UN revises upwards its $74M Philippines appeal
admin October 14th, 2009
The sheer scale of the devastation caused by the cyclones that hit the Philippines continues to shock and amaze. The cyclones left 648 dead, with many still missing, and affected more than six million people, some 300,000 of whom are still housed in makeshift evacuation centres.
Now the UN is to revise its appeal made on 7th October. Initially it called for $74m, but now it says that this “was clearly not enough” and the UN is stressing that this number would be revised upwards when more detailed reports come in from the field.
Amongst the problems the UN – and the Philippines – is facing are the double impact of the global financial crisis and the number of emergencies to hit South East Asia over the past few weeks – tsunamis in Samoa, the earthquake in Indonesia and flooding in several countries in the region.
John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said he was optimistic the international donor community would respond positively to a revised appeal, and added, “Climate change is already causing more intense disasters.”
Cyclone Ketsana dumped record rainfall on Manila and surrounding areas on 26th September, causing unprecedented flooding. It destroyed hospitals and homes, and washed away entire communities along river banks.
A week later on 3rd October, super-typhoon Parma hit the northern Philippines and Luzon island’s western coast, drowning large tracts of farm land and causing landslides that destroyed bridges and motorways.
Authorities were also forced to release water from two near-bursting dams, adding to the flooding that at one point covered an entire province.
Damage to infrastructure and agriculture, which contributes significantly to the economy, is initially placed at 17.6 billion pesos ($382.60 million), a figure that is likely to rise once a final assessment is made, officials said.
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