Photo: Waves Slam On Break Wall In Zamboanga City

A wave slams on a break wall Sunday, May 11, 2008 in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. Typhoon “Butchoy” (International Code Rammasun) has ravaged many parts of Mindanao. Filipino weather experts warned small vessels and fishing boats not to venture out into the sea due to high waves brought about by the typhoon. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

UN Funds Needed For Philippines

MANILA - The United Nations country team in the Philippines has requested $2.6 million for rapid response projects from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) after several typhoons wreaked havoc on the country in recent weeks.

“Our priority is to work with our partners to provide affected communities with emergency shelter, clean water and food, and urgent healthcare,” Nileema Noble, UN Resident Coordinator for the Philippines, said in a statement released on Friday.

Typhoon Utor on December 9 brought renewed suffering to those struggling to recover from Typhoon Durian, which struck less than two weeks earlier.

Over 1,400 people have been reported dead and close to 110,000 others have sought refuge in evacuation centres. And more than seven million people have been affected by the storms, with death tolls rising as communication lines are restored to remote areas.

Ms. Noble warned that: “Adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities are needed for people living in crowded conditions, especially children and the elderly, to prevent the spread of disease, while emergency power generation is crucial for medical facilities to continue vital functions.”

Mudslides, flooding and landslides have destroyed much of the permanent infrastructure in the worst affected areas.

The UN praised the quick response of the Philippines Government in urgently providing assistance to stricken communities. The UN with its humanitarian partners has also been carrying out relief assistance and assessments on immediate needs in the region.

The humanitarian community, in conjunction with local government, is working to ensure a coordinated approach to assistance and effective use of resources. Many communities, particularly in the Bicol region, remain in a precarious situation.

A detailed appeal, in coordination with the Filipino government, will be launched in the coming months to enable people to rebuild their lives and support their families.

Utor's Fury: 5 Dead In RP

CEBU (Mindanao Examiner / 11 Dec) – At least 5 people were dead and tens of thousands more affected by the typhoon Utor in the Philippines as it headed towards the South China Sea, social workers and government spokesmen said Monday.

They said Utor, which has a wind speed of at least 120 kph, left a trail of destruction in central Philippines, including an island called Cebu where the four-day annual ASEAN Summit was to take place at the weekend.Manila on Friday postponed the Summit ahead of Utor’s landfall.

Utor lashed out in the central Philippines, but Cebu was not hit as badly as what government people had expected.The postponement of the Summit coincided with threats of terrorist attacks either by the al-Qaeda or the Jemaah Islamiya or their local affiliates the Abu Sayyaf and the Rajah Solaiman group.

The ASEAN is composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (Mindanao Examiner)

Floods, Rains Leave Trail Of Destruction In Zamboanga

Residents in Zamboanga City inspect Sunday 08 Oct 2006 their villages as torrential rains leaves a trail of destruction in Zamboanga Peninsula. (Darwin Wee / Uly Israel)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Darwin Wee / 08 Oct) – Torrential rains have flooded many villages and affected thousands of people as it ravaged the southern Filipino port city of Zamboanga.

Heavy rains the past days have flooded rice paddies and rivers overflowed submerging many villages. Residents affected by flashfloods have sought safe refuge in government schools across Zamboanga as local officials held emergency session on Sunday to draw up plans to help those affected by the inter-tropical convergence zone.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional office in Zamboanga City said floods also affected many areas in the Zamboanga Peninsula, which comprises the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay.

It said some P14 million in seaweeds and aquaculture farms were damaged by the rain. "These are all initial reports and we are afraid that there are more damages in seaweed farms across the Peninsula because of the bad weather,” BFAR's chief regulatory division senior aqua-culturist Francisco A. Cadiz told the Mindanao Examiner.

"We are still waiting for the reports of our satellite offices in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay," Mr. Cadiz who is also the current Fisheries officer-in-charge, said.

He said more than 1,000 hectares of seaweed farms weredestroyed by the rain in Zamboanga City alone, particularly in the villages of Tumaga, Ayala, Culianan, Manicahan, Curuan, and Vitali. Cages and fences of at least 700 hectares of fish pans were also destroyed. Over P3 million were lost.

About 3,000 seaweed and fish pan growers were affected by floods and rain.

"As far, as I could remember this is the worst and costly damage toour fishermen, and seaweed growers," he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

U.S. Releases Aid To Assist Typhoon Victims In Philippines

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 07 Oct) – Washington has donated $100,000 to the Philippine National Red Cross to help thousands of victims of Typhoon Xangsane.

The aid, released through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), would be used to purchase essential relief supplies, such as blankets, mosquito nets, plastic mats and water containers to help about 11,000 people affected by floods and landslides.

The typhoon, locally known as “Milenyo,” devastated many parts of the Philippines and had killed at least 98 people dead. U.S. Ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney issued last week a disaster declaration due to the magnitude of the damage caused by the typhoon.

Another typhoon, which local weather experts, called “Neneng,” also flooded many areas in the southern Philippines this week. (Mindanao Examiner)