Philippines floods

Philippines declares state of calamity as storm toll nears 1,000

Floods have affected more than 338,000 people in 13 provinces, with nearly 43,000 still in evacuation centres

the Guardian,

20 December, 2011

The president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, has declared a state of national calamity after flash floods and landslides caused by a typhoon swept through a southern region last weekend, killing about 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Nine hundred and 57 people were killed and 49 still missing, according to the national disaster agency, with most of the casualties in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the Mindanao region.

Aquino held meetings with officials in the two cities worst hit by water, mud and logs that swept down mountains as residents in riverside and coastal villages slept in the early hours of Saturday.

"First priority is to relocate to areas that no longer pose a danger to them," Aquino said at a meeting with officials in Cagayan de Oro, as he vowed action to prevent another tragedy of the same magnitude.

The disaster agency said more than 338,000 people in 13 provinces were affected by the disaster, with nearly 43,000 still in evacuation centres. 

More than 10,000 houses were damaged by Typhoon Washi and the flash floods, of which nearly a third were totally ruined. Many schools, roads and bridges wer badly damaged. 

Aquino's spokesman, Ricky Carandang, said the declaration of a national calamity would allow the government to gain access to more funds for relief and rehabilitation.

Cagayan de Oro and Iligan are struggling to prevent disease from spreading in crowded evacuation centres and have started digging graves to bury decomposing bodies.

An official of the British-based Christian relief and development organisation World Vision said people were fighting for space at the centres.

"It is really overcrowded, there is almost no space in between people," group official John Salva told ANC Television. "Diseases are starting to appear."

"It's really a struggle to manage those evacuation centres, there's a shortage of water and a shortage of food," he said.

Mortuaries have been unable to cope and authorities have stared digging mass graves to bury victims.

The state-run Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said it had warned authorities in the area last year about the need to relocate families living along riverbanks that swelled after a month's-worth of rainfall fell over the weekend.

"This tragedy that happened in Cagayan de Oro ... will be repeated in the future. And therefore there needs to be appropriate preparation to prevent fatalities," Leo Jasareno, acting director of the MGB, said

Philippines prepares mass burials for flood victims