 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
maven
Moderator
| Joined: | Fri Jun 2nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Philippines |
| Posts: | 131 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 26th, 2006 10:04 pm |
|
This city was the catastrophically damaged by the recent supertyphoon Reming.
Here's a news item :
Spanish govt lends a hand to storm victims By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
Legazpi City: The Spanish government, through the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional, has donated 600,000 euros (more than P39 million) worth of medical and relief aid to the typhoon victims in Albay.
Maria Eugenia Martin-Sanz Martinez, head of the Spanish agency’s relief department, on Sunday handed over to the Albay provincial government a water-purifying machine, medical equipment and food supplies as assistance to communities devastated by Supertyphoon Reming on November 30.
In a simple turnover rites at the Pepperland Hotel this city, Gov. Fernando Gonzalez, whose parents are of Spanish descent, said the assistance from the Spanish government was a “reflection of great affection to the Filipino people for the past 300 years. Truly they are our brothers and true friend.”
He said the Spanish relief agency had swiftly mobilized their relief and medical teams to assist in disaster operation in villages in Guinobatan and this city, which were among the hardest hit areas by “Reming.”
A C-130 plane flew two teams of doctors, nurses and other medical technicians straight from Spain who brought along with them the water-purifying machine, tent mini hospital, medical equipment and supplies.
The plane landed at Legazpi’s domestic airport. The team proceeded directly to Guinobatan and set-up the water-purifier machine, Gonzalez said.
The machine can cleanse 3,000 liters of water an hour. The water was bottled and distributed to thousand of families in evacuation camps and households.
Martinez told The Manila Times that the mobile water-purifying machine could provide clean water to 10,092 families or 82,524 people and 16,000 families in Legazpi.
She said that after seeing the devastating effects of “Re*ming,” the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation immediately sent the composite team to aid the typhoon victims.
The agency also allocated an equivalent of P13 million for food and canned goods and for the possible reconstruction of damaged hospitals in the three districts of the province.
Martinez told civil defense and disaster relief officials her group “gave all their best to help the people of Albay.”
The armada of DYA (Détente y Ayueda) Stop and Help, composed mostly of physicians and response teams, was making the rounds of the evacuation centers, Martinez said.
“Reming” slammed into Albay on November 30 and left 1,215 people either dead or missing and 1,444 people injured form mudslides and floodwaters from the slopes of Mount Mayon.
The typhoon either destroyed or badly damaged 174,168 houses across the province. Damage to crops and infrastructure was placed at P1.3 billion.
The Catholic Church in the United States also pledged $500,000 (roughly P24.7 million) in assistance for the victims of the last two supertyphoons.
The donation will be coursed through the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official humanitarian agency of the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference (USBC).
“Reming,” the fourth storm to hit the country in four months, has claimed lives and destroyed hundreds of millions of pesos worth of infrastructures and facilities and crops.
Most of the fatalities were within the six-kilometer danger zone of Mount Mayon when winds of up to 265 kilometers an hour and torrential rains sent walls of mud and boulders crashing down on villages.
Officials say more than a million people from 9 cities and 13 provinces have been affected, with more than 85,000 forced to seek shelter in evacuation centers.
Property damage has so far been assessed at P600,000. Before the latest blow, villages throughout the Philippines were still recovering from the devastation of “Milenyo” and “Paeng.”
In collaboration with Caritas Philippines, the CRS said it will conduct an assessment for the rehabilitation of homes and livelihoods.
The agency is dispatching a team that will coordinate efforts to help affected residents restore their livelihoods.
Over the past two years, CRS has been working with the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (NASSA) to conduct disaster preparedness and response training in all of the disaster-prone areas of the Philippines.
CRS has been working in the Philippines since 1945, when they initiated relief and reconstruction efforts after World War II.
The agency continues to provide relief to victims of emergencies, whether natural disasters or manmade emergencies. They also support ongoing programs in peace and reconciliation, health and agriculture.
The Pope had earlier sent a “telegram of condolence” over the series of tragedies that hit the Philippines and called for a worldwide help.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has also appealed to all the faithful to help generously those affected by the disaster.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP president, said the people should try to live their Christian faith by extending their help to the typhoon victims.
“May we be strong in our faith, hope and love of God and of our neighbor in these times of difficulties,” he prayed. “May we read correctly the signs of the times of salvation and grow in our maturity and openness,” Lagdameo said.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...61220pro1.html
|
Current time is 08:06 pm | |
|
|
|
|
