[ 2006.12. 1 ]
CARE is mobilizing personnel and resources in the Philippines to provide emergency support in the wake of Typhoon Durian, which affected more than 800,000 people. "The Philippines have been hit repeatedly by typhoons in the last few months," says CARE's regional emergency coordinator, Wayne Ulrich,"but this has been fiercest so far." As soon as the storm had passed, Ted Bonpin, CARE's country director in the Philippines, began surveying the destruction. He is now working on assessing damage in the remote island province of Catanduanes, where almost 90% of the houses in the south were destroyed. On Sunday, the Philippines President Gloria Arroyo declared the disaster a "state of national calamity." A CARE assessment team was already on the ground in Albay, one of the worst hit provinces. CARE is planning to dispatch emergency experts from other CARE offices in the region and from the CARE Emergency Group in Geneva to support emergency operations in the Philippines. CARE has joined the Mayon Disaster Response Network and other international and local NGOs in the Philippines working in the most affected areas. CARE is currently preparing proposals to provide safe drinking water, food distribution and emergency shelter. Overall damage has been initially estimated at more than $634 million, and CARE calls for additional international funding to meet emergency relief needs.
The nearly Category 5 typhoon, which hit the Philippines on November 30, with winds exceeding 140 miles per hour, left more than 400 dead, and nearly 600 others still listed as missing. The final death toll could be much higher. Roughly a third of the dead were killed in mudslides, triggered by torrential rains that produced more than 18 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. More than 16,000 people are currently housed in 100 evacuation centers. An estimated 28,000 houses were destroyed and at least 90,000 partially damaged in the storm.CARE's long term strategy will be to work through local partners to rehabilitate the worst hit areas.
Typhoon Durian has now left the Philippines and is heading for Vietnam. CARE's Vietnam country office are engaged in preparing an emergency response.
