas to prepare for a larger response.
According to reports, more than 787 people are still missing from flash floods and landslides triggered by back-to-back storms that devastated the northeastern region of the Philippines over a two-week period from mid-November.
The National Disaster Coordination Council reported that the storms have left 762 people dead and 667 injured. Some 170,000 have fled their homes for higher ground.
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Global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, whose members are on the scene, reported that its member, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) along with member churches and regional councils in the affected regions, had been carrying out needs assessments since last Thursday.
Staff of the NCCP, along with staff of U.S.-based ACT member Lutheran World Relief, visited Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija and Dingalan, Aurora, some of the worst hit villages, to assess the situation.
In an interview by phone with the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva, Minnie Anne Calub of the NCCP described the scene in some of the places she had just visited. She said the village of Gabaldon was like a ghost town, with many houses abandoned after being covered by logs, stones, mud and debris. In Dingalan, “we passed by houses with the same conditions,” she said, describing areas that have been abandoned there as well.
“Even concrete houses were covered with boulders,” she added. “Smaller houses are all washed out.”
After fleeing with few possessions, “people want to scavenge what they can” from their destroyed homes, Calub reported. Though the government is proposing relocation sites for some villages, Calub said some people do not want to leave their villages because it is their birthplace or where they own property.
Meanwhile, many residents of these villages are staying in evacuation centers, where they have been receiving relief assistance that is coming in steadily. While people in the centers have received food, they need cooking utensils, Calub said. In one center, people have to take turns to cook on the one stove available.
One man Calub spoke to said that 44 families were staying in one school building, where conditions were cramped. “They are letting the children sleep inside. The adults stay outside and lie down where they can,” Calub said.
The NCCP reported earlier that it would be sending an appeal through the ACT Coordinating Office. On Dec. 3, the Coordinating Office sent $40,000 (USD) in Rapid Response Funds to the NCCP to enable it to provide food, potable water, sleeping mats, plastic sheets, light blankets and clothing to at least 6,500 families.
According to the latest reports, rescuers have pulled at least four survivors from a building that collapsed in mudslides 10 days ago. One survivor said up to another 20 people might still be alive in the rubble of the building.
