Rescuers Struggle In Devastated Philippines

Rescue workers faced blocked roads and damaged airports as they raced to deliver desperately needed tents, food and medicines to the typhoon-devastated eastern Philippines where thousands are believed dead.

"I have no house, I have no clothes. I don't know how I will restart my life, I am so confused. Whoever has a good heart...please help.

Survivor

Three days after Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the region, the full scale of the disaster - the biggest faced by the Philippines - was becoming apparent on Monday.

The winds and the sea waves whipped up were so strong that they washed big ships inland, which now stood incongruously amid debris of buildings, trees, road signs and people's belongings.

Authorities estimated that up to 10,000 people may have died, but the destruction has made it difficult to count the dead. The Philippine military on Monday announced it had only confirmed 942 people dead with the number expected to rise. Officials said after surveying the areas there is little doubt that the death toll will be reach estimates, or even higher.

In Tacloban city, the capital of Leyte province, corpses hung from trees and were scattered on sidewalks. Many were buried in flattened buildings. The entire city appeared to have been obliterated. From the air the landscape resembled a giant garbage dump punctuated by a few concrete buildings that still stood.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Tacloban , said survivors started streaming into the local airport on Monday morning desperate for food, water and material to build shelters as military flights resumed bringing in aid.

"The military will need to start bringing in body bags because so many people dead and so many are missing and no substantial search for these bodies has begun," Hay said.

  

Many people were also arriving at the airport wanting to leave, Hay added, because their homes had been destroyed. Military flights were taking them away to either nearby Cebu or to Manila.

"This area has been totally ravaged'', said Sebastien Sujobert, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tacloban. "Many lives were lost, a huge number of people are missing, and basic services such as drinking water and electricity have been cut off.''

He said both the Philippine Red Cross and the ICRC offices in Tacloban had been damaged, forcing staff to relocate temporarily. The United Nations said it was sending supplies but access to the worst hit areas was a challenge.

However, a main bridge that links Tacloban with the rest of the country has been cleared, making it possible for trucks to reach Tacloban.

Ships carrying relief goods are also en route but as the seaport remains damaged, there will be difficulty transporting the supplies onshore, Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reported from the capital, Manila.

The United States and Australia are mobilising emergency aid and the US Pentagon is sending military personnel and equipment to assist with the relief effort.

People swept away

Haiyan hit the eastern seaboard of the Philippines on Friday and quickly barrelled across its central islands, packing winds of 235 kph that gusted to 275 kph, and a storm surge of 6 metres.
Even though authorities had evacuated about 800,000 people ahead of the typhoon, the death toll was so high because many evacuation centres - brick-and-mortar schools, churches and government buildings - could not withstand the winds and water surges.

Officials said people who had huddled in these buildings drowned or were swept away.

Safe delivery: Cheers broke out this morning when 21-year old Emily Ortega gave birth to a baby girl in the city of Tacloban. The expectant mother had to swim through floods.

"I have no house, I have no clothes. I don't know how I will restart my life, I am so confused,'' an unidentified woman said, crying. "I don't know what happened to us. We are appealing for help. Whoever has a good heart, I appeal to you - please help Guiuan.''



Source: Aljazeera



How to help donate to victims of super typhoon Haiyan

With reports of more than 10,000 estimated casualties, and an excess of 9 million people affected overall, “super typhoon”Haiyan is said to be one of the most devastating storms ever to hit landfall.

The Red Cross and other agencies say they expect the number of casualties and total damage to soar as Haiyan is thought likely to return to category 5 status again.

Amidst the damage, several organizations are stepping up to provide relief to the victims and families of Haiyan .

"It is too early to tell what exactly we will need, but definitely after the relief operations there is going to be a lot of work in terms of reconstruction and rehabilitation, particularly for people who have lost their homes," Philippines Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Cuisia Jr. told Voice of America.

And while the U.S State Department and military are stepping in to assist in the emergency response, there are a number of organizations that are accepting private donations to help in the relief effort.

Here are a few places where you can donate to help:

- The United Nations World Food Programme estimates that 2.5 million people will need food assistance in the regions affected by Haiyan. They have set up a page where you can donate to efforts aimed at providing relief to families and children affected by the typhoon.

- UNICEF is accepting donations to directly assist the children affected by Haiyan. “Children urgently need access to safe water, hygiene supplies, food, shelter and a safe environment to recover,” the groups said.

- Catholic Relief Services is another major organization helping to collect relief funds for the recovery efforts.

- CARE teams are on the ground in typhoon-affected areas of the Philippines and CARE plans to provide emergency relief to thousands of families.

- ChildFund International has been on the ground in the Philippines since 1954. In addition to providing food, water and shelter for typhoon victims, the organization is also setting up counseling centers for children affected by the disaster.

- Save the Children is directing donations to help children in the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos. They’ve also said they will set aside 10 percent of all donations to create a new fund for similar future emergencies.

- Oxfam is also working on relief efforts to provide clean water, food, medicine and shelter to victims.

- Action Against Hunger is providing water, food and sanitation services. Having been on the ground in the Philippines for over a decade, the organization is also working to provide a greater damage assessment.

- Heifer is accepting donations to help residents recover from and prepare for future disasters.

- The Canadian organization GlobalMedic is working to provide clean water to Haiyan victims. “Those people are vulnerable,” GlobalMedic’s Rahul Singh told the Toronto Sun. “And clean water is essential in order to prevent a secondary catastrophe.”

 By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo News

                    

May God comfort and help all those affected by this tragedy. Amen.