UNICEF responds for children in Philippines flood crisis
Make a donation today to support children affected by this disaster.
© UNICEF Philippines/2009/Alquinto
Families displaced by Tropical Storm Ondoy in Pasig City, Manila, the Philippines.
UNICEF Philippines Chief of Health and Nutrition Dr. Marinus Gotink discusses recent flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ondoy.
Listen
NEW YORK (September 30, 2009) — More than 200 people have reportedly died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes due to flooding in and around metropolitan Manila in the Philippines.
UNICEF has expressed deep concern about the growing number of children and families affected by Tropical Storm Ondoy, which triggered the floods this past weekend, dropping a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours.
The floods have affected a quarter of metropolitan Manila, as well as some 24 provinces around the country.
"As if a tsunami came"
© Reuters/Erik de Castro
Residents wade in floodwaters caused by Tropical Storm Ondoy in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila.
Initial data from the National Disaster Coordinating Council suggested that over 1 million people were affected by Ondoy. The Government of the Philippines now puts that figure at 1.8 million people affected by the storm and subsequent flooding.
UNICEF Philippines Chief of Health and Nutrition Dr. Marinus Gotink has just returned from visiting several sites in the northern part of metropolitan Manila. He and his team surveyed the damage caused by the area's most severe rainfall in approximately 40 years.
"The people described it as if a tsunami came," Gotink said. "In about one hour or less, the water levels rose up to 13 to 16 feet above their normal levels, which means that houses built alongside the river, bridges— everything was destroyed."
Poor communities hard-hit
Gotink reported that informal communities of poor people living in shanties were among those hardest hit by the flooding.
"There are many poor people living alongside the river," he said. "They are trying to rebuild and clean up with the very little they have. These people have lost everything."
Although the floodwaters have retreated in most places, they have left a tremendous amount of debris and mud in their wake.
"The river is normally used as a garbage dump, so all that garbage came down the river, as well, and was dumped into trees, and on top of houses," Gotink said. "It stinks, and people are trying with their bare hands and buckets to get the mud out of the place and dump it back into the river."
Aid for the displaced
© UNICEF Philippines/2009/Wurzel
Scenes of devastation in metro Manila, after Tropical Storm Ondoy struck.
The lack of safe water is a major health concern and could lead to disease outbreaks in flood-affected areas.
UNICEF Representative in the Philippines Vanessa Tobin visited the flooded localities of Taguig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City today. She said she was shocked by the level of devastation in many communities but impressed by the generosity people have been showing to their neighbors.
Tobin noted that UNICEF is closely involved in delivering relief to displaced families.
"In the next 48 hours, we will be delivering more hygiene kits, essential medicines, water purification tablets, portable toilets, and family kits containing blankets and soap," she said. "We are also helping the government and other humanitarian agencies to address gaps in the delivery of aid to those affected."
As emergency relief efforts continue, UNICEF is concerned about the storm's long-term effects on children, including health risks posed by the widespread flooding and inadequate safe-water supply. There is additional concern in the region about two other tropical storms that are likely to make landfall later this week, with potentially devastating results.
